WSSD Board Meeting 11/20/25

001And now call the November 20th, 2025 meeting of the Wix Wmore School Board to order and opening as you are willing and able. Please rise and join me in the pledge of allegiance. And now call the November 2025. All right, Miss Mosley, would you please take ads? >> Here. >> Dr. Grande >> here. >> Mr. Henry >> here. >> Mrs. Hbert >> here. >> Mr. Miller. >> Mrs. Wattman >> here. >> Miss Woodset >> here. >> Mrs. Williams >> here. >> Missy Smith >> here. >> Eight pointed members present. >> Thank you. Now moving on to student representative report and Miss Yang, please take it away. >> Good evening everyone. The frantic early application season for seniors is finally over and we're officially in the second quarter. With that, let's see what's been happening around

002the district. By this point, you're probably tired of hearing about speech and debate, but the team just can't help but keep sweeping tournaments. At the William Tennant Invitational, Strap Haven placed third in speech sweep states. Congratulations to Ava Watchman, Ime Lee, and Macy Keller for placing first, third, and fifth respectively in declamation. Zoe Zang for placing first in JV pros. Maline Garson for placing second in varsity dramatic performance. Joya Knap for placing second in original oratory and Shivanchala for placing second at JBX Sepeirius. At Dallas Town, Joy championed in not one but two events, claiming the first queen's title in both declamation and original courts. Kenji Melby Griffin and Mia joined Joya as champions of the night by winning JV public forum. Additionally, congratulations to Ame Lee and Ria Singh for making it to finals

003and a Amber Fan [clears throat] Pia Martell and Michael Chen for making it to sport finals in their respective events. Haven doesn't just dominate in Pennsylvania either with Vincent Drew and Urban Deion at the Urban Dragon Tournament down in DC. Lastly, the team claimed second place for overall sweep stakes at the Bucks County Invitational, which is no surprise considering how Sia Boi plays first in novice Lincoln Douglas debate. Dominique Moyer placed second in novice congressional debate. Malcolm Olak and Vincent Drew placed second in policy debate. Had Dudley and Colin Foster placed second in varsity public forum. Evelyn Smith placed second in novice pros. I leave place second at deflamation. and Ruth Nedker, Ava Washman, and Chanel Portman final in their respective events. Enough speech and debate. Let's get on to sports. The future of high

004school sports teams is Blazing Grace. Congratulations to the SHMS 8th grade boys soccer team, eighth grade varsity football team, and seventh grade girls field hockey team for their undefeated season this year. And while we have to say goodbye to these fall sports, keep an eye out for winter sports like swimming, winter track, and basketball are sure to produce some heated competitions this cold season. Finally, let's cheer for the varsity cheer team who earned two bids to the UCA nationals and became the regional champions. Additionally, congrats to all our four cheer teams for placing first on both days at the Downtown High School West competition. Now, recent happenings include the middle school volleyball night that raised money for this year's eighth grade service project. They engaged in a friendly competition to support the Providence Animal Shelter

005this November 5th. And as the middle schoolers were hitting volleyballs, the marching band hit the football field and held their annual Jack Humps band showcase. The community got to participate in raffles and silent auctions all while enjoying the fantastic performances by the band that included almost all the band dances and a full halftime show. Middle and elementary school students also got a taste of life as a member of the marching band, competing in a marching competition and gave us a glimpse of what the future of the Haven band may look like. The whole community came together again at our district's annual tradition, the panda pajamas. Students and parents alike all had fun walking or running together in their PJs on November 8th. Congratulations to the winners of each age group and the pajama contest. A

006few days later, the Haven marching band honored our veterans by performing Anchors Away, Quesonance Go Rolling Along, and God Bless America in the media veteran day parade. The high school wasn't the only one honoring our veterans either. Mr. Dud, a retired USMC, joined the parade with his MP third grade class alongside students from West as well. An SRS held an assembly where veteran and parent Richard Paris came in to talk to students about service and gratitude. The marching band concluded their amazing season by performing at Sunday's Eagles game. And I'm sure I can't be the only one who thinks that the band's mind-blowing performance was the reason why the Eagles were able to blow away the Detroit Lions. As fun as it would be to talk about the Eagles all night, let's move on to

007another fun event, Clue. The High School Theater opened this fall play just last Friday. Don't miss your last chance you find out who done it this Saturday and Sunday. On a brighter note than Murder Mysteries, Haven helps ran a canned food drive. High school classes competed to see who can collect the most cans and packs of ramen in a fun and beneficial competition. Another fun competition coming up is a student council organized flag football game between the grades with the winners earning their rights to compete against the teachers. We can't wait to see who will come out on top at this year's Turkey Bowl. Speaking of turkeys, next week MP will be hosting the annual Delco Turkey Trop, the biggest Thanksgiving 5K in Delo. This run not only ensures that you work up an appetite

008for Thanksgiving dinner, but also help support the students of NPE. There's only about a month until 2025 is over. Yet, it seems like a district will only continue keeping us student board reps busy. Dr. and I can't wait to share the last few happenings of 2025 next month and we hope everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving break next week. Thank you. >> Thank you. That was an excellent report. A lot a lot of great things happening. Thank you so much. Appreciate that. Uh now moving on to the superintendent report and Dr. Johnson. >> Thank you Mr. Henry. Uh tonight my report will be in two parts. I'll do my presentation and we'll include a quick recap from our finance meeting just earlier this week. pause for any questions from the board and then I'm really pleased that

009Dr. Pratt will then approach the podium to provide an update on our statewide assessment results that I know will be an interesting conversation for all of us and we'll have an opportunity for questions for Dr. Proud or myself after that presentation as well. So, um always want to ground ourselves in images of the students who we serve. Uh we are here talking about our students and I always want to make sure that we really put them at the front of our conversation and really this is a lot of what Miss Yang just talked about. Um, we see our girls softball team as part of the can drive at LifeWorks food pantry. Uh, they're they're giving back to the community, which I think is such an important lesson for our students to to have as a

010part of their school experiences. Um, in addition, you see uh our student performance of Clue, albeit the Sunday matinea uh on Sunday. I hope uh others will come out to join, find out who did this, who done it, who did it. And then finally, of course, down in the lower righth hand corner, our amazing band on marching band on the field there uh for the Eagles game, just like Miss Yang mentioned. Uh and it was really fun to hear from people the next day who were in the stadium maybe who didn't know that they were going to be there who said, you know, look, our our team is here, including actually our architect uh will be uh with us uh as soon as tomorrow if the board approves the contract tonight. Uh sent me an

011image that looks almost exactly like that, saying, "It's so exciting the building I'm going to be working on. I see these kids on the field right now. So, um, with that, I do want to, um, sort of think about our students as we then transition into our conversation about the budget, right, and continue that dialogue about where we're going for setting appropriate priorities for fiscal year 27. So, I just want to remind ourselves, oh, I was one more image. Sorry. Whoops. I don't know my own deck. So, well, uh, so excited that we had the Welch's, uh, thank a teacher award sweep stakes that went to Miss Ireie at West just this month, the past Monday. Uh, it was a surprise for her and, uh, really a great honor, a tribute to her excellent teacher

012leadership. Uh, and the way in which she's connecting with students at West and so it's a great way to honor an amazing teacher. I want to share with you as well. Uh, sorry. So, moving on then to the budget. uh and uh a recap of what Miss Posley and I shared just this past Tuesday night. Uh and really, you know, when I've been before the board both in September and October, I've mentioned that we can already we already predicting pressures on our budget for fiscal year 27. And I'm pleased that in November, we are able to bring you details so that we can act upon them. And if you recall in September and October, I mentioned that the pressures that we felt were fixed costs. And you can see those in the first lines all

013the way down through the prescription rates. Those are the costs associated with the the contracts that we have with our staff. And um you know that they're unless we make any other changes, those will be the costs for uh that are fixed. They're just part of our bargaining agreements, part of the compensation plans that we have for our staff. And uh you can see how much of the uh the available funds that we have for next year uh first you know foremost get you know sort of applied to uh those fixed costs and then you know when I've then before the board the past two months I've also mentioned that you know we see pressures related to necessities uh such as improving the cleanliness of our buildings as well as our capital plan uh that

014we need to carve out money specific for capital which is really just I think the responsible thing to do for our buildings. So, I know how much the board uh supports the the, you know, the work that we need to do to make sure that we maintain a warm, safe, dry learning environment for our students. And then finally, I've mentioned that we want to make sure that we have available funds for meeting our curriculum needs. And so, through our phase 1 and phase 2 planning and even beyond what you see here, we continue to need to make sure that we are updating our curriculum materials appropriately for our students. And that brings us to this challenge, right? And it's a challenge we can step up to. It's a challenge we can solve. And particularly we

015could solve it by um trying to figure out you know think through what are our potential solutions and so I won't repeat uh all that we talked about on Tuesday night but just the overall categories is that you know the challenge that that we are taking on is to make sure that we identify first savings that are furthest from the classroom and help to continue to promote our priorities. um that we consider how attrition could support um adjusting our spending, but it's a consideration because again we go back to that first bullet about starting with uh savings that are furthest away from the classroom. Um but that does mean that at the same time we might have to consider some you know changes that would affect the classroom. So I don't want to like uh

016to make up this type of difference that we aren't talking about the classroom at all. It's really that we start by looking furthest away from the classroom. uh and then you know in implementing greater efficiencies and multi-year budget projections will all help us with this and it's really an opportunity for a dialogue right we're starting we're having I think a bold courageous conversation here in November so that we can think this through and we you know the the problem we can see in the distance it's a problem that we could solve by working on it and making sure we're ready for having that the right budget proposal for you as board members in May and that's why we're having this conversation now and really focusing on how can we make sure that we address our

017priorities which is really what this is about. Uh and you know I I appreciate opening this dialogue and and bringing more of these potential solutions to the board in the coming months. Obviously this will be a topic that we stay up on as we continue to move forward and a key part of this will be hearing from the community. So, I just want to remind community members who might be tuning in tonight that on December 8th, we will have a daytime session at 9:30 at evening session at 6 p.m. Uh the second of my community conversations this year. And again, what people would should expect is that we want to bring some proposals uh before you. just a pressure test to to bring some ideas for what would it mean to adjust um our our

018spending so that we can continue to uh to drive towards uh the the type of budget we need to bring to the board in May uh to meet our priorities and so we want to bring some ideas and and get some feedback from the community. It's really vital for this process and I'm excited to hear reactions and thoughts and additional ideas, right? ideas that I might not even have. And I've had an even since Tuesday, I've had an opportunity to talk with various staff members. And what I keep saying to them when people say, you know, I'm glad we've opened this conversation because I have an idea. I see something that we could do. I see something we could shift. And it's all in service of my core belief that none of us are as

019smart as all of us. None of us are as smart as all of us. all of us looking at this problem together and figuring it out will bring us to the best solution as we continue to uh to bring the best budget forward that we possibly can for board approval in Maine. So, I'm looking forward to that community conversation and all the other dialogue that we will have about the budget going forward. I do want to shift now to talking about the high school renovation project and the contract that the board has before you tonight. Uh we talked about this at the facilities meeting on Tuesday night, but I just want to um briefly go back over what is before the board tonight is a proposal for conceptual design for the high school renovation project.

020And I think this is an important step to take because we know we still need to continue to move forward with addressing the capital needs of this district. We know that roofs need to be repaired and replaced. We know that HVAC systems don't last forever. And so it's the it's a responsible thing to do to uh move forward and not delay a planning for what we need to improve at the high school. But in light of our fiscal posture, in light of these budget challenges, we need to do it in a very thoughtful way. So, we're starting with this modest contract before the board tonight for $17,500 to begin conceptual design, which will allow our chosen our recommended uh architectural firm KCBA to start work looking at existing documentation. That on-site assessment is so critical

021because we don't we need to fully understand what's behind the walls. How much improvement do we need to make to existing systems will really help us understand the size of the budget that we need to bring before the board. Keeping in mind that we put out a proposal we ask for cost proposals of 50 65 and $80 billion from the architectural firms. So we need to narrow in on what is that number exactly. Um and again that fits with what we're trying to do u related to the overall budget. So on-site assessment is critically important. It actually again the contract is approved tonight. It starts tomorrow. Um I'm so excited that KCPA is ready to jump in with both feet. Uh and [clears throat] it's not just with KCPA, it is also with their MEP

022subcontractor or partner if you will, um Snyder Associates, who will be on site tomorrow afternoon to really begin this this um assessment process that we you know vitally need. [snorts] We also really need to hear from the community about priorities. And so those programming workshops that will include our students, our faculty, administration, parents, community members, um will all be part of this process and to look at some different options with the board. Uh and then look at that that schedule phasing as well as estimation for uh reooking at what will be our our priorities for this project. So I'm excited about this opportunity to move ahead. Um, I think that this is a a thoughtful way to approach this project. Um, that says, uh, you know, we we need to make sure we balance all

023of our our needs and priorities to to get this project right as we move forward. And you might be wondering what's that that image in the lower right hand corner. Um, you can see uh, Miss Wakawi Smith, Mr. Watowski Smith in the uh, center of the image. This is one of our on-site visits in Downing Town where we went to go look with our architectural our recommended architectural firm at uh, the project that they had completed there. And you can see how lively it was with students, faculty members. You see Miss Latari from the high school um in that image. Uh students and uh the architects. It was just a really great way to assess the work of the architects. Um and you know was there I don't see you in the image. I do

024apologize but it was a lot of us there right to uh to fit into one picture. I stood up and just raised my arm up to uh to capture the moment. Uh but uh it was really through a lot of diligence that brought us to this point and I look forward to uh to moving ahead after tonight as well. Uh just a little bit more information for you. Uh today actually is an important day for the administration here in uh Wallingford Sworthmore and my colleagues who are in the room uh have their rice smiles on their faces right now because you know one of the things that's really important to me is that we take the big projects that we're working on together and break them down into the the the milestones the steps that

025we need to take to make sure that we are delivering for our students. Right? Our students are counting on us to make things better for them. And sometimes in my experience days can get eaten up in administration. There's always a phone call. There's always something going on. And we could get to June and say, well, how much of our we set out to do some things this year? We do them. And what we've shifted amongst our team is to say, we're breaking the year down into into quarters uh and setting goals for ourselves. And it's kind of like the holidays coming up. You know, company's coming. So, we're kind of accountable to each other. So, today was a party in B226 to say we drew a line and said, by today, what are each of

026our milestones? What are we trying to get done by today? and um we do what we call a stock take. We take stock of our progress. So we just had this discussion today and I I just want to call out a few examples of the types of things that we're getting done. We have the drafting of our equity policy underway that will be bringing before the policy committee. Uh a lot of our work is, you know, taking stock of how we're continuing projects like our use of data and teacher collaboration. Uh my last one of my last slides coming up is a reminder of when you'll start hearing from the schools starting next month. We'll have the principles and students and faculty members coming to our board meetings and we'll have a chance to hear

027from them right about their data use about teacher collaboration uh that's happening in their schools. And so you know today is a day for us to say how many meetings have happened at the high school for example and what type of dialogue is going on at Wes um using data and professional learning communities. So, um, excited about the progress we're making there. And then, you know, uh, that's something else we set out to do by this date in November is to say we need to make sure we're offering professional development for our teachers on the STEAL standards, the statewide new science, technology, uh, engineering standards. And really pleased that that happened. And not only did it happen, we assessed the impact of it, right? Like how do we know that that's making a difference for

028our teachers? and we shared those results uh with our leadership team to make sure we keep providing high quality professional development for our teachers, our professional staff members. And then finally uh and they're all I just picked a few and aligned them to the pathways that they relate to. Uh today's the day that we set as a deadline for ourselves to completing the electronic devices evaluation plan and we will be sharing more with the board in my next update to the form of March about the implementation of the updated electronic devices policy per my goals. We'll also have a end of year update in June. So, we know what the um evaluation plan is. It get started uh as soon as December actually. And in our meeting today, we went over to make sure the

029principles are ready to implement the plan. Um and I'm excited about moving it forward. And it's a plan that, you know, can continue to evolve. So, we'll be also reaching out to uh partners in the community to get some some more feedback on it. But it's a it's in a steady place right now where we can begin implementation of the evaluation of the new electronic device the updated electronic devices policy. So just want to bring you a moment of frankly joy uh for me from on the administration side of the work we're getting done and just a lot of positivity and momentum as we move forward in the school year. So finally like I mentioned uh we do have board presentations coming up from the schools. We did change the order so that each year

030you have a different school perhaps going first. So, uh, Mr. Call will be here next month. And we've asked the elementary principles in particular to divide up who's talking about which aspect of the curriculum that we've implemented this year. So, I know that, uh, Mr. Crawl, I think, is talking about arts and letters, um, if I'm remembering correctly. And so, when he comes, he'll talk about that SRS, MPD, they'll take either, uh, reveal or uh, the 95% group. those materials that this board has invested in. I really want to make sure that as part of their presentations, they're sharing with you the progress that they're making implementing those new curriculum materials. So, um finally, uh another community forum is coming up in December, also December 11th. Uh we will have a community forum on AI.

031Um as we look to bring forward one of our goals for this year is to begin drafting an AI policy for the policy committee. And again, this is just emblematic of how we want to lead, whether it's related to the budget or related to policy development. We want that community input. We want staff input. And so, our technology team has surveyed our middle school and high school staff and students. Another critical component to developing ideas for the policy will be this forum. So, if you're interested in talking about AI and how we can use it in education, please consider coming to our forum on December 11th. I think you'll enjoy the lively discussion that our technology team has planned for that that evening. So with that, Mr. Henry, I'm glad to pause and uh see

032if there any questions from board so far. >> Okay. Thank you, Dr. Johnson. Are there any questions from the board? I'll start please. >> Just for clarification, um when you were talking about the architect starting tomorrow potentially, you also mentioned Snider, the MEP person. What does MEP mean? >> Sure. Uh, and I'm a little nervous talking about it with an experienced uh trans person in the in the room right now. Uh, mechanical engineering. >> Mechanical electrical plumbing. Thank you. Thank you, Chief. I do appreciate that. >> It's why the audience. [laughter] And then I did also I do have I just want to say like I have a lot of questions about like the cleaning contract. >> I understand that we we definitely want to keep the buildings cleaner. It's been a struggle. We talked

033about that in finance facilities. I would just for the just for future reference I personally would love to know a little bit more like we we often try to benchmark against other districts. you know, do they spend what do what do they spend? But even like what of what percentage of their budget do they spend, you know, like both in like that kind of raw dollar term, but also in a um comparative to their budget. >> True. >> Um you know, and it of course it depends on how many buildings they have and things like that. And I mean you need to think about it. [laughter] You really need to think about that. So I just would appreciate as much as uh you know a little bit more context. >> Okay. um on on the

034cleaning contract. Um, I don't know if this is putting the horse before the park, but will it is it because we've just need more people or is the contract ending and will we be going out for bids to see if other companies can provide the same service or better for less money? It is actually both. So we are going out for proposals uh this winter because the contract is ending and it gives us an opportunity to think about what do we want to ask for in this contract and what Mr. Maloney has uh brought to our facilities meetings is an analysis of our square footage and how much how many staff members how many custodians do you need cleaning relative to our our square footage. And there's a he he has spoken to more members

035uh in that committee meeting about the um the formula that Pasbo has or the Pasbo is the business officials association for the state and he has explained that if you looking at that formula we seem to be understaffed with the current contract and so we are considering what it would mean to increase to what we would put out for proposals would include uh you know a request to show us what would it take in the way of staffing to clean our buildings more adequately and it's really a question of is that a priority for us is it a priority for us to invest more in cleanly and you know as we've mentioned before we know that what that might mean of extra costs and extra then that would require some other allocation our budget to

036make more potential funds okay I will hand it back to you next that's Dr. There you go. >> Hello. Good evening everyone. My name is Le. Um I'm a member of the um office of teaching learning and innovation and today I'm going to share an overview of our 2025 state assessment data and in order to do that I just wanted to frame the four parts of this particular presentation. So in this presentation I'm using kind of a finger framing technique because in the world of photography it allows us both permission and the expectation to focus on something deeply recognizing that there are other things that are happening in other corners of analysis. And so throughout this presentation, there's four places that we're going to zoom in on and then by the end of the presentation,

037we'll be able to zoom out in a in a summitive way. So we're going to talk about student achievement in terms of PSSA and Keystone results on the 2025 assessments. We're going to talk about student growth on PEOS assessments. And I'm going to give a very highle overview of how we fared in terms of growth. I'm going to talk about something called the Pennsylvania Future Ready Index, which is like a report card of school, a report card uh uh on schools of sorts. And then I'm going to talk about building level scores, which are really like a summary number. So, by the end of this presentation, hopefully you'll know something about all four of these things. And there is much to be proud of in this district because of the hard work our students, our

038teachers, and our building administrators. So the first piece of information I wanted to share is about 2025 achievement data. And so this data, just to orient us to the graphic, if something is highlighted in blue, it means 75% of our students or more achieved advanced or proficient performance levels. If you see green, it means 50 to 74% of our students achieved either advanced or proficiency. If you see yellow, it means 25 to 49% of students scored advanced or proficient. And if red existed, that would be fewer than 25% of our students. So, this achievement data captures how students who took the Keystone in the winter of 2025 and how students who took the Keystone and the PSSA in the spring of 2025 did on average on that test. And so as we can see from

039this data, WSSD students are high performing and on average they outperformed statewide um results for advanced and proficient scores. And so I will also highlight that these achievement results were discussed in more detail during the October Educational Affairs Committee. So if you're interested in even more detailed achievement breakdowns, I would encourage you to go back and look at that particular presentation. Also shared during the October Educational Affairs Committee is the fact that while our students on average are very high achieving, not all student groups are achieving proficiency to the same degree. So, we see that WSSD students in the black, African-American, economically disadvantaged, and special education student groups, which I remind us are the three student groups that we've highlighted in our strategic and comprehensive plan, have lower average percentage of students who scored proficient

040or advanced when compared to the overall population of our district. And again, this information around achievement was discussed in much more detail in the October educational affairs committee where we had also given details about what the school and the district are doing in light of that information. And so this is the new information to share today. And so the visual that you see right now highlights academic growth in WSSD based on something that's called PEOS. And PEOS stands for the Pennsylvania value added assessment system. And so PEOS describes how students on average achieved predicted growth. And so it's a metric where we think about there's a prediction, a benchmark for all students. And after students take a standardized assessment in Pennsylvania, we ask the question, did students achieve as we predicted them to achieve based

041on all of their standardized testing history within the state of Pennsylvania. And we can see from this particular graphic that overall our students met or exceeded our expectations for growth. So the growth expectations generally describe one years of expected uh expected growth. Just as we talk about disagregated data related to achievement, we also discuss disagregated data as it relates to growth. So the meaning of the colors on this slide are the same as on the previous slide. So just to orient us, dark blue means well above expectations in terms of meeting growth expectations. Pale blue means above expectations. Green means meeting expectations. Yellow means below expectations. And red, if any existed on this chart, is consider is considerably below expectations. The amount of blue and green on this chart is something that is truly worth

042celebrating. So all of our students on average with the exception of two small pockets of student groups have met or exceeded their growth expectations. So how can schools use this information? We can use this information in three ways. One is backward-looking information on student learning. So we analyze and reflect on how well instruction served a group of students or individually and we ask did students perform as they were expected to. This information also allows us to look forward on individual students. So now that we have this information, new projections get set for future years. So we can ask ourselves how is a student expected to perform on future assessments and what can we do to encourage and support students um in the best way possible. And then PEOS information and growth information also gives schools

043information about our programs. So how are our instructional programs serving particular groups of students? Are there students who are serving particularly well and we can build on that success? Are there students who are not growing as much as we would expect? So growth data allows us to make informed decisions on both programmatic as well as student level experiences in the district. The next piece that I'm going to share is about the Pennsylvania Future Ready Index. So, the Pennsylvania Future Ready Index is a very public-f facing um report card on schools for all intents and purposes. So, the future ready index has not yet been updated for the public. It's typically updated in mid to late November, but when this index goes live, you will be able to see a collection of progress measures. You'll be

044able to see achievement information and you'll also be able to see growth information both how much students achieved as well as if we are trending in kind of in the right direction which I can share with you we are um the future ready index looks at and functions like a dashboard and gives us information about banked best scores on keystone exams. I'll talk about that in one second. It gives us achievement scores related to PSSAs on the year students take the PSSA. It gives us student group achievement trends. It gives us attendance and graduation data. It gives us early indicators of success which in Pennsylvania is grade three reading and grade seven math. It also gives us information about college and career readiness. So, I will highlight that the future ready index is a lagging

045indicator. So, there's results that will be released um again, they're typically released in mid to late November and they reflect information from the previous year's junior class related to the future ready index. On the administrative side, there are pieces of the index that uh that we are able to see as a school district in advance of its release. And there's one piece in particular that I'm going to highlight and that is the banked or best scores on keystones for Strath Haven High School. And the reason that I'm going to highlight them is um is twofold. one, you will notice that the achievement information presented on that first slide for the number of students who kind of sat in a chair and took a keystone for the first time. You'll notice that percentage is lower than

046what's listed on here. And I want to explain why what contributes to that. So, a few details about the keystones. Keystone exams are end of course assessments that occur at the end of algebra 1, regardless of where you take it. They occur at the end of English 2 and they occur at the end of biology regardless of when you take that particular course. Not yet proficient students can retake the Keystone exam multiple times all the way through the end of their junior year. That's why those achievement numbers look different. And the best Keystone exam scores are the only ones that count. And so whatever is your best score, that's what's included here in this future ready index. So what this means is that 82.5% of Strat Haven students earned a score of proficient or advanced

047on their literature keystone exam. And that um that student group is is this year seniors. And the same applies for math. The same method. [clears throat] This means that 72.1% of students earned a score of proficient by the end of their 11th grade year, by the end of their junior year in math. You'll notice the Keystone biology is grayed out and that is because there is a shift in standards that is occurring. So, the first time the Keystone biology test will give us information is in the spring of 2026. So, we will see that information in the future when we're doing this kind of analysis. In addition to the overall information, we look at disagregated information as well. So you'll notice the pattern in this presentation. How did all of our students do? And then

048how did we look deeper at individual student groups as compared to the whole of the student population. And one of the things that you will notice is that we do continue to see um we continue to see an achievement gap that exists. Um while we celebrate that all of these students met or exceeded growth expectations, they did not grow enough to eliminate those historical achievement gaps. And one of the things that as a district we are committed to doing is continuing to look at this data and this information and narrow the achievement gap by students not just meeting or exceeding their growth projections but also moving more students to proficiency. I've shared a lot of information and so is there any kind of summary is what is the bottom line about our schools and how

049our schools are fair. So yes there is. So the bottom line about schools is something called the ACT 13 building level score which was recently released. So ACT 13 building scores they're attached to educator evaluation. They're also published in different media outlets and they're sometimes used to rank order schools. So building level scores attempt to summarize a school's overall performance on a 100point scale and they compress a lot of the information that we just talked about into a single numeric score. And so the breakdown of the ACT 13 building score is 40% is achievement information which we just talked about in some of the earlier slides. 40% is growth. And if you remember we had considerable blue and green that our students as a whole as well as our student groups are meeting or exceeding

050growth expectations as well as attendance and graduation for the high school. If you don't have an um if you don't have a graduation factor, then attendance counts twice. There's also a challenge multiplier based on the percent of economically disadvantaged students who are in your population. So the more students who are economically disadvantaged in a district, the higher the multiplier. So that being said, our buildings have exceptionally high building level scores this year. And so part of the reason that the scores are what they are is many of the buildings had a trifecta of success. And by this trifecta of success, I mean that there was average high achievement in our overall student population. We had average high growth across our student population and we had high growth among our student groups. And so knowing that

051we can say this in summary, these are the four big takeaways on data in Wallingford at this moment. Our scores show high achievement overall, high growth overall, and high growth among student groups. The district continues to prioritize experience that support increased achievement and continued growth. So we have the trifecta. The fourth component is increasing the number of students who are proficient and increasing the level of proficiency. And we see that captured in the second bullet point. Achievement is within some grades and student groups closer to minimum proficiency than we would ideally like. And so as a district having additional students who are proficient andor increasing the proficiency scores of those already proficient continues to be an on an ongoing goal. We aren't just looking about how do we grow the bubble kids. How do we

052grow all kids? Because all means all. We recognize that achievement gaps exist among historically marginalized student groups who on average and proudly wonderfully are meeting growth expectations. However, like with most achievement gaps, they are not growing enough to eliminate the gaps. So, interrupting those gaps is a continued priority by both supporting continued growth and raising the bar for proficiency. And then the final point, WSSD is working to be increasingly responsive to data in systematic, systemic, and individualistic ways so that we can make decisions supporting achievement and growth in ways that continue to be thoughtful and targeted and actionoriented. To that end, this presentation is a part of a larger effort to build and sustain that culture. And so I wanted to thank you for your time to be able to provide this this overview and

053happy to answer any questions. >> Thank you Dr. Prep. I will also just remind everyone mentioned earlier want to see a more detailed discussion particular action plans uh watch the last educational affairs I mean that's correct right yes >> I just start at this see if any board members have any questions >> no I just think that it was wonderful presentation it It builds your commitment to analyzing data and making it so that it's friendly, consumer friendly, like we can understand what's going on and and it's a a treat. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Pratt, so much for your information and to make it very clear for us so that we can understand uh how our students are doing. I think it's it's very helpful for us to see this in the manner that

054you presented and uh I'm just thrilled really at growth and you know that the growth of our students across the board in every subgroup has been is I have to give lots of thanks to our teachers and building administrators because they are the boots on the ground and without them we wouldn't have this focus growth for our kids. And so I am so grateful to our teachers and our building staff for creating this uh really wonderful uh growth for our students. And then just to echo the idea of growth across the overall population as well as across all student groups is something that that districts really strive for that our our teachers, our students, our building administrator should be applauded for like for the trifecta that is hard to it's hard to attain. They they

055worked really hard to do breakfast kits. >> Thank you very much. Um I I do have a question about the app 13 scores, but I think that you are you going to be presenting a I think we're doing a deeper dive in this week the future at a fairs meeting for >> our plan actually is to bring uh map data to some of the um assessment data but not benchmark assessment. >> Okay, then I'll just ask briefly now. So um in looking at these act 13 scores is it possible to tease out attendance data for schools? So in other words the components of that total score then you tease them out. >> Yes. Yeah. Where there's data there's a way. Right. >> Where there's data there's a way. And in the most positive way possible

056as soon as future ready index scores are released to the public the public will be able to see a dashboard. And that dashboard will have two really important pieces of attendance data. One, it will have the 2033 attendance goal by the state. So that's the mark you're always kind of comparing yourself up against. And then the percentage of attendance for each of the five schools. And in looking at that data kind of as a precursor to this meeting attendance data in each of our five schools is upward of 93% in each of those buildings. Um so our our attendance data is strong overall. Um, thank you so much for this as always. >> The future ready index when that becomes available to the public. Is that somewhere on the PDE website? >> It is. >>

057Search it. Just put that name in. If you go to your web browser and type in PA future ready index, it will be the top hit that you get in any internet browser. So before I came, I double checked that in Chrome and Safari and it was the first website that pops up if you just type PA future ready index. >> You were ready for my question more than I was. Um and and just I if I were to go back and and look at these slides again, >> the one that shows the growth with you know all the colors the the mostly the blues. Yeah, that one. So when we say meets expectations, that's like a student starts at like um they they increase a year's worth of growth of learning where you expect

058them to be by the end of the year. But the light blue means that they perhaps they were a little bit less than where they should have been. Then they they boosted up and say they actually met where they should have been by the end of the year. Like it's like like they they grew more than their one year's worth of right is that is that what that means? >> That is exactly what that means. And I'll just restate it um in case it might be helpful. When we think about growth, this is about prediction. So there is someone's standardized testing history that all comes together through a very complex statistical model and creates a prediction for every individual student and then all of those predictions are averaged together and that becomes the school's prediction.

059After somebody takes the PSSA or the Keystone, we take all of their scores and we say on average, this is how they were predicted to achieve. This is how they actually achieved. And then based on that information, we say they met expectations. And meeting expectations is the norm. In one year, you want all of your kids to meet expectations. If this chart were all green, that would still be worth us celebrating. The expectation is to meet your growth goal. The fact that our students not only met but exceeded the growth goal, their score after they took the assessment was higher across all of these groups than it was expected to be. Thank you. Um I I would like to thank you both for the Edair's presentation and tonight's presentation because um at least in my

060experience, this is the most kind of cohesive, transparent presentation of data that I've seen. Um and I think it's really important that you know we're going to be able to use this as we go forward making decisions and so have an important unified spot. It's organized and easy to access. I really think it's great for us as board members. So, thank you for that. Um, and for those act 13 and the building level scores that do those were amazing. Some of those buildings made huge jumps and they're all doing really well. And so, you know, that's just a testament to the hard work of, you know, the students, the teachers, the building administrators are putting in. So, goes to them for for that hard work. And thank you. Absolutely. In addition to everything everyone has

061already said, um I I do want to as as we're making decisions moving forward about how we're going to close um the projected um budget challenges, how we're going to think about, you know, how we're um staying true to our strategic plan and so forth. You know, tonight we're voting on um the equity policy, first equity equity policy that we put together. And so I just want to um call out and remind us as we're prioritizing our investments and our focus to remember that we still have that gap um in achievement and our equity. We we're putting a stake in with our equity policy. Um I think that state was already there, but we need to hold ourselves accountable to that moving forward as we make really important decisions and prior prioritize respect. So simply

062wanted to end that. >> All right. >> Okay. Uh did what everyone said, Dr. Pratt. Thank you very much. Any other further questions? No. All right. Thank you, Dr. That was great. >> Thank you. Moving on now to uh board announcements. The board did meet in executive session prior to this board meeting. Uh now moving on to audience recogn audience recognition and response to items for action on the agenda. Uh this is the time on the agenda where we give an opportunity for public comment for items on the agenda. We will have time later for topics not on the agenda. Uh as a reminder, public comment is a time for district residents and taxpayers to speak to the board about an issue that is before the board or maybe come before the board. It is

063a time for us to listen, hear perspective and experiences from our community. Uh we don't often have time to answer questions at the meeting, but we will always uh follow up and have opportunity after uh if there's a specific question. Uh again, we don't have a lot of people here, so we know there's a threem minute limit. I'll tell you one more than one minute left. Um, and the public has also reminded that this is not the appropriate venue for discussing matters that directly relate to any individual student whether you're a child or not or any concern about an individual staff member. Uh, a reminder also when you go up to the podium, please state your full name and the name of the street you live on which you live in our district. Is there

064anyone who would like to speak tonight about a topic one please uh Dave Sarat Morris Lane it's really not on the agenda it was a part of the presentation I think it might better um serve the public if we explained that first number that was on the sheet with all the dollars because it did we didn't explain to anyone what the $2,568,000 represented. That's all. Thank you. Thank you. Uh is there anybody else who would like to speak about a matter on the agenda? Okay, moving on to the minutes. Our next item for action on the agenda tonight is approval of agend discussion on the minutes. Okay. Uh this motion second call. >> Mrs. Delay. >> Hi. >> Dr. Grande. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Hullberg. >> Hi. Mrs. Wartman. >> Hi, >> M. Ret. >>

065Hi, >> Mrs. Williams. >> Hi, >> Mr. Smith. >> Hi, >> Mr. Henry. >> Hi. >> Motion passes 8 to zero. Great. Thank you. Uh, moving on to board committee reports. As a reminder, educational affairs facility and finance and policy committee uh meetings are on our YouTube channel so you can get the latest on there. We had a finance and facilities meeting about two days ago. Uh, talked a lot about budget. So I encourage everyone to watch those as well as the last uh at affairs meetings expand on what Dr. Pranch just presented. So we will jump down to wellness advisory and Mrs. Olay or Dr. Brandy. >> Yes, the the uh wellness advisory committee met on October 27th. Uh the committee reviewed the function of the wellness committee reviewed the 2024 2025 trial trienal

066report. Um, so this is an assessment that is a review of local school wellness policy conducted every three years and required by the USDA. It includes compliance, a review of progress and review of policy language. So just a a brief statement about the results. So, we talked about several areas that the district is addressing such as serving breakfast, monitoring indoor air quality, not withholding physical activity as a punishment, for example, taking away recess, and encouraging people to walk from school. So, based on assessment results, the committee will develop goals for 2026 through 2028 during our J20. Uh the committee also reviewed the uh CHOP policy lab school nursing department review and this was discussed in detail during our also our October Edair's meeting uh which included suggested next steps. So this review connects to strategic

067plan pathway number four. Uh the findings included that WSSD school nurses are respected but overstretched. Improvements are needed in staffing, integration within the school environment, use of electronic health records and supervision, and drawing on national guides and research, the report calls for empowering nurses as public health professionals beyond direct care by laying the groundwork for long-term systemwide health promotion and surveillance. Also, October was sudden cardiac arrest awareness month. So, we've reviewed some statistics. Um it was mentioned that all of our buildings have a s or automated external circulators. Staff were provided videos and lesson plans. The role of the cardiac emergency response team orert was discussed and this is a designated team that's trained to be in CPR and A use and also overseas training. And then last but not least, we discussed staff wellness.

068And so there is a vertical team in place to examine this and uh some ideas were elicited from the wellness committee members in attendance and I'll just say support things were mentioned so I'm not sure what that could possibly look like but stay tuned. That's it for wellness. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. All right moving on to uh Pennsylvania School Board Association and Miss Watsowski Smith please. Hi. Um, the uh PSBA uh did survey all of the superintendents in the state of Pennsylvania and the entire report can be found at the PSBA website. And these are just some highlights from a survey. Um this is the third year in a row that this that superintendent said their biggest challenge uh continues to be students mental health needs, uh budget pressures, and staffing shortages.

069So that's that's what's being seen across the state. More than three quarters of school districts reported having at least one building in need of major repair or replacement, the percentage of survey respondents citing uh school facility issues as the challenge that has nearly doubled since 2023. So schools are in disrepair across the Commonwealth. uh mandatory chargeable tuition payments as we have heard uh are also the top source of budget pressure for six cone consecutive year. Um more than 80% of school districts reported uh experiencing a scarcity of qualified mental health care providers in their communities making it a challenge for schools to make those connections children. Um, also, uh, Pennsylvania continues to be one of the highest, uh, states with local, uh, educational funding being the primary source of education and not receiving money from

070state or federal sources. As a matter of fact, we're fourth in reliance on local resources for funding schools. Other states do much better job, Pennsylvania, uh, including district budget. So uh there's a an increase also of the state man mandated costs uh for uh children that school must employ and that mandated gap between what programs that new programs new initiatives are being required for schools to do such as economics education high school and those kinds of things. Uh the gap is more than $4 billion that schools need to shoulder for these initiatives that our representatives come up with as ideas. All right. Infrastructure again uh lack of state reimbursement for uh school improvements used to take place. There used to be a system called plan con. It still exists. Uh however, it has not been

071funded since 2019. So no one's getting that money. Although little bit some funding is now included in this just passed budget that includes some bit of money that schools can apply for. So maybe maybe there's some we'll see. Anyway, that is what superintendents across the Commonwealth are in their report. The rest of it can be seen at the PSBA site. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you. Okay, moving on to the Delaware County Community College leazison, Mr. Miller. He's he's uh the city, so no report this month. Uh next is the Delaware County Intermediate Unit and Mrs. B. >> The DCI search for an executive director has been put on hold for a variety of reasons. We expect to restart the process after the new year. The current executive director is not planning to retire until

072August 2026, so we have plenty of time. Um, DCU DCIU along with the intermediate units across the Commonwealth are working with the office of child development and early learning to ensure that early intervention funding funding, which supports preschool age children with disabilities, is fully funded upfront each year. The recently passed budget does backfill the program's $25 million deficit for the previous fiscal year. Not only are early intervention services a legal and moral obligation, research also shows that highquality early intervention services reduce the need for more intensive special education later, saving costs for school districts and taxpayers while improving outcomes for children. Finally, DCIU is working with WSSD to support WSSD's Medicaid access pilot program, which under certain conditions partially reimburses school districts for providing health related services required under a student's IEP. These may include

073services such as physical or occupational therapy, nursing, and personal care assistance, or other health related services. >> Thank you, Mr. Now moving on to the Delaware County School Board's legislative council and this is Law. >> Okay. I u looking at the report from uh November 5th, I'm counting at least eight of those unfunded mandates in terms of uh bills that have been introduced. Um the the minutes will reflect like the the full update, but just a couple um of particular interest. Um Senate Bill 1014's been introduced. It would require school entities to adopt a bell-to-bell uh phone free policy by 2026 2027 school year. That did receive um in prior versions um a good bit of commentary from other school districts uh representatives um who would find this very difficult to implement. I may or

074may not have suggested that they perhaps talk to folks at WSSD while we don't have a a full ban yet. Um, I did encourage them to to speak to members of our community uh about, you know, how how wondering to move in this direction. Um, interestingly, there there's another house bill has been introduced about DEDs and it's nice to hear um that we're already in compliance with what this would require, although it would add um CPR training requirements in a 9th and 11th grade for student health. So, um let's see. Um also to a point that uh you made Mary Joe um this house bill 1701 passed the house has been referred to Senate education. It would require PE to establish a statewide inventory and condition assessment of all public school buildings. Um recognizing that

075our our buildings are failing um across the Commonwealth. And we'll we'll end with that. That's the adjustment. Okay. >> Thank you so much. All right. Now moving on to u personnel. We have 12 items for action personnel. Are there any items on this list anyone on the board would like to separate from the rest of? Okay. Seeing none, we have resignations of retirements, appointments, leave of absence, direct payments, change of salary status, 2025 2026 mentors appointments, 2025 2026 conference requests. 2025 2026 curricular supplementals, 2025 2026 winter athletic supplementals, 2025 2026 activities supplementals, and 2025 2026 activities advisor appointments and the Chester County Intermediate Unit. All items in this section are as attached [clears throat] or described in the agenda. Do I have a motion to approve? >> So moved. >> Does the work? Thank you.

076Do I have a second? >> Second, >> Williams. Thank you. Uh any discussion on items of personnel? I'll start with >> Okay, see please. >> Um yes, so regarding item L, the Chester County intermediate contract. So it was helpful for me for Johnson to follow and ask some questions about this contract. So um I think it might be also helpful a little bit more about um why this contract why now what is it? So uh when I came to the district uh I actually used some of the techniques that I we had used in my previous job at the state level for really assessing where the district is at in terms of its structures, its systems, its processes that are in place. Um in my old job, we conducted reviews of districts and so I

077used our district protocol to ask each of the department heads, the directors from with our uh district to share with me what systems we have in place and where we might have gaps. That's how you know we've really been able to have a clear conversation for me at least starting in the role around what's in place and what needs to be in place. So we've talked for example about the need for more curriculum planning and a curriculum review cycle and that's something that was known but it's good to just have it clear to all of us clear to the board about a need that we have there. Um HR was an important function that we I looked at when I arrived and Dr. ly even if I hadn't done that review also knew that we

078needed to invest more in the infrastructure of HR for our school district and uh you know I appreciate the work that she's doing but she too stepped into a role where there wasn't where there weren't systems already in place so things like an employee handbook things like updating job descriptions and even though that sounds a little boring maybe to think about as a necessary uh ingredient in the work that we do. Uh when issues come up, uh you need those type of things. You need to be able to point to a handbook to say this is actually our standard for the the the practices of our employees in our in our school district. Um you know, getting an updated job description can really make sure that our job descriptions reflect the work that is in

079front of us now as opposed to years ago. And uh you know we in the same way that we're investing in other areas of of our civil district, we need to have some investment in HR to get those those things that those those um systems and processes in place that don't otherwise exist. And I think you know Dr. personally again has imperative system. They didn't even have them to begin with. Um or they are so out of date that they really need that extra investment to bring like the job descriptions we have that need to be brought out date or an an employee handbook that we don't have at all. Uh that needs to be built, you know, from the ground up. And so being able to um invest in this type of support is

080a one-time investment. It's not an ongoing investment. It's getting these things in place. And there might be more, right? So a concern that I have for example is that we don't have a diversity recruiting procedure for our district and that takes work and that takes training of our hiring managers uh to to be stronger in that area. So the we have a list of things that we want uh the CCIU to accomplish for us now and it might be that we come back to ask for some more investment in this area but it's not ongoing. Once we get these things in place, we have them and we can continue to to operationalize them given the resources that we currently have invested in. So any sense in where the budget where budget buys their own? >>

081Certainly. I do. Uh so Dr. and I uh looked at this when I when we both felt very strongly that we need this type of investment uh one-time investment in the infrastructure and uh she had money in her budget but I also told her that I feel so strongly about this that I would use money for my budget uh for this as well and so money that is earmarked for example for professional development from the superintendent um I think is better spent on developing these type of infrastructure supports and so uh I've told her that I am willing to transfer money from my budget to pay for this cost. Okay, any further discussion? Okay, seeing none, uh, all items in a section are attached to describe the agenda. Uh, I have a motion to approve

082items A through L personnel. Get that discussing it roll. I just want to make sure everyone pay attention. particular. >> All right. [laughter] All right. Uh, Missing, if you please take a hold of all. >> Hi, >> Dr. Grande. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Hbert. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Watman. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Wet. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Williams. >> I miss Smith. >> Hi, >> Mr. Henley. >> I motion passes eight there. Thanks, Mr. Rosley. Keep me straight. Okay. Uh, moving on to policy. We have uh two items for action and policy. Are there any uh any items on the list that anyone on the board would like to separate from the rest? >> Okay. >> Um yes, please. >> Yes. Have um the equity policy. you to talk a little bit about the news

083statement and where we are with that. >> We can do that under discussion. >> I I was asking if there was anything anyone wanted to separate. >> But but certainly when I go and ask the questions ask >> okay. >> No, I don't have all right. See none. Do I have a motion approved? >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Um discussion >> on the equity policy if Dr. Johnson will give a little description of where we are with it and how we came up with this statement. >> Thank you, Miss Woodet. Absolutely. Um, [clears throat] you know, really again this grew out of the equity statement that we discussed at our last so the September policy meeting. I dropped forward the equity statement that served as sort of the foundation for the

084equity policy and I appreciated board member input on finalizing the statement and that statement then drove what we see here in terms of a policy that works to ensure the success of as worded here every one of our students and believe in that providing access to an equitable experience within the district is critical to facilitating such success. So really putting again like Miss Walkman said a stake in the ground to say this is what we believe in and it's uh it's firm and immovable. And what I particularly particularly appreciate about the policy is that it highlights the specific areas that the administration and the board together will continue to look at. Not only like the way that we looked at the data tonight, but our continual focus on things like the equitable administration of school-based

085discipline as being vitally important for the success of our students. uh the maintenance of high academic standards, ensuring equitable access to academic programs, uh making sure that the provision of resources and materials reflects the unique identity, values, the assets that our students bring to our school buildings, the promotion and well maintenance of welcoming and inclusive school environments. Um and the list uh goes on from there. There are in fact 10 um you know key provisions that we all say we are upholding these provisions as essential to the academic experience the learning experience we want to provide for our students and I really appreciate the work that our policy committee has done on this and our attorney at Diazio in capturing the spirit of what we are trying to attempt together as a board and an

086administration. >> It's like new answers maybe that question. Okay. Any further discussion on items? Uh >> we were very excited as a great night. >> It was a great night um to be on that committee and to be discussing that. It was putting it was codifying the work that we've been doing and you all just were thrilled to be part of it. Um uh I also uh would like to um thank our superintendent. Uh he was one thing that really struck me in the conversation was um they took it to our students and asked them what they thought about it and asked them for their input and made some changes based on their feedback. Um and it might seem small but it wasn't. we moved from language devoid of students at the beginning of of

087elements of of the the narrative that followed. Um and so I've seen you in so many instances um reaching out to the community and our students and not just um you know it's not performative um it's real and so I wanted to thank that and for making sure that this priority um actually uh any more discussion see none okay we have policies for first 3D has listed. We have policies for second. 3D has listed. We also do have uh administrative regulations that we that are listed but we don't there. Uh do I have a motion to approve? We did that. I miss uh motion. Would you please take a roll call? >> Mrs. Gole. >> I Dr. Grande. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Fbert. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Watman. >> Hi. >> Mixet. >> Hi. >>

088Williams. >> Hi. System counces H0. >> Thank you, Mr. Mosley. Moving on to curriculum. We have five items for approval of your curriculum. Uh, all items in the section are attached or described in the agenda agenda. Are there any items on the list that anyone of the board would like to separate from the rest under curriculum? Okay. Seeing none, we have Delta Math, Field Trips, Dorning Park Contract, Dr. Brett Chrisell, 2026, 2027 WSS school calendar. Uh, do I have a motion to approve curriculum items A through E? >> So move. >> Mrs. Williams, thank you. Do I have a second? >> Second, >> Mr. T Smith, thank you. Uh any discussion on curriculum? I'll start with >> I just wanted to say real quickly that even though we're voting on the 2026 2027 calendar at

089the following year this evening, we didn't talk at the committee about posting a start date for following school year to just um assist families with planning vacations and before that. So I just wanted to that. >> Yeah, thank thanks for that presentation. questions have a couple any other further discussion. >> Just one other thank you for the calendar is that we have many community members who really take the time to read through the calendar. It's a complicated process and uh letting us know when the holidays are and you know uh how the calendar affects their families and really appreciating the community input into the process. >> Any further discussion? What's up? I just want to um thank um Dr. Bad for her her her work. She she was put in the middle of the lake

090with one paddle and uh she got to the shore and um that's it. >> Well done, Dr. B. Got a visual now. All right. Well done. Uh, okay. Any more discussion? Seeing none, uh, please take a roll call vote. >> Mr. Dele, >> hi. >> Dr. Grande. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Tolbert. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Wattman. >> I miss Woodet. >> I, >> Mrs. Williams. >> I, >> Mrs. McCowsky Smith. >> Hi, >> Mr. Henry. >> Hi. >> Motion passes 8 to Z. >> Thank you. Now moving on to student services. We have two items for approval of student services. All items in the section are attached to describing the agenda. Any items on this list that anyone the board would like to separate from the rest student services? Seeing none, we have uh educational

091service agreements as listed and contract with Susanna Lack. Do I have a motion to approve uh the two items under student services? >> So move Smith. Thank you. I have a second. >> Second, Mrs. Wber. Thank you. Um any discussion? Okay, seeing none, uh, Mosley, would you please take a roll call? >> Mrs. Dole, >> hi. >> Dr. Grande, >> hi. >> Mrs. Hbert, >> hi. >> Mrs. Watton, >> hi. >> Mrs. Wet, >> I >> Mrs. Williams, >> I >> Mr. Kelsey Smith. >> Hi, >> Mr. Henry. >> Hi. >> Motion passes 8 to zero. Okay, >> thank you. Uh, moving on to facilities and finance. Finance and facilities. We have 12 items for approval under finance and facilities. Are there any items on this list anyone on the board would like to separate

092from the rest? Okay, see none, we have bills paid to vendors October 1st through October 31st, 2025. We have financial statements October 1st through October 31st 25. The treasures report October 1st through October 31st, 2025. budget transfers, new student activity accounts, food service monetary donations, KCBA contract, disposable disposal of district vehicles and grounds equipment, disposable disposal of surplus cafeteria equipment, disposal of surplus workshop equipment, CM3 building solutions and rate consulting services proposed Do I have a motion to approve the items under finance and facilities? >> Move. >> So, thank you. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you. Uh any discussion on items under finance facility? forward. >> Just wanted to thank the community members who have um contributed toward the um the donations toward a student balance. >> Hi. Um yes, and I just um want

093to say that you know a a report on the renovation update as it hits. So um as you've heard you know Dr. Johnston uh talked about the opportunity to uh vote on our architectural affirm determine the scope as they determine the scope of our project and as you have already heard that we had two finalists both excellent choices with extensive experience in the K12 sector. Our construction management team really hasn't been mentioned but has been part of this selection process as well. Um they attended interviews, they went teams with us, they worked buildings with us, they helped us uh evaluate architectural firms. The best piece of advice that we were given was that we needed to have someone who listened to us. So which architect would be the best at understanding what we were saying?

094And uh the firm that came to the top was uh KCBA. And they spent time, it was really their idea to chop this project into manageable chunks for us and that they could come in with a very small uh piece of the project and uh determine the scope based on that and charge us just for that piece. So that was their idea and we knew that that would be someone who could listen to us and help us uh decide what we need and what's go and where we would go with that. So I want to say that this has been as a member of this decision-making committee, the board has been represented through this entire process. Um there has been input from board members not just myself but board members who've attended the interviews have

095been part part of the walkthrough been part of all of it we've had students community members faculty people coming on these trips and looking so I think it was very transparent and that the work was of keeping the building warm safe dry and meeting learning needs of students was forefront in every step. So, I do recommend tonight that we uh approve. I'm going to that we vote in the affirmative for KCPA as our architectural firm as they've already demonstrated commitment to us. Um I also just wanted to add that CHA is also uh applying for this little bit of uh money that uh the state has. So, they've uh started looking for grants for us and actually starting the application process. So hopefully somebody out there is you know that CHA is also uh out

096there working for us as we have hired them as our management firm. So I just you know that as we will get updates on the scope of the project after we decide tonight um that we'll keep you posted. All right. Thank you. >> Thank you for the the comments and thank you for all your work as well. The other >> the other piece to that is that the dollar amount that we're voting for is incorporated in the entire price. So, it's not like we're paying out a separate piece. And that's something that a K E C A I get initials >> um that they um suggested and was part of their recommendation. So that was another big factor on us choosing them to represent our renovation of the high school. >> Okay. Any further discussion

097in terms of finance? Anything we take? Oh, this is over. >> Just really did want to say as probably as board and you just said it Kevin, but it kind of got lost. A big thank you to Mary Joe for um being our point person about hiring of both the construction manager and the architect. >> Thank you for all your time and dedication and uh >> thank you. >> All right. >> I think M is ready to go. All right. Mosing, would you please take a roll call? >> Mrs. Dele, >> I. >> Dr. Grande. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Hbert. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Watman. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Woodet. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Williams. >> I >> Mr. Kowsky Smith. >> Hi, >> Mr. Henry. >> I >> Motion passes 8 to zero. >>

098Okay, thank you. Now, moving on to your audience recognition. Now, we have time for comments from the audience for items not on the agenda. Uh, three minutes, name, street, you know the drill. Is there anybody here who want would like to speak about items not on the agenda? All right. Uh, moving on to any old business. Okay. Any new business? >> Yes, >> Michelle, please. >> New business. Um, so you may have noticed the balloons. Um, tonight as a board, we wanted to take a moment to thank three board members whose terms are coming to an end soon. Uh, Dave Brandy, Kelly Watron, and Kevin Henry. Um, if my calculations are correct, they represent a total of 21 years of service to Long Prince School District. Um, I can't even calculate how many hours that

099is, but I guess it's somewhere between a lot and they're never volunteering for anything ever again. Um, so each of them has also had the honor of serving as our board president during their tenure, which means they've also experienced the joys and the stresses of leading our district. Um, all three have served with grace and dedication and a laser focus as to what was best for our students. To say it's tough to fill your shoes is such an understatement to the depth of your leadership. Um, so Dave has served as our board president. He's our current board treasurer. He chairs the facilities and finance committee and serves on the wellness advisory. um his combination of institutional knowledge and school funding is rare and is going to be extremely hard to replace for our school district.

100Um most recently, your steady leadership has seen us make real gains in our capital plan and we're going to see really meaningful changes that are going to have a big impact for our students. Um Dave, you also have the gift of giving very sage advice and your calm demeanor that you lead with is so admirable. Um, and I kind of joke that if I ever saw you raise your voice or get excited, I would know it was truly time to like panic and get out of the [laughter] um, so thank you Dave on behalf of all of us. Uh, Kelly has served as our board president, she chairs the policy committee, um, and she represents us on the Delaware County School Board Legislative Council currently. Um, one thing that I think people notice and admire

101about you, Kelly, is your genuine openness. Um, you are truly willing to listen to anyone, and I think that that's so admirable. Whether you agree or not, you're willing to hear anybody and where they stand. Um, we're going to really miss your calm and thoughtful presence at our committee meetings for policy, as well as your laugh, [laughter] which always makes an appearance at just the right moment. Um, I do remember at the end of a recent meeting you said something along the lines of it isn't often in a meeting that we laugh and we cry and we still make progress. I know. Um, and and that sums up your leadership to a to a tea. So, we will miss you. Thank you. And last but not least, Kevin. Um, Kevin serves as our current president

102in addition to serving on the ed affairs committee, the facilities and finance committee. Um and in the past he's also served as our liaison to the DCIU. Um since I have joined the board, Kevin has been the leader of our pack. Um he's steady, he's pragmatic, he's always willing to answer the dumb questions, most of those were mine. Um you also seemingly have endless energy. Um I don't know how you do it. One day you're in another country and like six times votes away and the next minute you show up at a committee meeting ready to engage. So, um, thank you for that. Um, behind the scenes, we're going to miss your legendary stories. We know, you know, [laughter] >> one >> and your train email signed on. Cheers. >> Um, so Dave, Kelly, and

103Kevin, you're going to be deeply missed on our team of 10. uh your leadership, your wisdom, your humor and your commitment to our students um have made lasting marks and you were certainly leaving the district in a better place than it was when you started. Um so on behalf of our entire community, thank you for your service. Um and we hope you enjoy every moment of all of that new found time of yours. [laughter] Um so thank you. So a round of applause. Well, thank you. That's Michelle. That was very nice, very kind. Uh and and uh do we have any more new business? I know like it sounded like old business. >> Uh not not to I I did want to take a moment before we adjourn because I'm sitting up here mainly because

104of of two of our board members that are to my left. Uh so before adjourning, I did want to take a minute just to recognize uh uh two two of our board members. This is your last board meeting. must be weird for you both. Uh Dr. Granny and and Mrs. Walkman, who I like to call David Kelly, will be rolling off the board next month. So, uh and as as Michelle mentioned, they were both uh former past presidents and really showed me kind they were instrumental in showed me how this how this role should be uh how it should work and and how it how you should act and how uh kind of try to lead our our our gang of of 10 here. So, uh I want to thank you for that. I remember

105uh Dave when you uh when you were done your term as president and I became president I think I said said to you if I could just be half as good as you I'd be happy and I still stand by that. Um and and really you always and you led to you Michelle indicated you know you always lead with this calm uh professionalism this compassion and I one of the things I particularly appreciated especially when I was new on the board you always had this way of kind of uh taking a complex board issue in education things can be more complex than you realize uh and you kind of just make it concise and accessible. So, uh, that will be missed and I thank you for that. And, and and Kelly, you we worked together

106a lot as president and vice president. That was one of the the most fruitful partnerships in my entire professional career. Uh, and I will miss that a lot for sure. Um, you just lead with that that that that empathy and that vision. And I said it a couple years ago and I'll say it again. Uh, you are not just a a nice person, you were a kind person. So, both of you have uh my my kids make fun of me. I always say lead by example. They they say it's tattooed somewhere is not tattooed somewhere I but I do say a lot you guys leave by and you both are truly so on behalf of the entire board I wanted to make sure I thank the board on myself you miss so I just wanted

107to take a moment uh one last thing I didn't want us to forget you were the last two board members that were uh navigating the district helping navigate through co period And I can't imagine how difficult that was. So I want to acknowledge that and your work. That was a lot of fun. >> Sure. I'm sure it was. So I just want to acknowledge uh you must have put in that. That was something else. Okay. So finally, this is as Michelle said, my last uh meeting as board president. Uh so I just want to thank the board members for trusting me with that gavvel. You know, I like to hit it hard because it just sounds great. It's fun, you know. Uh it's been honored to serve up here. So thank you for trusting me.

108But the frankly the it's an honor to serve our district, an honor to serve our community, but frankly the biggest honor was working with all the amazing people sitting at this table. So that really is the best part. Uh so I feel great about our district. I feel great when we're we're leading it. Um I feel great for the leadership of our superintendent, his administration. Uh and I'm really excited for see what what the board does next and the district does next. So thank you. And with that, we're getting a journey.