001Welcome to the Wattsburg Area School District where we are student centered and future focused for world-class education. This is the regular board meeting for Monday, June 16th, which I now call to order. Would you all please rise for the pledge of allegiance? 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. May I have a roll call, please? Mr. Blazer, present. Mr. Brumagen. Mrs. Berlingham here. Mrs. Heatherington here. Mrs. Lee here. Mr. Morve here. Dr. Pushchek here. Mr. Williams. Mr. Young present. The board did meet in executive session prior to last week's work session for uh personnel matters and the board met prior to today's regular board meeting uh to go over the annual
002safety and security assessment. Uh I will now entertain a motion to approve the agenda as presented or amended. So move push check. Nicole second. Any questions on the agenda? All in favor please say I. I post nay. Motion carries. I'll now entertain a motion to approve the minutes from the May 19th regular board meeting. Nicole so moved. Jeremy second. Any questions on those? Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I. Oppos. Nay. Motion carries. Uh now I'll entertain a motion to approve the minutes from the June 9th work session. Jeremy so moved. Heatherington second. Are there any questions on the minutes? Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I. Oppos? Nay. Motion carries. U. Now it's time on our agenda for school reports. Did we get all Do we have nothing for this
003week? No school report this. Thank you very much, Dr. Berlin. Uh, it's now time for guest and citizen comments. Do we have anyone signed up to speak this evening? No, we do not. All right. Now, moving on. It's time for a superintendent report. Dr. Berlin, do you have a report for us this evening? I don't have a report this evening, Mr. President. All right. Thank you, Dr. Berlin. We'll now recognize Mrs. Vicky Mending for the business administrator's report. Thank you, Mr. President. For tonight, I have the treasures reports as presented last week. Um, in addition to those, the year-to-ate budget versus actual report. Um, we are 92% of the fiscal year completed. There's one month left of the fiscal year. We have 80.86 year-to-ate total budget expenditures and 86.79% year-to-ate total budgeted revenues. And there
004is just over $2 million total budget remaining. Um, and then for the cafeteria, as of the end of May, um, the May profit was $12,126.95 and the year-to-ate loss is 137,545.39. And that concludes the reports. And then the bill lists um the checks already written prior to the work session which as I presented last week checks already written between the work session and this evening general fund $25,2329 and cafeteria bills totaling $25.80. Uh the bill lists for board approval for tonight for general fund $367,624.95 and the cafeteria is $58,775.39. And that is all I have for this evening. Thank you, Mrs. Bending. I'll now entertain a motion to approve the business reports, payments, and invoices as presented. So move push check. Second, Heatherington. Are there any questions additionally for Mrs. Bending? Hearing none. All in
005favor, please say I. I. Oppos. Nay. Motion carries. Thank you, Mrs. Bendig. Uh, under legal advisement for this evening, uh, I would, uh, ask if, if it's okay with the board to go ahead and move these two, uh, together in one motion. Uh, the first is the appointment of the school district solicitor for the 2025 2026 fiscal year. This is to appoint the Fmanox Mlaughlin Gornall and Senate uh, with attorney Jennifer Gornall as the primary for the school district solicitor for the school year. And the second one is the appointment of the school district labor council for the 2526 school year as well uh with McDonald Jones or sorry it's just McDonald Ilig now uh with attorney Mark Kuhar as our labor relations solicitor. May I have a motion? Nicole so moved. Jeremy second. Are
006there any questions on either of those two agreements? Hearing none. All in favor please say I. I post nay. Motion carries. Uh we will now turn to Dr. Andy Pushchek for finance. Thank you, Mr. President. Several items this evening. Um, I would like to without objection move the first three together. I would like to approve the uh items listed as 7A budgetary transfers from budget to actual as attached, the sponsor to sponsor agreement as attached, and the designation of the depository of Northwest Bank and Plegot as our depositories for the 2526 school year. those three together. So moved. More of a second. Are there any questions on those three items? Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I. Post. Name. Motion carries. Thank you. Now into the heart of our tasks tonight. And I
007would like to move the approval of the adoption of the general fund budget for the 2526 fiscal year in the amount of 32,962 32,96,229. So move Jeremy second. Are there any questions hearing? None. May I have a roll call, please? Mr. Blazer. Yes. Mrs. Burlingham. Yes. Mrs. Heatherington. Yes. Mrs. Lee, yes. Mr. Morve, yes. Dr. Pushchek, yes. Mr. Young, yes. Motion carries. Thank you. 7E is the real property tax resolution to approve the real property tax resolution as outlined below. So moved. Jeremy second. Are there any questions on the real property tax resolution? Hearing none. May I have a roll call, please? Mr. Blazer, yes. Mrs. Burlingham, yes. Mrs. Heatherington, yes. Mrs. Lee, yes. Mr. Morve, yes. Dr. Pushchek, yes. Mr. Young, yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Your next item is 7F which is the
008per capita tax resolution uh to approve the per tac per capita tax resolution as outlined below. So moved. Back in Beringham. Are there any questions on the per capita tax resolution? Hearing none. May I have a roll call, please? Mr. Blazer. Yes. Mrs. Burlingham? Yes. Mrs. Heatherington? Yes. Mrs. Lee? Yes. Mr. Morve? Yes. Dr. Mr. Pushcheek. Yes. Mr. Young. Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Next is the act 511 per capita tax resolution to approve the 511 per tax capita resolution as outlined below. So moved. More of a second. Are there any questions on the per capita tax resolution? Hearing none. May I have a roll call, please? Mr. Blazer. Yes. Mrs. Burlingham? Yes. Mrs. Heatherington? Yes. Mrs. Lee? Yes. Mr. Mr. Morve, yes. Dr. Pushchek, yes. Mr. Young, yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Next is
0097H, the earned income tax, also called the wage tax resolution to approve the earned income tax wage tax resolution as outlined below. So moved. Nicole second. Are there any questions on the earned income tax resolution? Hearing none, may I have a roll call, please? Mr. Blazer, yes. Mrs. Burlingham, yes. Mrs. Miss Heatherington. Yes. Mrs. Lee, yes. Mr. Morve, yes. Dr. Pushchek, yes. Mr. Young, yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Next item is 7 I, the realy transfer tax resolution. To approve the realy trans tax for resolution as outlined below. So moved. Nicole second. Are there any questions on the realy transfer tax resolution? Hearing none. May I have a roll call, please? Mr. Blazer? Yes. Mrs. Burlingham? Yes. Mrs. Miss Heatherington, yes. Mrs. Lee, yes. Mr. Morve, yes. Dr. Pushchek, yes. Mr. Young, yes. Motion carries.
010Thank you. Next item is 7J, the local services tax resolution to approve the local services tax resolution as outlined below. So moved. Second. Berlingham. Are there any questions on the local services tax resolution? Hearing none, may I have a roll call, please? Mr. Blazer, yes. Mrs. Berlingham, yes. Mrs. Mrs. Heatherington, yes. Mrs. Lee, yes. Mr. Morve, yes. Mr. Pu, Dr. Pushchek, yes. Mr. Young, yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Next item is 7K, the act one homestead and farmstead exclusion resolution to approve the act one exclusion resolution. Homestead farmstead as attached. So move. More of a second. Are there any questions on the homestead and farmstead exclusion resolution? Hearing none. May I have a roll call, please? Mr. Blazer? Yes. Mrs. Burlingham? Yes. Mrs. Heatherington? Yes. Mrs. Lee? Yes. Mr. Morv? Yes. Dr. Pushchek? Yes. Mr.
011Young? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. That's all I have under finance this evening. Mr. President. Thank you, Dr. Pushchek. The chair will now recognize Mr. Jeremy Blazer for buildings and grounds. Thank you, Mr. President. I have two items uh tonight. Without objection, I'd like to move them uh together. Uh 8A is for our approval of our campus paving. Motion is to award the bid for campus paving and crack sealing to owe cross paving at $129,88422. And 8B is for a concrete ballard project. Motion is to award the bid installation of concrete ballards and related repairs to Paris Brothers & Company at 106,300. So moved. Second. Push check. Are there any questions on the campus paving or the concrete bowlard project? Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I. Oppose. Nay. Those motions carry. Thank
012you, Mr. Blazer. Thank you, Mr. President. The chair will now recognize Mrs. Nicole Lee for personnel. Thank you, Mr. President. Um, I need to split things up a little bit. So, we're going to start with 9A, the superintendent's annual performance evaluation. And this is to approve the superintendent's 2425 annual performance. So moved. More of a second. Are there any questions on the superintendent's annual performance evaluation? Mr. President. Yes, Dr. Push. I just wanted to thank the board for recognizing the importance of our superintendent and the good work that he does and the team that he leads um as our district continues to move forward in a positive manner. Um we appreciate his work and his annual performance reflects that. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Pushchek. And additionally, I would like to thank the committee, uh,
013Mrs. Lee and Mr. Williams, uh, for working through the process on doing so in a expedient fashion and making sure we covered all the bases and and understood where we've been, where we're at today, and where we're going into the future. So, thank you to the committee. Are there any other questions or comments? Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I. Oppose. Name. Motion carries. Thank you, board. I appreciate the recognition and your support in all that we do. Thank you. All right, moving on. Next one is 9B, the business administrator employment agreement. Motion to approve the employment agreement between Vicky Bendig, business administrator, and WASD effective July 1st through June 30th, 2030. So moved. Blazer second. Are there any additional questions on the business administrator employment agreement? Mr. President. Yes. In a similar
014fashion, I'd like to recognize Mrs. Bending for his for her um extraordinary work in our business office and the district finances. I think that we're very fortunate to have her in this position. I think we're very fortunate to extend her contract for five more years. So, thank you, Mrs. Bendig. Thank you, Dr. Pushjack. And I will echo all of that. Any others? All right. May I have a roll call, please? Mr. Blazer, yes. Mrs. Burlingham, yes. Mrs. Heatherington, yes. Mrs. Lee, yes. Mr. Morvet, yes. Dr. Pushchek, yes. Mr. Young, yes. Motion carries. Thank you. And thank you all very much for your support and um confidence in me and my role. I appreciate it. I would I great. Um for the rest without objection I would like to move all as one motion. They would
015include 9 C administration staff travel reimbursements uh for attendance at meetings as listed 9D flexible spending arrangement agreements as listed. 9E job descriptions as listed 9F appointments as listed. 9G resignations as listed. 9H leave requests as listed. So moved. Second. Push check. Are there any questions or comments on those six motions? Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I. Opposed. Name. Those motions carry. Thank you, Mrs. Lee. Abstain from anything on that one. All right. The chair will now recognize Mrs. Griggy Burlingham for policy. Thank you, Mr. President. I only have one item underneath here for policy tonight, which is a uh subject a the first reading of policies. To approve the first reading of the policies is outlined and attached below. So moved. Jeremy second. Are there any questions on the three policies
016outlined? Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I. Oppos. Motion carries. Thank you, Mrs. Berlingham. The chair will now recognize Mr. Steven Morv for curriculum. Mr. President, there are two items on the agenda for this evening under curriculum. Uh if there's without objection, I plan to move those uh as a uh as a combination. First one is 11A, the transition center operating agreement between uh Erie County Technical School and Watsburg School District for private uh provide special education services. It's through uh July 1st through June 30th, 2026. And then uh 11B which is the AI powered education platform um using the um it's open school excuse me school AI education platform for 2025 through 2020 six as attached. So moved eight excuse me 2028 excuse me. Yes. Second Birmingham. Are there any questions or
017comments on the two items presented by Mr. Morve? Um I will make a comment. I will thank again even though we did last week the presentation on the school AI platform uh Mr. Mr. Angler, your your team with six members from that committee um and the investment they've made in their time and resources and to be able to come here and make it very easily understandable for us and and have us know that we're on the front end of of processes that are going to be going in place in school districts around this country. Uh it was very enlightening and we appreciate the effort you're putting in and can't wait to see where this goes into the future. Any others hearing? None. A quick question. Yes, Mr. Young. So on the recommended action, it says
018we're approving the platform 25 to 28 and then the attachment says 2526. So just making sure that's accurate. I don't know if we're approving the platform for three years and maybe just one year at a time. Yeah. So it is a three-year contract. Um just for stability purposes, you know. So is the attachment just misnamed or or the attachment is just one year at a time. So they'll have to prove the attachment. Yeah. So it's it's one year at a time. We locked in that same price for three years. Okay. Okay. Great. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Blazer. Any others? All right. All in favor, please say I. I. Opposed? Name. Those motions carry. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. The chair will now recognize Mr. Jeremy Blazer for technology. Just one item
019tonight for 12A is our time clock plus. There's a motion to approve the purchase of cloud hosted licenses implementation services from time clock plus LLC as attached. Second. push check. Any questions on that one? Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I. Opposed? Name. Motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Blazer. Thank you. The chair will now recognize Mr. Steven Warbe for transportation. Mr. President, there are one there is one item under transportation requests for this evening. Uh, and that's to approve the transportation request uh for field trips uh from the last meeting as per the attachment. So, move. I'll second. Any questions on the transportation requests? Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I. Oppos? Nay. Motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Morv. Thank you, Mr. President. The chair will now recognize Mrs. Leah Heatherington
020for athletic and extracurricular. Thank you, Mr. President. Um, without objection, I would like to move all five of my items at once. Um 14A is athletic appointments to to approve the um athletic appointments as listed. 14B is extracurricular appointments the to approve the extracurricular appointments for the 202526 school year as listed. C is extracurricular resignations as listed. Uh D is volunteer list as listed. and E is game help additions big as listed there. So move second Burlingham. Are there any questions on those five for this evening? Hearing none. All in favor please say I. I oppose. Nay. Motion carries. Thank you Mrs. Heatherington. Uh under miscellaneous for this evening. Uh we have an addendum item. This is a peer support group services agreement. This is to approve the amended agreement between Caring Foundation and Wattsburg
021Area School District to provide peer support group services for grieving students for the 2025 to 2027 uh time period uh per attached. Could I have a motion to that order? So move push check. Nicole second. Are there any questions on the peer support group services agreement? Hearing none. All in favor please say I. I oppose. Name and that motion carries. Thank you. Uh the chair will now recognize Mr. Steven Morv for the Erie County Technical School joint operating committee report. Mr. President, this is the report of the May joint operating committee. Um they always uh highlight certain uh students. So uh we had a uh uh actually two students of the month. Uh first one was Max Mcccleintoch. He's a senior who graduated obviously now this past uh month uh in drafting and design. Um,
022and then the there's another one that was um highlighted in their career street flyer. Uh, Katherine Cacerio, she's a sophomore and uh she's an auto body and so she was the uh subject of the uh career street flyer that is put out um by the tech school. Um in addition, we uh had some updated and renewed articulation agreements with Mercyhurst University uh Penn College and Erie Community College. So those are items that are uh articulation agreements um were re-upeduped this year for uh college credit for classes that the students are taking at the tech school. Um we also had the u there also this this will be the first year that they're going to start to run some summer camps and uh first ones that are going to be open actually is going to be
023one on the in 3D printing. Uh that'll be actually the third week of June. So actually next week uh it's a three-day camp and they'll be it's it's fairly reasonable. So, $100 per student for a three-day camp. And then there's also going to be a one-day uh camp uh for animal careers, and that's on July 30th, and that's for e current ECTS students. So, a couple of things that are starting to happen over the summer at the tech school that they're uh just starting to pilot now. Um the uh as I mentioned last month uh we had a uh uh Skills USA team uh that uh uh was the state champions now going to the uh national competition which is actually next week. Uh Avita Pushak is part of that group and uh they leave
024actually it's begins Monday next week and goes through the uh the 28th. So I think it's a three well fiveday competition is how it works. So we'll be looking to hear good reports out of that competition. Um, and then also an update then on the uh solar panel project. If you remember, I brought before the board some information that the tech school had uh applied for a $400,000 grant to uh go against the a proposed solar project. Uh that grant has been received and awarded to the tech school and uh it is a part of a 500 thou 500 kilowatt facility. So fairly small um but it uh the project itself is about a 1.2 $22 million cost. Uh so $400,000 coverage by the grant. There's also a Let me just get my notes here.
025Right. There's a $500,000 credit from the federal tax credits. Um then there's a first energy rebate. There's $67,000 in sellable energy credits, salailable sellable energy credits. And then there's $260,000 would remain from the capital project fund. Bottom line is there's no additional costs, no additional funding needed from any of the districts. And uh this would be one of those things that's going to be a they're trying to use it also as a living lab such that uh every year there'll be maybe some new panels that will get installed by the tech student by the tech students so that they learn a skill and they learn continue how those things would be uh integrated into the solar farm. That's where it's going. and they estimate that it potentially will save electricity $140,000 a year in electricity.
026So three.5 million over 25 years. That's that's taking some projections with current um electrical rates, etc. and things uh moving along those lines. Construction scheduled to start in the spring of 2026 after some um architectural and engineering goes out, some bidding goes out, um those type of things. So those will be uh moving forward. And the location of the solar farm is to the north of the campus towards the highway towards I90 behind behind the backind. Yeah. Yeah. So if what is that Robinson? No, that's not Robinson. Robinson Road. No, Hammet. Hammet Road. Hammet Road. Behind it. So it's on it's on the north side of that. Behind the buildings is where it's planned on going. And then that'll be the place for expansion as it goes forward. Well, that's just an update on um
027a little capital project that's happening there at the at the tech school. That's all I have this evening, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Morvan. I can tell you our our family, we have a new student orientation on August 20th that we're already counting down the days to. So, yeah, lots lots to be excited for for the next school year. So, thank you, Mr. Morve. Uh the chair will now recognize going to be a he's going to enter a big class. Yes, very big class, which is great. It's good stuff. The chair will now recognize Dr. Andrew Pushchack for the North Northwest Tri County Intermediate Unit Monthly Report. Thank you, Mr. President. In addition to the board report that Mr. Berlin sent out in your weekly update, uh just a few highlights from the meeting, um
028we approved the addition of uh positions, most of those related to the transfer entity uh the IU taking over Erie's public schools early intervention program. And then at our meeting next Wednesday, I will be remoting in from Atlanta. As Mr. Morv mentioned, I'll be uh chaperoning the group going to Atlanta for the Skills USA national competition. Um and then at our meeting next week, uh similar to the reorganization meeting that we have in December, IU's have what's called an annual convention that they hold in June. So we will have our convention where we do the election of officers, setting of the dates, all the things that we do at our reorganization meeting and then I will have a report on the results of that in August. That's all I have, Mr. President. Thank you. Thank
029you, Dr. Pushjack. It's now time for board correspondents and dialogue. Does anyone have anything for the good of the order this evening? Mr. President, tagging on to my report regarding the solar project there at the technical school. Now, their system or their situation is different than ours uh in that there's one one building essentially and they can tie into one um you know power uh grid. Has there been any I mean it's just a thought. Has have we ever looked at it here? We have we seem to have quite a bit of land. We have other things, rebates, grants, all those things. And I'm just trying to see if there's been any, you know, consideration for that. Yes. Yeah, we we've looked at that a couple times. In fact, um Gary Jacobs, who's the main
030engineer on most of our guaranteed energy savings projects, um he's been corresponding with a few uh different partners, potential partners. Um we have a lot of land but the usable area five acres maybe and that that gets you right to the break even point. We have another four acres which would give us nine and uh you start to get return on investment there. You know that would generate enough power. The issue with all of it is the the five acres moderate wetlands, but the other four I mean we're going to get in we I get into permitting fees and any wetland you displace if they consider it displaced you have to make a co-equal uh replacement of it. Um, so I So our our site and our logistics at this point be kind of prohibit
031us from Yeah. But but not it's not out of the question, right? Efficiencies will improve and other Yeah. Yeah. And how you the type of panels you hang make a difference. Um, but there's there's a cost factor there. So I I think as that technology matures a little bit, it's we def it definitely is a possibility. It's a wait and see. Wait and see. Fair enough. Thank you. Excellent. Thank you, Mr. Morve. Is there anything else for the good of the order? Um, just a just a comment if we needed or or a question rather if we needed to uh have a brief meeting sometime in July uh to just for the sole purpose of hiring a few individuals. Uh is there a date that's better? Probably I'm just just a straw poll here. I
032can communicate obviously with everybody. Me personally, the 14th would be the only available if it was between the 14th and the 21st. That's just me personally. I'm open. I'm good. Either date. So 14 or 21 is Are they Is there um would it be at seven? Like we're aiming for seven? Doesn't have to be at seven if there's a better time. Seven. I'm going to be honest, it's just a lot easier for me cuz I just can never guarantee at this point with my new job that as you can tell the last two weeks I have not been able to be pulled away from a crisis. So 7:00 is just a little easier. But okay, just say 14th is fine. 14th 7. Mhm. Tentatively available for a tentatively needed. So 14th tentative tentative hire. And
033how about the 21st should be okay. I just can't do the 21st. That's all. Yeah. Well, no biggie. I think if we can get a quorum. Hey, this is the 21st for Nicole. Come on. Pinch hit this. Just do it. Uh, I have a question. On the agenda, there was only one position needing filled still. Or is there in the works. So, um the counseling position, we thought we'd have somebody for tonight and we didn't. Um they wanted to they wanted to do a round of performance interviews. They could not get that to happen today. Uh so that's not going to happen for um till later this month. That's one opening. We're anticipating the resignation of an elementary teacher. She's indicated that she's going to be moving to another job, but she doesn't want to
034resign. obviously until she's secured that job 100%. Um, so that's a second opening and then we're looking for another speech language pathologist uh because we we were adding one this year uh in in a sense we've subcontracted three quarters of one for me for quite a few years. Uh so we're adding a full-time now and that's another hiring situation. And all of these uh replacements are may in most likely will involve somebody with experience or at another district. So most districts have been holding everybody 60 days. Um, so that's why if we can if we could have names and be organized by that third week of July, we could start the clock running on the 60 days and have there'd be a chance that we could be staffed for the first day of school. That's
035kind of the goal. So that's where we're at at the moment. That's what I know about anyways. Any others for the good of the order? Hearing none, I'll entertain a motion to adjurnn. Nicole moved. All in favor, please say I. Oppose nay. Meeting is adjourned. Thank you everyone.