West Chester Area School District Personnel Committee Meeting and Monthly Board Meeting 4/28/2025

001Good evening and welcome to the April 28th, 2025 personnel committee meeting. We'll start with roll. Um, director Dell here. Director Fred here. Dr. Herman here. Great. And I'm here. Do we have any public comment? Yes. She'll be here. We're fine. We're fine. Okay, thank you. Our first commenter is Christopher Manos. Good evening everybody. I just drove from Carney, New Jersey from work to be here for this meeting. So, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak. It's nice to see you all again. Um, before I start my remarks, I want to just say I'm very, very thankful to the Westchester Area School District, the school board, and all of the teachers uh, for the education that they've provided. My daughter Casey, who graduates in May, and our son Max, who is a freshman at

002Henderson. And um with that in mind, I wanted to just make a comment about personnel. And that as we've gone through the last four or five years, there have been a couple of instances where I think there's a lot of, pardon the pun, schools of thought about what's best for the students. And one of the things I'd like the board to consider going forward is to allocate more resources towards specialized tutoring because the uh school district appears to be administratively topheavy and I think that there could be a better allocation of the school's resources and the taxpayers resources. by having more focused tutoring for the students that need it the most. And that's all I have to say. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next, um we'll move to approve the February 24th, 2025 personnel

003committee meeting minutes. There's a motion to approve. Is there a second? It's been moved and second. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Okay. For approved. Next in terms of agenda topics, we'll start with the review and approval uh to purchase the vid the vidcrder program and Dr. Omar is here to talk us through that. Thank you very much. We're seeking approval from the board of school directors to purchase the Vid Crruder program to enable the district to use video technology to aid in the hiring process. Vid Crruder will significantly help our hiring process as it uses video capabilities for screening interviews which number in the hundreds each year. We are also receiving a 20% discount because of the number of people that we have. The usual cost is $10,000 per year. move down

004to $8,000 per year for bid recruiter. That will be a huge help for our process as we move forward in hiring hundreds of teachers. Well, thank you very much. Um, and I'll just share in transparency. When you and I were speaking, I thought that this would be a tremendous um, uh, initiative to improve the efficiency and the quality of our pres pre-screening processes in the district. So um I'm looking forward to the results you know if we move forward with this initiative in terms of efficiency. Um is there any discussion committee question uh Dr. Will this be used for uh just hiring teachers or for all positions including cabinet all the way down to Yes, we can actually use this for all of our positions, but there we will use them for the screening process

005because we feel it's very important to still be in person for the second and third rounds. Absolutely. And and seems like this would definitely help us to cast a wider net. Absolutely. So much most exciting to me about it to get through. Yes, I agree. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So there's a motion to approve the purchase of vid crruder program. Can I get a second? Director fry. Thank you. Um and so all those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Okay. Motion passes. Great. Our next topic um also Dr. Romer to review and approve the new act 93 position and job description for the position of elementary assistant principal. Director Parkinson, I'm actually going to speak to that tonight. Okay, great. Thank you. So, um in the proposed budget, there are

006two positions um at the elementary level that would be assistant principles um and two because I know that we want to start this small and get it right and eventually maybe expand those roles. Um we have 11 elementary buildings. Uh two of the buildings would um there would be two positions would share between four buildings. And the reason why we picked the buildings that we chose is the size of the building. If it's a title one building, the special education programs that they have in those buildings and also to talk about a secession plan for our elementary principles. um the size for instance one of our buildings next year is um projected to have 597 students at Starkweather. They also have uh the MDS classroom and they are going to get an AS and autistic

007support classroom next year. It just makes sense and uh Starkweather is also a title one school. It makes sense for an assistant principal to be there to support Mr. Phoenix uh in the programming building uh better family engagement and real and really uh you know investigating some disciplinary problems that would alleviate Mr. Phoenix doing it to so he could be the instructional leader at that building. Again, the size, the programmings, and the need in those buildings. Um, and that's what I'm posing in the budget this year for next school year. Well, um I think uh in addition to the thought process and the criteria for selection, um I find it u a good idea to have the succession pool capability. Um because I think that allows us to further develop, you know, that next generation

008of talent that we can then, you know, have at our availability in terms of, you know, moving through the district. Um so for next year too and then subsequently it'll be based on what the makeup is of the the schools and what the needs are in terms of whether we extend. Yes. So keep in mind that in the near future we will be redistricting. So some some of our buildings are not going to be as as have the high enrollment as it does right now. I'm not to say that Stark weather is going to be one of those buildings. But for Exxon for example they are expected to have 564 students. They have a hair a very high autistic support program at Xton, but we do know that we need to get relief out of

009Exton in the near future. So 564 might not be three years from now. So what we would do is really look at the buildings and the building needs over the next several years to see where we want to share our assistant principles. Um we do have a plan for the four the four largest enrollment buildings also their needs. Um, so it would look like a shared position between two buildings. We haven't nailed down the minute particulars yet, but that's just the thinking of it right now. Okay, great. Any questions or comments from board? Okay. All right. So, there is a a motion to approve the new Act 93 position and job description of elementary assistant principal. All in favor? I any opposed? Okay, motion passes. And then next I um we'll cover the act 93

010salary range for that position of elementary assistant principal. Dr. Yes. The uh new salary ranges for this position of assistant principal in the elementary school would be $110,173 through uh $129,000. $615,000. I worked with uh Mr. Skellyy and um Dr. Christopher on our 93 rates that we have right now and fits into line with what we are looking at. Any questions or comments? All right. Then we have a motion to approve the act 93 salary range for the position of elementary assistant principal. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Okay, motion passes. Next, we'll move to um the review and approval to add coordinators 12 months, behavior specialists, nursing services, and social work and pupil services assistant director positions to the act 93 agreement. Dr. Yes, we are looking to move um to add the coordinators

01112 month behavior specialist nursing services and social work and pupil services assistant director physicians to the act 93 agreement from 10 months to 12 months. Any discussion? All right, with that we'll move forward to um there's a motion to approve the coordinators from 10 months to 12 months behavior specialist n nursing services and social work and pupil services assistant director positions to the egg 93 agreement. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Okay, motion passes. All right. And um similarly now we'll move to the review and approval to establish the salary range for the coordinators 12 month role behavior specialist nursing services and social work positions. Dr. Yes. Just like we talked about before with the assistant principal positions. The salary range for these positions would be 103852,000 through 124 622,000. And again this

012falls in line with agreement and the percentages that we have discussed. Thank you. Any discussion, comment? All right. So, with that, we'll move um to approve uh the act 93 salary range for the coordinator 10 to 12 months. Moving from 10 to 12 months, behavior specialists, nursing services, and social work positions. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Next, we'll look to review and approve, excuse me, and review and um remove for approval the assistant to the director's elementary secondary people services positions and the coordinators 195 days social work and nursing services from the act 93 agreement. Dr. Yes, these are the positions that we are moving to 12 months a year. We will no longer need them at 10 months a year. Thank you. Any discussion? With that said, there's a

013motion to approve the change. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Next on our agenda is to review and approve um the Fox Rothschild engagement letter for the 2025 2026 school year. Dr. O. Yes. Every year in April, uh Jeffrey Sultanic, who acts as our labor council, who works with Fox Box Wealthild, sends us an engagement letter for what he will be doing with our district for the year, including our rates and his role with protecting the district. Is there any discussion, comment? If not, then there's a motion to approve the Fox Rothschild engagement letter for the 2025 2026 school year. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? I just have a question. Will that be attached that we'd be able to see it or we're just aware of it? Like

014is it supposed to be attached to the board docs? That should be attached to it. Yeah, it was attached to All in favor say I. Any oppose. All right. Motion passes. Our next committee meeting will be May 28th, 2025. Meeting adjourned. Good evening. I would like to call to order the April 28th, 2025 meeting of the Westchester Area School Board. Tonight we welcome three students from Greystone Elementary. Grace Garucha, Andrew Smith, and Avon Pi. They will start by leading us with in the pledge of allegiance. Uh their principal is Dr. Stephen and then they'll let us know what's happening at Greystone. You guys want to come up 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.

015Hello, my name is Grace Gamarucha and I'm Miss Mansion's fifth grade class at Greystone Elementary. Not only do I love the environment, but I love the great activities inside and outside of school. My favorite thing I love about the activities inside of school is the teachers always take it above and beyond to make it special for the kids. For example, in reading, usually you would learn a lesson and move around with your friends to do an activity. But the teachers in our grade do reading groups. We move into different classes and we read different books, do different activities, and get to see the friends, get to hang out with our friends that we only see at lunch or recess. What I like outside of the projects and learning is the Kona Ice. After after the

016PS and all the learning we do at the end of the year, we get Kona ice. It's a fun activity to sit back, relax, and enjoy chatting with friends and of course eating the water ice. As you can see, we have lots of opportunities to have fun and learn at the same [Applause] time. Hello everyone, my name is Aan Pie. I'm a fifth grader in Mr. Johnson's class at Greystone Elementary School. I'm here today to tell you about what we do at Raytown. I thought the most fun thing to do at school this year was Washington. It was a great way to see everybody show their unique talents. It ranged from singing singing and dancing all the way to gymnastics and stop motion. My favorite project in school was the Bill of Rights project. We

017learned about all 10 of the amendments and we had to make a slideshow about them. My favorite amendments were the first, fourth, eighth, and nth. It was a fun and entertaining project for me. Thank you for allowing me to be here and thank you for your time. Hi, my name is Andrew Smith, fifth grader in Mrs. Holiday class. Something fun we do is fun Friday. Fun Fridays are where we go to another teacher every Friday and do math activities. Another thing is a track meet. The track meet is really fun because we get to talk to our friends and also get to choose our field events and we also get to race against other schools. Thank you for having me. Thank you very much. You must all be very excited about all the great activities

018that you have between now and the end of the year. And moving on to middle school. I can't remember which middle school does Greystone move on to? Uh Pearson Fugate. Pearson Fugate. Okay, great. Well, Enjoy and good luck. And Dr. Christopher and I will be up to give you your certificates. We're going to practice graduation. You want to turn around here and I'm going to hand this to you and shake your hand at the same time. graduation graduation. Now we'll get a group photo with Dr. Christopher and Dr. Steven. Thank you so much. [Applause] Moving on, we have no special announcements this evening. Next on the agenda is roll call. Miss Chair, Vice President here. Director Christie here. Director Dietri here. Director Dell here. President here. Director Fry here. Director Herman here. Director Parkinson here.

019Director Wsley. Madison Matthew here. Peter Kennedy here. Diana Lopez here. Thank you, Mr. Chair. That leads us to public comments. Mrs. Sunquist, do we have any uh comment on agenda items tonight? Yes. Yes. There are three comments on agenda items this evening. So, I'll read the statement and then I'll call the names. Now is the time for public comment on agenda items. The board will follow the procedures established in policy 903. All individuals wishing to comment this evening were required to properly register prior to the designated start time of tonight's meeting by completing the information specified with the public comment registration card. Once called to the podium, each commenter will begin by sending their first and last name and municipality. Each speaker must limit their comments to three minutes or less per public comment period.

020Commenters may not see their time to other individuals. Individuals will be notified by the time clock when there are time allotted for public comment has expired. There will be a second public comment period at the end of the meeting for comments from residents following the same guidelines. The board asked that all commentary be directed to the board as a whole. Public comments may be interrupted or terminated if the commentary exceeds three minutes or if the commentary is obscene and/or threatening in nature. The first speaker this evening is Christopher Manos. Hello everybody. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak again. I'm Christopher Manos from East Bradford Township. And a couple of comments first about the equity committee and our equity goals. I wanted to uh say thank you to the school district and the

021school board for the way that the equity program has clearly expanded through all of the great musical directors. the music program. It's truly remarkable. Uh my daughter and my son both participate in it. Um it has really broadened the engagement of a lot of different students from a lot of different walks of life. Um I've had the opportunity to talk to some of the students who said they initially never thought that they would try to be in a play and now they're like a lead in it. So that's a really remarkable thing and I thank you for that. Um the second uh comment I would like to make that relates to equity is that I would like the school district to ensure that not only diversity and equity of a variety of things but diversity

022of thought is um allowed to be um unleashed or um broadened so that there doesn't become like a kind of conformity of ideas or ideological conformity. Um, and that's all I have to say. Thank you very much. The next speaker is Judy Defonso. Hi, Judy Defonso. Still living in East Ocean. Uh I wasn't planning on speaking uh at this part of the meeting, but there was something that was said during the personnel uh meeting that I I just wanted to as I say it made it made my heart drop like it um ha moving having an autism support uh classroom at Starkweather and I'm assuming that those students would move on to Fugate where the middle school has their autism support. Um we used to do that. It was very very hard on on the

023students. Autism is generally associated with a um uh deficit in social skills. These kids have a hard time making friends. Having them shown theater patterns is not a good thing. I would ask the school district to reconsider putting an autism support group uh classroom in Starkweather and to move it to into one of the buildings that feeds to Fugate so that these students can stay with their cohort as they move from fifth grade to sixth grade. I'll tell you it's been heartbreaking the stories that I heard when we used to jump Peter patterns and we worked with our previous uh people services director to get the autism uh and um multiple disabilities and intellectual disabilities to line up with their computer patterns. And um it it just upsets me no end um to see these

024kids being um you know having to jump theater patterns with um uh the um like I said I'm not prepared. I just really speaking from the heart. It's it's just going to be hard on them and I'd ask you to please reconsider to put it into one of the buildings where they will move with their cohort into middle school because the middle school transition is very difficult. Thank you. The last public commenter is Megan Ryods. Good evening everybody. I'm Megan Reichob. I live in East Ocean and I'm a little out of practice. I um haven't been here in a while. Um bit busy. my kids are at the end of their high school careers and um my daughter is this close to making her decision. We've got decision day coming up on um Thursday. But

025with all of that, despite being out of practice, um I I took the opportunity to review some of the policies that um are going to have their um reading this evening. And I just wanted to let you all know that I have the practice of like looking at the changes that are being made and even still I find the policy 701 facilities planning that the change of wording is a little bit unclear and it's being changed to the input of a diverse group of stakeholders is an important and valued part of the process and I find that to be a little bit nebulous because the previous wording actually indicated very explicitly that the stakeholders included the board and staff and parents and the community. And with all of this, it's kind of tangentially related to

026the um uh non-aggenda comment that I'm going to be making. Um but I do think that it's related to how some of the stakeholders feel left out of the process right now. So I do just ask you because you're all very familiar and you look at the policies very often, make sure that you're looking at it from a perspective of someone who doesn't go to a meeting, someone who doesn't have that familiarity um and ensuring that it is as clear as possible for when someone needs to refer to it. Thank you for your time. Thank you everyone uh for coming out tonight to speak. and we'll move on to approval of minutes. So, uh, may I have a motion to approve the minutes from the March 24th, 2025 meeting? I have a first from Dr.

027Dietri and a second from Director Fry. All those in favor say I. I oppose, nay. Motion carries. also have an announcement of an executive session and and the subject matter. Miss Chair, please note in the minutes that the board met in executive session tonight, April 24th, 2025, regarding a legal and personnel matter. We'll move on to approve the agenda tonight. I don't believe we have any amendments to the agenda. Now would be the opportunity for anybody if you would like to request a change to the agenda. And seeing none, may I have a motion to approve the April 28th, 2025 agenda? I have a first from Vice President Meal Aqua. May I have a second? I have a second from Director Christie. All those in favor say I. I. Oppose. Nay. A motion carries. And

028now Dr. Christopher will give his monthly superintendent report. All right. I have a brief report before I'm going to do a little bit of a presentation. But first, I would like to welcome everyone and thank you for being with us tonight as we get deeper into the spring months, concert projects, competitions, celebrations, so much more. It's such a busy, bless you, Gerald, busy and exciting time for our school community. It's time where it's easy to lose track of whether something happened this month, this week, or just yesterday. Um, under educating, we have some elementary initiatives that we had presentations on this week. So this spring, we've continued sharing information with our families about some important instructional changes coming next school year. At the elementary level, we'll be piloting departmentalization at three of our schools, East

029Ocean, Fernhill, and Starkweather for grades four and five. Families recently had the opportunity to learn more about this model, which allows teachers to specialize in specific subject areas. We believe this approach will benefit students by providing more dedicated subject engagement, strengthening their preparation for the middle school experience, and deepening learning in their core content areas. Families were also invited to share their questions and feedback at that at that meeting. Additionally, we also held an information night to discuss expansion of the standardsbased reporting standards based reporting to all grades K5 next year. With this shift, families will see more detailed evaluations of student performance in their specific skill areas on report cards offering clear insights into both their child's strengths and areas for growth. Our goal is to provide families with a deeper understanding of what

030students are learning and how they can support their continued development. You can find the presentations and frequently asked questions about both initiatives on our initiatives page on the district website. In addition, because of increases in the autism support programmatic needs in the district, we are planning to add autism support to the Rustin feeder pattern, beginning with the new support class at Starkweather next year. So even though Starkweather will be the first building, we anticipate that we will be we will be adding autism support throughout the feeder pattern um because of the number of additional classrooms that we have have in the school district. spring testing. Uh our students are taking the PSSAs. I'm sure everyone's very excited about that. Uh been doing an exceptional job. Our kids are working really hard and keeping the energy

031up and adapting well to the online testing format. Uh we're looking forward to with great confidence to our high school students will begin taking Keystone exams in the coming weeks. You know, this season can be demanding for students and we're incredibly proud of how they are rising to the challenge. We also want to express our sincere thanks to our teachers, building staff, technology teams, and assessment teams who work tirelessly behind the scenes to provide the support, encouragement, and logistics needed to help these testing windows run as smoothly as possible. We have summer programming coming up. We're excited to share that information about our robust summer program will be available soon. We're finalizing a variety of offerings designed to support continued learning, enrichment, and exploration for students across all grade levels. From academic opportunities to creative

032programs, these opportunities will help students stay engaged and build on the progress they made this year. Families can expect to see more details shared in the coming weeks. We'd also like to make sure that we announce that earlier this month, we had the pleasure of celebrating one of WCSD's finest with special guests from Civil Credit Union. We honored Greystone Elementary's Nina McGllinchi as our district's Citadel Heart of Learning award recipient. I was in Nah's classroom this year and she is a kindergarten teacher and there is no doubt about that. As a kindergarten teacher, she creates a warm welcoming environment where students and families feel at home from the very first day. Her dedication to educating, inspiring not only her students but also her colleagues is truly exceptional. Nan's passion and commitment to make a lasting

033impact in our school community. We're proud to recognize her outstanding contributions. We are proud to also share that several of our high school students have been recognized for outstanding artwork at the Chester County High School Art Exhibition. The art was on display at the Chester County Art Association for just over a week. Exceptional pieces from all three high schools are all featured showcasing the incredible creativity and talent of our students. Congratulations to Mia, Esme, and Alia for receiving awards for their work, wonderful reflection of their skill, passion, and dedication to the arts. Next month, we'll look forward to celebrating recognizing some of our exceptional students and staff alongside uh the school board. It's always a fun way to end the the school year in May. We're actually going to bring our Westchester waymakers, all those

034awardies here, as well as our students who have won state level recognition this year. Now, I would like to move into just a brief presentation uh looking at a a proposed timeline um for the high school schedule implementation. So, I've been working uh with Michelle Curry Kramer, who is the um president of the Westchester Area Education Association on a timeline that we think we could we could agree to for implementing uh the schedule and for moving forward while also creating benchmarks for the staff and community. I think it's important that we have uh some shared governance related to this so that we would have WCSD members and also WCA members on a district level governance team. Excuse me, my allergies are killing me. Additionally, the student from each high school would serve on the team.

035We think it's important to formalize the process. Well, there have been lots of ongoing meetings uh with high school teachers, students, administrators, uh department chairs, and we we've actually solved many problems and concerns that folks have brought with us. It's become apparent that formalizing the process with benchmarks and expected dates of completion is needed to ensure that staff concerns are addressed in a timely fashion prior to implementation. In addition to the district governance team will have clear dates for proceeding on the current timeline which will foster better transparency and provide more information to the community. We understand that there are some significant concerns and we need to ensure uh that as a group the two of us work together and our and our schools work together with school level teams to address those challenges and

036ensure that we can continue on the timeline that we have proposed. We are confident that with the collaboration of our schools and all stakeholders, we can successfully work through the issues and move forward. So some clear benchmarks, excuse me, for us to look at. So lunch and learn facilities, I know has been a big question that folks have had, especially I believe at Henderson High School. So, the idea would be that we would have a substantially completed plan for what that would look like for a board presentation in November of 2025 with an expected schoolboard action date in February, which would allow the board to take action on any um financial things they may need to move forward with so that work could be completed by August of 2026. We could move these up for

037women quicker, but those would be the timelines we would need to hit to ensure uh that we would be in a position where we would have the the things correct and and finished by that time. Food service areas. I think one thing that we've identified in numerous places where we've done these visits uh and looked at this is that there is at least one additional serving area in each high school in a second location. So trying to identify where that would be and what that would look like and how that would be staffed would be. Also, we need to have that presented to the board by November. If there's an action item, if there are expenses, we need to move forward on by February. And then certainly completion date by August. Same thing for seating

038and collaboration spaces, creating additional seating and collaboration spaces for students in each high school. Once again, schoolboard presentation by November, schoolboard action date by February, and final completion date by August. So, when you're seeing construction, those kinds of things, they would run through our um they run through our facilities committee and would likely go through our capital projects uh group in terms of how we would fund it. They could also be using cafeteria funding for that. The reason the February action date is on some of these items is to ensure that they would be out to bid if they need bidded or if they're not bidded, um that we would have substantial time to complete them if there's if there's significant construction, although we do not anticipate that at this time. lunch and learn supervision

039once again uh schoolboard presentation date by November uh action date of April and the reason for that is if there's any additional staffing that would need to be hired uh to to make this work that would happen at the April board meeting and the proposed budget would actually the preliminary budget would be approved in the 26th school year and then completion date uh to ensure that folks are in place for those roles would be um in August of 26. technology and safety supports. Are there additional technology things we need? Badge readers, cameras, anything like that to support student safety and supervision. I think also developing and reviewing lunch and learn expectations with students. We anticipate that's going to happen this summer. We anticipate that next year lunch and learn is going to look a whole

040lot different in all three of our high schools because of that. Uh those will be work that'll be work that our building teams will be working on throughout the year so that next year's lunch and learn process works better than this year's lunch and learn is working. Once again, schoolboard presentation date, that's why you see August on that uh 2025. We anticipate that needs to be done prior to the school year with an action date of April. Once again, because if there are staffing or budgetary concerns, they would be through the budget and a completion date of August. Scheduling for all programs, certainly all programs, including specialy programs, are effectively integrated and scheduled in the new proposed model. We're pretty close right now, to be honest with you. Um there are a couple things that

041we have not been able to uh substantially address yet. AP we have some questions about special education staffing for direct instruction uh related services but uh we've met at this point with FCS and have really worked out how to make ed practicum and the prek program work. We've met the science uh chairs to talk about science labs and how we can make those work within the schedule. We have a full day schedule with our music teachers here at the end of the month to look at music scheduling. A lot of that has to do with traveling teachers between the middle and the high school level which will be more challenging and world language would be the same type of issue. TCHS we can make work in the current schedule. We already have worked we actually

042had the uh principal of TCHS was on our committee. Um I think PIDEA is a question we've had. We think that could work pretty easily but we need to flesh that out exactly. The allied health internship we've also created a schedule we can make that work as well. So I think some of the things that people have concerns about, we have been able to meet with individuals who actually run those programs or are in charge of scheduling them have been able to identify how those could work within the schedule and what types of things we might need to think about aligning graduation requirements. So students will move from a total of 28 scheduled classes potentially to 32 scheduled classes. Although we have about 15% of our kids who take eight classes a day, essentially eight

043credits a day, but the majority of kids will have additional courses they could take. So what does that look like in terms of adding graduation requirements in the current graduation requirements? Kids could actually graduate in three years, which we think doesn't doesn't make a lot of sense. So do we add additional courses that are required? What does that look like? That would be part of the governance team and certainly be something we'd be meeting with high school staff with specifically um to try and identify what that would look like. Could you see a schoolboard date there of October for a plan and then December is the date here because that is when the course of uh course catalog is actually approved by the board the the catalog course of studies. So that would be the

044time that that would have to be identified if we're going to make those changes with the completion date of April once again as we're moving forward with the staffing and the budget staff retention in the schedule. uh we'd anticipate that we'd be able to ensure the implication new schedule does not result in any net staff loss. To do that, we would have to work through the staffing process in February. Um and so we have those dates. The schoolboard presentation and action would actually be at the board meeting in February. That is when we are normally doing our staff run and trying to identify where our expected time off would be for the completion date, final date of April, which is the preliminary budget training or schedule instruction. Uh I think planning for teachers receive training

045and collaboration time to effectively transition from a fixed daily schedule to a rotating schedule for instruction. So we think we should have um our professional development plan for next year rolled out by the end of this school year. Uh but the school board action date meaning if there's additional things we need in October and certainly completion by August 2026. But we anticipate that our PD plan for the year next year, which would include um how we intend to ensure that there is time for staff to work on this throughout the school year next year, would be approved um actually in June. Next steps. So, we'll schedule a family town hall before the end of the year, much like we did with uh the um departmentalization and also with the standardsbased reporting. That should happen sometime

046in May. We're looking for a date. It's kind of challenging obviously with the uh amount of things that are going on in May. Uh ongoing building department meetings will continue to occur throughout the timeline. So those have been happening. Uh I know that our principles invited staff to participate in a building team at their building that would funnel up into the district governance team and and we would have to identify when we've met substantial completion related to planning and then related to execution of the plan. Uh many of the plan solutions to key concerns require more action. Whether it's through the proposed budget, whether it's through, you know, the purchase of furniture, whether it's through a project where we have someone uh put benches in where there were lockers. You know, we likely will not

047do that work internally. Those are things that come through the the uh capital project plan. And so, uh we will continue to have opportunities at the board meeting to have those conversations. That's all. Thank you. Thank you. I'm going to turn it over to my our student reps who are ready, I think. Good evening everyone. I hope you all enjoyed your spring break and have been able to smoothly get back into the routine of things. April has been a busy month for East, so I'm excited to share with you some of the things we've been up to. Making history in their very first season ever, our girls flag football team finished undefeated at 900 and won their division. At this point, their highlight reel might need its own documentary. By prioritizing teamwork, sportsmanship, and fun,

048the girls had a great season and are looking forward to their first playoff game on May 13th. Track and field has been busy competing in competitions all over the area. Several of our athletes have qualified for chess months and district championships, and we recently had two school records broken. Devon Towel in the 800 meter and Jacob Joslin and Choput. We're very proud of all of our athletes. This month, four of our science teachers spoke at the National Science Teaching Association Conference in Philadelphia. They shared their experiences teaching new science standards and offered guidance for other educators. Many PA teachers found the session valuable, highlighting East dedication to innovation and student engagement. Congratulations to Senna Wardo and Jonathan Sam for placing first and second in the annual WCAST e poetry contest. We are proud of them

049and are honored to have such creative students among us. On April 4th, East hosted its 15th annual House of Hope charity concert benefiting Home of the Sparrow, a charity supporting local women and children facing homelessness. This event was a huge success as we were able to raise over $15,000. Kathleen Sanger, director of development for Home of the Sparrow, attended the concert and stated, "In today's world, with everyone expressing differences, the House of Hope concert is a night of common good. Everyone is there to support each other and to celebrate every musician, dancer, singer, MC, planning committee, and stage crew member. A huge thank you to all who contributed their time and effort towards this event. This year's junior prom, once upon a time, was a night to remember. Thank you to our adviserss, class officers,

050and all of our parent volunteers for making this night a success. On April 16th, student council hosted our annual Viking Slam, a schoolwide volleyball tournament supporting Bringing Hope Home, a nonprofit supporting families with cancer. Teams were required to play in themed costumes, but the Smurfs really took it to the next level by painting themselves entirely blue for the game. Talk about dedication to the bit. Their dedication won them best costume and free donuts. It was a fantastic day and we're already looking forward to next year. Congratulations to Jimmy Dioro and Akshara Nagatada for representing EHS in the speech and debate state competition at Bloomsburg University. Thank you to their coach and East teacher, Mrs. Rosenthal, for making this experience possible. Good things to come next season. Congrats to the EHS academic team on their third

051place finish in Chester County. The students earned $500 in scholarships from Franklin Mint for their accomplishment. Stay tuned for the state playoffs on May 2nd at the Capitol building in Harrisburg. Speaking of the Capitol building, the East Chamber Choir performed there this month. The students performed six elections and were introduced and honored in the Senate Chamber. It was definitely a memorable memorable day for all. Congratulations to Skyla Lorento and Danica Bower for being named the Technical College High School students of the quarter. They are recognized for their positive attitude and scholarship and we're proud to call them our own. Our indoor color guard team has achieved something truly remarkable. They placed first in their last seven competitions in a row. This streak is not only an incredible accomplishment, but a school record for the team.

052They the they also won first place and a gold medal at Mid-Atlantic Championships. We're extremely proud of their accomplishments this season. East 11th grader Katie Heebe was honored at a walk organized by staff and students at East Gian Elementary. Katie, who was diagnosed with cancer last year, continues the fight and is on the EHS minthon committee. The first annual Minathon, a dance marathon, was held last Friday at East. This fundraising effort supported kids fighting cancer and their families. The college and career fair took place on April 24th during biking block and fifth period. This fair was designed to give students the opportunity to explore a wide range of career paths and post-secary options. It also introduced them to volunteer opportunities, internships, summer jobs, and other ways to actively engage in our community. Like I said,

053the Vikings had an extremely busy month, but a fun one nevertheless. I look forward to seeing you all next month for the final school board report of the year. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening everyone. I hope you had a great month and enjoying the nice weather and fighting those allergies because I know I am. Rustin has been super busy this month and I'm very excited to update you all. On April 2nd, we were able to recognize the following 10 students at the 27th annual Spellelman Humanitarian Award ceremony. Leah Amrazini, Victoria Delissi, Macy Fischer, Drew Gaffne, Alina Hong, Dia Lakmanon, Henry Matonas, Emily Miller, Diana Munz Lopez, and Emma Skinner. These students have gone above and beyond to demonstrate a commitment to serving others and improving the lives of people in need, creating a positive impact

054on our community. On April 12th, held junior prom, which is great. The parents did an amazing job with decorations. I've never seen a cafeteria and bathroom look so fancy before. On April 15th, we held our annual speaking and film contest where students were able to showcase their public speaking and video production skills. Through April April 19th, over 30 fresh and student artworks were featured in the Chester County High School Art Exhibition. The the exhibit featured art from high schools all over Westchester County where students were able to demonstrate their works, gain networking opportunities, and connect with other local artists. On April 24th, we are proud to recognize 33 students with the Knights of Character Award. This award acknowledges students for their outstanding actions to support a cultural of excellence. These students who are nominated for

055displaying the following traits: responsible, confident, involved, accepting, engaged, and respectful. On April 29th and May 7th, our orchestra and band groups will be having their concerts. They will be able to showcase their hard work and dedication by featuring a mix of individual and ensemble performances. Over this past weekend, our theater department performed Broadway review, which was their last show of the year. This musical reviewed the past 125 years of Broadway through student selected songs, rehearsals, and choreography. It was filled with so much excitement and energy. The Science Olympia team had an uneventful weekend at state which was held at Penn State Altuna. Overall they placed ninth in the state and medalled in several categories including fourth in micro mission, fifth in experimental design, sixth in astronomy and more. Rustin is extremely proud of all their

056hard work and dedication and the team is excited to return next year and work even harder. On May 2nd, Rustin will be holding their annual Spike the Rock volleyball tournament. This event helps raise money for families who are battling cancer and having a difficult time paying rent utilities and other essentials. This year, our goal is to raise $50,000 for those families and help alleviate the stress and financial burdens they may be facing. Some of the prizes for raising money include speakers, backpacks, release tickets, and a chance to visit the Nova Care Complex to get a private tour of the Eagles practice facility and even meet some of the players and coaches. Our senior year is coming to an end. On May 5th, we will be holding a commitment day sunrise tailgate where we will be

057coming together and celebrating students decisions and future plans. Last tailgate, there is a student who brought his grill and started cooking pancakes and bacon and eggs, and I'm really hoping he comes back with it cuz I love free breakfast. On May 9th, our senior class will be having their senior prom, which I'm very excited about. It will be held at Kingsville Banquet and filled with good food and lots of dancing. We will We're also having our post prompt at Rustin and it's Philly themed this year. There'll be over 80 prizes to win including an Apple Watch, a movie night bundle, gift cards, paddle boards, and fingers crossed I win some of them. It's our favorite time of the year, AP and Keystone testing. I know our teachers and students have been working hard by having

058review sessions and sharing resources. We know that everyone will do great. Our girls softball team is 14 to1 as they beat in schools like Westchester East and Henderson. Keep up the great work girls and we hope you had an amazing senior night last week. Congratulations to Russ head football coach Mike Stlair for being named the District One Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association coach of the year. For the fifth year in a row, the girls track and field team have been the chess one American champions. Congratulations. Everyone has been working extremely hard this month and we can't wait to what will do next. I can't believe I only have one speech left. Thank you so much. [Applause] Making me want pancakes over there. Oh my god. Um uh good evening everyone. I hope you uh have

059had a wonderful April so far and enjoyed all of your spring breaks. Here's tonight's report for the month of April at Henderson High School. Starting with our music department. From April 3rd to 5th, upper classmen traveled down to our nation's capital for an action-packed weekend of music and education. During the trip, students had the opportunity to watch a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, work alongside faculty of American University School of Music in an ensemble clinic, CDC on a cruise at the Ptoic River, walk the National Mall, and tour several of the Smithsonian Institutions museums. It's awesome. From April uh 10th through 12th, 10 Henderson students participated in the PMEA Allstate Music Festival at the Kalahari Resort in the Poconos. At the end of the festival, Nate

060Neman, Skyler Trudeau, and Heidi Krug were named to the PMA Allstate Band. Brooke Kaufman, Daniel Ken, Constantine Silvertoff, Leo Garcia Rodriguez, and Jackson Ogden were named to the All State Choir, and Charlie Platt was named to the All State orchestra. Congratulations to all of the musicians on their achievement. April also saw the All Eastern Choir Festival in Hartford, Connecticut in which three Henderson students performed. Representing Henderson were sen seniors Daniel Kusen, Heidi Krug, and Brooke Kaufman, all of whom meddled in their events. Congratulations, Daniel, Heidi, and Brooke. In other news, this past weekend, students on our science olympiad team competed in the Pennsylvania science olympiad state tournament at the Penn State Altuna campus. Sophomore Augusta and senior mana medalled in their events. Congratulations boys on your hard work. On Earth Day, students enrolled in Miss

061Schneider's AP environmental science and marine biology classes competed at Environ at Hiburnia State Park against 25 teams from high schools across Chester County. A competition testing students' knowledge of earth science and environmental stewardship. Students competed in events focused on forestry, geology, zoologology, aquatics, and climate change. Henderson team composed of students Mason Garner, Lydia Corbett, Jason Rice, and Aaron Layer placed fourth overall. Congratulations. On April 19th, Henderson's academic team led by Aiden Anderson, Sedarth Sumesh, Kyle Me, and VJ Ner took home first place at the Eastern Pennsylvania Regional Championship, beating out Great Valley in a contentious final round. Congratulations to the team on their hard work. On April 24th, members of Henderson's astronomy club visited Matherther Planetarium at Westchester University. There, students met with faculty at the university's college of science and mathematics, discuss careers in

062the field of astronomy, and viewed the university's state-of-the-art telescope. The Pennsylvania HOSA state leadership conference also took place earlier this month. During the conference, Henderson senior Tara Gomesh ended her tenure as president of the state chapter and freshman Abi Pode was elected state HOSA secretary for next year. Congratulations Tara Habi on your accomplishment. On April 10th, over 115 students recognized for their commitment and academic excellence and service to the community were inducted into the Henderson chapter of the National Honor Society. We congratulate all of the inductees on their achievement. On April 2nd, 10 Henderson seniors were honored with the Spellelman Humanitarian Award alongside students from Rustin and East. The award commended students' commitment to service, leadership, and citizenship in their communities. Therefore, I'd like to congratulate students Peter Kennedy, Maline Miller, Jayashri, Mudu Krishnan, Elena

063Patterby, Benjamin Pence, Tara Romesh, Sophie Rebell, Talia Salom, and Ruhi Trussy on their award. Um, and finally, before I end my speech tonight, I' I'd like to acknowledge the passing of Ellen Salone. Um, Ellen was a beloved member of the freshman class, uh, the student senate, and the Westchester and Henderson communities. Um, she passed away peacefully on April 14th at the age of 15 alongside her family. And I'd like to offer our thoughts and prayers for Ellen and her family. Um, on Friday, May 2nd, Henderson's Chamber Choir will perform a concert in her honor at the Good Samaritan Church in Poli. And on May 7th, Penderson's concert orchestra will play a concert in her honor. All are invited to support her family and uh honor her memory. Um thank you. And that concludes my report

064for this evening. Thank you, Peter, Diana, and Madison. And good luck with the next few weeks. It's an exciting time. and we'll move on to Dr. Mer and this month's personnel report. Thank you, Miss Funding. Good evening, board. Miss Funny, Mr. Reala, members of our board, our personal report for the month of April 2025 is as follows. With removals from payroll, we have four resignations, two teachers and two custodians. We also have 15 retirement notifications. Mr. John Alvantekis, health physical education teacher at Rustin High School with 21 years of service. Miss Marian Barkuski, kindergarten teacher at Westtown Thornbury Elementary School with 16 years of service. Miss Cynthia Claffy, English teacher at Stson Middle School with 19 years of service. Mrs. Sharon Dean, English language arts teacher at Pierce Middle School with 18 years of service.

065Miss Ann Ellis, music teacher at Rustin High School and Pierce Middle School with 25 years of service. Miss Loretta Gallagher, technology specialist at East Ocean Elementary School with 12 years of service. Miss Lisa How, reading specialist at Glennacres Elementary School with 19 years of service. Mrs. Joanie Leage, health and physical education teacher at Hillsdale Elementary with 22 years of service. Mrs. Kathy Logitas, family consumer science teacher at Henderson High School with 25 years of service. Mrs. Mary Aguire, English teacher at East High School with eight years of service. Mrs. Ala Shrivesta, special education par professional at Burnhill Elementary School with 21 years of service. Mrs. Kathleen T, schools counselor at Henderson High School with 24 years of service. Miss Amy Thomas, instructional coach at Hillsdale Elementary School with 28 years of service. Mr. Reggie Washington,

066health teacher at Fugit Middle School with 36 years of service. And Miss Cynthia Wesley, English teacher at Middle School with 18 years of service. This represents 312 years of combined experience and service in Westchester area school district. We wish our 15 retirees a happy and healthy retirement and we are very thankful for their service. We wish them all the best in this next exciting chapter in their lives. In addition to payroll, we are recommending the hiring of one certified school nurse and two loan service substitutes. Additionally, we are very lucky to be recommending two administrators to Westchester area school district team. First, we have Maggie Hunt. We are recommending as the principal of Rustin High School. Maggie comes to us from Union Chad School District. Maggie, would you please stand and be [Applause] recognized? Secondly,

067Dr. Patricia Cardini, who we are recommending as an assistant principal at Rustin High School. Dr. is coming to us from William Penn School District and Dr. Pete Partardini will meet our board at the year time as she could not be here this evening. We're also recommending one English language power professional and one third ship custodian. We're recommending four substitute custodians. In personnel events, I communicated and delivered one status change in the custodial unit. Furthermore, I communicated and delivered 31 involuntary transfers in the teaching staff for the 2526 school year and 15 voluntary transfers in the teaching staff the 2526 school year. Also, we are recommending the approval of four sabbaticals. In addition information, we are reporting one updated start date, a last day of work date, the approval of two memorandum of understanding between the

068professional education association and the district to bring forward two supplemental contracts, one for girls golf and one for girls flag football. I'm also seeking approval for 31 drivers and substitute drivers from crafts buses and 16 drivers and aids from on the go kids buses. We're also bringing forth six additions to our tutoring list as tutors, homebound tutors, and site managers. In supplemental contracts, we're adding five annual contracts for the 2425 school year. Two additions to the spring season, the 2425 school year, 123 additions to the fall season of 2526 school year, and one removal from the spring season. Lastly, we are requesting the approval for six candidates for GA game help. I'm respectfully requesting board approval for all the personal matters listed above. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Oler. May I have a motion to

069approve the April 28, 2025 personnel recommendations as presented? I have a first from Dr. Dietri and a second from Vice President Federal Aqua. All those in favor say I. I oppose. Nay. Motion carried. Next, we'll approve the consent agenda for tonight. Uh do we have any uh comments or items to be removed from the consent agenda? Seeing none, we have a motion to approve the April 28, 2025 consent agenda as listed. I have a first from Director Fry and a second from Dr. Herman. All those in favor say I. I opposed. Nay. Motion carries. We'll move on to our committee report. We'll start with director Dornell and our teaching, learning, and equity committee report. Thank you, President Fleming. The teaching, learning, and equity committee meeting committee met on Tuesday, April 15th. Uh we had a

070number of action items. After hearing presentation from Mrs. Bailey, we approved the core instructional materials being used for the secondary reading support. Uh we then heard presentation from Dr. Brown and we approved the teaching, learning and equity curriculum summary budget. Uh also we heard a brief presentation from Dr. Brown uh seeking approval for a contract with a AJ Giuliani to support professional development. That was approved. And we also heard the final uh revised calendar for the 2024 2025 school school year and that was approved after presentation from doc Dr. Mesid. And then finally uh we sought approval and received approval for uh the required of the public school code designated local holidays for the 202526 Westchester area school district calendar. That was also approved. Our next teaching and learning and equity committee meeting will be

071held on May 13th and all are invited. That concludes my report. And Director Dell, do you have um an item to be approved by the board tonight? Is it in here? Yes, there is. Approval is requested for the adoption of the 20 2025 2026 teaching learning and equity curriculum summary budget. All all in favor say I. I'll do that. Okay. Thank you. I have a motion from director Dell for the approval of the 2526 teaching learning equity curriculum summary budget. May I have I have a first from director Dell. May I have a second? Uh Dr. Dri, all those in favor say I. I opposed. Nay. Motion carries. Thank you, Director Dell. We'll move on to our personnel committee report with Director Parkinson. The April Personnel Committee meeting was held immediately preceding tonight's board meeting.

072Minutes from that meeting are not yet available. I do however um seek approval is requested for the purchase of bid crater program. I so move I have a first from director Parkinson to approve the purchase of bid crder program. I'm u director Parkinson has several items that the board will vote to approve and we're voting as a full board because the personnel committee meeting Michelle directly in front or before this meeting which is why we're voting as a full board rather than the committee. So I have a first from director Parkinson. Do I have a second? Vice President Bealqua. All those in favor say I. I oppose. Nay. Motion carries. Approval is also requested for the new act 93 position and job description for the position of elementary assistant principal. I so move. I have

073a first from director Parkinson. Do I have a second? Dr. Herman. All those in favor say I. Motion nay. Motion carries. Approval is requested to establish the act 93 salary range for the position of elementary assistant principal. the range being $110,173 to $139,371. I so move. I have it first from Director Parkinson. May I have a second? Director Darnell. All those in favor say I. I. I. Oppose. Nay. Motion carries. Approval is requested to establish the Excuse me. Approval is requested to add 12-month coordinators, behavior specialist, nursing services, and social work as well as pupil services assistant director positions to the act 93 agreement. I so move. I have a first and director Parkinson. May I have a second? Vice President Bealaga. All those in favor say I. I. Oppose. Nay. Motion carries. Approval is

074requested to establish the act 93 salary range for the 12-month coordinator, behavior specialist, nursing services, and social work positions for the range of $13,852 to $134,2. I so move I have a first director Parkinson. May I have a second? Dr. Dietri, all those in favor say I. I oppose. Nay. Motion carries. Approval is requested to remove the assistant to the director's elementary secondary pupil services positions and the coordinators 195 days social work and nursing services from the act 93 agreement. I so move. I have a first from director Parkinson. May I have a second? Director Dell. All those in favor say I. I oppose nay. Motion carries. And lastly, approval is requested of the Roth of the Fox Rothschild's engagement letter for the 2025 2026 school year at the blended hourly rate of $250. I

075so move. I have a first from Director Parkinson. May I have a second? Dr. Herman. All those in favor say I. Oppos? Nay. Motion carries. Thank you, Director Parkinson. Believe you have four or That was it. Thanks. And vice president will now give the property and finance committee report. Good evening. The property and finance committee was held last week on April 22nd. We had the opportunity for three uh Stson Middle School students came to speak to us and they came to speak to us about a case study they performed in school. They researched on ways to drive down transportation cost in a sustainable manner. Each of the three students presented a section that included sports, transportation, cyber Fridays, and strategic routing ideas. So, some things we'll just uh discuss offline and talk about a little

076bit further. As we do at each of the property finance committee meetings, Mr. Scully reviewed the budget forecast model. The net projection changes for this this school year 2425 resulted in increase in fund balance designations for future millage increases of a total price of 1.29 million. The changes to next year's school budget, the 2526 projections and the utilization of those 2425 savings resulted in a budget gap decrease of 690K. Mr. Skully then provided to both the property finance and the full board a financial summary. He pointed out that Chester County tax rate increase is currently set at 3.4%. Which is under the current act one limit for Chester County. The administration, as they always do, will continue to review these projections for potential savings to reduce the millage impact to the 2526 final budget. More

077to come on that next month. Next thing, Mr. Skully presented a proposed 2526 general fund budget which included an overview of the act one process, the taxation limits, the 2526 budget challenges facing the district, a 10-year historical look at mandated expenses and uh subsidies, a comparison of revenues and expenses for both the 2425 and the 2526 school year, our market value analysis and the 2526 proposed mill analysis. Mr. Skully also reviewed the market value analysis which compared the PA state equalization board's market values for this calendar year and for both Delaware and Chester County and for next year. The proposed 2526 budget reflects a 3.5 a 3.4% millage increase in Chester County and currently a 3.5% increase in Delaware County. Mr. Scully reviewed those charts for the 2425 mill rates for each of the school

078districts in Chester and Delaware County. The next item Mr. Skully uh presented a resolution to adopt the proposed final next year's school year 2526 budget in accordance with the act one timeline. Mr. Skully advised the committee that the changes can be made to the proposed final budget up to the time of the final budget approval next month in May. The committee recommended approval of the resolution to adopt the 2526 proposed uh final budget. And I do have a motion today that's on the uh on the agenda and this uh will be a full roll call vote. Approval is requested for the resolution to adopt the proposed final budget for fiscal year 2526. I so move. I have a first from Vice President. May I have a second? Director Fry, are there any questions or comments?

079Seeing none, Miss Jer, will you take the vote? Vice President. Yes. Director Fry. Yes. Director Christie. Yes. Director Dell. Yes. Director Parkinson. Yes. Director Dietri. Yes. Director. Yes. President. Yes. Motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Sure. I'll continue on the uh the next item. as we do on an annual basis. Um, we look at the food service program. Mr. Scully reviewed the food service program equipment purchase and the renovation plan. The schedule accounts for all equipment that will be placed as part of the cafeteria renovation projects and spans both from from the current year 2025 through 2033. The committee members requested periodic updates of these amounts spent on secondary cafeterias from the 400k aotment. Mr. Skully reviewed the fund analysis schedule for the replacement plan. The plan will utilize existing cash within the the food

080service fund to fund the equipment replacements. The committee recommended approval of the equipment purchases for the 2526 school year. The next items in the property finance committee was uh related around our property. Uh Mr. Burster uh presented the committee with the bid results of a previous approved 2425 capital reserve project and that was a district-wide stage ring with a drapery for a total awarding price of 70,320. The committee recommended approval of that capital reserve project. The next thing Mr. Burster presented the committee with bid results of previously approved 2526 capital projects and they listed as follows. Districtwide facility conditioning assessments with the shrader group for an award price of 89,464. Exit elementary school parking lot and driveway seal coating with unatics asphalt services for a total award price of 9,415. Rustin High School fieldhouse roof

081replacement with beaver home improvement for a total award price of 89,240 and the committee recommended approval of those 2526 capital reserve projects. Mr. Mr. Burster then presented the committee with bid results for the previously approved capital projects as follows districtwide building automation systems with Triumph Group for a total awarded amount of 2,680,000. That's a continuing project we're doing across all schools. Uh and the committee recommended approval of that capital reserve project. The last item that I have here tonight was Mr. Bura then presented the committee with a request to hire a capital program coordinator. This coordinator would assist with multiple capital and capital reserve projects completed in the upcoming years through our renovation plans. The position is anticipated to be needed at least at this point to the year 2031 through all our our current

082renovation plan. This position will be paid for as part of the capital program funding and will not be funded from our general fund. Committee recommends approval of this position with the capital program coordinator. The next property finance meeting will be held on Monday, May 19th. All are welcome to attend. And that concludes my report for this evening. Thank you, Vice President Bago and Director Dietri, please report on the policy review committee meeting. Absolutely. Policy review committee meet met on Tuesday, April 22nd. The committee reviewed timesensitive policies as well as policies that are reviewed annually and then completed review of SE section 700 property. Our next meeting will be on Monday, May 19th. And that is my report for tonight. Thank you, Director Dietri. I believe Director Krispy does not have a report tonight on the

083legislative committee. We have no other business this month. So, we'll move on to comments. Pardon me. CC CIU. Oh, I'm sorry, Darl. Director Bernell will now report on the CCIU. Thank you, President Fine. The Chester County Intermediate Unit board of directors held its monthly meeting on Wednesday, April 16th, 2025 at the Educational Service Center, TCHS Brandy Wine in Downing Town. Miss Marine Lahan, director of human services, provided an overview of current staffing recruitment e efforts and growth trends related to par profofessional support in Chester County. Miss Lingham provided a snapshot of the Chester County labor market, which continues to face workforce challenges due to low low unemployment and compensation for roles in high needs special education settings. In response, CCIU has implemented aggressive recruiting strategies, including participation in job fairs, walk-in hiring events, and targeted

084social media outreach. Miss Christa Foazio, director of communications, marketing and engagement division, introduced her team. Uh they provided an overview of the special events offered by the CCIU to students across Chester County. They highlighted the scope, impact, and partnerships that support these enrichment opportunities for students. CME hosts 11 signature events for students from elementary through high school including the spelling be science fair, art show, reading Olympics, knowledge ball, Shakespeare festival and more. These events promote academic growth, critical thinking, public speaking, collaboration, and real world learning. Uh the board also acted and approved a contract with the Chester County Sheriff's Department to provide school resource officer program. The next CCIU board of directors meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 21st, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. at the CCIU Learning Center in Coastville. That ends my report.

085Thank you, Director Dell. And uh we'll Next, move on to public comment on non-aggenda items. Uh because we have a lot of comments, we're going to take a very quick two-minute break before we start to public comments. Thank you everybody. Uh we're going to resume with the uh public comment on non-aggenda items. Could we wait just a moment longer because I need the board secretary to run the Now we will move on to non-aggenda public comments. Okay. Um, I have 16 nag agenda comments this evening and um, I read the statement regarding the rules of public comments again. I won't read it again, but just acknowledge that they apply to this time period as well. The first speaker we have this evening is Robert Graves. Good evening. Um, I'm Robert Graves from the Burrow of

086Westchester, a new resident. I'm proud to be a new member of the community. I'm here today to seek support uh for public school students in the scouting program. Um, we're interested in extending equal access to our character development programming for all public school students. Families in our program benefit from access to high quality outdoor experiences that advance behavior outcomes, leadership skills, and strengthen communities. Youth who get access to scouting have almost double the chance to advance their achievements of their parents in both education and wealth as their peers. For many um myself included, that isn't considered to be the American dream. There are about 300 public school families that have found their way to the scouting program in Westchester um who we continue to serve. Um they complete thousands of hours of service per year

087and seek to do good for others through major food drives, school and municipal improvement projects, etc. Our organization is not effectively reaching Westchester area school district families. Currently, every private school in the district's area welcomes collaboration and seeks to gain the advantage of their families participating in scouting. Prior to CO, there was a scout group serving every single public elementary school uh in this district. Because of current policy, our service has shrunk to partnering with less than a third of the schools in this district. We would urgently like to do more for this community, and I'm here to report that this year our focus as an organization is on Westchester schools. We want to spend money um and volunteer leadership toward more active collaboration um with this school district and serving the Westchester area community.

088Thank you. The next speaker is Albert Art. Good evening members of the board. My name is Aller Tally. I'm from Westtown uh township and I'm proud community leader and cubmaster of Cub Scout Pack 69 here in Westchester. I'm also a parent and my children I have two children who are active Cub Cub Scouts in Pack 69 and two more are Boy Scouts in Troop 222, one of whom was about to earn his Eagle Scout rank. Scouting's been part of my family uh for uh for many years and I've seen firsthand the lifelong benefits it provides to young people. Tonight I'm here to speak to on behalf of all the Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops that serve the Westchester area school district. We are asking for your support to allow us to recruit in

089our schools. Scouting offers children a positive structured environment that keeps them engaged, teaches them critical life skills, and keeps them on the right path. In a world full of distractions, scouting gives kids something bigger. A place to learn leadership, resilience, teamwork, and respect for others. Currently, the policies that are in place is difficult for local scouting units to share information with students and families. This limits our ability to reach young people who could truly benefit from the opportunities that scouting provides. Offering relief to these restrictions could make significant difference uh difference. It would allow for more students and families across the district to learn the program that has been proven to build strong character, leadership abilities, and a lifelong commitment to community service. Our scouts participate in exciting activities like the Pinewood Derby, rocket launches,

090overnight camping and trips, and community service projects. Uh the these aren't just fun events. They're opportunities for kids to build confidence, solve problems, and work together towards a common goal. Whether it's racing a car built by themselves, launching a rocket, or learning how to pitch a tent as a team, scouting is all about learning by doing. Partnering with our schools is the best best way for to ensure our students in the Westchester Area School District have access to these kinds of enriching enriching hands-on experience that reinforce the values we want in our children. Responsibility, citizenship, perseverance, and a commitment to community service. All the packs and troops that serve the Westchester Area School District are proud to be part of the fabric of this community and we would be honored to reach more families and

091offer their children their opportunity to grow into confident, capable leaders. Working together, we can build a stronger future to our students and Westchester as a whole. Thank you very much for your consideration. Next speaker is Hi, J Defonso. Still living in the smaller minier of the two oceans. Um, I've been in this school district for a long time. Uh, and there's been a lot of changes over the course of of time. Um, I've seen u budget cuts. I've seen fugitives start time u moved so that we can combine buses with East High School. Um I've seen um class rank disappear from transcripts which is a benefit to our students um because the school is so well um uh let's just say very rigorous uh classes. Um, I've seen presentations on changing the school t start

092time to kind of align with uh teen circadian rhythms. Um, I've seen the homework policy revised and throughout those processes, it's been more of a collaborative effort than what I've seen with the uh change that um they're looking to make to the uh schedule at the high school. Um, when we had things like um keystones replacing PSSAs in 11th grade and you know COVID mandates. When there were mandates, we had presentations when um there were changes the district was looking to make. It was more of a collaborative process where you know committees were formed, parents were asked to join, teachers were involved, board members were involved, get together generally in this room or you know break out into groups and there'd be uh more of a discussion, more of a collaboration and uh I I

093I was thinking that that kind of be would be a better process for um the way uh you know with something as big as changing the uh the the bell schedule to have two lunch and learns um at the high school. And um and I think uh my other thought was um when you involve parents, it's like getting a bunch of free consultants and it can also make families feel like they have a voice. And I think that everyone kind of likes to have their voice heard and I just make that suggestion going forward to um be more inclusive and collaborative. Thank you. Next speaker is Wood Nancy Woodford. In the last 5 years, this district has had a lot of turnover in administration. Each time we welcome a new administration, we extend our trust.

094But initially that trust is not earned. It's based on the trust we have in our elected school board to hold administration accountable. The high school schedule initiative, a change that will impact hundreds of teachers, thousands of students, tens of thousands of parents, and over 100,000 taxpayers, is this administration's first major opportunity to earn our trust and show us your approach to leadership. Here's what you've shown us so far. You said the new schedule is going to be great for student athletes, but it wouldn't work for teched students, and you'd figure that part out later. That makes it look like this district values certain types of students more than others. When we voiced concerns about a loss of two weeks of instruction time, your official response was, "It depends on how you define instruction time." That

095showed that you're willing to dismiss community concerns with semantics. You then claimed that your plan somehow increases instruction time, but that only turns out to be true because you have a goal of significantly increasing course load expectations for nearly every student. A goal that is only mentioned in a confusing matrix buried three clicks deep at the bottom of a web page. That shows us you do not value transparency. Your plan is physically impossible in our buildings without substantial investment. But you can't tell us how much it will cost. That shows us you were as surprised as we were about the scope of this change. You say that parent input is important to you, but the input you cited is from seven years ago, more than 5 years before you started here. That shows us your

096approach to collaboration is mostly about appearances. When teachers asked for a clear plan and more time, you denied them and then you tried to make it sound as though they never made the request in the first place. That shows us you don't know this community. We listen to a teachers. They've earned our trust. This is not the story of a community that isn't able to accept change or embrace innovation. It's the story of a poorly managed change. It's a top- down push of a sweeping initiative that wasn't clearly defined, doesn't work for all students, doesn't have a budget, has no meaningful supporting data, and is lacking stakeholder support. If your vision is as good as you say, don't force it on us. Make us believers. Show us a real plan. Commit to meaningful collaboration. That

097approach will earn our trust. That is the approach of true leadership. Thank you. [Applause] The next speaker this evening is William Anderson. Bill Anderson, West Ocean. I'm a graduate of Hillsdale Elementary, class of 96. Stson Middle, class of 99. Henderson High School, class of 03. I married a Henderson Warrior. Our wonderful daughters are at Fugate and East. We are thankful for this community, and we are proud to be part of it. Westchester schools have played an overwhelmingly positive role in my life and my family's life, and it's my honor to serve this community as a teacher at Henderson High School. First, I want to thank Dr. Christopher for beginning to work with WCA on drafting a process for the challenges ahead. The success of your proposal will require the buyin of students, parents, and teachers,

098and it's nice to finally see that acknowledged. I hope that stakeholder input will be treated seriously. This seems like a sensible starting place. Second, I hope that the process outlined earlier can serve as a template for our collective plans for future middle school and elementary school revisions. We have a lot of other changes ahead and parents, teachers, and students should be able to expect a similar process that treats their points of view seriously. Third, this timeline still strikes me as ambitious. Neighboring districts spent years creating careful plans for the successful implementation of their modified schedules. They had many problems to address just as we do, and they gave those issues due consideration. If we discover that more time is required, I hope that we are not reluctant to acknowledge it. Thank [Applause] you. The next

099speaker is Johnson. Brian Johnson, Westchester Burough. Uh, I'm here tonight to speak about the upcoming changes to lunch learn and my visit to downtown west a few weeks ago. Before I get started, I'd like to thank Dr. Connelly for inviting me and Dr. Sherlock for inviting me on the trip. As well as I stated at the last schoolware meeting, I would keep an open mind when visiting doc uh downtown west. The principal, Dr. Barker, was kind enough to welcome the district into the building and go over our questions and concerns before we even toured the building. I'll say that I was pleasantly surprised by the thoughtfulness that went into the planning. They took the time to visit other schools as we have. They opened up the process to the community at large. They included teachers,

100administrators, students, and community members. It was a five-year process to finally complete all the planning, answering hundreds of questions, and building the new renovations. They introduced a new schedule, the hourlong lunch and learn, and the building renovations once they were completed. And from what I could tell, not a moment sooner. I could back a plan like this. The one thing that struck uh stuck with me the most was that I had the chance to speak with Dr. Barker and asked him if this could have been done without the new renovations that were going on there. There was no hesitation from Dr. Barker. He emphatically stated it would not be possible to do it the right way without the five years of planning and preparation. This gave me pause to what is going on in our

101own district. I can get behind what the Downtown Area School District did. I can get behind the seven periods of class. I can get behind the administrative administrative team if we do this the right way and if we all do it together. We need voices from the community at large, teachers, administrators, and students. I'm not asking you to stop the plans. What I'm asking you is to slow the process down. I've already asked already been asked to join the committee in trying to improve life, and I look forward to doing that. I appreciate that Dr. Sherlock included me in this process, and I want this all to work as much as you do. This will not only impact my day-to-day as a teacher, but soon enough, this will impact my children as they come up

102through the ranks of the Henderson Peter P. Speaking on my view of how Henderson could handle the current changes without the drastic steps needed, I think there are far too many issues to implement it so quickly. The building does not have any large enough space uh open spaces outside of the cafeteria. Downing town West had to add two massive additions to their building to accomplish this. There would need to be a second or third large space added and there currently is no space like that in Henderson's building. The capital plan does not have any re renovations to the building for a few years. This seems like a problem that can't be solved in one year. I can get behind the changes the administration is proposing, but the timeline seems rushed to implement the proper changes

103and planning needs to go into. If this entire district works on the plan together, I believe we can make it a success. Let us not forget that Rome wasn't built in a day and the high schools of the West Area School District are no different than that. Thank you. The next speaker is Robin Melbourne. Robin Melbourne. My name is Robin Melbourne. I live in West Ocean. I am both a teacher and a parent in the district and I am here to ask the board to take some additional time to consider the new schedule. I taught in this district for 18 years, but I've only lived here for three. We moved here for the school district. My daughter was in first grade when we shut down for CO. Research tells us that she is in the

104group most affected by the school closures because those early years are so important in building basic literacy and math skills, skills that kids build on for the rest of their lives. And this is the group that we will test the new schedule on. This schedule gives us slightly longer class periods, 11 minutes longer, but the classes only meet three out of four cycle days. That is a big net loss of learning time. There will have to be major cuts to the content teachers cover in a year. When you think of the schedule in terms of minutes, we lose 405 minutes of instructional time. About 10 days of classes. When you do the math in terms of learning days, kids will miss 45 days of instruction each year. That is 45 days of English, 45 days

105of math, history, and science. And I remind you that the kids who are going to miss these 45 days of instruction are the ones that research tells us are most affected by the school closures during their foundational years. Consider what you can accomplish in 11 minutes. As a teacher, I can use those 11 minutes to add in some extra skills practice or introduce a new concept, but I cannot use those few minutes to make up for 45 days of having a kid in my classroom in front of me doing work. Downing Town and Unionville have moved to an hourong lunch and learn. If we move to this schedule, our classes will be eight minutes longer than their classes are right now. Eight minutes. But they don't drop classes so they don't lose 45 teaching days.

106My child will miss an entire marking period of days, instructional days her freshman year. By the time she finishes high school, she will have missed four marking periods of her core classes. That is an entire year's worth of instructional time. I moved here because I wanted my child to receive a great education. And I've taught here for 18 years. I know that Westchester can provide that. I am here today as a parent advocating for my child, but I am also here as a teacher advocating for all of our kids. I do not want Westchester to be so far behind Downing Town and Unionville. I am here to ask the board to take the time to consider the cuts that this schedule will make and how it is going to affect our kids for years to

107come. Thank you for your time. [Applause] Uh, good evening. My name is Joanna N. I'm a teacher in the district. I teach biology at Westchester Rustin and I've been teaching in the district for 21 years. I'm speaking to some of the concerns of myself and some of my colleagues. I want to begin by saying um I have been working with administration to address some of the specific concerns surrounding science courses and I appreciate being included in those conversations. I believe that both the current and proposed schedules have benefits and challenges. Some of the challenges are not necessarily about the schedule change itself. They are about the still unanswered questions surrounding the implementation of the new schedule. We are respectfully asking that the current issues be addressed and that clear specific answers be provided before implementing

108the changes. Some key questions are how will the new schedule affect course credits and graduation requirements for students? How will supervision during lunch and learn be improved? The currently high student to staff ratios has led to an increase in fights, vaping, and inappropriate conduct on our campus. How will campus security be strengthened? We are especially concerned with students leaving campus during an extended lunch and learn period and propping side entrances open for individuals to enter without identity verification. How can we ensure a more equitable distribution of responsibilities among staff during lunch and learn? Some teachers support 10 to 20 students daily for remediation while others have no students at all attending lunch and learn. How will the professional develop per development periods be structured and what are the expect expectations for these periods for staff?

109We are not asking to abandon the idea of a new master schedule. We are simply asking sorry we are simply asking to finish building the plane before flying it. During co we had no choice but to build the plane as we were flying it. We understood those were prec unprecedented times and teachers rose to and met the challenge. Now we have a choice. Now we can fix and build the plane first. If we are going to do this, let's take the time to do it right with a fully developed, wellsupported plan. Thank you for your [Applause] time. Carolian I might not be saying your last name right. Penosian Carol. Okay, maybe she's left. So, we'll move on to Kendall Biser. Good evening. I'm Kendall Bicer, a sophomore at East High School and West Goian resident.

110I am here tonight to discuss my opinions on the proposed schedule change in the coming years. As a current high school student in the Westchester area school district, I strongly believe that this change in schedule will negatively impact students including myself, my peers, and my sisters who will be coming into the high school in the next few years. The proposals call for an hourong lunch and learn. And while having a lunch and learn is important for students as many are able to get help from teachers or take a break, the current schedule allows for that. My main concerns are changes in class times. Many students at East that I've conversed about with this topic have told me that even now in the 47 minute classes that we have, they struggle to pay attention. I think

111that making a class longer than an hour would do nothing to benefit the students, but rather make it much harder for them. To add on, I also believe that the schedules proposed are very confusing and would be difficult for students to follow. Thank you for listening and I hope you will take more time to plan and consider the schedule change. The next speaker is Salone. Um, good evening. Scott Deloon, West Ocean Township. Um, I taught at Hampton High School for 16 years. I became a Westchester resident 10 years ago. and in a few years, my two sons will begin kindergarten in the district. I care deeply about this community, about our schools, and about the teachers and the staff who at the heart of our schools. I also happen to be the high school vice

112president for the Westchester Area Education Association, and I would like to share my thoughts tonight about the high school master schedule. Over the past six months, I've had endless conversations about the schedule with my colleagues, many of whom are joining me here tonight. I've talked with Dr. Connelly, Dr. Christopher, members of the school board, principles, supervisors, and while some of my colleagues are very supportive of these changes and looking forward to them, many are deeply concerned. We're not here because we are adverse to change, as many of the earlier presenters have mentioned, and we're not here to oppose a new schedule. We're simply here asking that this board and this administration give this schedule the time and clarity it needs to be implemented successfully. I appreciate Dr. Christopher outlining some benchmarks and I look forward

113to the presentation in November outlining the full plan for all the changes to take place regarding the schedule. I appreciate the formation of the committees and buildings to start looking to improve lunch and learn starting next year, something that I've been asking about for a while now. Um, but the reality is we still need more time for these changes. As many of my colleagues have mentioned, Downing Town spent five years planning and implementing this change and we're trying to do it in two years. And while November may still seem like we have a lot of time, the reality is November is less than one month away from course selection guides needing to be finished. This impacts students and the courses they pick. We're one summer. We're leaving ourselves one summer for any changes to the

114buildings. Okay. And while I appreciate that we've started pulling out lockers, um, one of my students came to me today and was surprised this morning to find out that she no longer had a locker to put her stuff in when she arrived at school. We're not doing this with the time and care that it deserves. This schedule is going to be my daily routine for the next 20 years of my teaching career. It's a schedule that's going to attract talented teachers to our district or drive them alive. It's a schedule my sons will one day experience as students at Henderson High School. This is a monumental change for staff, for students, for the community. We need to make sure that we're giving this change the attention and planning it necessitates. I appreciate some of the

115changes that have been made so far, but we need more time. We need more time to make sure this schedule is implemented correctly. Thank you very much. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Megan Hedgecock and I live in the Burrow of Westchester. Um, first I am here to support these teachers. We love and respect them. Um, second, I'm here for my kids. My senior Annie um, loves senior year. like Skip's senior skip day loves senior year because she gets to go to the hospital every morning as part of the allied health program. She thought she wanted to become a nurse and she did this program and now she knows she wants to become a nurse. She's gotten into a whole bunch of really great nursing programs as a result of these teachers and this program.

116Annie has two younger sisters. They are also interested in the medical field. They would really like to love senior year as much as Annie does and do the allied health program, too. I implore you to slow down the rescheduling to make sure that opportunities like Allied Health and TCHS don't fade away. I implore you to to hear the concerns of these teachers that my kids love and respect. Thank you. Speaker is Charlotte. Charlotte Lander. Um, I'm a sophomore at Henderson High School and I think we all know why I'm here. Um, I'm here to discuss my personal thoughts about the new rescheduling that will be coming around in my senior year. To begin with, I personally don't work well if I'm super focused, super locked in, doing all my work, and then I have a

117bunch of time where I'm doing nothing and I have nothing to keep mentally stimulated. And then that will make getting back into the next part of the day even harder. That's why the versatility of our current schedule is so important because students that like breaks have the opportunity to take lunches or study halls so they can have the rest they need throughout the day to stay recharged. And students who work better if they're continuously working have the opportunity to take a full eight class course schedule. In addition to that, things like lab periods will be cut short, meaning that you won't be able to get as much out of science classes. Like in chemistry, we're doing a bunch of labs right now. Those need more than 53 minutes to get all of the benefits. Um,

118in addition to this, hold on, I forgot what I was going to say. Um, a lot of people will be affected by not being able to do programs like TCHS. I know a lot of my sisters would like to do that and it would be really, really awful if people who are already wanting to go into those programs all of a sudden have that ripped away from them and aren't able to think of that. In addition to this, the shortened class instructional time will mean that AP courses have higher course loads, more stuff to do at home on top of everything high school students are already expected to do. High school students have to have jobs. they have to do volunteer hours in order to get into good colleges. Adding more and more outside of

119the school work will only add to this and make it harder for students to adapt to real life once we leave high school. Thank you for your time. Next speaker is Steph Anderson. Steph Anderson, uh, West Ocean. I want to start my comment by saying I really appreciate a sentiment Dr. Christopher uses a lot when talking about our district, walking the Westchester way. I appreciate this because I have a history with Westchester. I was born at Chester County Hospital to a father who was a teacher. I went to Xenon Elementary, Pierce Middle School, and I graduated from Henderson High School. My husband who stole my thunder with this a little bit was born here as well a graduate of Hillsdale Stson and Henderson. Our daughters are also Westchester born and raised attending X and Fugate

120and East. When you've lived in a place your whole life it becomes a part of you. When we talk about Westchester we have to acknowledge Westchester is not just a place. It is an amalgam of people history and moments. Westchester is a community. A bit of a dysfunctional family we don't always see out of eye but a community just the same. So when you talk about walking the Westchester way, the Westchester way is community, which is why the way the proposed schedule change has been approached is so concerning because it has not been approached in the Westchester way. There are multiple aspects of this plan that are troublesome. Many of brought to your attention over the last few weeks as well again tonight. First of which is that the original intention was to push this

121plan through without any current teacher, student, parent, or board input. When issues were brought to the attention of Adam and they were either dismissed or punted to be figured out in the future, you set an arbitrary deadline without a plan, a timeline, a budget, or a collaboration. I've yet to hear why implementing this in a year is necessary. Why not two years? Why not three? As of today, the district has still not officially communicated this change to the public, which has left most of our community in the dark to a change that has significant curricular and financial implications. We've also yet to hear why. Why is this change good and necessary for Westchester Area School District? I'm grateful that steps are finally being taken to bring teachers to the table and give them a voice.

122I hope this is meaningful, but additional stakeholders, parents, and students are still missing from the conversation. I do not believe we should move forward without without being presented a comprehensive plan, including budget timeline and a rationale as to why these changes are necessary and beneficial for the district to the public. I do not believe we should move forward until all stakeholders have been included and their feedback incorporated. This process will set a precedent for future changes and decisions, especially if similar changes will be brought to the elementary and middle school level. So, let's be sure to get this right. This is your time to convince us this is the best plan for our community. Even as more issues to address are uncovered, I ask that you delay this project by even one year to make

123the proper determination so we do not end up paying twice to fix rushed mistakes. Dr. Christopher Admin, if we're going to walk the Westchester way, we cannot do that without the Westchester community. So, I'm eager to collaborate. Thank you. [Applause] Hello again, Megan Ryhov from East Ocean. So, the last several summers I have spent part of my summer um getting to have part of my book list be courtesy of the district and that's because I've taken part of being on the ELA core instructional materials review team. And I feel so fortunate as a parent and a former student to be part of the conversations. I get to see our amazing teachers discuss the merits of the books and how they might incorporate them into their classroom. And these are books that they might not even

124use as whole class reads. Some of them might be working better as supplements. They might be, you know, uh, in small groups, but they still require parental input and teacher input. So, imagine my surprise when all of these proposed changes to the high school uh, schedule didn't involve parental input. And some of the things that have been mentioned, I was already concerned about. So, some other things I would like to bring up. I'm the parent of an autistic child who receives as a part of their IEP social skills and strategies. I'm not really sure exactly how not having these classes every day are going to be beneficial for students with IEPs. I'm the parent of a child who experienced drastic mental health concerns and the school district was able to work with us where we

125had my child actually only attend half a day. So one day it was in the morning, one day it was in the afternoon. That would be thrown out the window as a possibility. I'm the parent of children who love science and my daughter who is graduating and this will not affect her but it will affect many students like her loves labs and I'm want to make sure that labs are not only going to be available for AP students and the higher level students that they can be available for honors level and everything as well. All of these changes, they're so much further reaching than just a book, which I still do believe that should have parental input, but they're going to cost more money. They're going to affect curriculum, graduation requirements, infrastructure. And then something

126I kind of wrote during the whole process of this is everyone saying, "Why rush?" I know right now my family is determining, can we even afford buying a laptop because of tariffs? How is rushing this going to save us money? I am incredibly concerned that it is not involving community input and I'm concerned that it is going to end up costing us more in the long run. So, please think this through and we do not need to rush this plan. Thank you. [Applause] speaking is Nila Bender. Nila Bender. Good evening. I'm Nila Bender. I'm from West Ocean and I'm a senior at Henderson right now. A few months ago, I was invited to Spellman to participate in a panel of juniors and seniors with the aim of gathering student opinions on the new high school

127schedule options. We were presented with two new choices, a four period alternating block schedule and a sixth period rotating waterfall schedule. I personally believed that neither schedule was suitable for our high schools. When I voiced this opinion to the adults in the room, a few of them essentially laughed at me and said that just wasn't an option. Though several other students on the panel agreed with me, the more popular option ended up being the four period block schedule. In addition, two out of three high schools voted for this schedule. So, naturally, I was surprised to hear that the district had chosen the less popular, more confusing waterfall schedule. Clearly, many opinions have been disregarded when making this decision. Furthermore, many teachers were concerned about where students would go during a doubled midday free period. Instead

128of asking the opinions of teachers who managed this period daily, the decision was made to rip out half of Henderson's lockers without warning, leaving hundreds of students without a place to store their belongings. In the past few months, administration has ignored students and teachers concerns regarding the negative impacts these changes will have on teachers abilities to do their jobs and the quality of students education. Even though this schedule won't take effect until after I graduate, it will impact many people I know and care about. For example, my brother will be a senior when the new schedule starts, and he's uncertain if it will prevent him and other students from participating in the allied health program. Teachers, especially those with AP classes, are already forced to rush through the curriculum to prepare students for endofear AP

129exams. The loss of class time caused by this schedule will only exacerbate the issue. I think I speak for all Westchester students and parents and teachers when I request two simple favors. That you ask for our opinions and that you please actually listen. Thank you for your time. [Applause] Thank you to everyone who came out to speak tonight. We appreciate your uh passion and love for our district. Um now, Director Parkinson will read a closing quote. Yes, thank you. Um this is quote is from an educator I consider an inspiration. Marian Wright Edelman. Education is for improving the lives of others and leaving your community and world better than you found it. Thank you. Thank you, Director Parkinson. Our next monthly board meeting is on Wednesday. Please note the date change, May 28th, 2025. Do

130I have a motion to adjurnn? Dr. Dietri a second. Director Dell. All those in favor say I. I. Oppose. Nay. Meeting is adjourned.