001and then record. >> Sounds good. >> Okay. Mr. Antonio >> here. >> Mr. Badger. >> Mr. Goolson >> here. >> Miss Keranikis >> here. >> Mr. Kelly >> here. >> Dr. Morris >> here. >> Mr. Strauss >> here. >> Mr. Walker >> here. >> Mrs. Ginsburg >> here. >> Isabelle Dcasta >> here. >> Simron Mahender >> here. >> Great. Thank you. Um would everybody please join me in saying our pledge of allegiance to the flag as to the flag of the United States of America >> and to the republic for it standyice for all. >> Thank you. Um, welcome to everyone who's joining us this evening virtually um for this January 26th uh work session at the Whista Hickens School Board. Uh, first in our agenda, we list out our prior meetings. On January, excuse
002me, on December 8th, we had a regular public board meeting. December 23rd, a special public board meeting. January 12th was a board curriculum and technology committee meeting. January 20th was communications committee and board educational equity oversight committee meetings. Um, our upcoming meetings are then listed. On February 2nd, we'll have our next regular public board meeting. February 9th, finance. February 17th, policy. February 20th, board educational equity. And then February 23rd will be our next work session. And uh, now we have our first presentation for this evening. And uh I'm just going to note that there is a slight adjustment this evening for our presentations. Before we um begin, I just do want to note that uh prior to the legally required 24-hour timeline for finalizing this agenda, there were three presentations um and we did have
003to remove um two of them. One being the um board recognition and also our annual state assessment report. And uh we do appreciate the community's understanding and we look forward to bringing these forward at a later date. Um but we are going to proceed this evening with our Wissa Hickin High School monthly highlights. So well we just finished midterms. It was last week. So I'm glad that all the students are done with that. And it's awesome because we did have like a nice long weekend especially with the snow day and the snowstorm. And on other news, we have a fundraiser going on with Waken Town Hall. We teamed up with Make a Wish and the fundraiser is to raise funds for cancer patients. And we're planning with other clubs, all the other clubs in the
004high school, whether it be affinity or non-affinity groups, to raise the most money. And then we'll see like which club raises the most money, what incentive they want to have as that prize. And we're excited. We were going to have the meeting tomorrow after school, but we're going to plan it again. So, we hope to see a large turnout with all the clubs. Um, additionally, after winter break, student council started selling candy canes just to wrap up the holiday season. I think we sold about 100 candy canes. And then this week, we're going to start selling um roses for the Valentine's Day sales that we do. So, this is one of our largest events. We're really excited about that. And then also this week we have our second grade level community forum on Thursday. [snorts]
005So for the first one of that, which I think was either in November or December, there were three to four topics that students could pick from that they wanted to discuss. And at least in the junior's um forum, there wasn't a minute that went by that people weren't constantly at the mic and talking about anything that was on their mind like the SATs or just asking their peers for any recommendations about college or anything else that they were interested, which is really good. So, I'm excited to see how this one turns out. And I think it's just a great place for all of our students to come together and share any ideas that they want to see implemented in the school or reflect on anything that's already happened. So, I think it's going to be
006a great event. >> Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for that news. Um, did anybody any questions or comments? >> No. All right. Well, thank you ladies for updating us. Um, and I do want to note there were actually three presentations that were pushed. Um, lowered student presentation, board of directors recognition month, and annual state assessment. I only mentioned two of them, so sorry about that. There's three that we're going to be resetting. All right. Um then we'll be moving on to our first public comment period and um we allow maximum of five speakers to be heard in the same topic. Please limit comments to three minutes in the interest of fairness and to treat speakers equally. It's our practice not to engage in dialogue with speakers. When appropriate, we will follow up with responses
007on board docks. And during this first public comment period, it is um for agenda topics only. So please make sure in addition to stating your name and municipality that you let us know what the topic is that you're speaking on. If you don't mention it, I probably will stop you just to make sure that we know what that topic is. All right. So first we have uh Carina Taylor. Carina, go ahead and unmute yourself. I am seeing Miss Taylor twice. So, I'm going to unmute the other login. Okay. Um, would you like to come back to Carina Taylor? >> Can you hear me? Can you hear me? >> Now we can. Yep. >> Yes. >> Oh, I was talking. All right. So, listen. Thank you, Amanda. You are everything. My questions are related to the
008committee assignments policy and I was prepared to talk about the state assessments. I wrote out my questions. So, I'm just going to run through it. In a previous meeting, I asked who was the board member that initiated the original amendment of the policies on November 10th. I received an answer that it was Mr. Golden. I asked why because he wasn't sworn in as a new member, but I want to know why now Noel Kelly um is chosen for the permanent position. Um [clears throat] what are the reasons um for the rest of the board members appointments? I feel like the public needs to know. Um does policy 103 replace the academic achievement gap plan um that I was hoping that Dr. Gardner was going to talk about as well. Um, what are the performance standards
009uh for policy 102? What is the measurement that they're going to be assessed? What prompted the designation of policy 104? What was done in the past and who was responsible? Will Dan Strauss be overseeing the operations of policy 1 122.12.32.4? was policy 234 recommended by the Pennsylvania School Board Association. Um, how are you going to fully inform the parent at the local level about the guidelines for staff conduct on PAL policy 317? Um, there was a board equity committee meeting on January 20th. I looked at the agenda and it said there was a presentation on special education. can't find the presentation because it said it was going to be available after the 20th. So, is Paul going to give an overview of that presentation? And why wasn't the presentation attached to the agenda for tonight?
010Um, where is the policy language that indicates that you could only ask one question at a subcommittee meeting on agenda items only? What if a stakeholder has something to convey about an issue regarding the subcommittee that's not on the agenda? And lastly, I just want to say that before this meeting, I went back on PA Future Ready Index. I looked at the the all of the scores for especially Stony Creek, Blue Bell, the middle school, and the high school. I presented disagregated data during the election. um there was a trend that everything was going down for as of last school year and now everything is going up. So I want to say right now that your disagregated uh data is a lie. Um and I don't know how you changed it but I am going
011to email Dr. Dewan what I had in the fall versus what is being shown right now. It is it is atrocious. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you Karina. Uh, next I see Miss Settles. >> Hello. >> Yes, we can hear you. >> Hi. Good evening, members of the board, superintendent, and administration. My name is Sita Settles and I'm in Lower Gwennet Township. I'm here tonight on policy committee item 18.81 18.2. I'm here tonight because what happened to my son is not an isolated lapse in judgment. It is part of a systemic failure within this district, particularly when measured against his repeated claims of belonging. My son was suspended before a proper investigation took place. The disciplinary decision was communicated before evidence was reviewed and before my child was afforded the opportunity to provide a statement
012with a parent present. Discipline cannot be decided first and justified later. That is a procedural failure. Critically, my son was attacked by two students at the same time. Yet, the incident was immediately framed as a fight without an investigation to determine aggressors or whether my son was acting in self-defense. That framing occurred before facts were gathered and before context was considered. Equally concerned is that my son's disability was not meaningful consider affects how a child perceives threats, processes stress, and responds to conflict. Ignoring disability is not neutrality. It is discrimination. This dismissal mirrors a long-standing pattern indigenous families know well. Our pain is minimized, reframed, or treated as non-existence. Based on the pattern of responses, escalations, and procedure shortcuts surrounding my son, I believe he is being targeted by members of the middle school administration
013with the exception of his direct principal also who has demonstrated professionalism and restraint. I was later informed that there is no video footage at all of this incident, including in adjacent hallways. That is not merely a procedure gap. It is a serious safety risk for every student at staff member in this building. The decision to involve law enforcement further escalated a situation that did not warrant it. Police presence should never be defend be the default response for student conflict particularly for indigenous students and students with disabilities. At the same time, staff misconduct has been met with silence. A school secretary used profanity in front of students and staff. Conduct that would have resulted in immediate discipline had a student done the same. This pattern extends beyond this incident. The joiner died poster remains displayed despite
014repeated concerns raised about his culture and historical harm. Swift action was taken against my son while harmful imagery and adult conduct remain unressed. Which brings me back to the district stated commitment to belonging. When indigenous students are disciplined without investigation, when disability is ignored, when safety systems are missing, and when staff behavior is excused. The phrase is laughable. I'm not here asking for equal treatment. What occurred is systemic and this district has demonstrated that it is either unwilling or unable to correct itself. I'm here to place this board on notice. I'm documenting harm, discrimination, and institutional failure. And I'll pursue this matter to the highest appropriate level. I will also seek full accountability, including compensation for the harm done to my child and to our family. May you all have the year you deserve. Good
015day. >> Thank you, SA. Um, Jesse Klein, you can go ahead and unmute. >> Hi, Jesse Klein from Whit Pain. I am Can you Can you hear me? >> Yes. Just let us know what topic number you're speaking on. >> Yeah, I am speaking about agenda items 18.2 and 18.8. more specifically about what has transpired over the past few months. First, I want to personally thank members of the black community for standing side by side with their Jewish family. Your support has been felt and it is deeply appreciated. I also want to acknowledge the administration. There seems to be an effort underway to create checks and balances in the district. That said, without meaningful change regarding the guiding principles, it is difficult to to see how this pattern does not repeat, and we have conflicting
016information. The solicitor's remarks at the December 8th meeting excused the behaviors you claim to now be fixing. After listening to the outrage expressed by this community, nobody needed a constitutional lecture on free speech. What we needed was accountability, moral clarity, and leadership, all of which have been absent. Here is a question to consider. Would it be acceptable if an unsuspecting black child around 10 years old was busted to the high school, wrapped in a Confederate flag, and photographed in front of symbols their family would find highly inflammatory under the supervision of school leadership? Would you consider that free speech or a lack of leadership, a lack of moral clarity, and a lack of judgment? For those unaware and listening, let me highlight two individuals who have been immortalized on the walls of our middle school
017for more than two years. Both have publicly praised terrorists. One of them praised Osama bin Laden after 9/11 and is still painted on the wall of our middle school. So, I'll ask again. Would you consider that free speech or a failure of leadership, a failure of judgment, and a failure to protect our children? Our schools are not public squares where anything is permissible. They are taxpayer funded institutions with a duty to protect our children. Now, to go back full circle, the solicitor felt it was appropriate to to provide his perspective to this community. The husband of our school board's president likewise felt it appropriate to provide his opinion during a recent listening session. He seems to have no issues with what has been occurring and does not want to be associated with those who are
018raising concerns. So the question remains, if the solicitor and the president of this board have no issues to what has been allowed under their watch, how should anybody expect real change to occur? Thank you. >> All right. Thank you, Jesse, for your comments. And I just would like to comment and clarify, my husband and I are [clears throat] not one in the same person, just to be clear for the public. Um, all right. Um, Rabbi Danielle, you can go ahead and unmute yourself. >> Thank you. Can you hear me? Yes, I can. Sorry. >> Good evening. My name is Rabbi Danielle Parmentor. I'm a parent in the district and the founding rabbi of Darom and Amler. I want to begin by acknowledging a meaningful shift that occurred a few weeks ago at the listening session
019for Jewish families. I'm speaking about agenda item 18.2. For the first time, the administration took responsibility, apologized, and put protocols in place to prevent recurrence. I'm deeply grateful to the ADL and the JCRC for their leadership and guidance in helping bring about that shift. And yet, I'm speaking tonight because there is still a wound that has not been addressed. Earlier in this process, when Jewish families raised concerns, we were repeatedly told that cultural expression could not be infringed upon and that the district's hands were tied by the First Amendment. What deepened the harm was that Jewish identity itself was invoked by the solicitor and other board members to minimize Jewish fear, suggesting that the concerns raised could be dismissed as overreaction. Diversity of Jewish opinion is real and valued, but it cannot be used to
020undermine the lived experiences of Jewish students who feel unsafe, targeted, or silenced. For many of us, this felt like spiritual gaslighting, using shared identity or the language of neutrality to explain away pain instead of responding to it. And yet, the district has now shown that guard rails are possible. Protocols can exist. What has not been explained is why this was not recognized earlier. There has been no acknowledgement from this board or its council about what changed, why the earlier framing was wrong, or what was learned, nor any communication to the broader community. I also want to acknowledge that at nearly every board meeting I've attended, members of the black community have spoken about feeling unseen and unheard. I don't say this to compare pain, but to name a pattern. When communities again and again raise
021harm and are met with silence or deflection, trust erodess for everyone. Tomorrow is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Holocaust education reminds us that atrocities are not only the result of hatred, but of institutions that hesitate, institutions that minimize harm or delay meaningful response when communities raise concern. So my ask tonight is simple and concrete. That this board publicly reflect on its own role in this process. That the administration clearly communicates to the broader community what changed and why. not just to those who attended the Jewish listening session, but to the entire community. And I'd also like the district to commit to ongoing partnership with trusted experts like the ADL to review curriculum and school sponsored programming with transparent and consistent oversight. Moving forward, trust can be rebuilt, but only through honesty, accountability, and sustains action, not
022only for Jewish students, but for all students in trust. Thank you, Rabbi Danielle. Um, it looks like that is all of our speakers that have their hands raised. So, we'll move on now. And, uh, that means we'll move on to our board president report. And let me just pull up my report. >> Um, well done. >> As part of our report, we do have three items for review this evening. Uh item 7.1 is the board membership list which is anformational item. Uh this item formally acknowledges the current membership of the whisten school district board of school directors and the terms of service of each member um as reflected on the agenda. The listing affirms the composition of the board and the continuity of leadership represented through the various term expirations. Item 7.2 Two is the
023updated board committee list which is also anformational item. In the attachment, you'll see the board's committee structure for the current year. The committee assignments reflect a balanced distribution of the board member expertise and interests and support the board's governance, oversight, and strategic priorities. As board president, I serve as an exeicio member of the all the board committees. And um I'd like to thank all of our board members, community representatives, and administrative liaison for their willingness to serve and for their time and leadership they bring to um the important work of each of our committees. And item 7.3 is the board treasurer appointment, which is being reviewed tonight. And I'll seek a motion from the board uh during our meeting on February 2nd. This item will seek board approval of the appointment of Yudales Pagan as
024the board treasurer for the remainder of the current fiscal year effective December 8th, 2025 through June 30th um 2026. This appointment will ensure continuity of the board's financial oversight and operations to the close of the fiscal year. And uh that concludes my board president report. Um so I'll open it up for discussion at this time if there's any questions or comments. All right, not seeing any. Um, we'll move on then to the superintendent report. >> Thank you. Good evening. I don't have anyformational items or action items for this public board meeting, but I just want to um extend my sincere appreciation to um our snow removal team, um Mr. Bricker, the facilities department, the transportation departments. Um everyone has been very responsive with this um winter storm. uh they've worked long hours and they've been
025just continually committed to making sure our facilities are ready for our students as soon as the conditions allow for them to return to inerson uh school. So, tomorrow's a virtual day. Um but we will be ready hopefully we anticipate being fully ready for students to return in person on Wednesday thanks to our operations team. So, I just wanted to give a special thanks. Thank you for that. That concludes my report. >> Thank you. And uh we'll move on then to our assistant superintendent report. Sean, >> thank you, President Ginsburg. Good evening, everyone. Uh on January 6, I'm going to give a report on our professional development day that just occurred. So on January 16th, staff across our district participated in professional development designed to strengthen instructional practices, advance district initiatives, and support the diverse needs
026of our learners. Essential component of the day was a district-wide session attended by many of our K- through2 departments on understanding Jewish identity and anti-semitism. This training supported our ongoing commitment to creating safer, inclusive learning environments and equipping staff to engage thoughtfully in culturally responsive practices. Staff that didn't attend this session on January 16th will attend the session on the February 13th professional development day. In addition to this shared learning, department and schools engaged in targeted sessions aligned to program goals. For example, elementary and secondary arts, music, and health and PE teams worked on curriculum unit plan reviews. Reading specialists reviewed assessment practices, benchmarks, and data dashboards to refine literacy instruction. Technology education world language teachers explored digital differentiation tools. Secondary ELA and social studies teams learned about strategies to facilitate meaningful classroom dialogue. Science
027and business departments focused on technology integration to support student differentiation and school counselors received updated training on the CEW standards and the ASA framework. Special education staff engaged in department level work including SET procedures, literacy complex training, and program specific planning. Overall, the day provided staff with both shared learning experiences and discipline specific professional growth, ensuring alignment to district priorities and supporting high-quality instruction across all grade levels and programs. And a special shout out to our department of teaching and learning for all the work that they do to make these days happen. It is quite a lot of work and it is seamless for our staff and our teachers. Thank you and I'll open it up to the board for any questions. Great. Thank you for that report. I am not seeing any questions or
028comments. Uh so again, thank you. >> Uh we'll move on then to our board solicitor report. >> I have no report. >> All right. >> Noformational items. >> All right. Well, thank you, Jeff. We'll move on then to our board secretary report. Tim, >> sorry about that. I was having a couple issues unmuting. There are five minutes for the board's approval this month. The board equity committee, December work session, audit committee meeting, the regular board meeting, and a special public board meeting. >> Great. Thank you. Any comments or questions? All right. Then we'll go into the treasur report. Tim, >> this month we have the November and December treasures report for approval. >> All right. Thank you. Any comments or questions? Seeing none, uh, thank you again, human resources, Danielle. >> Good evening, everyone. Uh,
029for your review tonight, our five items under section 13 of the human resources report. Uh, the first two action items include resignations, retirements, appointments, a change of status, and volunteers. And item 13.3 is an agreement with collaborative therapy solutions uh for a temporary speech and language uh pathologists uh through for staffing services um needed. And 13.4 is an update to the inductee mentor list for the school year. And finally 13.5 is for an amendment to our agreement with Vector Solutions, a learning management platform that we use uh for additional virtual training modules uh to add to our current package. And that concludes my report. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you. Any comments or questions? All right. Seeing none, we'll move on now to our committee reports. Uh communications committee. Zephy. Hello. Good evening. I trying
030to pick up my notes. Yes. So, we had a communications committee meeting on January 20th. Uh we reviewed a a few different uh district aligned communication um themes uh focused on transparency, safety and community. Uh one of the things that we talked about and um as you all know January is schoolboard recognition month. Um so uh the communications team is responsible for some of the efforts that go around that and had given us some updates. Um we uh have a new uh board school board frequently asked questions document that we I have reviewed. It should have been circulated to everyone here for your uh reference. um that will be posted on our district website. From that document, we're also creating well we the collective we the communications team is uh developing some um fast facts
031that they will be pulling from that document um for uh different um social media posts. Then um we talked about um district safety communications. Um Dr. Dewan um and Dr. Gardner in the past have uh alluded to this, but there has been um a really robust program or kind of um uh session underway to update our protocols and uh what we're doing again we I use that very freely. Uh the communications committee is working on a communications plan to help distribute that information throughout the community and our uh families. That too will have its own place on our website where um this information will be um available to all of our families. In addition to that, um, all of our school principles have been given kind of templates and guidelines that, um, help with the
032facilitation of communications in a safety situation so that there's consistently consistent communication across all the different schools. And then um there is an effort to um update our in uh our communication um platform that we use to communicate within um our schools and our families. Um the new um the new kind of interface is called Parent Square and the communications committee uh has done a lot of due diligence to kind of assess how to better help facilitate and streamline communications. One of the things that was identified in their um assessment was there's a number of different kind of apps and emails and platforms [clears throat] that are used to share out um information and that could be overwhelming andor confusing. So the objective of moving to parent square is to help align and have one
033centralized place where all communication is sent out to families. um from a district uh perspective. And that's also to help align like if you're a parent of elementary versus middle versus high or have students that are across different levels, you might be using different apps or different platforms to to access information. So parent square would kind of like level that out and help ensure that communication would be much more easily um distributed and and um um assessed. And then finally um we had uh started discussions on strategies to proactively highlight uh the district at academic successes as part of the overall communication strategy. Um those are all myformational updates um that we had from the last meeting. I have no additional um items for the agenda this evening. Uh does anyone have any questions or
034any clarifying needs? Amy, I can see if anybody has a hand up. So >> nobody's hand is up now. >> Okay. >> Yeah. you know, thank you so much for that report, Zappy. >> Thank you, Amy. >> Great information there. Thank you. All right, we'll move on to curriculum and technology. Dian, >> hi. Good evening. Um, there are review uh items. There are four items under the curriculum technology committee section. The first is 15.1, anformational item. There was a uh board curriculum technology committee meeting on January 12th and we reviewed several important instructional student support and technology updates across the district. So first Dr. Blair, our high school principal um began by presenting the guidelines for club adviserss um student displays at school events. The goal of this uh work is to establish clear framework
035that supports student voice and creativity while maintaining a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for all students at school sponsored events. We acknowledged the feedback uh received and reiterated the district's commitment to learning from the recent experiences to strengthen our practices moving forward. So, these guidelines will help ensure that all K to2 activities remain culturally enriching while avoiding content that could cause harm or division. The guidelines for club advisors, student displays at school events are available publicly on our website on the parent hub site under the school forms and documents. Director of equity and cultural responsiveness Miss Lour then shared professional development updates um alongside or alongside ongoing district and school-based professional development. Um the January 16th day and upcoming professional days will include targeted training as Dr. Dr. Gardner mentioned earlier in his report um
036such as partnership with the ADL to offer understanding Jewish identity and anti-semitism as well as continued learning uh focused on identity conscious and dignity centered practices. Then Dr. Schmidt, director of teacher and teaching and learning, provided updates on the curriculum review cycle um that right now includes art, music, health and physical education and the personal finance graduate requirement that um PA recently in instituted. She also shared progress on the implementation of the new math program including instructional shifts and [clears throat] professional development for supporting the teachers through this. Dr. Schmidt and Dr. Hi. Mcccluskey, director of student services, reviewed ongoing implementation of the chapter 339 K to2 school counseling plan, ensuring equitable access to a comprehensive counseling program for all of our students. The committee also reviewed for um some upcoming family engagement events. Uh
037on March 4th, there's a virtual elementary math night. Uh there's a middle school and high school um uh presentation supporting our secondary students together. It's about code of code of conduct and restorative practices. That's going to be February 25th, 6:00 p.m. at the middle school library. And then there's a K to2 uh grade student services fair. That's going to be April 9th at 6 p.m. in the high school round gym. Finally, at our meeting, um Dr. uh Mr. Jason Falconee, the director of technology, shared an update regarding YouTube access. Students are not um able to independently access YouTube. However, teachers can curate appropriate instructional content and embed approved videos within schooly puzzle or powerpoint presentations. Additionally, the technology appointment uh department is exploring enhanced filtering software solutions to provide greater management and control over access
038to AI related websites. All right. So, that was the meeting. So, the first or sorry, the second item that I have um for your review, it's an action item 15.2. It's about the approval to award the bid for the purchase of surplus obsolete computers and equipment to Cornerstone Technologies in the amount of $62,250. It is recommended that technology surplus bid for this year be awarded as indicated to the highest bidder, Cornerstone Technologies that met the specifications. The bulk of the equipment is laptop computers that are deemed surplus or obsolete. We believe the difference in bids is based um is because this vendor has identified the memory in the computer as having value based on current prices of memory as anticipated increase of uh cost of memory. The third item 15.3 is an action item for
039your review about the um extended field trips for Wick and high school athletic teams, clubs and activities. This is an annual item that are um regular season, winter, and spring athletic events that are not a part of the PIAA uh and club events that are at least 15 miles away and overnight from the Wicken School District. The last item 15.4 uh review action item about extended field trip for admissions presentation and tour of the University of Delaware and Delaware State University. This trip will occur on March 5th and will include 30 students and three chaperoons. There's no cost to the students to attend this trip. Thank you for bearing with me through all of that and any questions or concerns. Joe, >> hey, just a quick comment on 15.2. I think it's fantastic that we
040got someone to actually purchase our obsolete equipment as opposed to I think we generally just dispose of it. And not only that, but uh the winning bid was like three times the the second highest bid, which is amazing. Um they must have seen something that the other guys didn't obviously. But again, it's great that we got 62,000 plus for um that obsolete laptop equipment. So, thanks to the for exploring that and uh hopefully you guys keep doing that with our future obsolete equipment. Um thank you. >> I echo Joe's comments. I I think that is um a great way to um I I mean 62,000 it doesn't make a whole big difference in our overall budget, but every little bit helps. So, I appreciate the creativity and finding kind of a a good partner to
041take some of our our resources and we gain some some money out of that. So, thank you Tim and your team for for that work. >> Not to take credit, that was Jason that actually did that. >> Well, thank Jason for me then, Tim. >> I will. I just don't want to take credit for his good work. I think he's online this evening. So, thank you, Jason. >> If you're on the line, Jason, didn't mean to take away that uh credit. Thank you, Jason. >> All right. Any other comments or questions? All right. Thank you for that report. >> Of course. All right. We'll move on now to our facilities and transportation report, Joe. >> All right. Thank you. Um, we have two items for review uh this uh week and then voting on for
042next week. The first item is an easement at North Monco Technical Career Center. This easement was requested by North Pan to accommodate construction that they're doing to expand North Penn High School. Um they will also maintain the area of the easement. Um there's no impact to the operations of North Monco Technical Career Center um by providing the easement. The second item is a ratification of um AV equipment that was purchased for the high school auditorium. These repairs were necessary to be completed um in advance of this board meeting because the system failed and there were some upcoming events. Um as you can see the pricing is um about $225,000 and change. Um it's uh using a state contract. Uh the repairs will address the needs of the auditorium system for the next 10 plus years,
043I'm told. And uh given all the complaints that we've had to deal with um over the past uh few years with some of the performances at the high school, I think um this will be a big improvement and I'm looking forward to uh super great sound uh at the next event that I attend and that we all attend. So those are the two items. Um any questions? >> Just I was going to say the same thing. I'm looking forward to no glitches and great sounding musicals. >> DM, were you going to say something? Well, I was just going to ask, does that include like the little headsets that the um performers have during the musicals and plays? >> Yeah. Okay, good. >> The way I read that, um it seems like they're replacing the entire
044system because our system is so antiquated that like fixing just the mics or just the sound system wouldn't kind of do the trick. So, we had to kind of >> I mean I I don't recall, Joe, if you remember. I think it's it's over 10 years old our equipment and the way our techn this kind of technology changes it's it wasn't going to work if we didn't do both. So I'm excited for that. Uh too bad Mia is not going to enjoy that but it's okay. Um and for uh just for background in case people are curious with uh 16.1 the reason it comes to our um to our board for us to review and vote on is because we all have all of the five districts that send students to the technical career center
045actually have some ownership to the technical career center. So that's why we also have to approve the easement. Um we have already uh had that presentation and the voting at the technical career center. So then it goes to each of the five um high schools that send in um students. So, it's kind of uh formulary in status, but like good good for everybody to know and it has no impact on co cost for anybody here. >> Great. Thank you. Any other comments or questions? All right, then. Thank you so much, Joe. >> Thank you. >> And we'll move on to the finance committee report. Steve? >> Yes. Uh we have 10 items tonight. Um two of which we need to vote on tonight. So I'm going to start with those two. Um and it's 17.1
046and 17.2. So 17.1 is an item to say that uh when we develop the budget for the 2627 school year that we will stay within the act one index which is currently 3.5%. Uh item 17.2 two is uh a vote that the board would agree to uh apply for an act one special education [clears throat] exception to that 3.5%. Which would allow us to approve a budget over the act one index. Um it's important to note for board members uh that even though if we agree to approve 17.2 two and agree to apply for the exception to go over the act one index. That does not mean that the budget we finally agree to will be over the 3.5% act one index. Uh this 17.2 item just allows us to go over if we feel
047that we need to given the special education needs within the district. Um, I will add, and Tim's going to correct me if I need, uh, we can only vote for 17.1 or 17.2. Uh, it's not an option to vote for both. It's either one or the other. Tim, is there anything you want to add on to what I've stated? >> Um, yes, you are correct. We either vote for 17.1 or 17.2. Uh, 17.2 2 would give you the flexibility to increase above the act one index but not require you to go above the act one index as Mr. Walker stated uh accurately um and I can answer any questions as we have at the time when we vote >> what is the recommendation of the finance committee >> the recommendation of the finance committee is
048to uh vote for 17.2 to for the exception to allow us the flexibility uh as we go through the budgeting process to uh to go over the act one if we feel that uh there's a reasonable need to do that. >> Thank you. >> Any I was gonna Oh, sorry. Go ahead. >> No, no. I just want to make sure that we answer any questions from the board. um sitting through this is four years of um uh budget cycles and budget meetings um that I've done. Um last year was the first year I was really concerned um about uh our costs and our projected revenue from act one tax increases. And I think the hard thing is um you know it's hard to talk about raising taxes above the 3.5% when I think we should
049also just acknowledge that a lot of community members um maybe don't get raises that high every year. And it's just like it's just a hard thing to ask of the community when many people are struggling financially. And so like you know as a resident myself that is hard but I also understand on the as from a board side that we need money to make sure that our students students have the services that they need and the rising costs every year that we're incurring plus the inflationary costs plus the new things that we need. we need to ensure that we at least have the flexibility uh to make sure the money's there to cover those costs because I I believe that this district would not um take kindly to cutting services for students. So, that's where
050I stand on that. I would be in favor of 17.2. >> Thanks, uh Deianne. I also want to encourage the public and we got a great attendance tonight virtually um to attend our finance committee meetings. Um, one was announced uh for the Tuesday uh following next Tuesday. And uh and the reason for that is there's a lot that goes into creating the budgets and making choices uh that we have to make between different programs. So, um uh we appreciate public input on that. Um, and I [clears throat] just want to make sure if there are any other questions from other board members around either voting for 17.1 or 17.2. >> I would just note that I also think we should be voting in favor of 17.2. Um, I agree with Deian. I realize there that
051it would be a hardship if we need to go over that 3.5. And I'm not suggesting that we do exceed the 3.5, but for the past couple years, I feel like we've been met with um things that we need to cut. We're being told that we have to decide different programs we need to cut. And we we're also being met with increasing class sizes. We had a larger sixth grade class coming up through this past year and we had to look for ways to um get more teachers for that class. We also have another large class I believe coming through this coming year. So I think we're going to be seeing larger class sizes coming through the need for more teachers. Um and we also have been seeing a rise in special needs special education
052costs. So, if we have the ability to possibly go above act one if we need to, um, I would like to at least have that option there rather than limit ourselves to 3.5 and then get to that final point where we need to make decisions and realize we have no ability to get additional funds to and we have to make decisions on what to cut. So, I would rather have that ability to be a little bit more flexible if we can. Thanks, Amy. Uh, and then just another piece of information, uh, of course to Deian's Deian's point, we do not want to have to raise taxes higher than, uh, the 3.5%. Uh, that's a burden on folks. However, uh for people who have seen uh the tax insert um and the annual report to the
053community, uh WISHen does remain the second lowest millage rate in the county of the 20 districts in the county. >> Any other qu Yeah. Go ahead, Joe. Just wanted to comment too, if you guys, my fellow board members, recall about a year ago when we were uh working on or developing the budget for this uh current school year that we're under, um we ended up uh raising taxes to the act one index and we still found ourselves, I think about $400 some thousand short um that required us as a board to wrestle with um some painful cuts um or foregoing um some initiatives that the administration wanted to put in place and that we knew would do good things for kids. Um, you know, we made it work in the end. We balanced the budget,
054but again, it came with some pain. Um, and, uh, going into this budget cycle, since we have the opportunity to apply for an exception, um, to exceed the act one index of 3.5%. I think it's smart for us to um, preserve that option to do so if we feel that it's necessary um, given the way things play out as we further develop the budget over the next uh, several months. Um, again, it's it's just to be clear, it's not a guarantee that we will exceed the acton index, but it gives us the flexibility if we feel like painful cuts that might be necessary to bring things in balance at 3.5% or just too much. Um, again, we have the ability to uh consider the trade-off with uh going above the act index. So, that's really
055what it's about. It's not a guarantee again that we're going to raise taxes above the index, but um it gives us that flexibility as we dig deeper into the budget over the coming months. So I I too am in favor of um approving 17.2. Okay. If if there are no other questions from the board, uh Amanda, I think we're going to need to do this uh each one uh as a voice vote. So again, 17.1 um do I have a motion for 17.1 uh to stay within the act one index? >> I think we have to do so moved and second first. >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> Now, if there's no motion, then does the does the the 17.1 just fail or it's not even brought brought forward? Right. >> Yeah. >> I'm going to
056have to ask Jeff about that. Yeah. >> You don't need to if you're just making a motion. You could do your motion to approve 17.2 in lie of 17.1 addresses the issue. >> Yeah. So So Steve, I I would make a motion to approve 17.2. >> Second. >> All right. Amy, do you say it's been moved and seconded or do I >> I was just about to say that. Yeah. I make sure I was unmuted. Yeah. A motion has been made and seconded. Are there any further comments or questions? All right. Seeing none, Amanda, do you want to do a voice vote through each person? >> Sure. Okay. Mr. Antonio, >> yes. >> Mr. Badger, >> Mr. Goolson, >> yes. >> Miss Keranikis, >> yes. >> Mr. Kelly, >> yes. >> Dr. Morris, >> yes.
057>> Mr. Strauss, >> yes. >> Mr. Walker, >> yes. >> Mrs. Ginsburg, >> yes. >> That's eight. Yes. >> Motion passes. Thank you. Steve, you have additional points there. >> Yes. Uh thanks again uh for the discussion and and the vote. Uh item 17.3 for next week uh is approval of the uh essentially the audit, the financial and compliance report for last year ending June 30th. Um 17.4 uh is approval of finance reports for November. 17.5 similar financial reports for December. Um 17.6 is the list of payments for November. 17.7 is list of payments for December. Um 17.8 uh is a resolution to have a delegate uh applied for the uh tax group, the the tax oversight group for the uh taxing we just talked about. Uh 17.9 is approval to accept a donation from
058We Off uh to start a care closet uh which would be a portable shelving unit for personal care items uh at Shady Grove. And 17.10 is approval to accept a donation from the Stony Creek Women's School Association um that will allow for new soccer nets um uh to support recess activities. Also, any questions on those items for next week? >> Just want to extend a thank you to We Off and to the HSA at Stony Creek for their donations. Every little bit helps. So, we we uh acknowledge and appreciate their efforts. >> Yes, I second that. Any other comments or questions? All right, then we'll move on. Thank you, Steve, for that report. And uh we'll move on to policy. Uh null. >> I think Jean's going to give this update and then I'm going
059to pick it up next time. >> Next. Okay, Jean. >> Yes. Okay. Thanks. Uh thank you all. Good evening. And uh tonight, uh the board is reviewing the second and final reading of the policy revisions listed under agenda items 18.1 through 18.15. Uh board action on these policies is is anticipated at the February 2nd board meeting. Uh for context, uh the board policy committee met on November 10th to conduct a detailed review of these proposed revisions. Following that work, the policies were presented for a first reading during the December 1st and December 8th board meeting cycle. Uh tonight's discussion represents the second and final reading in the board's policy review process and the revisions in these policies reflect efforts to align board policy with current laws, regulations, and best practices. Updates include modernized language, clearer
060expectations related to academics, attendance, athletics, and employee conduct, and streamlined procedures for student activity funds. The committee also addressed federal compliance requirements, travel reimbursement procedures, and guidance related to gifts uh and donations, service animals, opioid antagonist used, and conflicts of interest to support clarity, consistency, and effective implementation across the district. Are there any questions? Seeing none, thank you so much for that report. Jean, >> thank you. Thank you. >> All right, we'll move on then to our board education equity oversight committee. Um Joe, can you give us a report? >> Uh sure, Amy. Thank you. Um so on January 20th, the board's educational equity oversight committee meeting met with um focus on special education and gifted education. Kazy Lour, our director of equity and cultural responsiveness, presented disagregated data from the district's equity dashboard, which
061is on the district website. Um, for special education, we took a closer look at um our uh special ed data um disagregated by race and race and ethnicity, comparing student representation in special ed to overall district demographics. Um the data reflects that we have disparities and over representation of students of color, in particular, black and brown students. Um, and this trend is consistent with national trends and also with uh other similar McGomery County districts. I think what's different about us here in Wicken is that we're trying to be transparent about this data and actively working to address it. Um, Miss Lour shared action steps that are underway, including professional development for staff, examining potential root causes, strengthening early intervention and support services and particularly for incoming kindergarten students, and reviewing the supports available in our
062emotional support programs. Um the committee also took a look at gifted education and um in a similar fashion we have an over it's sort of the flip side. It's an underrepresentation of students of color in particular black and brown students compared to district demographics when we look at our gifted population. Um, Miss Lour shared steps that are being taken to try to improve um, equity in our identific identification process, our access to the gifted program, um, including expanding the critical thinking course to all kindergarten students and first grade students, uh, using a universal screener for giftedness in first grade. Um, and also exploring the expansion of administering that universal screener in fourth grade as well. Um we have ongoing professional development for educators and increased outreach and information for families about our gifted programs. And
063the district um will also continue learning from other districts about effective equitable practices and gifted education. Um the committee will continue to monitor this data and uh the impact of these efforts moving forward. Um and that is the recap of the January 20th meeting. >> Thank you. Any comments or questions? I'm really glad that we're universally screening, but I actually like the idea of a rescreen in fourth grade. I think that's a great way to sort of pick up any missed kids >> um and have give them a few years in elementary school before, you know, they're retested again. I think I think that's a really nice idea. Any other comments or questions? >> All right. Thank you again, Joe. >> Thank you. >> All right. Health, wellness, and safety. Jane, >> my apologies. Uh,
064there are noformational or action items at this time. >> I was about to say that for you. >> Thank you, Dean. All right. Um, extracurricular Dan. >> Uh, noformational or action items to report. >> All right. Um, MCIU, I have a meeting this week, so I'll have something hopefully for next week. Uh, North Monco. Uh, Zephy or Steve. >> Steve, do you want me to take it or are you going to take it? >> Well, I'm I'm going to start. Uh, you you handled the easement question. Well, the reason why I'm going to start is uh just a a note that Zephy was elected as vice chair >> to the North Monaco board. Um, so, uh, WHIS has some great representation there, uh, at North Monco. Um, uh, another another couple of items, unless Stephie,
065you want to take over. I just want, um, the director, uh, Beth Anne Hos has announced her retirement. Um, and, uh, the board met last week to talk about the search process, uh, and filling her position. um she has done quite a good job and I believe there will be posting for that position starting today. Um and uh my last item is the fact that the second floor construction at North Monco will be starting with an expected finish um prior to the beginning of next school year with the uh goal of expanding uh the health sciences um options for students. um and reducing the weight list with that expansion. [clears throat] Uh Zephy, anything else I missed that you want to add? >> Uh just a couple of additional ads. Um the North Monco um
066team is getting their finances in order for the 2627 um um budget. So those are going to be the review process is starting in February and um our lovely finance uh guru Mr. Steve Walker will represent I believe for Wessa Hickot. Um and then uh just some other additionalformational items. Uh the 2627 enrollment activities are starting up. Presentations occur across all the incoming uh districts at both the middle and the high school. Students can start tours I believe next month. And then um there is an open house for our students who are interested in learning more um this week, later this week. Um and then um our North Monco students uh compete in a uh competition called Skills USA. And those um districtwide competitions are starting up now and then, you know, um we'll we'll
067learn how they do and if they pass into um statewide competition. And then the other very interesting thing that I didn't fully appreciate was how well the adult education and continuing education program is going at North Um they have um a number of different programs that um is open to the public. their evening classes. Um they focus on things like welding, HVAC, plumbing, safety, and other courses. And all of that revenue that's generated um is uh kind of re, you know, reput um for the high school. So, it's a really awesome way for the technical career center to kind of find revenue streams, but it's also kind of an awesome program if there's adults, and this could be like uh anyone uh who's done with high school and onward who's looking to get some additional
068educational adult education opportunities. So, I thought that was pretty cool. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you. Any comments or questions? >> All right, then we'll move on to PSBA. Dian. >> Yeah, thanks Amy. I'll just make this really brief. Um PSBA is offering a lot of different things um coming up. Um just for those who don't know, the Pennsylvania School Board Association um requires us to do training for new and um reelected schoolboard members. Um, there is an uh a new director exchange every month if Dan or Nol are interested in that. That that can be pretty useful and interesting. And then there's an advocacy day May 4th, which maybe we can talk about Amy and Zephy if we want to try to do that. But that's it for now. Thank you. Is that one
069going to be in person or >> I think so. I think it is. Yeah, >> those are always better. >> Yeah, agreed. >> Great. Awesome. Any questions? All right. Thanks again, Deian. All right. Well, then that brings us to our second public comment period. Again, the board appreciates hearing from the community. A maximum of five speakers will be heard on the same topic. Please limit comments to 3 minutes. In the interest of fairness and to treat all speakers equally, it's not our practice to engage in dialogue with speakers. When appropriate, we will follow up with responses on board docs. Excuse me. And um please when speaking state your name, your municipality residence and what you are speaking on. Um so we'll start off with uh Carina Taylor. >> Can you guys hear me? >> Can
070you hear me? >> Yes, we can. >> Yes. Okay, thank you. Um, one question, several questions. Number one, who were the board members at the November 10th policy committee hearing? Who, um, how was the sound system paid for? Was it out of the budget or did the music department have to fund raise for it? And in 2016, there were seven black kids, K to 12, identified in the gifted program. So, how many black students are in the gifted program now in 2026? This is just another example that Kazaya's report that she did in that committee should have been accessible between now between the 20th and the 26th. So, it again note the he did a summary. Paul wouldn't have probably said anything, but we I would like to know how many black students are currently
071um in the gifted program 10 years later. And lastly, I'd like the board to know that the 1949 PA school code section 510.2 allows district parents and students to review the district's curriculum. So, I'm going to send that to Dr. Dwan. And I think that needs to be shared with the community because there's curriculum issues both both in the Jewish community and in the black community. And I think those stakeholders should have a right to review what you're going to do based on all those policies that you're going to vote on next week. Lastly, I just want to thank because we can't chat in the box. I do want to thank Rabbi Danielle and Jesse to acknowledge that I definitely have been supportive of the Jewish community. Black parents have been. And I'm glad that
072they're speaking out about black issues because we should all be caring about all our issues. I've said this all along that the weakest student in the district um is a reflection of leadership. So if there's still major gaps with African-American students, yes, again I said over represented in academics, right, and under reppresented and gifted, over represented in discipline. This has been going on at in in a documented form for over 20 years. We should all be caring about that because that's the reputation. So I asked Dr. Dewan, I think last week to have a healing community meeting for all stakeholders because I think that people don't understand each other's needs and issues and we're overdue for that. So, thank you for your time. I am going to email you Amy all the questions I asked
073tonight. It will be your discretion of course whether you answer it, but I want to be on record. Thank you. All >> right. Thank you, Kina. Uh, next we have uh, Miss Subtles. >> At a private meeting held for At >> Please state your name, municipality, and the topic on which you're speaking. >> This is the I'm the first person you ask. Says lower. At a private meeting held for Jewish families, a Jewish community member stated that if a noose had been hung, this would have been treated much more seriously. During that same meeting, the husband of a board member raised a hypothetical comparison this incident to harm done to black students. Tonight, during the public meeting, another Jewish community member raised a hypothetical involving a black person being wrapped in racist symbolism and asked
074how the district would have handled that situation. These statements explicitly invoke black trauma as a comparative benchmark for harm. I am stating these remarks plainly because they matter. Repeatedly invoking black trauma, nuises, racist symbolism and violent hypotheticals as a measuring stick for other communities. Harm is not neutral, educational, or equitable. It normalizes black playing and treats it as a rhetorical device rather than lived experience. This pattern extends into classroom practice. In a classroom setting, a teacher asked that a child who had expressed discomfort with an image depicting an enslaved man with visible lash marks across his back be removed from her classroom. The request was denied only after the parent push back underscoring whose discomfort is expected to be endured and whose is accommodating. I want to state clearly on the record the following documented
075historical facts regarding reparations and restitution. Holocaust survivors receive reparations through German restitution programs supported by international [clears throat] agreements and United States legislation. Their heirs have been legally recognized as eligible for continued compensation restitution and asset recovery through United States recognized and administered programs. Likewise, Japanese Americans, Alaskan Native people act of 1971 provided land and nearly 1 billion in compensation. Federal and state settlements have provided compensation related to unlawful deportation during the Mexican reparations period of the 1930s. Despite these actions, black Americans enslaved in the United States have never received federal reparations and indigenous people of the United States have never received full reparations for genocide, force removal, boarding schools or land. It is also documented historical facts that white Americans as a group materially benefited from slavery and from government sanctioned policies and followed
076including Jim Crow, racial restrictive covenants, redlinining, FHA, VA mortgage programs, and unequitable access to GI Bill, creating generational wealth while excluding black and indigenous families. Despite the absence of reparations, black women are among the most educated demographic groups in the United States with the highest growth rates in college enrollment and degree attainment over time. It is also documented that black athletes have achieved the highest level of excellence in sports where they were historically excluded. In golf, Tiger Woods is widely recognized as one of the greatest golfers in history. Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball color barriers in 1947 and Hank Aaron later suppressed their roots. These achievements occurred in environments that were openly hostile and exclusionary. These facts demonstrates the inequitable is inequity is not the result of lack of achievement, effort or excellence. but
077of the continued absence of structural redress. This inequity is mirrored in curriculum. While black and indigenous histories are repeated reference in moments of controversy and comparison, the district the district has not implemented a compre comprehensible critical framework that examines slavery, racial capitalism, red lining, mass incarceration, and the structural conditions that continue to shape black and indigenous experience in this country. Equity cannot be. You could email us the rest of your comments second because you cut I will reclaim my time because it's only one second and the beginning where you cut me off Amy accountability cannot be situational and this further perpetuates what you guys do do and belonging cannot exist exist where history is acknowledged for some but but denied for others. You are always cutting me off and very rude. >> I I don't
078intend to be rude to anyone. Just so you know everyone, I I say at the very beginning of this that you need to state your name, your municipality, and your topic on which you're speaking. So, everybody, please make sure you're listening when I go over those instructions. Um, again, I don't mean to be rude to any speaker. Um, I just want to make sure us as board members that we know what you're speaking on and who you are and and where you're located. Um, our next speaker is Irene Lewis. Hi, my name is Irene Lewis and I live in Lower Gwennage. I'm here uh as a neighbor on Montgomery Road and the surrounding area to discuss the ongoing concern of the excessive noise level that emanates from the HVAC system in the summertime from the
079middle school. And I specifically want to address the communication challenges that have come up around this issue. Um, in response to the meeting on dis on December 23rd, there were several points that um, I wanted to address. Um, number one, if if residents are accused of spreading misinformation, perhaps it's because we have such a difficult time obtaining complete and transparent information ourselves. The current public input structure limited to five randomly chosen speakers for just three minutes each at a monthly meeting prevents a cohesive and comprehensive presentation of our case. In contrast, the business administrator has unlimited time and resources to present their side. And so this is not a dialogue. We are always playing catch-up. We are forced to react to past decisions rather than engaging proactively in problem solving. We need a more equitable
080platform for discussion. Also, I want to point out the obvious. We all know that fear tactics work. Neighbors have been portrayed as people who don't care if children learn in airond conditioned classrooms or who are unconcerned with exploding boilers or potential pandemic level virtual learning scenarios. Let me be clear. We very much care about our students. We also care about the dangers associated with chronic noise exposure. This loud buzzing which every which the u everyone seems to have gotten used to is dangerous. Loud noise can impact a person's hearing for a lifetime both for students on the grounds and teachers and surrounding neighbors. We are concerned with the dangers involved with the current faulty vibrating electricity sucking inefficient oldfashioned chiller system. And we are concerned with how our taxpayer dollars have been managed in addressing
081this problem. When the administration says this case is closed and no more tax dollars will be spent, we have to ask who made that decision. the the fence is now falling down and I hope that you will drive by the middle school and take a look at how that um insulation is hanging off of the who's going to be responsible for that. Thank you. >> Right. Thank you, Irene. All right, that was our last um speaker. Right, so we'll close the second comment period um and move on now to board comments. Do any of my fellow board members have any comments this evening? No. Seeing none, um we will then go to um a motion to adjurnn. Do I have a motion? >> So move. >> Second. >> Motion's been made seconded. All in favor?
082I >> I we are adjourned.