001Good evening. Today is Monday, June 8th, 2026. It is 7:35 p.m. and we are all in room D205 to start our school board meeting. Prior to this meeting, we did meet for policy as well as an executive um meeting as well. Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Berdick, >> here. >> Dr. Campanero, >> here. >> Mr. Clocky, >> here. >> Mrs. Crabel, >> here. >> Miss Flecher, >> here. >> Mrs. Miss Gellman, Miss Given >> here, Mr. Hoffman, Reverend Dr. Strauss >> here. We have seven members present and Reverend Dr. Strauss is attending via Zoom. Thank you. Um this evening we have two outstanding individuals we would like to um discuss today to discuss their outstanding leadership and their dedicated service to our school community. So first I'd like to start with Stacy Carlson. We're proud
002to recognize and thank Stacy Carlson for her outstanding leadership and dedicated service to our school community. Over the past two years as PTA council president, she has worked tirelessly to strengthen connection among our schools, support students and families, and advance the mission of the PTA throughout the district. Her commitment to serve began long before her council leadership, including her impactful tenure as president of the Markhamm Elementary School PTA, where she helped foster a welcoming and supportive environment for students, staff, and families. Through her dedication, collaboration, and unwavering aacy for children, she has left a lasting positive impact on our schools and community. We extend our sincere gratitude for her years of service and wish her all the best in her future endeavors. Wish she was here, but she's not. But [laughter] we are very honored
003to recognize Lieutenant Chris Seager of the Mount Lebanon Fire Department for his exceptional service and dedication as the youth fire intervention program liaison. Throughout his tenure, Lieutenant Seagurt has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of our students, delivering an average of 400 fire safety lessons annually to children raising from preschool through high school. Through his engaging instruction, expertise, and passion for education, he has empowered thousands of young people with the knowledge and skills needed to prevent fires, respond to emergencies, and make safe decisions. His partnership with our schools has had a lasting impact on our community, especially the annual fire safety belt that he presented to the school with the best results on the annual fire safety exam. We extend our sincere gratitude for his years of service, leadership, and dedication to
004protecting and educating our students. And it goes without saying to see all of you here today just how special you are. [applause] I hear >> [laughter] >> We're gonna put the tallest person in the middle. [laughter] >> So you Dr. Fritz, should they stand back? Ladies and gentlemen, [applause] [applause] I joked with Chris when I did the Citizens Fire Academy that he's the only person that could convince me to go into a burning building. >> [laughter] >> Um, he had to like deescalate me as I was like breathing very heavy thinking that I was going to die, but I knew that no one in this room would allow me to die, [laughter] >> right? No, >> that would be bad for business. >> It would be bad for business. We're going to miss you very,
005very much and we hope that you still stay in touch with us and come back and share all the great opportunities you guys have in retirement. We appreciate you. >> Thank you. It's been a privilege. It really has. All right. Next, we will have our end of year goal review. Quietly exit. [laughter] >> No one will. >> Yeah, you don't have to say. I mean, unless you would like to know. [laughter] >> We could always use you as a guest substitute if you wanted any information. [laughter] All right. So, this is kind of hard to believe, but we are at the end of the school year and we are providing our final update on the 2025 2026 goals. Yearly goals focus on new initiatives aligned with our 2025 to 2031 leading the way strategic plan.
006And for this past school year, we had a total of 32 goals that are all now complete. At the start of the school year, each executive council member was assigned goals to lead with the entire team. And throughout the year, we have been providing updates regarding progress on these goals. And what you'll notice is we're not presenting on all 32 goals tonight since we have presented on some of them in the past. You'll notice that there's an appendix at the end of the presentation that lists out all the goals that were completed before February 2026. So, the first ones are the goals that I led this school year. The first one is related to um increased outreach to community members without children in schools through newsletters, town halls, and local media. And what you'll see
007here is a variety of ways that we've been reaching out to our community. We do quarterly community articles in the Mount Lebanon magazine. Um we've been promoting the Mount Lebanon Gold Card Program for residents 62 plus. We did steps with the superintendent this year, which was a lot of fun. alumni tours for the classes of 1965, 1975, and 2005. We've reached out to our educator retirees association and keep in contact with them. Mount Lebanon Citizens Fire Academy, all my uh friends were there for that. That was a lot of fun this past year. The business roundt, which is held quarterly, we have school safety partnership meetings with Mertza, Mount Lebanon Police, and Mount Lebanon Fire. Uh we have our residence academy that Dr. Davis has led for us for the last few years, well more
008than a few years. The municipal zoning focus groups. So anytime the municipality invites us out to do focus groups, we are all in. And then we have a partnership with the newly established Lebo beat um newspaper. In addition to this, one of the other goals was to host annual forums and quarterly superintendent coffees for open dialogue with families and residents. We hosted four superintendent coffees throughout the year and we also had a crossing guard coffee and a crossing guard lunchon this school year. We held Lebo University tech edition in the fall and then Libo uh University in March of this school year. The next area is related to district systems and supports and it's to research, evaluate, and implement a district-wide volunteer clearance system. We're proud to say that we have completed year one and
009year two. We will be um going live on July one with this new volunteer management system through Raptor. Currently, we keep track of our volunteers through um a sheet uh an Excel sheet, but it's not called an Excel Excel sheet anymore, a Google sheet. Um [clears throat] this is going to automate things for us so that we'll be able to collect their information and when they are about to be up, they will get an email that says you have 90 days, 60 days, 30 days. Um and then once they are outside of those parameters, you you are no longer cleared to volunteer. Please update the information. And then the last one for me is to evaluate, research, develop and implement district procedures for communications, registar contributions and facility and then train staff. So you'll see
010here the procedure documents that we created this year is related to communications uh facility rental contributions such as crowdfunding gift grants and donations commercial activities and partnerships registar uh we have kindergarten enrollment process as well as the regular enrollment process training for this will occur over the summer and then these documents will be able to uh access through the Mount Lebanon homepage for our staff. Okay, I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Scholo. Dr. Schulo, I will advance the slides for you and for everybody else. Thank you. The first goal that I worked on was designing and implementing an induction program for all staff roles. Uh starting with August 3rd, we will invite all new staff that are hired throughout the year to one of four different uh or new staff orientation sessions. The
011goal of this session truly is to orient the new staff member at any job post um about the district and the community that we serve. And so again, that first one will start August 3rd and there'll be three more throughout the course of the school year. The next goal was to create an onboarding program for families and considering those with English proficiency. We have purchased and implemented pocket talks throughout our district classrooms and many front offices where uh our staff members can translate in real time when someone comes in who is does not speak English as their first language. We updated our website. Brandy has updated our [laughter] website and made sure that all of our information contained is transl translates to over 249 language languages. We did centralize the enrollment process. This also allowed
012us to utilize the PTE translation library for all state required enrollment documentation. Um and then we also enhanced our partnership with the ESL or parent group that's in the community. one of our assistant principles is takes part in those meetings and she's kind of our conduit to communicate back and forth. The [clears throat] next goal is our implementation of curriculum review cycles. Uh you heard from all of these groups this year through board presentations. Our first group these are our first groups who went through the full four full well started the full six-year cycle with stage one. Uh so again you heard from social studies 6 to 12 science 6 to2 ELA and K5 math in addition to MTSS from Dr. Gil. We will continue that cycle. These groups will start stage two next year
013and we will start with four more departments. Health and PE school counseling and world language will start their uh phase one next year. So we'll continue that cycle through. And then the last goal that I worked on this year was to develop intentional transitional supports between fifth and sixth grade and to 9th grade. Really targeted at building relationships and reducing student anxiety. Uh I worked with uh unit principles and assistant principles and principles from elementary, I'm sorry, from middle school and high school to identify what the current transition opportunities were for students between five and six and eight and nine. and we documented those in a timeline format that we will see in course of study documents when it comes out this winter for next year's selection. But what I think we're the most excited
014about is the implementation of the web program where everyone belongs, which is an intentional transition program for students going from fifth grade to sixth grade and is the sister or companion program to the link crew, which we see much success with for our students going from 8 to 9. That team is ready to go I would say right Dr. Mahowski and we will kick off with the very first transition program under the web um operating through the web program in August. >> Great. Thank you Dr. Davis. >> Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity. as uh first of my list is we talked about a little bit uh during the May presentation was this profile of a graduate that that evolved into the profile of a learner uh or the portrait of a learner and
015what a wonderfully iterative process uh lots of uh conversation a lot of uh input uh throughout this uh process where each version continued to evolve and and develop into I think a better product uh and I'll just remind you of the themes that came forward Uh as we finish the the the portrait of a learner uh in intellectually curious and creative learners, ethical and responsible citizens, collaborative communicators and leaders, resilient lifelong learners, globally minded thinkers, and digitally literate and adaptive innovators. And we believe that describes kids in the K12 spectrum. Uh and then provides some uh themes as students are going to graduate from us. Uh the next section uh again I'm going to really be high level because we spent an hour and a half or two hours last month uh talking to you
016about um the um cell phone and um technology policies. Uh as and as the board is aware and the community is aware, we launched this this school year with guide rails, guidelines, expectations uh on how cell phones and technology should be used in our classrooms. uh we continue to massage and evolve that over time uh to continue to refine the expectations, the processes and the guidelines. Uh and on the next slide is Dr. Freeze would move. Thank you. uh is we did spend quite a bit of time talking with uh the community and our and with you uh about not only educationally, philosophically where we believe uh technology is, but um the processes and procedures that have been put in place this year uh to help uh provide a safe uh environment for students to
017engage with technology. And we also foreshadowed some of the strategies that are going to be implemented in the coming year uh to continue that uh that process of providing a safe environment for students to use technology responsibly and ethically. Um uh the next one is 3.5 to provide learning opportunities focused on digital wellness and tech integration. Uh and we talked again a little bit about this during our presentation in May. uh whereby we had a number of opportunities that were available to our community and to our to our faculty. Uh we talked about um some of the programming that happens with students uh for example u safe responsible and respect respectful online behaviors toformational literacy and a number of themes in between. uh in our collaborations with the Mount Lebanon Police Department where in each
018grade level uh starting in grade three, they help us reinforce messages uh with students. Uh and as this year particularly evolved and we talked about hardware um utilization for next year uh a partnership and a relationship with Apple classroom uh that will uh that will be very beneficial to us particularly in our uh our earliest grade levels. Uh and then the last piece um that I uh had for this year was to talk about uh 5.5 expand our access to career and technology education. As the board is aware, we've historically had CCBC as a partnership. Uh we had reached out uh and created a partnership with Point Park University. Uh we've continued to engage them in conversations. Unfortunately, they declined our proposal to have our dance company, our dance program endorsed by Point Park. they
019indicate they don't endorse any dance program in any school. Uh but they are still considering our choir program. Uh so that was our most recent submission. Uh so we we will certainly follow up with them and then we'll continue the conversations as we move forward. >> Thank you, Dr. Davis. Next up is Dr. Schuman. >> Thank you. And I think that picture kind of goes along with our goal updates there. >> Uhhuh. Um so one of the goals was 3.3 to research develop and implement ways to increase in school enrichment opportunities for gifted students. Year one is research and develop. So something that did not exist before was our gifted coordinators created a list of enrichment activities from K through 12 just to show what is being offered to our students at each of the
020different levels. Um we then collected data from the current enrichment opportunities to determine the strengths and needs of our programs things uh places where we want may want to add additional focus or support. We are researching other off offerings from AIU3 and beyond. So, a lot of the emails and things that we receive are great opportunities, but we have to make sure that we're able to, you know, kind of spread the wealth and and do everything that we would like to do with the students in terms of meeting different subject areas, strength areas, different um grade level bands. So, we want to make sure that we are focused on our efforts in providing enrichment opportunities. And then the elementary library research project um has been modified and updated with input from the gifted case managers.
021So that has started to change. [snorts] I think I have one more. Yep. And then safe, supportive, and inclusive environment. So we are analyzing data for students in other special ed settings and developing a plan for including students in district events and activities. Year one was to analyze data and develop a plan. year two was to implement. Um so this year I met with the honore that was mentioned, Miss Stacy Carlson, as the PTA council president um over last summer to talk about how to intentionally um include students that may be in other programs or placements. Um we began with um sharing that our PTA announcements are available without a paid subscription. Um we added the monthly special edit and student services newsletters that are now distributed districtwide and are archived on the website. We
022collected parent and guardian emails for students who are in programming outside of the district in one uh Google sheet. And then we communicated with principles to allow students to participate and organize support if they needed something to help them to participate in our afterchool or enrichment activities. Um in year one uh we analyzed data, developed a plan and implemented this school year. So some of the examples of this would be um we have our milestone events in grades 5, 8 and 12. So proactively um communicating with those parents to say if your child would like to participate in the elementary walk out or the eighth grade pool party um you are welcome. We just need to have a heads up so we can prepare and and arrange any supports. And we did have students that
023um took us up on that offer this year. So that was great. Um 5.4 was evaluate and update the procedures for 504 evaluation documentation and case management case management. So attorney Har Eagle presented a training to administrative staff in September. We updated and presented administrative procedures for 504 students in October to all principles. Um we are developing procedures to transition individual health plans which were currently held by our nursing staff and to transition them to section 504 plans. And then we are reviewing case loads for case management recommendations. >> Thank you, Dr. Schuman. Next up, we have Mr. Stangle. >> Everybody over my old seats. [laughter] >> Uh it's good to see you. I uh as Dr. Oh, I didn't know to push the button. Uh as Dr. Free said, uh there are a few
024slides that I presented to everybody earlier in the year that are in the appendix. So if you uh if it seems like longer than a year ago that we implemented some of those things as it does to me uh it wasn't. So uh they're in the appendix but the most recent slide we talked a bit about at the uh technology presentation on May 18th but I just wanted to remind everybody about this goal about engaging students in conversations about data privacy informed consent and algorithmic bias which we put a twist on to also include digital wellness lessons. So we formed a group of administrators, teachers and students and talked about uh what is currently uh available to our students and presented to our students through the elementary library program. Uh and that is going to
025continue and we added more lessons that will be uh delivered to those elementary students next year. In addition, uh we're going to be uh delivering quarterly lessons to secondary students in the middle and high school levels uh through a variety of means uh Tuesday talks uh extended home rooms, etc. Uh we'll be fleshing that out and then uh the goal is actually to see if we can leverage those lessons into uh curricular uh pathways, English, science, uh etc. over time. Uh but for next year, that's how we're going to be delivering it. Uh and I'm very excited about it because also I'm going to be spending a lot more time with the student councils uh at the middle and high school level uh reinforcing lessons and seeing uh gathering feedback from the students about uh
026their experiences with technology and learning in our secondary schools. So I'm very excited about that next year. Um and the links to all the um uh lessons that we have chosen is in the slides and uh again we went over on May 18th but little footnote uh the high school lessons uh new curriculum is dropping in early August. So we're going to scramble a little bit to see if they kept it or changed it or but one of those things will be those things will also be at the high school level in whatever form they look like in August. >> Thank you Mr. Sangel. Next up we have Mr. Kaiser. So, as part of our district systems and supports 4.1, partner with the municipality and other community assets to explore opportunities to grow and advance
027the district in our community. Year one, identify mutually beneficial projects, needs, areas of concern, and partnership opportunities. We co-applied for an alternative fuels incentive grant or aig with the municipality for the purchase of a Ford E3 E350 transit van. Uh there was a joint decision made not to move forward with this grant. it did actually not cover enough of the infrastructure in order to support the um electronic vehicles for both of us. We were also the site location for the municipality for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. We have anou with the Mount Lebanon Soccer Association for a turf service at Markham. I'm happy to say that that project kicked off today. So, I'm looking forward to getting that done in the next couple weeks. We added additional permitting for gym usage for
028community groups. We worked with the Mount Lebanon Fire Department and Chief Christophil to review and upgrade their pre-planning noted and data for each school. We worked with the Mount Lebanon Basketball Association to host a youth basketball tournament February 6th through 8th at the high school. We hosted the Mount Lebanon Police Department connected car workshop in October in the high school south lot. And we're also part of the municipality zoning focus group. Next slide. Also, as part of 4.1, establish clear procedures for the use of facilities by community partners, including a modernized application for permits and a scheduling process for use of district spaces. Continue positioning school facilities as a valuable community asset through after hours use. Year one, explore means to move our current facilities usage procedures to an online platform. Evaluate cost versus functionality
029to determine the best way to move forward. Consider how much of our internal booking system should be available to the public. So, we use Docu to create an online form for facility requests and permits. Uh, this does indeed have uh the rules and regulations that we're talking about in the previous policy meeting on there. So, anytime someone signs up, it's available and they'll also be when the permit is finished, they'll be mailed a copy of that as well. We successfully completed a trial run of this new process with some community groups, sort of a test case we launched. And then full launch, uh, it does say will occur this month, but has occurred, uh, for the upcoming school year. We've got quite a a few that have come in over the past uh two to
030three weeks. So, it's kicking off. It's running real well and um we've got all the community groups aboard. We have a nice homepage as uh Mrs. Smith is working with us on and it has all the um different information you would need if you have any problems uh uh trying to complete it online. It's pretty simple process, easy to navigate, and there's instructions. And of course, you could always contact myself or uh Mr. mod in order to if you needed some help with the uh process. >> Thank you, Mr. Kaiser. Next up, we have Mrs. Connelly. >> Continuing with district systems and supports, we establish clear procedures for the use of facil Oh, sorry, wrong one. Develop a 10-year financial recovery plan that supports long-term district health and Moody's rating improvement. In year one, we
031would establish an unassigned fund balance target of 8% of budgeted expenditures, revise or adopt policies pertaining to budget planning, prepare and adopt, and communicate management changes and strategic objectives to Moody's. Uh policy 620, fund balance was adopted by the school board on February 17, 2025. We are striving to maintain an unassigned fund balance of not less than 5% and not more than 8%. In 2425, the fund balance is $8.1 million. Unassigned portion is 7.494 or 5.99% of um budgeted expenditures. We also interviewed um bond invest investment bankers through the RFP process and PNC capital markets was appointed as our bond investment banker. uh when the environment is ripe for possibly borrowing money and going for a bond that Pansancy Capital Markets is in place. We had an annual Moody's meeting uh on April 28th. There
032was no change at the last update, but the rating downgrades have ceased. We will wait to hear what will occur this year. We should hear shortly from Moody's 4.2 Two, rebuild and preserve the district's fund balance while investing in high impact areas aligned to strategic priorities. Year one, we address the most pressing financial issues. We establish transparency and we're building a foundation of long-term recovery by aligning the zerobased budget process to all of our strategic priorities. We've implemented many internal controls and we're we established the fund balance target of 8%. In 2425 after the audit, it was declared that the unassigned fund balance was at 5.99%. So, we're moving towards the 8% goal. There was a mid-year budget freeze that was issued on non-essential services and supplies to support rebuilding the unassigned fund balance um
033and real savings to our budget. Budgetary information is communicated monthly at every schoolboard meeting. Detailed budgetary reports provided are provided to budget managers to assist with projections. And we have very rigorous internal controls that includes four approval levels on position postings, all purchasing and the software is set up so that there's an automat automatic decline when there's a negative balance on an account. Also during the annual zerobased budgeting meetings um staffing has to be justified by every department to align with our strategic priorities. 4.5 was to establish a system for ongoing and communication for newly enrolled families to ensure smooth transition into the district. Year one we established this system. We are using the um powers school e enrollment platform and enrollment records are analyzed and verified to ensure compliance with district policies. We require
034the birth certificate, legal guardianship, residency and medical compliance. 2627 kindergarten enrollment was all done online. It started on February 2nd and um everyone complied and all of our kindergartens enrolled that way. Communication with high school level personnel is ensured ensures proper onboarding at the school level for welcome scheduling and building a partnership between home and school. And finally, each new family receives a welcome email that contains resources shared at the start of the school year. >> Thank you, Mrs. Connelly. Next up, we have Mrs. Smith. All right. Um, our engagement goal 2 2.1 was to reinforce and reintroduce staff and families to communication tools, newsletters, social media alerts, um, with clear expectations of their purpose and how to access them completed year 1 and year two in the first year. Basically, for this school, um,
035it's just reminding all families of the tools that we use, their main function, and what's available here. Um, we will be talk, we've been talking about a lot about the new website tonight that that's something that'll be very clear under a families tab. So, for any family, you'll have access to these tools. it'll remind you below what exactly Schoolagy is um and how to access that through Libo ID. So again, this was um a goal for year one where we really analyze the tool, their function and what's available, but it it will launch um sooner and anticipated for year two with the with the redesign of the new website. Um additionally, we continue to streamline communications for our parents and guardians. um that includes during back to school um with content on our district website,
036our weekly newsletters, and then additionally we sent an end of school year email to parents um with important reminders in it as well. All right, next slide. um to streamline communications again towards a consistent platform for all families to access. Our communication is streamlined into district newsletters like I mentioned and we publish the weekly parent and guardian newsletters and bi-weekly staff newsletters during the school year. Um to date our average newsletter open rates are 76% for staff and 86% for district. Um that is for parents and guardians. Um within education I believe a 40% open rate is a good open rate. So, we're well above that um within our parents and guardians and our staff. Um and that goes to all staff members, too. So, there could be substitutes on there that are, you know,
037not with us on a day-to-day basis, but they do receive the newsletter. So, this is everybody that is considered part of our staff. Um, one thing that we did that was really important this year is we really worked with the PTA um to ensure collaboration and consistency across our school and PTA newsletters. So, you'll see an image in here. It's a little bit difficult to read because the print's really small, but we really work together with PTA council to determine which information goes into the school newsletter and which goes into the PTA newsletter. And that's [clears throat] something that once we have this document together and we're aligned upon it that we can introduce to PTA presidents each school year. The next thing is to launch a redesigned user-friendly district website with improved navigation, mobile
038responsiveness, and accessibility appli compliance. Um, I'm very nervous to report that the site will transfer over tomorrow. Um, a [laughter] lot of pages will be under construction. Um, hopefully you aren't clicking on any attendance buttons tomorrow because you have no reason to submit attendance, but that is one that won't be working. Um, so if you just bear with us throughout this week and um throughout the summer, we'll be getting the website up to date. Um, you know, there's just some holes in it. A lot of things that may have been on there that you see a date where it says 2018, so it could use some updating or maybe it just needs, you know, a refresh. So, working through some of those things, but um, the new website will be live tomorrow. Um, and hopefully
039you will notice that there was a lot of streamlining that took place. um a lot more visually um exciting I would like to say with a lot more photos um of our students and the great things happening across the district. So um that is happening tomorrow. >> Thank you Mrs. Smith. We are very excited to see the new page >> new pages. Yeah. [laughter] >> Um and that comes to a that's that's the end of the update. So any goals that were completed by February of 2026, they are here in the appendix. um just just to remind everybody of what they were and how they were completed. Um I think that for me personally and professionally, having a strategic plan that kind of outlines the goal is amazing because it allows us to be focused
040on the work that we all set as a team um and as a community. And then to be able to give these updates throughout the year rather than waiting just all the way to the end is also really helpful for us. So, just thank you to the team, thank you to the board for the support, and thank you to our um full staff for their willingness to give us feedback and help us to to to meet these goals. And that's all we have. >> Well, thank you. I you know, I remember when we were talking about goals and you were like, "Oh, we have only 32." And we were like, "32? All right. >> 35 now. >> Now there's 35." But you >> you and the team made it look seamless. So, thank you all
041for your consistent guided support and just growth in our group and team. And I'm excited for the 35. We knocked out 32. So, I'm ready. >> I would say we like knocked out 35 if you count the year 2 goals that were >> That is true. >> Yeah, >> I want to say Yeah, that is true. >> Um I do I think that having the strategic plan makes a huge difference because it's not like hey, whatever we thought about. kind of like what have we dreamed, what have we envisioned for the school district and it helps us to just have like a a nice path for our future. I think too to point out for the community that um you know that pro the process that we went through a year and a half ago
042really deeply involved the community and community feedback and um in these um goals that are here and all the components of the of the strategic plan like really is representative of that feedback that we've received from the community. So, I think it's really nice to see the progress on these goals and to know that, you know, this is what this is what was asked for. It's not just us, the nine of us or the administrative team or whatever that that's really um setting these things, but it's really being driven by community input. >> So, I hate to uh disagree with Mrs. Crarabel, but it didn't look easy to me. It did look hard. [laughter] Um, and I could just tell throughout the year and this evening that the team was working like hard but purposefully
043and together. And so I just want to thank all of you for these updates. Um, now my uh board member at work says that if you complete more than 70% of your goals, you're not trying hard enough. So [laughter] when you set the I'm just kidding. Um [laughter] we we don't like to do that either. [snorts] All right. So we do have um some new business up for voting. So this will be a joint vote and discussion meeting. So um we do have a personnel report that we need to vote on. Um Mrs. Berdick, would you read the resolution? We need questions. Questions? >> Oh, questions or comments? Forgot. Mhm. >> Great. All right, Mrs. Verdict, would you read the resolution for me, please? I move that it be resolved that the board approves the
044personnel report in the form presented. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Berdick, >> I. >> Dr. Campanero, >> I. >> Mr. Clocky, >> I. >> Mrs. CrarAbel. >> Hi, >> Miss Flecher. >> Hi, >> Miss Given. >> I Reverend Dr. Strauss. >> I >> Congratulations to Mr. Keith Walters, who will be our new assistant principal at Milan Middle School. [applause] I just sincerely want to thank you all for the opportunity and for your trust in helping guide your students in the future. >> I'm really anxious to get started and I promise to give the students, staff, and community my very best every day. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. We're very excited to have you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Policy. Miss Flea, would you like to add anything from earlier
045today? Uh just that uh the policy committee met just prior to this. We reviewed 14 new policies for adoption and um nine for retirement. Uh and those are all going to be moving forward uh for board action next week. Thank you. Um, moving into finance, we will be discussing our treasures report, monthly list of bills, list of tax refunds, list of unusable equipment, budgetary transfers, donations to the schools, 2627 Pathfinder budget, approval of Keystone agenda board meeting agenda, uh, two very important dairy bid and ice cream bid, uh, as well as Alageney Health Network strength and conditioning coaching services. I will pass it over to you, Miss Conley. The treasures report reflects cash transactions for the month of May 2026. There are two reports. Treasures report is just a four-page report. Um it begins with
046our um our accounts for the month of May 30 through May 31, 2026. They're beginning and ending balances. Uh page two and three includes our investments. Again, it is um our balance as of May 1 and where it ends on May 31st for each investment account which is mostly CDs. And the last page are sub accounts that are very small accounts but still overseen by the business office and their beginning balances and ending balances. Any questions or comments? >> She has one more. >> I have um the monthly report too. Okay. So I have um that's the second report. It's the 252 26 projected expenditures and revenues. The first part of this report includes the expenses year to date and a projection through June 30th. It is now the first week of June. Uh we
047did these projections at the end of May. And I want to go into some detail as to what these projections mean. So um we are projecting a surplus of $2.7 million for 2526. At the end of April that number was in the around 1.1 million. This is just a projection and the final number will be determined after the 2526 general ledger closes and the audit is done. This final number, the surplus, it may be lower, it may be higher. However, I do feel we are in the range of $2.7 million, which is $2.2% of budget. That is not that unusual to have. This will bring Mount Leaven School District very, very close to our goal of an 8% fund balance. And I want to review some standout items of um within the expenses and the
048revenues that brought us to this point. [clears throat] In 2526, a new practice was implemented and we more closely analyzed each cost center department or school is a cost center. Uh the budget managers are given monthly reports but we talk about questions and answers but this year we did a more deep dive uh two or three times in the second semester and the budget managers were asked to assist with their own projections u and to commit to a surplus and then I provided con uh guidance on how to make their micro projections if needed. Many of them have a very very good feel on what is happening in their departments obviously and um they're better at projecting their own department than than I am. So it was a great uh collaboration. A budget freeze on
049non-essential items also was implemented in January 2026. This yielded some savings. There is some savings in personnel due to turnover and hiring of substitutes or replacements at lower rates. That's the 100 category of this person of the expenses. Also in expenses, there's a surplus in tuition due to a reserve that was put in place in the rollover um last school year 2425 and the 2526. There's also a surplus in capital um due to reser a reserve that was in place in the rollover. So the total projected expenses below budget, this is four expenses, it's 1,294,500. So almost $1.3 million that we have in savings. The other good news is in revenues. The revenues exceed what is projected. So lower expenses, higher revenues. That's how we're getting to the 2.7 million. Earned income tax is higher
050than budget. Earned income tax revenue is a direct result of high wage earners or just wage earners in Mount Lebanon. Delinquent tax collection is higher than the budget, which is directly related to WBKA. This year's projection exceeds the prior year's actual by $140,000. And this is an excellent result because we thought like last year was fabulous and we're $140,000 more. Interest earnings are more than budget but not as high as the prior year due to the economy but uh I think that the um higher interest earnings have helped. They haven't completely collapsed in this um in in this economic world that we live in. So, I'm happy to report that we're pretty close to budget on interest. The rental facilities has increased under the management of Mr. Kaiser. Um, yes, some of our rental fees
051have increased to be in align with what it actually costs us to run these facilities and I want to thank Mr. Kaiser publicly for keeping his eye on that. The tuition from patrons is above budget due to tuition paid by students. tuitions is paid by F1 visa students, our adult education program and the 2025 summer enrichment program. 2025 is part of this projection. 2026 will be part of next year's. We have slightly more funding [clears throat] under state subsidies for basic education, special education, and ready to learn. And as you remember this time last year, we budgeted flat funding in those categories and they did come in slightly higher. So that was money saved. We also received a BCCD grant of $198,645. That was not part of the original 2526 budget adoption. So that is
052198 $198,000 [clears throat] that came into the district. But when I mentioned the expenses five minutes ago, they're also included in the expenses. So that's kind of a wash. So our total projected revenues are over budget by 1,417,137. So when you add the savings and expenses with these higher revenues, the total projected surplus is $2,711,637. And I really want to thank all of our administrators, all of our employees, the board support, um because without us working together, we would never be in this place. and um I I hope that u the auditor concurs with this projection. >> Thank you, Mrs. Connelly. You know, a few of us were at the table when that was not the case. Um [laughter] and we cannot thank you and the leadership at this table enough for the work that
053you have done. Uh I know a few of us were not also thinking that we would be where we're at today. So, thank you so much for your just continued efforts, creativity, um, going zero base and a huge thank you to our teachers that agreed and was digging in with you as well. So, thank you so much. Very excited. Thank you. >> I also just want I just want to remind the public that getting to that 8% fund balance is really important as we think about our bond rating and our aging buildings. Um, Mr. Kaiser presented on those I think in January or February and um we we are going to need to invest in those um you know I would say probably relatively soon. So um while you know we have people thinking our
054taxes have been going up year after year and why are we doing that when we have a $2.7 million surplus um that's why we need to think long term um and the long-term health of the district. And so I also appreciate everything that um this administrative team has done and all of our teachers and budget managers have done to to get us to this point so that we can um not just be you know successful with the current students we have but but set us up for success for you know decades to come. The comments column of this report is so helpful not only to the board in um keeping an eye on things but to community members also who might um you know who might inquire well you know how did these numbers um
055as predicted how did they change by the um end or or by the time we reach June. Um, so I would encourage anyone with um with questions about well um which numbers were higher, which numbers were lower. This is all very well laid out and the information is here in board docs in the final column on the projected expenditures and I just really appreciate that um one can look up the reasoning why the numbers might have changed. So thank you for that. Okay. Monthly list of bills. I don't have it on my The monthly list of bills reflects checks authorized to be drawn between May 14th, 2026 and May 29th, 2026. All checks have been reviewed by the administration and the superintendent recommends approval of this list. >> Any questions or comments? Okay. List of
056tax refunds. >> The list of tax refunds totals $78,43425 cents for two refunds for May 2026. The list has been reviewed by the solicitor's office which recommends approval. The list is recommended for for approval by the superintendent. >> Any questions or comments? >> This is for the former right property on Bower Hill. Is that correct? Yes. And do we expect um to see this continue for that property or is this something that will >> Well, the property has to be this is uh a refund to the current owner if the property sells and we'll see what it sells for and what kind of retail or office space goes in there. Yeah, >> it really depends on who buys it. >> List of unusable equipment. The list of unusable equipment includes a file cabinet in poor
057condition, a floor scrubber in fair condition, and various elementary social study resources. The superintendent recommends approval of this list. Any questions or comments? >> Budgetary transfers. Budgetary transfers for June total $6,577.92 for salaries and athletic supplies. The superintendent recommends approval of these transfers. >> It was um $6,577 million. Oh my goodness. [laughter] >> I was like, what are we transferring? >> It's all good. We only have one more meeting, folks. Just [laughter] bear with us. 577.92. [laughter] >> Any questions or comments? Donations to the schools. Annually, a list of donations to the schools is compiled and presented to the board for acceptance. The list shows the community's commitment to our schools and our programming, and we are grateful for their support. The superintendent recommends acceptance of these donations from our community. any questions or comments?
058>> Um, I would just like to say thank you again to our community. I think it's important to point out that all of you that have assisted us that would have been $86,000 and to some that may sound like a small number, but when you're breaking it down per school, that's a really big impact. So, thank you all so much. I think too for the PTAs, you know, this is a more direct direct donations, but you know, I think that um I think the things that our PTAs do um really contributes a lot greater than uh than what can be quantified here. So >> the iceberg I agree. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Plus one. Um yeah, just also wanted to express thank you. All right. The 2627 Pathfinder budget. >> The board is asked to
059approve the proposed 26 2026 2027 administrative budget of the South Central area special schools joiner totaling $461,000. The superintendent recommends approval. >> Any questions or comments? >> I saw that. Um, did I speak for you? >> Okay. Um, it looks like the building maintenance fees is quite a bit higher this year. Uh, I think that's the major >> I can tell you that. I can tell. I was I was hoping that somebody would be [laughter] able to. >> Yes. Okay. Give me a minute. Got to get this right. Um, the board of Pathfinder voted this year to increase the building maintenance fee, which is the fee uh a fee that's paid by students who are from nonjintter member districts. So, if a student is coming from a a joint or district like Mount Lebanon, they
060do not pay that fee because we are supporting the school as a joint member. Um, but for students who might be coming from another district, um, Pathfinder voted to raise that fee to be more in line with peer schools in the area. So, that's where that increase has come from. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. And if I can chime in from um prior year's service on the Pathfinder board, what we're seeing this year is a change that um represents a change in a contract that was ratified um a year ago, but in which the AIU would pay for certain things and the joint staff would pay for certain things. And so um that led to a changing in u the charges. So, we're we're seeing um one year down the road post um a
061great number of changes that were put into place um a year ago as well as um the expiration of a capital grant that is no longer. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions or comments? >> Okay. Approval of Keystone Agenda board meeting agenda management solution. >> Beginning July 1, PSBA will switch to a new agenda management solution, Keystone Agenda, as a replacement for board docs. The board is asked to approve Keystone agenda as the district's board meeting agenda management platform for the 2026 2027 school year at an annual cost of $2,000. The superintendent recommends approval of this platform. >> Any questions or comments? >> Um I I guess um I know that we've met with PSVA and talked about the platform, how it will um continue to support our meetings and our policy service? Um
062has the administration had the opportunity to like preview the platform? >> Yeah, we have had the opportunity. Um, the cost of the program is about $8,000 less and it is more user friendly is the best way to describe it. I think the interesting thing about all of this is that, you know, it's not easy to switch our management solution because we had, you know, chosen board docs a few years ago. Board Docs is actually moving away from Board Docs to be community docs or something like that. So, what we've noticed, if you guys log in and you can't get access, it's because they're beginning the conversion, but they really haven't said that publicly. Um, we're hoping that this solution, since it's tied directly to PSBA, um, and their policies, and it is much less expensive
063um, and it's used across the country. They're just calling it Keystone Agenda for Pennsylvania. Am I missing anything, Mrs. Walters? No, we'll be um continuing to have trainings. There's a virtual training tomorrow and I have an in-person training at the end of the month. And as I learn more, I'll be able to, you know, let the board know what we'll be doing and and get the board and the administration trained. and just confirming which I assume is the case, but just to say it out loud that the same level of um availability of um current and historic board meeting materials for the public would be available through this platform. >> They're doing a full conversion for us. It's a part of the process. So, we gave them access to board docs and they will be
064pulling it all over um for a start date. I think they said of August one is what they were hoping. >> Our August meetings should be able to be fully on Keystone agenda and hopefully running smoothly. >> Will the policies also switch over to Keystone agenda or will they remain on board docs? >> Everything will switch. Will there be changes in numeration or any anything about policy? >> It's just the housing. >> Okay. >> Um >> All right. Any other questions or comments? I can say I'm excited as one of the affected people, so be [laughter] great. All right. Very exciting. Dairy bid. Annually, the district bids dairy for food service operations. The current dairy supplier, Turner Dairy, was the only bidder at a cost of $39,323 for the 2627 school year. The superintendent recommends
065approval of this bid. >> Any questions or comments? >> I guess this is just a question for this item and the next one, the ice cream bid, but more this one because it's a more significant cost. Um, I know that there's like a significant increase in the cost year-over-year. I'm assuming, just to confirm, that these larger than previously anticipated costs are built into next year's budget when we're thinking about what these supplies will look like and and fuel costs and things like that. I noticed the um utility bills had increased as well. >> Yes, it's all built in. >> Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Okay. Ice cream bid. >> Annually, the district bids ice cream for food service operations. The current ice cream supplier, Hershey's, was the only bidder at a cost of
066$8,464 for the 2026 2027 school year. The superintendent recommends approval of this bid. Any questions or comments? Okay. Alageney Health Network Strength and Conditioning Coaching Services. >> The board has asked to approve Alageney Health Network, AHN, to provide strength and conditioning coaching services in the amount of $45,000 from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 for Mount Lebanon School District athletic programs pending final legal review. The superintendent recommends approval of this contract. Any questions or comments? >> I was wondering if that's a change from UPMC to AHN. No. >> No. We've used AHN as our strength and conditioning services. Um we use UPMC for um like >> rehabilitation >> training. Training. >> Yeah. >> All right. Moving into human resources. Uh tonight we will be discussing superintendent evaluation and salary increase, performance rating for assistant
067superintendent in secondary education, performance rating and salary increase for assistant superintendent for elementary education, approval of administrative salaries, approval of list of annual salaries for specialists, approval of list annual salaries for administrative assistants and supervisors, Mount Lebanon Police Departmentou, and collective bargaining agreement for custodial and maintenance employees. This is finally right back to you. As required by the Pennsylvania School Code, the superintendent employment contract includes performance criteria mutually agreed agreed to in writing by the school board and the superintendent and the superintendent is to be evaluated each year. The board will determine and in an assessment to be conducted on June 15, 2026 if the agreed to performance criteria for the previous school year has been met. Any questions or comments? Okay. Performance rating for assistant superintendent for secondary education. >> The board is asked
068to approve the 2025 2026 satisfactory performance evaluation of Dr. Ronald Davis. >> Any questions or comments? I think it should say uh to like 2029, right? But no. [laughter] >> All right. Performance rating and salary increase for assistant superintendent for elementary education. >> The board has asked to approve the 2025 2026 satisfactory performance evaluation of Dr. Joseph Schulo. Any questions or comments? Okay. Approval of administrative salaries. >> The superintendent recommends that the board approved annual negotiated salary adjustments for administrators effective July 1, 2026 for a satisfactory rating. >> Any questions or comments? Approval of list of annual salaries for specialists. The superintendent recommends that the board approves the annual salary adjustments for specialists effective July 1, 2026, reflecting an average increase of 3%. >> Any questions or comments? Approval of list of annual salaries for
069administrative assistance and supervisors. The superintendent recommends that the board approves the annual salary adjustments for administrative assistance/supervisors effective July 1, 2026 reflecting an average increase of 3%. >> Any questions or comments? >> Could you remind me and the community when we add the um annual salary increase for teachers? >> Uh we no longer have to. It's collectively bargained. So, it is included in there. Um, it's included. >> Like, what month it's contracted? But what month do we we don't vote on that? >> No. Um, our solicitor recommended that we don't because it's not necessary due to their contract. >> I see. Okay. >> We did in the past. You are correct. We did. >> However, it's >> Okay. Sorry about [clears throat] that. That's my my mistake. Mount Lebanon Police Departmentou. >> It looks like
070the information is missing from here. So, the superintendent recommends that the board approves theou between the Mount Lebanon Police Department and the Mount Lebanon School District uh for the next two years. So, it'll run from 2026 2027 to 2027 2028 and will be due to um do a new one in 2028 2029. Any questions or comments? >> Are there any notable differences between the currentou and this one? >> No, there were no um statutory requirements legally and in conversations with the police, they didn't have any additions. >> Okay. Collective bargaining agreement custodial and maintenance employees. The board has asked to approve the collective bargaining agreement with the Mount Lebanon Education Support Professionals Association for all custodial and maintenance employees of the Mount Lebanon School District effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031. Any questions
071or comments? Okay. As we move into curriculum instruction, very excited to announce we will be approving um the 2026 list of graduates. Also discussing agreement with the Keystone Oaks School District to participate in Project Succeed, Carnegi Melon University affiliation agreement, agreement with Alageney Children's Initiative as well as agreement with the I can talk clinic. The board has asked to annually approve the list of graduates uh for the current school year. The list has been reviewed and the students are recommended by the high school administration as having met the requirements for graduation. The board is asked to take action on the approval of this list of graduates at its next meeting June 15, 2026. >> Any questions or comments? >> Are they not officially graduated? And [laughter] >> they think they are. >> You can't take
072it back. I mean, their grades say otherwise, but technically we do have to confer. >> All right. Agreement with the Keystone Oaks School District to participate in Project Succeed. >> The high school administration is re recommending the use of Keystone Oaks Project Succeed program as an alternative education option for students for the 2627 school year at a cost of $17,500. The superintendent recommends approval of this agreement. >> Any questions or comments? agreement with the Alageney programs initiative. >> The board's asked to approve an affiliation agreement with the Carnegi Melon. I'm sorry, I skipped. You skipped one. I went back. [laughter] >> See, >> thanks. Go for it. You know, >> the board has asked to approve an affiliation agreement with Carnegi Melon University for the placement of field experience, practicum, andor student teaching candidates. >>
073Any questions or comments? All right, let's try this again. Agreement with Alageney Children's Initiative. >> The board has asked to approve an agreement with Alagany Children's Initiative to provide student assistance program services to the district for the 2627th school year. There is no cost to the district for the service. The letter of agreement has been reviewed by the solicitor. The superintendent recommends approval of this agreement. >> Any questions or comments? Okay. Agreement with the I can talk clinic. The board has asked to approve an agreement with the I can talk clinic for up to 11 hours for training and consultation for one student for the 2627 school year at a cost not to exceed $2,750. The superintendent recommends approval of this agreement. >> Any questions or comments? >> I was trying to figure out if
074the description sounds like it's for one student, but the agreement sounds like it's for training. I I was just I was confused a little bit about what exactly this is for. >> So the contract is so the clinic um personnel can train the IEP team for a particular student. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yep. Any other questions or comments? Okay. [laughter] We've now reached our questions or comments from residents. This public comment period is open to residents and taxpayers regarding matters of concern, official action, or deliberation which are or may be before the board. All commenters should begin by stating their name. Comments are limited to three minutes, and we will notify commenters when their time has expired. Questions requiring follow-up will be referred to the administration for later response. Comments by public participants are
075their own and should not be assumed to be the statements of the district. The Mount Lebanon School District is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and welcoming school environment that recognizes and celebrates the diverse identities within our community so everyone feels a sense of belong belonging. We have anyone here for public comment. Uh Bruce Slater from 140 Skylar Circle. Uh about a week or two ago, I u met the new athletic director and along with John Rogan and uh I my first impression is I like him, you know, and I I took one look at him. I said, "hm, I bet I've been involved with this school district longer than you're old." And sure enough, I'm right. Um but uh he's got a a tough task to fill the shoes of John Grogan. Uh John
076has committed a lot of time uh after hours at basketball games, football games all over the all over the district. Um playoff games and everything else. Um and uh he's going to be a tough one to fill. and uh the new athletic director. I'll probably refer him to him as Dan because he's got a name that I difficult. It's not Smith or Jones or or Miller or Davis, you know, it's not an easy name for me, but uh uh but I do I was impressed by him and I hope I hope it goes good for him. Uh the other thing is u I've mentioned this in the past years that um there should be more uh directing the students not away from uh Ivy League but more towards maybe Ohio for college education. It's a
077lot cheaper. Same subjects, same books, and same uh uh when you uh finish whatever it is, doctor, engineering, or whatever, you got to still pass the same test. No matter where you go, you could spend 100,000 or 10,000. I uh I actually um kind of fell into it by accident. I drove the first year, I'm not from [clears throat] around here, but uh to Youngsttown and uh it was cheaper to go out of state tuition at Youngsttown University. It was instate here. Not even close. I mean, well, a few years ago, but I I paid less for a whole school year for tuition, out of state tuition, less than $150. My books were more. And then and then then I started staying second and third years um because I realized if I kept driving I
078was never going to graduate because I'll kill myself on the road somewhere. So so I wanted to graduate. [laughter] So I started staying on in a dorm and uh the best move I ever made and uh that's when I really buckled down and started studying and did well with it. Um but uh uh the uh counselor should be directing people uh the students to maybe Ohio because uh Youngstone it's it's not out of state tuition necessarily but but everything on this side of the state is instate tuition in Ohio in Youngsttown. So it's not not exorbitant. >> Thank you for your comment. >> Anyone else? Good evening. I wasn't going to say anything, but I figured since I'm here and this is my first board meeting to be a part of, I I might may
079as well um give a comment. So, thank you to the um the board here for approving and thank you to the school district. Um my son is the one who is getting the services for I can talk and he is um your deb blind student here at Mount Lebanon. So I'm very much appreciate that. But um sorry I get like so emotional with him. But as I was sitting here just reflecting I'm like I'm not going to talk about special education. I actually have two other kids in the district and I wanted to talk about just two a couple questions and thoughts I had. So you had mentioned that we're going through the strategic plan and there's five years, right? So I was just curious if we're thinking about a strategic refresh in in the
080interim and the five-year period to pivot and go in a different direction. Then the other thing is, you know, we talked a lot about the volume of goals, but are our goals moving the needle for our students? How do we know? Just a couple thoughts. Thank you. Um if you want since you're new, if you do want um response to that, if you fill out the card in the back, we'll be able to reach out to you. >> Sure. >> Thanks. >> Anyone else? >> Okay. Well, as previously mentioned, the board did meet previously for executive session, and our next and final meeting of 2026 will be next Monday at 7:30 p.m. Same room, same place. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Second. Second. >> All right.