001Good evening. Today is Monday, December 8th, 2025. It is 7:31 p.m. and we are here in room D205 at the Mount Lebanon School Board of Directors meeting. It will be a joint discussion and voting meeting today. So, it will run a little bit different. And please stand for the pledge. I alian to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Berdick, >> here. >> Mrs. Crabel, >> here. Miss Flecher >> here. >> No, it's it's out of order. >> Mr. Hoffman >> here. >> Mr. Wland >> here. >> Mr. Clerty here. >> Lockardy. >> Ms. Given >> here. >> Dr. Campanero >> here. >> Mrs. Gelman >> here. >> All
002members are present. Thank you. I move that it be resolved that the board approves the minutes of the policy committee meeting held on November 10th, 2025. the discussion meeting held on November 10th, 2025 and the regular meeting held on November 17th. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any absentions? >> Great. Next, we will move on to our board reports. We will be starting with our Melon Middle School students. So, we have Lily Spriglemire, Abigail Bosvert, and Maggie Park. and they will represent on behalf of the student council. >> Thank you so much for inviting us to speak tonight. My name is Abigail Ba and I'm an eighth grade member of our student council's executive board. My name is Lily Spigglemire and I'm also an eighth grader eighth grade member of Melon's executive
003board. My name is Maggie Park and I too am an eighth grade member of our council. Our last report to the school board was in October. Since then, we were able to finalize our pinkout grand total of $695.50 donated to St. Claire's Breast Center from our pink merch sales on Wednesday mornings in October. This amount accompanied the $591.50 raised earlier during our Pinkout t-shirt sale with Commonwealth Press. In November, we hosted a successful food drive prior to Thanksgiving with all contributions benefiting Shim. We hosted three food drive Fridays throughout the month where students were able to drop off donated items in the main lobby each morning. They were greeted by student council members who packed the donations and passed out spirit slips. We collected 11 huge boxes of food from the generous students and staff
004of Melon Middle School. We also sponsored fall spirit days on each of the three food drive Fridays in November. Spirit themes were red, white, and blue or camo day, fall flannel, and mismatch shoes day. Any student who participated in the spirit days received a spirit slip and we chose a handful of winners for each grade level prior to Thanksgiving break. Also in November, seven of our eighth grade members traveled to Union Area High School for the Pennsylvania Association of Student Council state convention. The two-day event was a valuable learning opportunity for our members. Students attended several keynote sessions along with a variety of workshops and networking opportunities with students from across the state. We look forward to continuing to participate in PC PAC events in the future. Last week kicked off our December initiatives. We
005are currently sponsoring a wish drive project for the Bridge to Home Animal Rescue. A wish list from Bridge to Home was shared with our Melon students and staff detailing their most needed items such as and including dog treats, pet beds, and cleaning products. Participants can also drop off donations during one of our three collection mornings at the table in the main lobby worked by student council members. Every student who donates receives a raffle ticket. All donation items will then be sent to the animal rescue prior to winter break. In conjunction with our wish drive, we are currently celebrating our annual 12 days of hol spirit. Students participate in daily spirit themes as a way to count down the days leading up to winter break. We kicked off the first of the 12 spirit days with
006Grinch vers Santa day on Thursday, December 4th. Students wore green for team Grinch or red for team Santa. Today was metallic Monday where sixth graders were encouraged to wear anything sparkly. Seventh graders wore silver and eighth graders wore gold. We will close out the 12 holidays on December 19th with holiday morning pajama day. Again, this year we partnered with the with the PBIS program at Melon to offer some awesome prizes to students ahead of the break. Our wonderful Melon staff help staff help to organize and provide all of the prizes. Students who participate in each of the spirit days receive a raffle ticket during home room. Those raffle tickets can then be entered into a variety of drawings to win a wealth of prizes. There are gift card prizes, special snack prizes, and other fun
007classroom prizes, too. Not to mention, any student who learns earns a L libo loot token during the 12 holidays earns an additional raffle ticket. All lucky winners will be announced prior to winter break. We plan to reconvene in the new year and perhaps plan a couple of spirit days on Fridays in January before sponsoring our annual feel the beats Friday initiative in support of heart health month in February. Thank you for allowing us to speak this evening. We hope everyone has a wonderful winter break. Thank you again for your time tonight. And for the board president report before we get started each time we have an outgoing president we have a presentation of the gavvel and I am honored to be able to present Mrs. Fleer with her gavvel today. Mrs. Fleer was elected to
008a four-year term in November 2019 and again in November 2023. She served as board vice president beginning in December 2020 before serving as president for two years beginning in December 2023. During her time on the board, she has served as the Shaza representative as the as the district's representative on the Pathfinder board as well. It has been a joy and an honor working with you, Val. Thank you so much for your mentorship, your intention, your carefulness, and just your sheer passion and love for the community and the district. And I am just honored to have you with us and happy that you are now retired. So like to do this. >> It is. >> Yes. Feel free to use that at home. As we step into the holiday season, I'm reminded of how much gratitude
009and community um live at the heart of Mount Lebanon. This time of year always makes me pause and reflect on our students, staff, families, and everyone who pours into our district day after day. It is your dedication and resilience that makes our district who we are and I appreciate each and every one of you. Stepping into this role during such a meaningful season is a reminder that new beginnings come with fresh energy, renewed commitment, and a chance to lead with intention, partnership, and heart as we continue a district where every student can thrive. And speaking of thriving, we have had several of our Mount Lebanon High School musicians um have been selected to participate in the Pennsylvania Music Education Association, otherwise known as PMEA, for their district ensembles, a recognition of their talent, dedication, and
010musical achievement. PMEA, a statewide organization of more than 3,700 members, supports highquality music education and performance opportunities for students. across Pennsylvania. Selection to a PMEA district ensemble is a competitive and noteworthy honor, placing students among the top young musicians in the region. This year, Mount Lebanon students earn placements across multiple ensembles, including district chorus, district orchestra, district 1 honors band, District 1 Band West, and District One Honors Jazz. I'm quite sure you realize there are a host of names from all of that. So, if you would like to see the members, uh they are posted on our website. Uh this is a very big honor if you've never heard of PMEA to be selected and the hours and dedication of time that they have to put in is remarkable. So, congratulations to our students. And
011to close with our inclusivity calendar, on December 1st, we had World AIDS Day, which commemorates those who have died of AIDS and acknowledges the need for a continued commitment to all of those affected by the HIV AIDS epidemic. December 3rd was International Day of Persons with Disabilities designed to raise awareness regarding persons with disabilities to improve their lives and provide them with equal opportunity. December 14th through 22nd, we will have Hanukkah. December 25th, we will have Christmas. And December 26 through January 1st, we we will have Quanza, an African-American cultural celebration started by Milana Coringa in 1966 to celebrate universal African-American culture and connect to their African roots and heritage. I hope that each and every one of you have an amazing, restful break and an enjoyable holiday season with all of your loved ones.
012And that is all of my report. Next, we will have our superintendent report. Okay. >> Thank you so much, Mrs. Crrael. Mr. Stangle's going to put my presentation up there. We have quite a few updates for this month. Um, the first thing that we're going to talk a little bit about is schools to watch with Jefferson Middle School. In the fall, Jefferson Middle School went through the process for to be designated as a school to watch. And just this past week, we found out that they will be designated as a school to watch school. The mission of the Pennsylvania Dawn Iicorn schools school to watch program is to assist Pennsylvania middle-grade schools build capacity and recognize schools achieving academic excellence based on the rigorous 37 criteria established by the national forum to accelerate middle school
013um middle grades reform. This distinction confirms the qualities and characteristics that were judged um that they judge Jefferson Middle School by, which is academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity, and organizational structures and processes. We're very proud of the work that they did to accomplish this achievement. And they do join Melon Middle School as a school to watch. Uh one of the other things that took place this month was activating agency and well-being which uh was a student symposium on November 18th. Um Miss Antunez and I along with uh her co her classmates Tessa Freya and Maline attended the PTE activating advocacy event at Aquaore Stadium. You can see them there under the terrible towel. They taught us how to take that picture. Um I didn't do it well but they look great in the photo.
014Um, the symposium was part of a statewide series designed to elevate student voice, agency, and well-being. And the students engaged in meaningful youth- centered conversations. They shared their perspectives on belonging, access to support, and school climate, and provided input that will directly inform PD's development of a responsive supports, and statewide policy. Student feedback will be compiled into a comprehensive state-of-the- uh mental wellness report which will then be shared with schools um as well as other agencies within the state to provide actionable student driven insights to support policy programming and resource allocation across the Commonwealth. Another event from this month, actually on the same day as the um symposium, was our unified partners and sports soccer tournament. On November 18th, Mount Lebanon students participated in the unified partners and sports soccer tournament. This is the first
015year year for this program. The schools in our unified partners sports cohort are Cornell, Mount Lebanon, Montour, Moon, Peters Township, Quaker Valley, South Fyet, and West Alagany. The unified partners in sports events will involve three separate sporting events. Um the first was soccer, the next will be basketball and the final one will be track and field invitational. And the athletes must be high school students with eligible disabilities according to the Special Olympic guidelines. The students had a great time. You can see them um pictured here. It was a really great day and we're really looking forward to the basketball tournament that's coming up um in early February. Uh, another thing that I wanted to highlight, I have the book here with me tonight. I believe Mr. Clockard is going to be the first one to
016read it after me. Uh, is letters to the empire. Over the summer, 11th grade student Vanchica Jane wrote Letters to the Empire. Uh, she is a second generation immigrant of Indian and South African heritage. The book was published in July of this year and it reimagines the lives of people living under British colonial rule in India and South Africa, drawing on letters to tell personal multi-generational stories. And many of the letters in the novel are based on real archival documents that have never been seen before by the public. We'd like to congratulate her on a job well done. Just today, um you'll notice Dr. Shulo isn't here with us. He was in Hershey to celebrate our teacher, Rebecca Shoalter, who was one of the 12 finalists for Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year. Um, she was
017one of 523 educators that were nominated and they kind of, you know, bake that down to 12. And though she is not the teacher of the year for the state, we are very, very proud of her and very proud of the dedication that she puts in in the classroom every single day here within the district. Libo United update. We are looking for more members to join Lebo United. In the newsletter this week for both staff and families, there's a request that if you're interested in joining that you join the Libo united working group. This week we met and the topics for our month of December meeting were professional development sessions delivered in August, curriculum updates, onboarding status updates, and central registration. And some of the other topics that we talked about were um our mental
018health focus for the year, trauma-informed practices, a day of service that will be coming up in the next two months, and then middle school presentations that will occur between now and the end of January. For our upcoming advisory meetings at the middle school focused on belonging, we will be using resources from Upend Hate. In January, we will follow up this presentation with a speaker at both Jefferson and Metal Melon Middle School on this topic. Upend Hate aims to educate young people about hate and hate-based violence while empowering them to be upstanders. Our first lesson will take place tomorrow. Superintendent coffee. Uh we had the superintendent coffee on Thursday of last week. We had two families, two parents join us and we were really excited to have a great conversation with them. We do have two
019more meetings available. One is a virtual lunch meeting on February the 4th from 12 until 1:00 p.m. An invite uh and sign up list for that one will go out in January. And then our final one for the year will be an evening event from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April the 14th here in the high school in the mind den which is across the hall from the boardroom. Last month um we gave an update that we received the PTE budget. They've did pass the budget in the month of November. And the following allocations for Mount Lebanon are confirmed for the 2025 2026 fiscal year. So to the right is the chart of what we received. We received an additional $34,328 between our basic education fund and our special education fund. That's in addition
020to what we projected the budget would be um for this school year. This will offset any real estate revenue shortfalls, property tax refunds, and support our savings plan. And then in addition to that, we received a $100,000 PCCD safety and security grant at the least. Um we have been told that the 100 is the baseline and that we should be receiving some additional dollars, but it hasn't been clarified by the state yet what that might be. And this will help to um support safety initiatives within the district. And then the final uh amount of funding that we received that we were not expecting was $50,000 for the ready tolearn block grant. They're calling these adequacy funds and this will pro provide relief to the general fund as well. And then two final updates related to
021finance. Um this month we were to vote on the 2024 2025 annual comprehensive financial report. We're actually be voting on that in January and I wanted to make sure that the public knows why. Um, our auditor informed us that the 2025 OM compliance supplement, which is basically used to finalize the ACFR, was issued in late November. It's typically issued in like late summer and it was delayed this year by the US Office of Management and Budget. The compliance supplement is required to be used in conjunction with any audit that has a single audit component. And due to federal delays and the government shutdown, the supplement was issued a half a year late. So due to the delay, they need time to review the final version to ensure all components of the compliance supplement are followed
022and proper testing is taken place in regards to the single audit component. So we will see that before the board in uh January for a vote. And then finally, zerobased budgeting for 2026 2027. I mean, we're barely through this school year, but we're already thinking about next school year. And so, the 2026 2027 zerobased budget build templates have been shared with all business managers. One-on-one budget meetings are being scheduled for the week of January 20th through early February with the responsible assistant superintendent and director of operations. Budget managers are required to analyze each expense and provide justification for the expenditures based upon a central need or want and provide quotes for products or services. And then each line is discussed and either approved, modified or more information is requested. This is the process of the
023foundation of our base budget. And other than that, I just want to wish everyone a really nice holiday season. We have a very long break. Our last day of school is Friday, December the 19th. and just want to remind you you do have to come back and that date is Monday, January the 5th. We hope everyone has a safe and restful time with their family and friends. And that is all I have for this month. >> Thank you. And next we will have our student representative reports. >> Good evening everyone. It's been another great month from us, so we're excited to share what we've been up to. So last week on December 3rd, the SEC hosted the annual Libo's Got Talent talent show. There were 19 great acts from the Mount Lton dance teams to
024several original songs including a surprise performance from the executive council. The winner of the viewers's choice award went to Gabrielle Prasad with her original song all over me which was awesome. And the critic's choice award went to Aika Katani for her performance of love by Kesha Cole. Libo Legacy Games Boschi tournament will also be taking place next week on the 19th. Students have signed up to play in teams, referee or volunteer, and there will be pizza sold at the event by Minithon. >> During October November, the class of 2027 organized a schoolwide food drive running from November 17th to the 21st. Together, they collected an impressive 2,000 items and $227 in monetary donations. All items will go towards the Pittsburgh Food Bank, benefiting families in need in this holiday season. We're also very excited to
025report that our school board student representatives training was very successful. In November, in partnership with the PA Board of Education and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association or PSBA, we hosted a presentation on the role of school boards and how they serve as a powerful tool for student advocacy. Nearly 50 students from across the state joined us along with several boards. They had the opportunity to ask questions, engage in meaningful conversations, and share common concerns from across the state. Finally, we'd like to congratulate all board members on their reelection, and welcome Dr. Companiro, Mr. Clocky, and Miss Given. Um, we look forward to both meeting and collaborating with you. Thank you for your time tonight. >> Thank you. Tonight, we will not have um board committee reports. Just a quick refresher and reminder, um, now that
026we have our three new board members, we will be selecting committees, um, over the break. So, I will be reaching out to them this week. Uh, we will begin to talk about that process. So, in January, those will resume. Um, do we have any, uh, comments from residents or taxpayers that previously requested to speak? Great. Uh at this time we have comments from residents and taxpayers concerning action items for this meeting. So if there's anyone here that would like to speak do so. Okay. We will move on into finance for our business for tonight. As a reminder, this will be both a discussion and a voting meeting. So we will start with our treasures report. Mrs. Connelly. >> Thank you. The treasures report reflects cash transactions for the month of November 2025. The first report
027is the treasures report. It is a list of our main bank accounts with their beginning and ending balances in November. Page two and three moves us through our investments. As you scroll down, you will see their ending balances as of the end of November. And page four is a list of our smaller accounts with month ending balances as well. The 2526 pro projected expenditures and revenues as of 11:30 or November 30th is also presented. That's the second report and it is um it shows our adopted budget, the year-to- date as of November 30th and our projected expenditures through the end of the year as of November 30th. For the first time this fiscal year, I'm happy to present that the state revenue is now recorded on this report. As Dr. Fes mentioned, we have additional
028state funding in basic ed funding $133,000 $883. Basic spe or special ed funding an additional $1745 and our ready tolearn grant has an additional $50,000. So that's a total of 354,000. I'm also showing a smidge increase in federal funding of $277 for a total increase of 354605 since our last report. And I'm showing this as a variance and also as our projection of a surplus as of November 30th because we did not expect to get that money and we will be preserving it to support our well first any emergency and then secondly um preservation of our fund balance. Thank you so much and thank you for the incredible detail to this. Um, for those that may be new, it is all on board docs, so feel free to open that up. Do we have any
029questions, any comments about finals? >> Um, I just had a question about the security grant also that Dr. Freeze mentioned. >> Yes, I did not include it on here because I don't know what the expenditures are. Okay. >> And that would affect the top of the report. So when we get our grant and the final number, we will then have a planning meeting regarding what that funding will be used for and we'll include it in this report. >> We don't have like a net zero. >> Correct. Net zero. >> And another caveat to that is they um say that it's given to us, but if you actually apply for it and then they grant it to us. So we can't put it on the books until they give it to us. It's a very interesting
030process because they tell the public you receive it, but you don't actually receive it until you apply and they approve it. >> And in the application, we would have to say what we're going to use it for. I guess how did we get a grant that we don't know what we're using it for? >> Yeah, they have not um sent out the applications yet. They anticipated it would be within 60 days, but Mr. Kaiser um and I have a list of things that we would like to accomplish with those funds. It's just a matter of the application coming out >> and I think maybe last year we if I remember correctly we used it for um updated uh call systems at Hoover and maybe some film and that's those are the types of things that
031we have traditionally used it for. >> Yes. >> Any other comments? >> Next we have our monthly list of bills. The monthly list of bills reflect checks authorized to be drawn from November 13, 2025 to November 26, 2025 and December 1st, 2025 to December 3rd, 2025. All checks have been reviewed by the administration. The superintendent recommends approval of this list. Any questions or comments? Okay. Next, we have our list of tax refunds for November 2025. The list of tax refunds totals $730.98 for one refund for November 2025. The list has been reviewed by the solicitor's office, which recommends approval. The list is recommended for approval by the superintendent. Any questions or comments? Next, we have the budgetary transfers for December. Budgetary transfers for December total $1,689 for athletic uniform cleaning, athletic dues, and elementary music
032supplies. The superintendent recommends approval of these transfers. Any questions or comments? Okay, the one we're all waiting for, the Peropoulo auto auction approval. The board has asked to approve Periopouloolis auto auction to provide auction services for two 2007 Ford F-150 trucks. The seller fee at the auction depends upon the sale price of the trucks. The superintendent recommends approval of the service. Any questions or comments? >> Okay. Is this something we've done before to liquidate old auto service vehicles? I don't remember. >> We auctioned a bus at the end of the summer with a different company because they specialized in school buses. We normally trade our vehicles in. These vehicles were not available for trade in by the company that we bought our new newer vehicles from. >> They said thanks but no thanks. Have we
033purchased their replacement um vehicles for this? >> We have. Um these lived a really good life. They were 18 years old. >> Um and you could see through to the bottom in some of them. So they are our team is very excited and we're hoping that we've heard that we will make more off of these trucks than we did off of the bus, which is hard to believe, but um that's that's the word. >> These trucks were born in 2007, so they're getting ready to graduate this year. They are getting they are >> they're they're getting an early graduation. >> All right. Any other questions, comments? >> Okay. Resolution, please. Mrs. Berdick. >> Yes. I move that it be resolved that the board approves the finance agenda items. >> Second. >> Any other questions or
034comments? >> Roll call, please. Mrs. Berdick I >> Dr. Camponaro >> I >> Mr. Clocky >> I >> Mrs. Crrael >> I >> Miss Flecher >> I >> Mrs. Gellman >> I >> Miss Given >> I >> Mr. Hoffman >> I >> Mr. Wland >> I >> Okay, moving on. We will be moving over to human resources starting with our personnel report. Mrs. Connelly. The personnel report details personnel appointments, changes in assignments, leaves of absences, resignations, sbaticals, and retirements to be considered by the board. >> Any questions or comments? Resolution, please. Mrs. Given. >> So, under >> Thank you. I move that it be resolved that the board approves the human resources agenda items. >> Second. Any other questions, comments? Roll call, please. Mrs. Berdick, >> I. >> Dr. Campanaro, >> I. >> Mr. Clocky,
035>> I. >> Mrs. Crrael, >> I. >> Miss Flecher, >> I. >> Mrs. Gilman, >> I. >> Miss Given, >> I >> Mr. Hoffman. >> Hi, >> Mr. Wyland. >> Hi. Next, we will move into curriculum instruction starting with an agreement with the Watson Institute Social Center for Academic Achievement or WISKA South. Hello. The board has asked to approve an agreement with the Watson Institute Social Center for Academic Achievement, WISKA South, for the placement of a student with special education needs for the remainder of the 2526 school year. The annual tuition cost of 65,219 per student will be prrated with a start date of November 12th, 2025. The superintendent recommends approval of this agreement. >> Any questions or comments? >> Okay. Roll call, please. >> Wait, what? >> We got >> Oh, yeah. Crowdfunding approval.
036I'm ready to go. It's Christmas. >> Good evening. Uh so there's a number of crowdfunding approval forms, uh three in a row. The first one is for elementary physical education and the board has asked to approve a request from the elementary physical education department to crowdfund to support the American Heart Association and the superintendent is recommending approval of this request. >> Any questions or comments? >> Next, we'll have the crowdfunding approval for MMS PTA. Thank you so much. Uh the board has asked to approve a request from Melon Middle School PTA to crowdfund during a readathon for the purpose of supporting teacher needs and providing enrichment opportunities for students of Melon Middle School. Superintendent is recommending approval of this request as well. >> Any questions or comments? >> The next will be crowdfunding for boys
037varsity basketball. >> Thank you. The board has asked to approve a request from the boys varsity basketball team to crowdfund to support the high school basketball program. And the superintendent is recommending approval of this request. >> Any questions or comments? >> Academic games trip to Charlotte, North Carolina. >> So, the board has asked to approve a request for academic games to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to participate in the academic games national tournament from April 24th to April 28th, 2026. Students will miss two and a half days of school and are responsible for the cost of the trip and the superintendent is recommending approval of this student trip. >> Any questions or comments? >> Next, we have an agreement with CARES of Western PA. The board has asked to approve an agreement with CARES of
038Western PA to provide transition services up to three days per week at a cost of $3016 per hour for an exceptional student from December 2025 until their 22nd birthday in May 2026. The service provider will also provide transportation. The transportation cost is in addition to the cost per hour for the transition services. The total cost will not exceed 20,000 for the duration of services. The superintendent recommends approval of this contract. >> Any questions or comments? >> All right, let's try this again. Resolution Dr. Campaniro. >> I move that it be resolved that the board approves the curriculum and instruction agenda items. >> Second. >> Questions, comments? >> Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Berdick, >> I. >> Dr. Campanero, >> I. >> Mr. Clocky, >> I. >> Mrs. CrarAel >> I >> Miss Fleer >> I
039>> Mrs. Gellman >> I >> Miss Given >> I >> Mr. Hoffman >> I >> Mr. Wyland >> I >> Okay, now we are at the time for 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 will notify commenters when their time has expired. Questions requiring followup will be referred to the administration for later response. Comments by public participants are their 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
040so everyone feels a sense of belonging. Do we have anyone here who would wish to speak? Okay. Our upcoming meetings will take place January 12th, 2026, the policy committee starting at 6 p.m. And our board discussion will also be on January 12th, 2026 with our regular board meeting on January 26th, 2026. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So move. >> Second. >> All in favor?