001I now call to order the regular meeting of the Mount Lebanon Board of School Directors. Tonight is Monday, June 16th at 7:30 p.m. and we are present in room D205 of the Mount Lebanon High School with public participation also via Zoom. Dr. Freeze and Mrs. Berdick will also be joining us via Zoom. Uh we will now say the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance 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, Mrs. Gellman here, Mrs. Gensel here, Miss Guth, Mr. Hoffman here, Miss Johnson here, Mr. Wland here. Seven members are in attendance. Mrs. Berdick is attending via Zoom. Thank you. I move that it
002be resolved that the board approves the minutes of the policy committee meeting held on May 12th, 2025. the discussion meeting held on May 12th, 2025 and the regular meeting held on May 21st, 2025. Second. All in favor? I I Any opposed? Any opposed? Any extensions? Any abstensions? All right. Thank you. I will be reading Mrs. Fleer's board report as she is not with us today. For the inclusivity calendar, June is LGBTQIA pride month established to recognize the impact that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals have had on the world. LGBTQ plus group groups organize month-long celebrations including pride parades, picnics, parties, memorials for those lost to hate crimes and HIV AIDS and other group gatherings. The last Sunday in June is gay pride day. On June 19th, we celebrate the federal holiday of Junth, also
003known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day. This holiday commemorates the day in 1865 when slaves in Texas and Louisiana finally heard that they were freed two months after the Civil War. Two years after the Civil War, June 19th, therefore became the day of emancipation for thousands of African-Americans. District highlights. On Wednesday, June 5th, the district celebrated the 442 members of the graduating class of 2025. Congratulations to our students for their hard work, dedication, and perseverance. On behalf of the Mount Lebanon School Board of Directors, best of luck in all of your future endeavors. Congratulations to the M MTLSD girls and boys lacrosse teams for capturing the Wimpiel titles. I was actually at those games and they were amazing. We are proud to celebrate the incredible achievements of Mount Lebanon High School students who competed in
004the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science State Competition at Penn State University. Every Mount Lebanon High School student who qualified for the state event earned a first place award for their exceptional research projects and presentations. This year's state participants included Asia Anseri, Julia Gil, Peter Goslin, Anelise Mayor, Laya Potat, Clay Raph, Jonathan Ramachandrin, Lyra Stiglets, August Zenter. Special congratulations to Jonathan Ramachandrin who received a special award in physics for excellence in his field. And that is all I have for the board report. I will pass that over to Dr. Davis. Thank you, Miss Greyel. Uh, it is customary at this meeting that we celebrate our retirees from the 2024 2025 school year. Uh, we have 14 professionals and 10 support staff retirees this year. Uh, so I will read each person's bio. We have a brief
005bio about each individual. Uh, we have a number of them that were able to join us tonight. So when your name is called, if you would be so kind, uh, to come to the front of the room, we have a certificate Miss Crabel will present to you. Uh after I finish reading your bio, please go ahead and sit back down. And then at the end, we'd ask you all come up. We can get a picture. Uh that that would be outstanding. And again, as you heard at the beginning of the meeting, uh Dr. Freeze had a personal commitment tonight. She wasn't able to make it. She is with us uh online and she does send her regrets that she can't be with you in person uh to celebrate your careers with you. Uh but please
006know that she is with you virtually and in spirit uh as we go through as we go through the uh list. So I have 24 names to read. Uh some again some people are not with us but I am going to read their names anyhow to give them the due credit that they deserve. Uh our first professional uh certificated employee is Doug Denzik who joined the Mont Lebanon School District as a day-to-day substitute and a long-term substitute teacher in November of 2012 after more than 12 years as a special education teacher administrator and consultant in the region. He was awarded a full-time contract special education teacher position at Jefferson and Melon Middle Schools at the start of the 2015 2016 school year. Doug taught between the two middle schools for several years until 2023 2024
007when he was fully assigned to Jefferson Middle School where he remained until his retirement at the end of the 24-25 school year. Doug served the Mount Lebanon School District for 13 years. Doug, thank you and congratulations on your retirement. Next, I have Marg Margie DeJouro, who was hired as a full-time contract second grade teacher at How Elementary School at the start of the n 1993 1994 school year. She taught second grade for 19 years until she transferred to the position of instructional support teacher at How Elementary in August of 2012. Margie remains in this role remained in this role until her retirement at the end of the 24-25 school year. Margie served the Mont Lebanon School District for 32 years. Congratulations, Margie. Loren Hurt, who's with us. Lorine joined the Mont Lebanon School District in
008August of 2004 after several years as a French instructor and lecturer in higher education. She was hired as a full-time contract f French teacher at Mount Lebanon High School at the start of the 2020 2004 2005 school year. During her 21 years with the district, she has taught all levels of French in both the high school and Melon Middle School. Lorine served the district for 21 years. Loren, thank you and congratulations. [Applause] [Music] Also with us is Marie Mallaloy. Marie Marie had taught world languages for six years before starting her teaching tenure in the Mount Lebanon School District. She was hired at the start of the 1995 1996 school year as a part-time 80% contract Spanish and German teacher at the junior high school. She was promoted to full-time Spanish and French teacher at the
009start of the following school year and moved to Jefferson Middle School at the start of the 1998 1999 school year. She started teaching in a full-time French assignment at Jefferson Middle School with the 1999 2000 school year where she remained until her retirement on June 30th. 30 years of service to the Mont Lebanon School District. Mury, thank you. [Music] Rick Marciniac is with us. He had over 26 years of construction, engineering, and project management experience before joining the Mont Lebanon School District in October of 2006 as project manager for the facilities department in the central administration. His role evolved into the position of director of facilities in January of 2015, where he remained until his retirement in March of 2025. Rick served the district for 19 years. Thank you, Rick. Joel Martin was an experienced
010fifth grade and learning support teacher before she joined the Mont Lebanon School District as a full-time contract elementary teacher at How Elementary at the start of the 2003 2004 school year. Jill has taught fourth grade at How Elementary for over 21 years until her retirement at the end of the first semester in January 2025. Jill served the district for 21.5 years. Thank you, Jill. Thaad Marryman began his teaching career in the Mount Lebanon School District when he was hired as a day-to-day substitute teacher at the start of the 2003 2004 school year. During the spring of that school year, he was promoted to long-term substitute social studies teacher at Mount Lebanon High School, where he was awarded a full-time contract social studies teacher position at the start of the following school year. Thaad concluded his
011career as a social studies educator when he retired in June. That served the district for 22 years. I want to say thank you to that as well. Margaret, better known as Peg Meyers. Peg was an experienced German teacher when she was hired by the Mont Lebanon School District as a full-time contract teacher at the start of the 1998 1999 school year. Peg has taught German at the high school for 27 school years, including service as a world language department chair and coordinator of the German students and teacher exchange programs. Peg retired at the end of the 24-25 school year and Peg served the Mount Lebanon school district for 27 years. I'd like to thank Peg as well. Tina Raspanti. After six years of teaching as a social studies teacher in Virginia, Tina joined the Mont
012Lebanon School District as a full-time contract social studies teacher at Melon Middle School at the start of the 1998 1999 school year. She transferred to an 80% position status at the high school at the start of the 20201 school year and resumed full-time status at the start of the 2002 2003 school year. Tina has played an integral role in the district's mindfulness campaign uh including the development of the high school's mind den space. Tina had served the school district for 27 years. Like to thank Tina as well. Michelle Richie. Michelle was hired as a full-time contract social studies teacher at Mount Lebanon High School at the start of the 2001202 school year. She joined the district with over 10 years of experience as a high school social studies teacher uh in Pennsylvania. Michelle completes 24
013years with the district's secondary social studies department when she retired at the end of the school year here in June. Again, Michelle served the district for 24 years. Thank you, Michelle. Elizabeth Schneider joined the M Lebanon School District as an experienced sixth grade teacher. She was hired as a sixth grade math and social studies teacher at Mela Middle School at the start of the 1998 1999 school year. She worked temporarily as a guidance counselor at Jefferson Middle School for the 2009 2010 school year and later joined the high school guidance department as the school counselor at the start of the 2011 2012 school year where she remained until her retirement in January of 2025. Elizabeth served the school district for 26.5 years. Thank you, Elizabeth. Roger Tabler was hired by the Mount Lebanon School District
014as a permanent substitute elementary band teacher for the 1991 1992 school year. He was promoted to contract elementary band teacher at the start of the 1992 1993 school year. During his 33 plus years with the district, Roger has taught at Lincoln, Foster, Jefferson, How Hoover, and Markham elementary schools. He retired at the end of the first semester in January 2025. again serving the district for 33.5 years. Thank you, Roger. Julie Tomer was an experienced children's librarian with the local public libraries before joining the district as a substitute teacher during the 2003 2004 school year. She was promoted to the position of school librarian at Melon Middle School at the start of the 2004205 school year where she remained for over 21 years until her retirement at the end of the first semester in January of
0152025. Again, Jolie served the Mount Lebanon School District for 21.5 years and we'd like to thank her. Christa Wagner was hired by the Mont Lebanon School District as an experienced vocal music and instrumental band instructor at the start of the 1993 1994 school year. She was hired as a full-time band teacher at How and Markham elementary schools where she taught for five years until she transferred to her current position as the band instructor at Jefferson Middle School. Christa retired from the district at the end of the 2425 school year, serving the district for 32 years. like to thank Christa. Those are our 14 professional staff members and when you total their combined years of ex commitment to the district, it's 350 years of service to the district. And we have a number of support staff
016as I indicated at the beginning there's 10 I would like to read through and a number of them are with us tonight as well. First is Jack Bryan, who joined the Mont Lebanon School District in April of 1989, is a skilled tradesman and school bus driver working at the high school in the stadium complex. As the district's mechanic, Jack has managed, maintained, and repaired the district's automotive fleet and small engines and motorized equipment for over 35 years. Jack retired from his role at the end of October in 2024. Jack served the district for 35.5 years. I'd like to thank Jack as well. Sue Kaine was hired by the Mount Lebanon School District in October of 1996 as a 12-month secretary for the central office team. She worked as the secretary to the director of student
017support services until January of 1999 when she transferred to the technology group as the secretary for data processing. Sue was a core member of the technology department for 26 years until her retirement in January. In total, Sue Sue served the district for 28.5 years. Thank you, Sue. Nick Quala is with us. Uh Nick began working in the Mount Lebanon School District in March of 1994 as a substitute custodian. He was promoted to full-time contract custodian at the high school in December of 1994. He transferred to Foster Elementary in December of 1995 and returned to the high school in March of 2006. Nick advanced to a skilled trades position as the district's mason at the beginning of August of 2008, where he remained until his retirement in August of 2024. Nick served the district for 30.5
018years. Thank you, Nick. [Music] Joe Mert is also with us. Joe was hired by the Mount Lebanon School District in November of 1993 as a substitute custodian. During December of 1994, he was promoted to a position as contract custodian at Washington Elementary and Mount Lebanon high schools. Joe left the district at the end of April of 2002, but returned as a substitute custody in December of 2008. He was again promoted to a contract position at the high school in September of 2009. During his remaining years with the district, Joe has worked at Melon and Jefferson middle schools and districtwide. Joe retired in early September of 2024, serving the district for 24.5 years. Thank you, Joe. [Music] Tom OD. After 17 years of experience in the field of residential and commercial plumbing, Tom OD joined the
019Mont Lebanon School District as a skilled tradesman in February of 2008. During his 18 years as the district's plumber, Tom has installed, repaired, and maintained the systems at all 10 campuses. Tom retired from his role will retire from his role at the end of August of 2025, serving the district for 18 years. We'd like to thank Tom for his service. Amy Peeler joined the Lincoln Elementary Special Education Instructional Support Team as a personal care assistant in November of 2019. After having already accumulated many years of experience in the social services field, Amy remained at Lincoln until her retirement in July of 2024 serving the Mont Lebanon School District for 5 years. Thank you, Amy. David Plank is with us. David was hired by the Mont Lebanon School District in December of 1988 as a substitute
020custodian. He was promoted to full-time contract custodian in May of 1990. During his long career at the district, David has worked at Washington Elementary in the high school, and David had served the school district for 36 years. Thank you, David. [Applause] Katie Reamer joined the Mont Lebanon School District as a substitute cafeteria worker in March of 2007. At the start of the following school year, she transferred to the position of personal care assistant at Jefferson Middle School where she served as an instructional support pair professional for 16 and a half years until her retirement in J in January of 2025. Katie served the district for 18 years and we'd like to thank her for her service as well. And finally, we have Gina. Georgina Gina Stokes. Uh she began working in the Mount Lebanon School
021District in September of 1991 as a substitute cafeteria worker. During January of that school year, she was promoted to a part-time contract general cafeteria worker position working at the high school. During the fall of 1996, her versatility and food service department resulted in three promotions with the high school team. In September of 2005, Gina was promoted to a full-time cook position where she continued to serve the Mount Lebanon school community throughout her retirement at the end of the school year. Gina has served the school district for 34 years. Thank you, Gina. [Applause] Just as a point of information, our support staff, 248 years of combined experience. [Applause] [Music] You're sick, right? [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] So sweet. Miss Greyel, that ends the uh celebration of our retirees. Thank you. I wish you all an amazing
022retirement. Have some fun. And now that you are officially retired, if you do not want to stay for the rest of this meeting, please feel free to start your retirement. Thank you all so much. [Applause] All right, we will get started with board reports. Policy committee, Mrs. Guth is not with us today. Did anyone else have anything? Are we good? Uh, sure. Forgive me while I prepare on the fly, but the policy policy committee meeting uh met this month uh to continue the work uh to transition uh our uh complete body of policies uh to the PSBA format. Um, in particular, there are one, two, three, four, five uh policies on the uh agenda this evening uh for adoption and a corresponding uh three policies uh for retirement. Thank you, Mr. Wland. PSBA board development.
023Mrs. Gellman, no update. Thank you. MLF Mrs. Gensel. Yep. Quick update. Um, the board considered a number of quality grant requests this spring and it ends up that we'll be funding $3,419.92 worth of requests. Specifically, the two grants will go um one to Jefferson Elementary for something called Little Lebo Learners Tables and at How Elementary um for something called Make Your Own Paper. Um we'd like to thank Scott Milbour for his service as president of the foundation. he's going to remain on the foundation board and help out um as we transition to a new president. So, he'll be stepping down for for personal reasons. And then um one final reminder that the foundation is always selling blankets, hoodies, and t-shirts, which uh whenever Dr. Davis was kind enough to send me this update in May,
024we said would make graduation gifts. But um at this point, you know, they'll make great um blankets to use in the fall and also just to wrap yourself in at home, which I often do. It doesn't match my decor, but the the blankets are outstanding. Um and the you can access the store via the district's website. Also makes great graduation gifts for those leaving and may want to take a picture. That's true. You can still buy a graduation gift. What am I saying? Yes, of course. Grab graduate. All right, I am up for municipality. So, currently uh reviewing the next sidewalk project. The bond was approved, so they will be starting the pool filtering project at the end of the pool season this year. And as a reminder, storm sewer and sanitary sewer lining projects
025are underway. And if you're curious when you are up, make sure to visit the website uh for maps of affected areas. Parkway West. Thank you. We met on June 3rd for our regular um meeting and we had an annual presentation by AHN for the chill room for our students to um seek out behavioral health issues and counseling. So most of the visits were for stress, peer conflict, um a scheduled check-in, family issues, or overstimulated. And there were 39 lives saved across all grades through this program throughout Parkway and the 12 districts that they support. Um compared to 17 in 2024, Mount Lebanon was um at the lower range of those numbers of children who were reporting um in for personal behavioral health issues. Thank you. Thank you. PTA council coming back over. Yeah, that's all
026right. No, thanks for come uh bringing it up. I I'm looking back and um the last the schoolboard meeting that we had last in May was actually on the day of the last PTA council meeting which was the Georgia Pog Awards which that's Yes, I think I told everyone about that that night. So, um I have nothing. Great. No worries. Thank you. Uh Pathfinder School, Mrs. Berdick. Yes. Thank you, U Mrs. Crabel. We are presenting a balanced budget of revenues and expenditures for the 2526 school year. Um that's totaling 342,792. Um last year's budget is anticipated to close within budget including uh some modest capital improvements that we're completing this um summer. Uh there's a few notable changes. I mentioned them last week. There's a new line item of $91,000. That's for the rental of
027the space. um paid for by the AIU. Um but it's anticipated to be costneutral um because we will the jointer will incur some additional maintenance costs according to the contract that we signed in February on that. So um that's uh that's balanced there. And um all monies from the capital grant from the prior years been appropriately spent on improvements before the time expired. Does anybody have any questions? We're going to be voting on that later. Um, so if you have questions, let me know. Thank you. And civic engagement, Mr. Hoffman. Yeah, thank you. I I do not have an update this month. Is the civic engagement board met during uh high school commencement. So happy to provide an update next month. Okay, that brings us to public comment. This public comment period is open to
028residents 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 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 welcome welcoming school environment that recognizes and celebrates the diverse identities within our community so everyone feels a sense of belonging. Do we have anyone today? Uh, no one signed up previously to speak, but the next section is for the audience. Great. And do we have anyone here in the audience that
029would like to speak on any of the action items we will be voting on today? Come on up. Is this is this is it from the No. On the agenda. Is it on the It's on the agenda. Is it on the agenda? As far as I know what they're talking about. Yeah. Okay. I don't think it's on, but there's an opportunity to comment later in the meeting for general items. Okay. Great. Thank you. Thanks for clarifying. Anyone online? Mr. Single. No. Thank you. unfinished business. All right. So, we are moving on into unfinished business. I don't believe we have any. We have none. Great. Okay. So, now we are moving on to resolutions from all of our previous discussions from our last meeting. So, I am going to start with you, Mr. Hoffman. You got
030it. I move that it be resolved that the board approves the policy adoptions and retirements. Second. Any questions, comments? Uh just to say that um there was a lot of discussion last week particularly on technology. I know that's not a piece that's up for vote this week. Uh but I do believe there's going to be further conversation going forward. Yes. Yes, that conversation is still ongoing. Um, it is something that we do have um later opportunities to discuss. So, thank you, Mr. Hoffman. Roll call, please. Mrs. Berdick, I. Mrs. Crrael, I. Mrs. Gellman, I. Miss Gensel, I. Mr. Hoffman, I. Miss Johnson, I. Mr. Wland, I. Any objections? Abstains. Okay, moving on to finance. Mrs. Galman, I move that the it be resolved that the board approves the finance agenda items. Second, any questions or
031comments? We have a second. Oh, do we have a second? I second. Yeah, I'd love to. Okay. Any questions or comments? Yeah, I mean I think it uh we don't want to move on without uh commenting again as we did last week of the the great progress in the budget this year moving from a deficit um not only reducing the deficit uh but getting to the point where um we are uh plus revenue. So it's pretty remarkable to have gotten this point. Uh Mrs. Connelly, well done, Dr. freeze and the entire administration administrative team uh and beyond that and it was a very big team effort to get to that point and it's it's very exciting and um gratifying um as a community member but also as a member of the board to see that
032uh things are moving in the right direction. Thank you, Mr. Hoffman. I second all of that. Thank you so much uh Mrs. Conley and the team for all of the work that you've put in. We greatly appreciate it. Roll call, please. Mrs. Berdick, I. Mrs. Crrabel, I. Mrs. Gellman, I. Mrs. Gensel, I. Mr. Hoffman, I. Miss Johnson, I. Mr. Wland, I. Human resources. Mrs. Gensel. I move that it be resolved that the board approves the human resources items. Second. Any questions or comments? If I can just make one note, there's an asterk next to the act 93 agreement because uh when we presented it during the discussion meeting, it was presented as a one-year term, but it is a two-year term. So, I wanted to note that change. Thank you, Dr. Davis. Roll call, please.
033Mrs. Berdick, I. Mrs. Crrael, I. Mrs. Mrs. Gellman I Mrs. Gensel I Mr. Hoffman I Miss Johnson I Mr. Wland I Next will be curriculum and instruction. Mr. Wland I move that it be resolved that the board approves the curriculum and instruction agenda items. Second. Any questions or comments? Okay. Roll call, please. Mrs. Berdick, I. Mrs. Crrabel, I. Mrs. Gellman, I. Mrs. Gensel, I. Mr. Hoffman, I. Miss Johnson, I. Mr. Wland, I. Congratulations to all of our graduates that we have just conferred. That's awesome. All right. And then that brings us up to our public comments. So, let me pull that back. Hello. Thank you. Hello. My name is Cece and I speak on behalf of many people that support and need genderneutral bathrooms in Mount Lebanon School District. This is not just about bathrooms.
034This is about dignity, safety, and ensuring that every student in our schools feel respected, included, and able to focus on learning without fear or shame. Right now, many transgender and non-binary students in our district face a difficult cho difficult choice every day. use a bathroom where they may feel unsafe or unwelcome or avoid using the bathroom at all, often at the cost of their health, comfort, or ability to to concentrate in class. No student should have to make that choice. Genderneutral bathrooms are not an uncommon idea. They're already in use in schools, libraries, airport airports, work and workplaces across the country, including right here in Pennsylvania. They provide a simple respect a simple respectful solution to a real problem. And let's be clear, gender genderneutral bathrooms would be an additional option, not replacements. They ensure
035that all students, including cisgender students, have the choice and privacy. The need is real. According to the Trevor Project, over 70% of LGBTQ plus youth report of youth report avoiding school bathrooms out of fear or discomfort. Providing a safe, accessible restroom. Providing safe, respect restroom options isn't about um politics. It's about human rights. It's about acknowledging that every student in Mount Lebanon deserves to learn in a space that accepts them for who they are. Let's be the kind of school district that leads with empathy and equality. Let's show our com a commitment to inclusion, not just in words, but in our policies and spaces. Let's give all students what they need to thrive. starting with something as basic as a safe place to use the restroom. Thank you for your time and considering the step
036towards for step forwards for our community. Thank you for your comment. Hello. Hello. My name is Sophia and I'm a soon to be fifth grader at Washington Elementary School. I have today I have two topics to talk about. The first being that there are no gender neutral bathrooms in any of the elementary schools. The second being that in the elementary school handbook, students are banned from riding their bikes to school. Let's start with genderneutral bathrooms. I have noticed the lack of genderneutral bathrooms when being in different elementary schools for events. If you are a school and want a genderneutral bathroom, you will need to go to the nurse. This needs to change one way or another. I know it takes effort, but for the sake of many people, we need to act. I don't think
037the government should be able to decide how many genders there are or which ones someone can have. A person's gender is up to them. People know who they are. Having genderneutral bathrooms is a way that we can be kind, welcoming, friendly, and accepting to all. It is important for any every student to feel safe and comfortable at school. Next, I would like to talk about the fact that in the student handbook, elementary schools students are banned from riding their bikes to school. I understand that there may be safety concerns, but if a parent or guardian is letting a kid ride to school, they know and trust that their child knows where they are going and can get there safely. I am one student who rides their bike to school and parks at the library. My
038parents have taught me about how to safely ride my bike to school. To me, it is a fun, relaxing, and gives me a sense of responsibility. Many people walk to school. Students should be able to choose to walk, bike, or be dropped off at school. Many kids have bicycles, and it is a fun and fast way to get to school. It would be great if the handbook was changed to allow students to ride to school. And if bike racks were at Washington and all elementary schools, we could have wait, [Music] thank you for your time. Thank you for your comment. Anyone else wish to speak in the room? Good evening. I'm Christine Sorenson Griffin, a Mount Lebanon resident, and thank you for taking the time and energy to update the district's technology usage guidelines. I'm
039really happy to see that the new 9th through 12th grade guidelines prohibit cell phone use in the academic areas, including the study halls in the library. And I expect that the district will find ways to enforce this before the school um school starts this fall. Otherwise, of course, we know kids will be pulled by that addictive nature of the phones to play games and social media during study hall, which can be a valuable study and work time. I also know that many kids use earbuds during class, whether their teachers are aware of it or not, and the new guidelines don't specify if earbuds are allowed in instructional time. So, I think it would be helpful if earbuds were added to the list of prohibited devices in those academic areas and during the instructional time. The
040new guidelines also don't address picture taking and/or videotaping at the high school level. In fact, in the old guidelines, it's not permitted at any time. And I ask that the district add that prohibition of the picture taking and videotaping in these new guidelines. Now, I hope that over the summer and over throughout the next coming school year that the board and the administration will look deeper into the many reasons why it could be good to adopt a phone free school policy for the entire school day for 9th through 12th grades. At the last board meeting, I know some um concerns were brought up about going phone free all day, including if parents need to reach students. At schools that have done this, the parents get used to emailing their kids or calling the office. And
041for teachers, having the phone gone all day is really the easiest option for them because it's clear-cut. It's not up to a teacher whether a student can or can't use a phone. The phones are simply not part of the school day. And a student goes to the office if there's some sort of emergency where they need to use a phone. It was also mentioned that our district might be too big to implement a phone-f free policy. However, there are larger high schools that have gone phone free all day, including uh one in a suburb of Erie, McDow High School, which has 300 more students than Mount Lebanon. They enacted it this school year, and 98% of the teachers surveyed said it had a very positive impact on learning. The teacher said, quote, "Students are interacting
042and laughing much more frequently. Honestly, I think many like the break from social media and texting pressures, even walking between classes, they say. I've seen kids with their heads up, having conversations, engaging with each other. When they used to walk with their heads down, their earbuds in, they wouldn't notice you passing. Also, the counselors there are dealing with less emotional turmoil from students upset with social media posts. So, what happens at schools that do adopt a completely phone-free policy is the whole culture of the school changes. So it becomes a norm not to use your phone all day and instead focus on classes and the people you're with. So I hope M Lebanon will take the lead and go phone free for the sake of our kids who will experience the academic and social and
043emotional rewards if we free them from their phones for the important hours that they're here at school. Thank you. Thank you for your comment. Anyone else? Hello, my name is Jane Cassella. Um so first thank you for creating new guidelines with plans to enforce um in a way for the day policy um through 8th grade. I think this will make a real difference to our students. Um and thank you also for removing the use of tech as a PBIS reward. Um I would like to raise some questions and concerns about the new guidelines. In the tech presentation, there is language that says uh schoolisssued Chromebooks and other personal devices may be used for learning purposes within the classroom at the direction of each individual teacher. But how will this be enforced? We know kids are
044using Chromebooks for non-educational things like games, YouTube, and emailing friends. Um are there specific plans to implement this guideline? How will the district create an environment and rules to make it more likely to achieve this guideline? Um hopefully the district will consider GoG Guardian teacher as a means to enforce this rule. I would also like to address the elementary program review. First of all, thank you for looking into technology use for elementary students. Um on slide 31, it said when classwork is completed, staff are to direct students to an educational platform to reinforce skills learned in a particular course or subject. EdTE apps are considered educational platforms and depending on your teacher even bottle or book it could be considered educational and allowed after classwork is completed. Often Epic is used after work because kids
045can read ebooks but Epic also has videos and audiobooks that are not always restricted. When asked about this, I believe the response was that teachers are told to plan and teach bell-to-bell. But if educational games are part of the plan that runs bell-to bell, this isn't addressing the issue of kids rushing to finish work to get to their devices. Even educational games have a pull over boring work work like worksheets and reading books. This needs to be changed to not using devices as a reward for finishing work. Uh, another point that sticks out is students use of schoolisssued devices during recess, indoor and outdoor will be limited. Limited doesn't mean it won't happen. Uh, the vague use of limited doesn't even explain when it would be okay to use devices during recess and when it's
046not. It needs to be changed to no devices during any recess. I truly appreciate the that the administration is shining a light on the questions of tech usage in our schools. However, I still see a lack of specific rules in place, at least in the areas that I addressed. Hopefully, that will change when the network use policy is updated, and we look forward to that. Thank you. Thank you for your comment. Um, before I say anything, uh, I just want to apologize in advance if you can't understand me. I recently got braces like three hours ago. You got this. We We got this. Thank you. Um my name is Maya Strinen. I'm a resident in Libo and I'm 14 years old. I want to talk about the use of technology in the school system and
047I have had experience and background in both the public school system and private schools. I went to Lincoln Elementary from kindergarten to third grade. I got a Chromebook in first grade. Anytime we ever had free time in class, our teacher would send us to play games on our Chromebooks. I never liked playing them and most of the time the kids would be goofing off on other tabs. I remember there was a transfer student from France. She had a very hard time for the first few months because she didn't know English. But sadly, technology took away the time that she could have used to consult or interact with her teacher. Instead of helping explain a question, the teacher would hand her an iPad and told her to just use Google Translate. Even after she tried, she
048still had trouble on any work she did. I have witnessed that kids who don't depend on technology for school work or social life are much freer, smarter, and more focused. The kids I referred to are kids who attended my private school from fifth through 8th grade. My school was a classical low tech school, pen and paper, no phones. I used more technology in first grade at the public school than all four years of private school combined. The first time we ever use a Chromebook was this year in 8th grade, and it was intentional, not a free-for-all. There was no games, no distractions, and no YouTube. If you used anything else, you failed the assignment in the quarter. Our class was better off without tech and our class average scores was storing above national level. Lastly,
049smartphones are a threat to society, most of all children. All of their life surrounds their phone. Their friendships are based on snap streaks. Their academics are based on chatbt and they waste their time on Tik Tok. Kids nowadays focus on latest trends or dumb videos instead of keeping instead of cultivating friendships and learning skills. This year, my history teacher took us on a field trip to Gettysburg. 45 minutes into the ride there, he took our phones away for the day, and it turned out to be one of the most precious memories I've ever shared with my classmates. Everyone had conversations, played games, and bonded with each other instead of scrolling through Tik Tok or texting on Snapchat. It was the best field trip. I really hope that Libo can take action and change the high
050school phone policy and Chromebook situation so that they can be as free, happy, and intelligent as the kids who attend private schools. Thank you. Thank you for your comment. Anyone else in the room? speak. Mr. Sangle, anyone online? I would also like to report that the board met in executive session on June 11th for purposes of personnel and safety. And coming up as we move into our summer recess, our next uh meetings will be August 11th, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. for the policy committee meeting. Uh, and our general discussion meeting will be held August 11th, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. with our regular board meeting on August 18th, 2025 also at 7:30 p.m. ND 2025. Do I have a resolution to adjourn? So moved. Second.