001Sorry, guys. I'm having trouble sharing my screen. Good evening. I'd like to call the June 4, 2020 North Hills Board of Education committee meeting with action to order. I'd like to ask everybody to please rise for a moment of silence and salute to the flag. I pledge allegiance 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. Good evening, everybody, and welcome to the June 4, 2020 North Hills Board of Education committee meeting with action. I'd like to begin by doing a roll call for attendance. Ms. Kozera? Here. Mr. Little? Here. Dr. Nolish? Here. Ms. Philpott? Here. Mrs. Poniatowski? Here. Mrs. Reid? Here. Mrs. Rennebeck? Here. Mrs. Spade? Here. Mr. Witherel? Here. Dr. Mannarino? Here. Dr. Williams?
002Here. Mrs. Matthew? Here. Mr. Muth? Here. Mrs. Pellet? Here. Mr. Kauffman? Here. Ms. Fleischer? Here. Ms. Scuilli? I don't know if Ms. Scuilli is here. Here, sorry. No problem. Mrs. Rieger? Here. And I am also present. I'd like to announce that the Board held an executive session on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, to discuss personnel and legal matters. And before I open it up to Board member comments this evening, I would like to read a joint statement on behalf of the North Hills School District Board of Education and the superintendent. Over the past week, our nation and community have been grappling with the tragic death of George Floyd and other similar incidents of racism. There is a lot of pain, anxiety, hurt, and fear. The path forward requires open and honest conversations North Hills is committed
003to being part of a larger systematic change to confront racism and inequality of any type within our neighborhoods and community, but especially in education. As a district, we stand in solidarity against any and all acts of racism, disrespect, and inequitable treatment of persons of color. As such, we are committed to confronting racism to create a more inclusive and just world. We acknowledge that this is a journey. This is not a one-time statement, but an ongoing conversation, and the beginning of making changes as we all work together to tackle these issues. As such, North Hills will be creating a diverse task force to address these issues, ensuring that we include and center the voices of groups who have faced marginalization, publishing a list of anti-racism references and resources for our families, continuing to review all our
004policies and guidelines, including our use of force policy, identifying achievement gaps and coming up with action plans to close them, encouraging potential teachers, administration, and all of those interested in education to apply the North Hills as a start in creating a more diverse personnel, partnering with community groups, families, and leaders that represent the racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity in our district, and partnering with HBCUs to gain a better understanding of needs and goals for both North Hills students and representatives of HBCUs. Know that we are committed to learning, growing, and making the changes necessary to fight prejudice, racism, and inequality. We will learn how to do better so that we can all do what we do best, teach and educate our future leaders. I'll now ask at this time if any other Board members have
005any comments that they would like to make. I've got to raise my hand, huh? No, you are not muted, so you can go ahead, Mrs. Reid. I've been debating on whether to say this or not, but I figured the time is right. I believe that there are some peoples that are concerned that I don't attend all the meetings. And with the HIPAA law, I know a lot of the Board members won't even tell somebody I'm sick, and I appreciate that. But I wanted the constituents to know that I attend all the meetings I can get to. There were times I wasn't there, but I was either in the hospital or in ManorCare. And this has been a rough year. I've had my toe amputated, and that's not doing well, and other things. I don't want
006to get into it. But I do attend everything I can attend. The only problem I'm having is getting the interviews, because they're early in the morning. So those that are concerned, please know that I'm doing everything I can. And I want to remain on the Board. To me, I bring the history to the Board. I've been on the Board, and I've held so many positions in the district. I know most of the employees and the way we've done things. I did hear a couple remarks saying that I'm not there for the students. I want you to know that the first year I was on the Board, they decided they were cutting Elementary Student Council. You have no idea. You can ask Dr. Mannarino how I carried on, and I did it all publicly, not behind
007closed doors in executive session. Finally, he said he couldn't stand me any longer, and they reinstated the Elementary Student Council, which I thought that is the heart of each elementary school. Why would they cut that? So I'm always there fighting for the kids. And there's been many other things, but that's the one that comes to my mind. And I'm sorry if you think that I'm not doing my due diligence, but I'm trying. And you have to excuse my appearance. I couldn't get dressed today. It was a bad day. Thank you very much, Mrs. Reid. You're welcome. Are there any other Board members with comments? Yes, I would like to say something. I would just like to add to the joint statement. I went to North Hills. And in the 20 years since I graduated from
008North Hills, left and went to Penn State, left and lived in DC for a while and came back, the community has remained the same. I think that it is time for us to really prioritize diversity and racial justice. So I remember going to college and my first sociology class where I learned about privilege that I held and all of that. And so I know that for a lot of people in our community, you are probably in that same position. And so I just want to say, that if you are at the beginning of your education to understand racial justice, I encourage you to Google and read, White Privilege, Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, by Peggy McIntosh. It's the first thing that anybody reads in a sociology class on race. I also encourage all of our white
009parents and guardians to start talking with your children about race and racism. I promise that they are not too young. If you need help, Sesame Street and CNN are holding a town hall on racism on Saturday at 10:00. And the website, embracerace.org, has webinars, one of which is tomorrow night for parents. They also have articles and lists of children's books if you're trying to diversify your children's library. If you are ready to jump in, I am currently making my way through a list, called "75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice." You can Google it and join me. You could also join the YWCA of greater Pittsburgh on their webinar tomorrow at noon. It's called, "A Conversation on Racial Justice," and you can just find it on their website. Specifically, in terms of police
010reform to decrease police violence, today Mayor Peduto released his police reform agenda for Pittsburgh. He is pledging to, number one, review the police use of force policy, number two, engage the city by including a diverse range of input, experiences, and stories in the review, number three, report the findings to the community and seek feedback, and number four, then reform the use of force policy based on the findings. If you are interested in following along on that, the use of force policy for the city of Pittsburgh is on their website for the public to read. Mayor Peduto is also committing today to require deescalation and implicit bias training annually, and committing to 8cantwait platform, which details eight specific items that police departments should follow. You can find these at 8cantwait.org, but they include things like banning
011chokeholds and strangleholds and banning shooting at moving cars. So I have begun a conversation with the Ross Township chief of police about these items for our township for Ross, which is where I live. And I also look forward to discussing them in depth as a Board as the items if they relate to our school police. I'm very excited that we're going to as a district start tackling this. Do we have any other Board member comments at this time? I have-- I'd just like to say, we picked up our things from Ross Elementary today. And it sounds like, generally speaking, all the pickups went really well. We had a really pleasant experience. I mean, we were all crying, but it's been really tough to go back to the schools after 2 and 1/2 months away. So
012I really appreciate-- it was really nice to see Mr. Beall and Officer Much, and let the girls see their lockers and their schools for the last time this year. So we're lucky that we will be-- both my kids will be attending Ross again next year. So we didn't have to say goodbye, because there would have been a lot of crying. And I know that's the case for certainly some members on the Board, in addition to many other parents. So thanks for making it as nice as it possibly could be, I guess. And it went off without a hitch. So I just wanted to mention that. Thanks to everybody involved in that. Thank you. Are there any other Board member comments at this time? Then I will ask, if we have any members of the public
013who would like to make public comments on agenda items only, please indicate that by raising your hand at this time. I'll give you guys a minute to find the Raise Hand button. I always feel like we need hold music here. It doesn't look like anybody has any questions at this time. But, of course, there'll be another opportunity at the end of the meeting. So then I would like to move on to our student representatives, Ellie Fleischer and Hannah Scuilli, and ask if you have a report for us this evening. Yeah, we do. So we just wanted to talk about how the high schools drop-off of books went. So juniors was on Tuesday, and I went. And it was really nice to go back to school. I think I really liked how we did that. And
014it was just like a nice end to our year. And I took my sister today for freshman drop-off, and we timed it so her and her friend were at the same time. So they got to see each other. And it was just really nice. I think it was a nice close on our year. Yeah, I agree. Not only that, but towards the end of the year, a lot of teachers held end of the year Zooms. Like one of my AP English teachers did one. And it was just really nice to just see your classmates and just talk to the teacher for kind of like the last time of the year, obviously, before things hit the summer round. But it was really nice. So we just wanted to thank everyone who was involved in this school
015year with just the change of things. And then, of course, the school drop-off for everything. That went really well. Thank you both so much. I hope you have a great summer, and I appreciate all of the time that you guys have given to serving as student representatives on the Board this year. And I look forward to working with you next year too. Of course, thank you. You're welcome. Dr. Mannarino, I will now move on to you and the superintendent's report. Thank you. Good evening. I just wanted to quickly thank all of our graduating seniors and their families for attending Saturday's commencement. It was a great day, and I'm so glad that we were able to celebrate the accomplishments of our senior class with their families by their side. Congratulations and best wishes to all from
016our class of 2020. And now, looking forward to next school year, the Pennsylvania Department of Education announced yesterday that schools can reopen for face-to-face instruction as long as a plan is in place to ensure the health and safety of the students and staff. To develop that plan, I have formed a reopening planning committee made up of teachers, administrators, and school board members, and our first meeting is actually on Monday. Together, we will build instructional models for reopening in all phases as defined by the governor. We will have a red phase, a yellow, a green, and a no restrictions plan in the event that our governor moves us in and out of these phases. And this will allow us to adopt the hybrid or virtual learning model as necessary. We're also going to explore different calendar
017options that will get us in school earlier than our current August 25 start date. The thinking behind this is to get our students into our buildings and in front of their teachers for not only the high-quality instruction that they're accustomed to in the classroom, but to give them the most possible time with their teachers in the event that a COVID-19 case spike occurs in the fall or the winter and we are moved into different phases by our governor once again. This committee will also focus on items that the Pennsylvania Department of Education asked us to include in our reopening plan, such as identifying a pandemic coordinator, how we are going to monitor students and staff for symptoms, guidelines for hygiene practices, processes for cleaning and disinfecting, guidelines for wearing face masks, social distancing protocols, and
018what constitutes a large gathering. Although this committee will be focused on the district's needs, I have and I will continue to work with northern area superintendents and other superintendents in Allegheny County's intermediate unit as we identify and solve the challenges that this crisis has put before all of us. Finally, we plan to survey families on their comfort level of reopening, particularly in regard to in-person instruction, virtual instruction, and transportation. We need to ensure that we are doing all we can to meet the learning and safety needs of our students and their parents. And then, of course, we will share details with you as soon as we have a better understanding of the direction we will take for the 20-21 school year. Thank you, Dr. Mannarino. Next, we have support services and Ms. Philpott. First, tonight
019we have our annual presentation from Ms. Lindsay Radsvin our director of food services. Good evening, everyone. Hi, again, and it's nice to see some familiar faces. I haven't seen many of you in quite some time. I hope everyone is doing well. Pat and Jerry asked me to spend just really a few minutes this evening to talk about what our year looked like in the food service department. And obviously, it was very, very different than normal. It's certainly been an interesting one filled with many challenges. So we do have some data, and I will share that with you. So to start off this evening, I kind of wanted to just give you a quick summary of what our pre-COVID numbers looked like financially. We were very well-positioned prior to COVID to have a very strong year
020financially. You can see our daily meal participation numbers across the district. Looking at January of last year versus January of this year, we were up 7% in breakfast participation plus 35 breakfasts per day. Across the district, lunches up 40 per day, which was 2%. February looked very similar, up 7% for breakfast and 2% for lunch. So COVID feeding at West View, I know many of our school board members were very involved and assisted in many ways, including transporting meals to the homes of our families, which thank you very much. It was a unique and wonderful experience in many ways. Many of you know, the three food service employees that were really on the front lines from the start-- Cindy Hill Lori Marks, and Kelly Patrone. And I just have to say publicly, they were there
021every day from the beginning when there were a lot of uncertainties. And there were-- it was a very scary time, and never had a complaint from them. They just did their job, and they took a lot of pride in taking care of the community. So I just wanted to mention them, and Nancy Ferris as well, who was very helpful throughout. So you can see our numbers. The numbers we fed every day kind of increased with each subsequent month. March, we fed an average of 119, April, 159, May, 203. Our federal and state reimbursements we're getting are right in the ballpark of $50,000. So it will help us financially, but, obviously, nowhere even close to what we would normally receive in the way of subsidies during the normal school year. So you may have heard this
022in the news. There's been a lot of talk. School meal programs are really struggling financially. So I just wanted to mention, there are normal financial-- this year will not look like what it normally looks like for us. But we will not have to have a general fund transfer to the food service fund. So that's kind of the bottom line on that. And just to share some other positive news, we are not going to have a price increase this year. So our breakfast will remain at $1.50, lunch at $2.50, morning care at $3.50. And this is for-- we're holding the line on pricing for the ninth consecutive year, which is pretty remarkable, I think. So just a few bullets on the Wellness Committee, some of the things that we accomplished this year. We initiated a student
023hydration survey that was evaluated by our elementary faculty. We began some discussion on staff wellness initiatives. We were able to implement quite a lot of sustainable items this school year, including compostable trays and paper straws, and we are continuing our discussion on further changes to continue to make the food service department greener and reduce our carbon footprint. We revised some information in the way of snacks to create more transparency for parents. And we discussed ways for our students to stay active during recess. So, and finally in conclusion tonight, just, again, adding to what Dr. Mannarino said, what we are thinking about, people in my position and kind of preparing for in the fall, we really don't know what it's going to look like from the distribution level. We know there's going to be some challenges--
024getting prepared for more prepackaged items, more individually-wrapped items. I think we're going to see a lot more grab-and-go options, probably similar to how we have been feeding at West View the last few months. We're looking at preorder options from the iPad using the Google form in the morning. For sure, I think in the elementary schools, maybe even the middle school. Something, again, we're thinking about. We are talking about classroom delivery options and what that may look like. And also, of course, of course, increased cleaning and sanitation from all of our staff. And one last thing, in conclusion, we do have-- we had been planning pretty much all year for some fairly significant improvements to the middle school serving lines in the West View serving lines. That is still going to happen, but the timeline on
025that is sort of delayed, just, again, not knowing what the fall will look like, and some of the disruption to our contractors, and so forth. But it is still going to happen, but just probably not for the start of the school year. Are there any questions? I have a couple. Sure. So the first thing, with our meals that we were passing out in West View, if we do at some point next year end up in that same sort of situation where we're providing pick-up meals for students, I think a lot of families didn't go get them even if they wanted to because of wanting to leave them for people who really needed them. However, things I've been reading say that we should be encouraging all families in the district to go, because it did help
026increase federal reimbursements. Is that right for our district? So if happens again, does it help us for more families to go get meals? It does, definitely. So you saw the kind of increase toward-- we saw an increase toward the end of April into May, because we did share all families are welcome to take advantage of the meals. And you're right. So initially, it was a reimbursement issue. So we-- and then it was eventually, as I think you are aware, the governor passed legislation to say that all students, any child under the age of 18, is welcome to a meal for free. So perhaps it was just-- we did change the way it was promoted at that time. But the more people that came to get them, the more reimbursements we got. And so all families,
027if this happens again, should go get meals if they want to, right, because it helps us? Yes, yes. I just want to make sure that all families hear that, because I know there are definitely families out there who felt like they should not take advantage of that if they didn't need to. So I think it's good to know that that actually helps us if you go pick up those meals. Another question is that you mentioned doing updates to our website with the snacks. Is that live? And where can families go see that, if it is already? That is live. That should be, yes. That is under the Food Service portion. I don't know what the subtitle is off the top of my head. So that's all the information on the a la carte stuff that
028we can offer? Yes. Yeah, it's under Parents. It's under Parents? Yep. And then I have two questions about next year, which I know that we are still-- we have no idea what it's going to look like. But I don't know if you wanted to talk about this for a minute. But we-- this winter, we participated in the Harvest of the Month pilot. And I know that-- so it was a program run by the Department of Ed, and our district was chosen to participate. We were one of the three districts chosen to participate in the pilot. And from what I'm hearing, Lindsay, they think you did a great job. But they are planning to continue the program however possible next year. So basically, Harvest of the Month is encouraging all districts to purchase and prepare local
029ingredients, local meaning in Pennsylvania or within a certain mileage of your district if you are a border district. So I don't know. Lindsay, has there been talk in the food service world in Pennsylvania about how we might be able to continue Harvest of the Month? Or have you thought about how we might able to do that at our district? Absolutely. So I'm actually presenting in another webinar next week, and just kind of waiting for the schedule that they release, and then working with our produce supplier, and getting it lined up. We did participate in the pilot study, and it was very, very, very well-received. I think it was great. It was you know a positive experience. It was nice to promote local produce. And I think our students really enjoyed learning and trying new, testing
030new fruits and vegetables. For sure, we are planning to continue that, though. My last question is, again, one of those that we have no idea what next year is going to look like, I know. But I've heard from some parents that they'd like to see us focusing on providing more daily options for kids with allergies, so that gluten-free kids, peanut-free kids. So I know, as we move to things more like prepackaged, maybe that's something that we can consider. I know that an option, instead of those Uncrustables as we serve them, also you can get them with Sunflower butter. So I don't know if we offer those daily for kids with peanut allergies. The gluten-free kids, I don't know if there's prepackaged things that we can find that are gluten free and just more of a
031daily variety that we might be able to serve these kids. For sure. We are always working to improve the selection that we have. We work with quite a lot of kids who have special dietary needs, and we are certainly happy to accommodate them. What it looks like in prepackaged form, we'll have to see. And the peanut allergy for sure will be a big consideration in the safety behind that and eating potentially in the classroom things like that. So we'll have to put our brains together. It's just, again, we're really just beginning the discussion. I know, like I said, on the distributor level, they're just kind of preparing for this massive influx. Like what do we do? They have to be prepared, so we are hoping that we are able to procure all of the things
032that we want to with just so many changes in such a short period of time. Lindsay, I just wanted to say on behalf of the rest of the Board, thank you so much for everything you and the food service department have done to feed our families in the district. I really, really appreciate it. I know how much work went into it. I know there were safety considerations. And in conjunction, though, I also want to thank all the families that were out there volunteering to drive meals to families. Thanks. They were amazing. Yeah, and the families that organized this and really helped our community during this time. And I just truly appreciate everything you did. I know you were really thrown a curve ball, as we all were, and I appreciate how you rose to the
033occasion. Thank you. And on behalf of our department, I think one of the silver linings was to just look around and see like, oh, my gosh, there are so many people who want to help. They just-- they wanted to contribute. They wanted to help. They wanted to be there for people. And the people that participated were so gracious. There wasn't-- it was just an amazing kind of community experience in the midst of this craziness seeing how people responded when there was a really difficult situation. Thank you so much. Ms. Philpott, you have another support service item? I do, yes. We are being asked to approve the 2020-2021 daily prices for lunch, breakfast, and morning care. As Lindsay mentioned, the prices are staying the same. Lunch will not have increased since the 2012-2013 school year, breakfast
034prices since 2013-2014, and morning care will have remained the same for the past five years. So I move that item two under support services be added to the legislative meeting agenda. I'll second it, D. Spade. Thank you, Ms. Spade. I'll do a roll call vote. Ms. Kozera? Aye. Mr. Little? Aye. Dr. Nolish? Aye. Ms. Philpott? Aye. Mrs. Poniatowski? Aye. Mrs. Reid? I believe you're muted, Mrs. Reid. I'll unmute you. Yes. Thank you. Mrs. Rennebeck? Aye. Mrs. Spade? Yes. And I also vote aye. Thank you, Ms. Philpott. We will now move on to education, which is me. Our first item is a request for the Board to approve the SAP letter of agreement with Holy Family Institute per the attachment to Board docs. Holy Family Institute agrees to designate a qualified liaison to provide student assistance
035programs services to the district. The SAP liaison will act as an ad hoc member of the Building Student Assistance Program core team. Holy Family will provide special education services for students referred by the district pursuant to an IEP developed jointly by the district, Holy Family, and the student's family. These services are provided as needed. This agreement will be effective July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, and the fees are dependent upon the services rendered. The next item is one that I am particularly excited about. This is a request for the Board to award the bid for iPad cases to Sunset High Tech in the amount of $86,852.70. The new iPod cases that we are purchasing have a cover on them. I believe Dr. Mannarino has one to hold up and show us. It's actually really
036nice. It's a lot nicer than the ones we have. It's a much more rugged case with the corners reinforced, which is where we usually get most of the damages when students drop the corners. And then it has a cover case. And the cover is much more stronger than obviously nothing, which is where we are having a lot of screen broken. So you can see how this is the new case that we'll be getting. It is a lot nicer than the one that we have now, which is just the simple rubber case. And so this is what we'll be purchasing for the students for this school year. Great. I move the items one and two under education be added to the legislative meeting agenda. I will second that, D. Spade. Thank you, Ms. Spade. I'll now
037take a roll call vote. Ms. Kozera? Aye. Mr. Little? Aye. Dr. Nolish? Aye. Ms. Philpott? Aye. Mrs. Poniatowski? Aye. Mrs. Reid? Yes. Mrs. Rennebeck? Aye. Mrs. Spade? Yes. And I also vote yes. Next, we'll move on to Mrs. Poniatowski in athletics and activities. We have three items under athletics and activities tonight. The first is a request that the Board approve the agreement with Allegheny Health Network Sports Medicine for the attached document in Board docs. The North Hills School District requires sports medicine services for those whom are enrolled as students and are participating in athletics throughout the school year. The district provides such sports medicine and services to our student athletes through contracted athletic trainers through the Allegheny Health Network. The agreement that were putting through tonight is effective July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2025.
038The budget impact is $26,000 in 2020 with a 2% increase in each of the following years through the term of the agreement. The second item is a request for the Board to approve the new student initiated club, which is the Spanish National Honor Society. This would be overseen by Ms. Laura Ati. She has volunteered to do this. This club's objective is to expand and enhance participation in the general Spanish club through a National Honor Society that would allow for enriched learning opportunities for highly-motivated Spanish students who meet the society's requirements. This club will meet once a month or as needed in one of the Spanish classrooms, during homeroom, or after school. And there are no district moneys that will be provided for this club or the sponsor. And then the third item is another student-initiated
039club called, Tabletop on the Hilltop. Dr. David Barkovich has agreed to volunteer to oversee this club. And this club, the purpose of it, is to foster a positive community and create positive peer relationships around a common interest, which would be tabletop and roleplaying games, as well as developing better communication and team-building skills via tabletop games. And again, with this club there is no district moneys that will be provided for the club or the sponsor. So I move the items one through three under athletics and activities be added to the legislative meeting agenda. I'll second that, D. Spade. Thank you, Mrs. Spade. I'll now take a roll call vote. Excuse me. Ms. Kozera? Aye. Mr. Little? Aye. Dr. Nolish? Aye. Ms. Philpott? Aye. Mrs. Poniatowski? Aye. Mrs. Reid? Yes. Mrs. Rennebeck? Aye. Mrs. Spade? Yes. And
040I will also vote yes. Thank you, Mrs. Poniatowski. Mrs. Rennebeck, do you have anything under AWA? It doesn't look that way, but I just want to check. Nothing at this time. Thank you, I appreciate it. Thank you. There was enough last meeting, so we're good for now. Then I'll move on to personnel and Mrs. Spade. Personnel items are discussed in executive session. The superintendent recommends, and I so move, that the Board approve personnel items one through four. Do we have a second? Second. Is that Mrs. Reid? Yeah. Thank you. I'll now take a roll call vote. Ms. Kozera? Aye. Mr. Little? Aye. Dr. Nolish? Aye. Ms. Philpott? Aye. Mrs. Poniatowski? Aye. Mrs. Reid? Yes. Mrs. Rennebeck? Aye. Mrs. Spade? Yes. And I will also vote aye. Thank you very much, Mrs. Spade. I'll now move
041on to Mr. Little and community and intergovernmental relations. Thank you, Madam President. We have one item action today to appoint the voting delegates for the PSBA, otherwise known as the Pennsylvania School Board Association, delegate meeting for Saturday, November 7. So we talked about this at our last meeting and discussed. Also, as per the attached, you will see a little more outlining about the meeting. But just, again, just to recap, that our district may appoint up to three members to serve as voting delegates, and that the Board appoint Sandra Kozera, Allison Mathis, and Helen Spade to serve as voting delegates at the 2020 PSBA Delegate Assembly. I will second that, D. Spade. Sorry, I was taking a nap here. That's OK. Is there any discussion? Well, I guess I should officially make the statement that I--
042Oh, sorry. Somebody distracted me. Sorry, go ahead. I move that the Board of Education approve community and intergovernmental relations item number one. And I will second that, D. Spade. Is there any discussion? I just wanted to point out that this is just the voting delegates to the conference, and any and all school board members can attend the conference, which I believe is planned virtually. So I guess we're kind of waiting for details on that. Is that right, Mrs. Mathis? But we'd all be able to attend-- Yeah. So the conference-- --the sessions. Sorry, am I muted? Yeah, the-- Oh, I'm sorry. PBSA made a statement that all of their services, all of their webinars, conferences, et cetera, are probably going to be virtual, and they will be free for members to attend for the next year.
043And you're freezing a little bit, but I believe that was your question. Yes. Yeah, so other board members are able to attend the session, the learning and discussion sessions, which is just for the voting and the delegates. Yes, OK. Thanks. Sure. Is there any other discussion? Yeah, I would just like to say that when we talk about the voting delegates and creating that platform for the PSBA, that I hope that, and I have full confidence in the people that will take their voting, that will continue to fight for fair funding here for public school districts, much like the North Hills. Dr. Mannarino has made several comments that during this pandemic we went virtual in a matter of days, and we did a pretty good job at it. We talk about spending money, and spending money,
044and we spent over a million dollars in funds to those institutions. And we did just as good a job by going virtual in a matter of days. So I hope we continue to fight for that, being able to keep those dollars here to improve the education of our students here at North Hills. Thank you. Do we have any other Board comments? I'm going to move onto a roll call vote then. Ms. Kozera? Aye. Mr. Little? Aye. Dr. Nolish? Aye. Ms. Philpott? Aye. Mrs. Poniatowski? Aye. Mrs. Reid? Yes. Mrs. Rennebeck? Aye. Mrs. Spade? Yes. And I will also vote yes. Thank you, Mr. Little. It looks like we have nothing under policy, Ms. Kozera. Do you have a legislative update for us this evening? I just wanted to mention that Representative Adam [audio out] represents the
045state of Pennsylvania. He was our representative for, I don't know, about half of the North Hill School District, and he lost his bid for re-election in a primary this week. So we will be getting a new state representative. So I just wanted to thank Representative Ravenstahl. I know many of the board members have a-- he is their representative, and they're good friends with him. And he's done a lot for our district, and I hope we can continue the relationship with the new representatives once elected. And I know that Adam Ravenstahl will continue to be a good person in the district, because I believe his daughter is starting kindergarten at Highcliff in the fall. So we will certainly continue to see him around, but in a little bit of a different capacity. So thank you to
046Adam Revenstahl. Thank you, Ms. Kozera. Did you have anything else under legislative before I move on? Now, sorry, that was it. Thank you. No worries. I just want to check. I will hand it over to Dr. Nolish for finance next. Thank you. We do have a number of things to go over. So we're going to make up for the lack that the other folks that had very few items. The first three items we're going to talk about relate to the 2020-2021 budget, and then the rest are standard operating items, either monthly or annually. So the first is item number one is Resolution 2020-02, and that is to set the tax millage to 18.65 mills. So this is the same millage rate for the current year, 2019 to 2020. So there is no tax increase in
047next year's budget. So we're very pleased to be able to do that, achieve that, and I hope that that will help our families as well. Item number two is the Resolution 2020-03, which is the homestead and farmstead exclusion. And that authorizes the real estate tax assessment reduction for the taxpayer's primary residence. Item number three is the final budget itself, and this budget has one very significant difference from the proposed final budget that was presented on April 30, and then was available for public review and through the public budget committee of which Mr. Muth held the three meetings this past month. As we shared with you back in May, on May 21, we did receive a grant from the Federal CARES Act for COVID-19 economic relief. And this grant allows us to keep our elementary class
048sizes within the current class size policy. So all elementary classes are within the policy based on what we know in current enrollment, and we also have the capacity to hire additional teachers over the summer if we should see any enrollment increases between now and the start of school. So the bottom line is that we are in a much better place with this final budget than we were with the proposed budget. So it's, obviously, a year that we're not doing many new things. We need to be very careful, but I think we're going to be very-- we're going to be fine this year. And I think having that relief in the CARES Act is a great relief to all of us knowing that we can keep those class sizes where we all want them to be.
049So the next group of items then are bills that we need to pay and some annual organizational items. Item number four, the general fund bills, item number five are capital fund bills, of which there's very little. There was just some-- a little bit of paint and things that have to do with getting the middle school ready for the sixth grade. Now, item number six, food service fund bills, item number seven our scholarship fund bills. And just since we don't often see that, I'll mention what they are. Those are scholarships that have been established through donations to the school district, either by individuals or by organizations. And we, the district, administer them by granting the funds to the graduating seniors that have been chosen according to the criteria and the procedures that were established for the
050original donors. So those are something where we are just managing those scholarship funds and following the wishes of the donors. Item number eight are budget transfers. Item number nine is payroll for the month of May. Item number 10 appoints Mr. Muth as our treasurer for the 2021 year. We're required to appoint a treasurer annually for the new fiscal year. So even though we just appointed him in December when Mr. Hall retired, we need to reappoint him now. The December appointment was just from January through now, June 30. So now, this will start with July 1. Item number 11 are the renewals for our general insurance and our workers compensation insurance. For general insurance, the premium increase is 3%, and for workers compensation, there's actually a slight decrease in the premium. So those are very good
051numbers. And thank you, Mr. Muth, for your good work in getting very competitive numbers that help with our budget tremendously. The last item is item number 12, and that sets our facilities usage fee for 2020 to 2021. We do this annually every June. And the recommendation is to keep most rental rates flat, so the same amount as 2019 to 2020. The only exception is the rental rate for the auditorium, which we're recommending be raised to $1,300 per event. That's a $100 increase. It's still very competitive with other large capacity rooms in the area, and it helps us meet our overall goal with these rates, which is basically to make sure that we break even. We have great facilities. When we're allowed to use them, we want our community to be able to participate and to
052make it possible for organizations to use them. But at the same time, we just need to make sure that there's not a negative impact on our own budget and on our taxpayers. So that's the logic behind the proposed fee rates. So with all that being said, the superintendent recommends, and I so move, that items number one through 12 be added to the legislative meeting agenda. And I was second that, D. Spade. I have a question. Any discussion? Go ahead, Mrs. Reid. Number one-- and I may have missed it-- whenever you made reference to the fact we received the money in regard to that COVID-19, that this would make the classrooms remain the same, now, are we still going to be hiring a teacher for Highcliff first grade? Is that in the budget? Yes. The-- all
053of this-- Yes, that's in the budget. We received 315 applications for that position and the second grade position at McIntyre. We sent out 76 opportunities for first round interviews this week. Those are due back to the administration team this Sunday as we begin the first round of the process. So, yes, those are the two positions that we are in the process of hiring right now. OK, good. And another question I had-- and I could be wrong on this, excuse me if I am-- the Homestead Act. We don't have a number to that yet. Isn't that based on the moneys that come in through the casinos that we get applied to the Homestead Act? Kathy, the amounts that we receive is determined by the state. It does represent the gaming funds. That allocation has been funded,
054and that is where the $125.92 reduction on the individual taxpayer bill. Is that what we're getting, $125? Yes. I didn't hear that, OK. I'm sorry. That's fine. Oh, there's a lot of information here. There was another question, and I can't think of what it was. Oh, you don't need anymore. Thank you. Any other discussion or questions? I had just something really quickly. I don't know if Mr. Muth or Dr. Nolish should be the best answer. I was able to attend one of the public finance committee meetings, and I was-- it was very informative. And I wondered how the meetings went generally and if you got some good feedback from the public. Since I know we often-- when people have questions about the budget, we tell them to come to this meeting. So I like to
055hope that they do, for sure. Mr. Muth, why don't you? You have the bird's eye view of everything. I don't-- I'm probably a bad read on those meetings, because it was kind of one-sided. I think the Zoom format does not favor the taxpayer that are participating in those meetings. It's a lot easier for me to sit back and just talk. The interaction that you miss topic by topic, I think, is lost in that. So I look forward to having those meetings in public next year. [interposing voices] Yeah. I would add, there were a lot of-- Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Yeah. There were a lot of good questions asked and answered. And I think, hopefully, increased everybody's understanding. But again, I would second what Mr. Muth said. It's always better to do those
056in person when we can. I agree. And whenever we sat at the table, we knew who was there. With this Zoom, we don't. We don't know who's in the room with us. And nobody would know we're there unless we ask a question. And Sandy, I shared this with Jerry, but there were definitely parent comments saying how great of a job he did, that he took something that was a really complicated topic and made it very easy to understand. So people really thought he did a great job. You did a great job, Jerry. Thank you. Definitely. Yeah, thanks very much. We appreciate your time, I know all of us do, that you spend on educating everybody about the budget. That's really well. Thank you. That's great. Thank you, Jerry. Thank, Phil. Thank you, Mr. Muth. Thank
057you. Is there any other discussion? No. I will then take a roll call vote. Ms. Kozera? Aye. Mr. Little? Aye. Dr. Nolish? Aye. Ms. Philpott? Aye. Mrs. Poniatowski? Aye. Mrs. Reid? Yes. Mrs. Rennebeck? Aye. Mrs. Spade? Yes. And I will also vote yes. Thank you very much, Dr. Nolish. I'd now like to ask, if any members of the public have any comments on non-agenda items, please raise your hand, and I will bring you up to speak. And if there are any people, then I will then read our public participation policy. It looks like we have one person, so I'm going to go ahead and quickly read our public participation policy. We would like to invite any resident, taxpayer, or employee of the North Hills School District who wishes to address the board to come forward
058at this time. The Board does reserve the right to limit the amount of time allotted for public discussion of any particular speakers and/or issues. Some of your questions can be quickly addressed following your comments, while others may require more research and discussion. When appropriate, you are welcome to further discuss your concerns with us following the meeting. We appreciate your interest, and I will be asking people to state their name and address for the record. First, it looks like we have Jennifer Duffy. So I'm going to bring her up to speak. Hi, Mrs. Duffy. It looks like you're muted. If you want to go ahead unmute yourself and state your address for the record? Hi. Can you hear me now? I can hear you. Hi, how are you? I'm well. This Jennifer Duffy, 16 East Orchard
059Avenue, 15202. Thank you, Mrs. Duffy. Go ahead. I just have a quick question with Allegheny County going green tomorrow. What is the status of the school district's grounds and fields, particularly the tracks? Will everything be open tomorrow? Will sports be allowed to resume with the school district starting July 1? I caught pieces of that, because my internet is unstable here as well. I believe you're asking about the track and the athletic fields. Right, yes. Did I catch those pieces? The track, we are opening the track. As long as people maintain social distancing, the track will be open. As far as the athletic fields are concerned, the way the rules state right now, the PIAA has closed all school districts until July 1. So there should be no activities of athletics taking place on our fields
060until at least July 1. Now, that was a statement that was made in April. And as a member of the PIAA Board, the PIAA is waiting for information from the governor's office as to when athletes can resume any type of activities on school district properties while the governor puts the different counties into different phases. So as of right now, although we are green, by order of the PIAA, there is to be no athletic activities on our fields until July 1. But I was hoping that that statement would change this week, and nothing has come out of Dr. Lombardi's office at this time. But as soon as he gives us some direction about what we can do for athletics, we will be sure to let our public know. As far as outside organizations, our school facilities
061will be closed to outside organizations this summer. But the tracks will be open. The tracks actually are open. If you wanted to go there now, you're more than welcome to go to the tracks and use both the tracks at Martorelli and at Ross. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you, Mrs. Duffy. Is there anything else? No, it looks like you muted yourself. I'm going to remove you, and then I'll bring up our next guest. Hi, Mr. Vestly. If you don't mind unmuting yourself, and then please stating your name and address for the record. Yes, my name's Ed Vestly. I live at 116 Lingay Drive. Actually, Jennifer asked the question, and Dr. Mannarino answered it. That was my one question. So I'm going to move on to one other comment. Jerry, I want to thank you for
062running those public budget meetings. I think you did a tremendous job. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Vestly. It doesn't look like we have any other public comments at this time. So I would like to announce that the next meeting of the Board of Education is scheduled for Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 7:15 PM via Zoom. We also have a board meeting scheduled for July, and we are hoping to be able to go back to holding meetings in person by then. So keep an eye out from the district for information on that. And there being no other items on the agenda this evening, I would move to adjourn the meeting. Second. Thank you.