School Board meeting: June 18, 2026

001members of the Calterock High School South. Literally just graduated two days ago. Come back out. Could you raise your hands? I'm so fortunate to have such an amazing group. The dedication and commitment to this program has been unyielding. To be able to come back after they graduated and perform for all of you in our community obviously is something that meant a lot to them and means a lot to me as well. We're going to do one more song for you, which is a very fitting song, especially for these seniors going out to the world, moving on to the next step in their life. It will be a song called In My Life. Mr. Axler, before you go, congratulations again to our seniors. This is the earliest I think we've ever had people return from being

002graduates. Don't forget to give them their chocolate bars. We wish you the very best. Thank you for sharing your talent with us tonight. All right. Thank you to Mr. Axler and the Council Rock South Vocal Ensemble. We typically don't have any student performers in June, so that was actually really awesome. I'm going to go ahead and move on to roll call. Can I please have roll call, Board Secretary? Ms. Kahn? Present. Mr. Tate? Present. Mr. Hidalgo? Present. Mr. Roosevelt? Here. Ms. Osecki? Present. Ms. Stone? Here. Ms. Horner? Here. Ms. Rickert? Ms. Rickert is on vacation with her family. Mr. Green? Present. Thank you so much. We'll move on to the superintendent's report. Dr. Sanko? Thank you, Ms. Kahn. First, I'd like to thank Kathy Ayling, Mrs. Ayling, for helping us tonight as board secretary. She

003came off the bench in a moment's notice. So, Kathy, we appreciate you being here with us to help us tonight. And if we think back to last year, many of you sat around this Dias, and we had our first responders providing us with lights, and doors opened, and we had no power. when we got to this point. So I'm very grateful, not only for our students who were here tonight, but that the lights are on and it feels like the air is working as it should as well. So the difference a year makes, I guess. Welcome and good evening to the Board of School Directors, to the staff and community members joining us tonight, and those tuning in on the Council Rock YouTube channel. Thank you to Caitlin Matthew for leading us this evening in

004our Pledge of Allegiance. And thank you to the Council Rock High School South Vocal Ensemble, led by Mr. Corey Axler, for their rendition of the National Anthem and for honoring the Class of 2026 with the Beatles classic, In My Life. We should start tonight's meeting with a recognition of the end of the 25-26 school year, which concluded yesterday upon the dismissal of all students in grades K through 11. Tuesday's graduation ceremonies were flawless, with hundreds of families and friends and loved ones on hand as the 881 graduates moved their tassels from the left to the right. A few statistics about our graduating class that are worth mentioning. Collectively, the class of 2026 accepted over $15 million in scholarships. Nine graduates have enlisted in the military or will be attending service academies. Close to 9,500 students

005in grades kindergarten through 11 have moved on to the next grade level. And as of 3 p.m. today, There are exactly 600 students registered for year two of the full-day kindergarten program in Council Rock. Those are just a few of the data points that reflect a successful school year, but they tell only part of the story. Some of the most meaningful indicators of success cannot be measured in numbers. We cannot quantify the hugs, the shoulders leaned on, the words of encouragement offered, or the countless hours spent creating safe, welcoming, and supportive schools. But when we consider it all together, we can say with confidence that Council Rock has successfully concluded another strong academic year for our students. Thank you to our teachers and staff and administrators for their dedication and hard work, and thank you

006to our school board for their service and commitment. Thank you to our parents, guardians, and families for the partnership and support. And thank you to the greater Council Rock community for continuing to support our schools and our district. Most importantly, thanks has to go to our students who give our shared mission meaning. They are our reason, our purpose, and the true heart of Council Rock. Looking ahead to the new school year, this is a reminder that Council Rock schools open on Monday, August 31st for students in grades kindergarten through sixth, grade seven and nine, and all students K through 12 will report on Tuesday, September 1st. Parents, please mark your calendars with those important dates and look for additional information from your school principal and in the Rock report. You've heard us talk about migrating

007to a new website. We are just a few days away from launching our new website, which will be more streamlined and easier to navigate with an optimized user interface. The official date for the website release is July 1st. Part of the rollout includes testing of the alerts manage messaging system over several days between July 1 and July 8 So we ask for your patience during that time Also a reminder to download the council Rock School District app which provides website features on your personal device This app is available for iOS and Android Android systems in the App Store Some important dates for our community. A reminder that the July 4th holiday, all district buildings and offices will be closed on Friday, July 3rd. Thursday, July 9th at 7 p.m. there will be a combined facilities

008and finance meeting in this building. Thursday, July 23rd. There is a Board of School Directors meeting 7 p.m. Right here at Chancellor Thursday August 13th There is a combined Finance and Facilities Committee meeting at 7 p.m. At Chancellor Thursday August 20th There is a Board of School Directors meeting at 7 p.m. At Chancellor Monday August 31st as I mentioned Students in grades kindergarten through sixth, in grade seven, and grade nine only report for the first day of school. And then Tuesday, September 1st, all students grades K through 12 report. Finally, this is a reminder to our community to use only Council Rock School District resources, websites, and official media platforms for the most reliable. Up-to-date information about our district we urge the public to verify information on social media and be discerning and where they

009obtain information relating to Council Rock if you have questions about what you are seeing need Clarification or want to reliable fact-check please contact the district directly our contact information is readily available on our website at www.crsd.org This concludes the superintendent's report. Thank you, Ms. Kahn. Thank you, Dr. Senko. We'll move on to item F, the solicitor report. Mr. Amuso. Thank you, Madam President. The board, since our last meeting, met an executive twice, once on May 28th for safety and security purposes, and then on June 1st for a personnel matter, specifically the evaluation of the superintendent. I wanted to direct the public's attention to, we do have an addition to tonight's agenda. And as I think we all know, typically, We can't make any changes to the agenda more than or less than 24 hours before

010the meeting. But tonight we have a small change that falls into one of the small exceptions. That is. As we know, our regular secretary, Ms. Brink, notified us this morning that she was sick and could not attend the meeting. Ms. Ayling has graciously agreed to step into the role, but she's not been officially appointed as our substitute board secretary. And that's particularly important tonight because the board is going to vote on next year's budget, and we need to have the board secretary to sign off on that resolution so we can get it to the Pennsylvania Department of Education quickly. So therefore, we have added to our personnel action addendum the appointment of Ms. Kathleen Ayling as our substitute board secretary. Now, this falls into Section 712.1C of the Sunshine Act, which allows the board to

011add any business, not any business, but business arising within 24 hours before the meeting. So this has... This business has arisen less than 24 hours before the meeting. It does not involve the expenditure of any funds, nor requires the district to enter into any contract or agreement. This is a de minimis action. So therefore, we've added the appointment of Ms. Ayling to the agenda, and no further action is required by the board but to vote on that appointment. I've got nothing further public to report. The board has our solicitor's report for the month of June. This concludes the solicitor's report. Thank You mr. Musso so we can move on with board matter great. Thank you Moving on to public comment. Public comment is an opportunity for members of the public to address the board. When

012speaking to the board, we ask that you limit your comments to no longer than three minutes. Please consider the fact that there may be young children in the audience who are watching this broadcast live on CRTV or YouTube. Your ideas are welcome and will be considered in deliberating an issue. The board may not respond to your comments or questions in real time. At this time, I have two people signed up this evening. Carolyn Blacknow, who has signed up for an agenda item. Ms. Blacknow, I'll give you the warning at 30 seconds. I believe you're familiar. And then just with your name and township. Thank you. All right. You say your speech. I'll let you say it, and then I'll start talking. Let me know when I can start talking. Yes, you may begin with your

013name and township. Thank you. Okay, my name is Carolyn Busser Blacknell. I live in Northampton Township. When I went to the Northampton Township Police on October 10th and said my life was in danger, they said I didn't do anything. When I went back on November 1st and I said, I think I have evidence of human trafficking, they said go find some evidence. I talked to my neighbors. I got some more evidence. I went back on November 9th. I said, I have some evidence. Can you investigate this preschool? Because I think this man might be involved. They said they would refuse to do my report. two men stood there in front of me telling me that they were not going to investigate potential crimes against children. So then a month later, I have to go into

014my woods behind Rainbow Academy, it's in the Grenoble, to try to find child trafficking and risk my life. This is a bulletproof thing that you put on your back so you don't get killed. And this is the bag I was going to put in any evidence I found. I have pictures from it. And now I come in here and I spent how many months looking at all your budgets and audits, and right now, 2016, I mean, 2026, 2027, on page 25, we are in debt by $279 million. Nobody is in debt by over a quarter of a billion dollars. This is fraud. Nick Shirley needs to come here. He got 4 billion views. in seven days when they expose fraud in Minnesota. You cannot be behind by a quarter of a billion dollars in long-term

015debt. You're building stuff we don't have money for. You should tell these kids, I destroyed your parents. I don't know who is voting on this, but this is, and no one, and Mr. Souser says, go to the police. I can't go to the police. I went to the police to ask them to look into child trafficking, and they didn't do anything. Why would they do anything about financial fraud? Thank you, Ms. Blacknow. I have an Eric, Mr. Eric Lehman, I believe, but it was not. Sir, is this an agenda item or non-agenda item? Non-agenda. That's about the budget. It is agenda item? Okay. All right. Thank you. Am I allowed to talk? No, that's fine. It just wasn't marked on the public comment sheet, so I just needed to clarify, because if it was a

016non-agenda item, it would have been later in the evening. Good evening. Eric Lehman, Northampton Township. People's homes shouldn't be an ATM machine. There are senior citizens that are on a fixed income and you people should start looking out for the elderly. So I just wanted to bring that to your attention. Their money doesn't go up and you guys keep raising taxes and you don't seem to care. Thank you. Thank you. Those were the only two I actually have signed up for this evening. Was there anyone else that wanted to speak on agenda items only at this time? If you'd please come forward and just state your name and township in three minutes. My name is Akos Zvirkovits. I live in Washington Crossing, Upper Mayfield Township. I understand that the board had proposed 3.5% increase in

017the budget, while the enrollment is about 3.5% or 3.6% in the school is lower. And I am totally puzzled by that. How can that be and what I am hoping for is that the board will reconsider its decision and keep the current level of taxation without any change. Thank you very much. Thank you. Was there anyone else that wish to speak? Yes. You just state your name and township. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Andy Kassidamon. I'm with Upper Makefield. And I'm here also about the budget. I've been a Upper Makefield resident now for seven to eight years, so fairly a newcomer. And, you know, I appreciate everything the board does, and I appreciate Council Rock. When we moved to this area... We were very impressed with Council Rock School District and our realtor

018said hey this is fantastic area to move to and and it's and Yes, it's a fantastic area school the school district is a selling is a selling point When when I need to sell my real estate and Lord knows how many years Which my kids will do that because I'll be dead but at the same time I almost didn't move here because of the taxes. And I got that assessed and corrected, and my taxes came down a bit. I'm a retired healthcare executive. I'm senior VP of revenue cycle. I've had more than 14 facilities reporting to me and your $303 million budget was pennies in the budget that I had to manage for all my facilities across the East Coast. I will tell you, I did not have the opportunity to turn back to people.

019and say, you need to start giving me more money. As an executive, I had to find ways to make my companies viable, my hospitals viable. And how did I do that? I looked within our organization. And unfortunately, we would have to cut people. We would have to cut services. We did not have the luxury to just turn around and say, hey, you all give me 3.5% more. I appreciate what my fellow citizens here are saying. It is a very acute problem because our taxes are going to be the failure of this community moving forward if we start now increasing taxes on a whim. My kids never attended Council Rock School District. However, my grandkids do. And my youngest granddaughter is in the special needs section of the school, which is absolutely fantastic. And it pains

020me to say that I am opposing this 3.5% because I think you all could do a better job looking into what your expenses are. Because I have yet to see, any documentation of that action taken by the schools other than I'm gonna raise the budget by $11 million. It's three minutes. Thank you. My last comment, please do not mandami Upper Makefield. Please do not do that. Think of the community think of the kids first, but think of the communities and look for a better way to Resolve the shortfall on your budget. Thank you. All right any other speakers public comment for agenda items Okay, thank you All right moving on to item H approval of the minutes of the meeting of the school board on May 21st 2026 Could I get a motion? Make the

021motion I move to approve the minutes of the meeting of the school board directors held on May 21, 2026. Second. Thank you, Mr. Tate, Ms. Soseki. Board questions or comments regarding the minutes? Seeing none, I'll mark that as unanimous. Thank you. All right, now we will move on to Education Committee. I will be reporting out this evening. The Education Committee... Had our last meeting for the school year on May 28th 2026 on the agenda were updates to a student wellness program special education update full-day kindergarten update proposed courses for piloting next year our new website launch and staffing for the 2026-27 school year The board received a program update for the student wellness program which began this year after the winter break. The full implementation of this MTSS Tier 1 program for all 10 elementary

022schools was well received with promising feedback from three of the elementary teachers that presented to us that evening. Teachers emphasized the positive classroom environments the program helped build, but also recognized the academic focus it brought for students, helping with vocabulary, classroom management, perspective taking, decision making, staying calm, and conflict resolution, to name a few. The only negative feedback that they had wished was that the program began at the beginning of the school year versus the middle. I'm happy to hear such positive feedback, and more importantly, the value it adds to the teaching and learning taking place in our schools. It will be exciting to see the program and its full implementation over the course of the entire school year in the 2026-27 school year. On this evening's agenda under finance item F is a special

023services auditor. For the course of the past several months, many of my board colleagues have discussed the need and interest for an educational audit. It was determined in several discussions that we would focus on special services at this particular time. What initially was going to be a scope of looking at IEPs has expanded to a more comprehensive audit. programming services, data review, fiscal analysis, interviews, and classroom observations in order to get the most benefit of this audit while being fiscally responsible. The cost to the district for this service would not exceed $63,900 for the entire scope of the work which if approved this evening would begin in the summer with looking at data and records. I fully appreciate Dr. Olbermann and the administration taking on the board initiative that began many months ago. Dr. Oberman

024also went into full detail about our most recent cyclical monitoring for special education, as my board colleagues and myself have learned that this is a very complex review looking at data from the previous school year. There were notable strengths that were identified, no major compliance violations, showing a positive and strong parent survey results, just to name a few. As Dr. Oberman had anticipated, the district was identified in three areas for improvement, the LRE, or the least restrictive environment, public school enrollment, and participation in the PSSA or PASA for our special services students. The proposed audit would review the LRE, which is one of the identified areas of improvement. I know Dr. Oberman and his team are already working to address some of the deficiencies that were identified in the cyclical monitoring for next school year.

025So thank you for that. The special services math programs piloted this past winter and spring were presented by Ms. Amanda Serene with positive feedback from staff, students, and data to show the benefits of these programs. In this evening's budget proposal, the new math programs are included for full participation and implementation across the district for next school year. These highly engaging programs will help with foundational math skills, showing increased participation, preparedness, and improved access for all of our diverse learners. Over the course of the school year, we had regular updates about our full-day kindergarten, which launched this year. As school has come to an end and our first cohort of kindergartners will move on to first grade next year, our data has shown the amazing progress these students have made this academic year. The scores show

026that our students have made a 40% gain in their reading scores throughout the school year. Teachers came to present their reflections on the first year. They noted how the kids were so capable and ready to learn, and they all shared that excitement for next year when they get to see these students move on into first grade being so well prepared for learning. And tonight's agenda, included in the budget as well that's being proposed, are the new additional texts for ELA in grades 9 through 12. These books will help the district align with the structured literacy training our teachers have been receiving over the course of this past year. If approved, these books will provide various text levels and topics to meet the needs of our students to gain valuable literacy skills, preparing them not only

027for higher education, but also standardized tests and future AP exams. These tests are piloted and vetted by a committee, and if approved this evening, will be added to the collection of texts and resources that teachers can choose from for instruction. We have a new website that will be launching in July, as you heard from Dr. Sanko this evening. I know many of us are looking forward to this new step forward as a district to not only become ADA compliant, but also as a valuable, useful, and effective resource that all community members can access along with their students and families. I'm looking forward to the integrated calendars, the easier access and user-friendly approach. Thank you to Ms. Mangold and the administration for taking on this huge endeavor over the course of this entire school year. Also

028on tonight's agenda is the proposed staffing increases for the 2026-27 school year. 14 of the 14.4 full-time additions are necessary for the growing needs of our special services department. Oftentimes, these students not only need a full-time teacher, but they also need several one-to-one personal care assistants. In our most recent CRESPA agreement or support services, that has allowed the district to become more fiscally responsible to fill much needed positions that have historically been very difficult to fill. And I'd like to thank, on behalf of the board and myself, Mr. Spring for his hard work on this agreement to allow that to happen for the district. Thank you. This concludes my report. The next Education Committee meeting will be held on September 24th at 7 p.m. here at the Chancellor's Center. I move to approve consent agenda

029items B through L as contained in the attachments to this agenda. Can I get a second, please? Second. All right, a second. Ms. Oseki? Questions and comments from the board? Okay. None? Oh, Mr. Roosevelt. Thank you. I just wanted to have a discussion about the special education audit that is contained in this agenda. I'm happy that this board has got this on a consent agenda item, and I'm happy that this district has taken the bold step to undertake this process. I realize many could scrutinize it. as an attack on them and I'm happy it's not seen that way. Dr. Overman should be commended on how he moved forward through this process undertaking, I believe the quote was that he's happy for any help to improve and any suggestions, something along those lines. Please correct me

030if I've got it a little bit different, but I think that that comment. says a lot both about his department about how he's running it and to this community and the cost of this while it's not inexpensive compared to our budget both this year and last year it's about one FTE or one teacher being hired. And I realize that that is significant, but this is a commitment that this board has shown to not only reflect upon the district, but to some of our most critical elements of our student body. So I just wanted to thank everybody who's cautiously thought about this, deliberated this, and Dr. Olbermann, Dr. Sanko for this undertaking to get it to this point. So I just wanted to say that. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Roosevelt. Just so for clarification, that

031wasn't part of my consent agenda items because it falls under finance this evening. But thank you for that. Thank you. Yep. All right, moving on to item M under Education Committee, which is the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, number 22 representative, which I will be speaking as well. The Bucks IU met this past Tuesday, June 16th, at the IU building in Doylestown. This was actually the first meeting I was not able to attend because I was here in Council Rock for graduation. The board reviewed and approved several business matter... I'm sorry. Oh, okay. My fault. All right. Let me backtrack. So it was consent agenda with the board discussion. Mr. Roosevelt spoke. Was there any board comments regarding the education committee items that would consent? Okay. All right. My apologies. Ms. Ayling, if you would please

032mark that as unanimous consent. Thank you. All right, I will restart, which was very brief, with IU. The board reviewed and approved several business matters, including the approval of the comprehensive annual budget for the IU for the 2026 and 2027 school year. Much like us, they're going through all of their services, contracts, and renewals across 13 school districts in the county of Bucks County. The Bucks IU board also approved several items under consent for the 2026-27 school year. That also includes budget transfers, much like we will be doing this evening and other schools across the state. The Bucks IU marked its ninth year of Leadership Development Fellowship, a highly successful training program to build a robust leadership pipeline for emerging administrators across Bucks. And I know Council Rock, I believe, had some who were recognized

033this year. The Bucks IU also held its class of 2026 graduation on Tuesday, June 20, on Tuesday at Delaware Valley University. I have an error in my date, I see. It was a very memorable evening filled with lots of smiles, tears, and joy. I was honored to have attended that evening for the IU. The fall programming registration is still open for those interested. Of note this year that will be new are the day off programs. So anytime there's schools that are off, that there are full day programs that they can participate and you can register for a full day at the Fab Lab where students are able to participate in various STEAM oriented projects. You can find all of the programs including still a few very... Limited spaces for summer camps at thebucksiu.org or on

034Facebook under Fab Lab Bucks IU. So the next IU meeting will be held on July 21st at 7 p.m. at the IU building in Doylestown. That concludes my report. Thank you. Right moving on to the Middle books Institute of Technology representative miss Horner. Yes. Thank you. Good evening June is a wonderful month of celebration for our students and districts NBIT held its student recognition ceremony a week ago Monday on June 8th. Thank you to dr. Sanko mr Funk and the many principals assistant principals and the staff members from both high schools for attending Council Rock was very well represented Council Rock North was proudly represented on stage by Gray Fit, who graduated from the welding program. She delivered a powerful and moving performance of the national anthem. Kieran Ward from Council Rock North, who completed

035the public safety program, gave one of the outstanding student speeches. He shared how he earned his AMT certification while in high school and volunteers with the Newtown Fire Department. These experiences have prepared him for his next step at Penn State where he will participate in the ROTC program with them in the Marine Corps while studying criminology in pursuit of a career in federal law enforcement. Kieran encouraged everyone to take those chances. The skills and experiences they learned through their respective programs are so valuable. The night was a wonderful celebration. I also want to highlight a wonderful collaboration. A video was produced for SAGE, which is the Senior Adults for Greater Education, the adult volunteer program in the Council Rock District that supports students in the classroom. Three Council Rock students from the Multimedia Program at

036MBIT, along with their teacher, Mr. Davey, worked with SAGE members to create this video showcasing the SAGE program. Several Council Rock members in this room made an appearance in the video, and as Mrs. Crawford so perfectly stated, the impact of stage is twofold. It strengthens the impact of stage is twofold. It strengthens to students academically in their strengths and needs while also providing them with another caring adult to connect with. I believe we are going to show that video now. Possibly? Thank you. When Mrs. Lenike says something and they don't understand it, he comes up to the front of the room and explains it in a different way. I mean, like, it feels, like, good having someone back there. There is no substitute for good personal interaction, regardless of the age. A computer doesn't offer

037that. Social media doesn't offer that. Kids have a lot on their plate. nowadays. Their thinking process is so different. The teachers don't have that much time. You know, they got 22 kids. The teachers have to be so creative. As a teacher, I've been doing this for over 25 years and I can get more done because I can depend on that Sage Volunteer to do some really important jobs and remediation for me. SAGE, Senior Adults for Greater Education, provides partnering school districts with an innovative, cost-effective way to expand student support through meaningful intergenerational engagement. It's really helpful to have someone that kids trust and can go to not only for that academic help, but also for just navigating life. It shows the strength of the teacher that they have confidence in having somebody with the students

038and helping them. And we work as a team. So there's a lot of things we talk about and we share together. The number one reason we should work with SAGE volunteers is because they're important members of our community. And we're always looking for ways to make learning come alive for our children. They have a lot to offer to our students and our students gain a lot of valuable insight and experience. What speaks volumes are the smiles that I see on students and the SAGE volunteers that work together. As I walk by a hallway, they're sitting there one-on-one, whether it's helping take an assessment that they missed, whether they're reading together because that student needs a little bit of help. It's a great opportunity to learn and grow for the teacher, for the SAGE member, but

039most importantly for the student. When I get that help right away, my mind is just like, I finally get it. So I had a stage volunteer when I was in fifth grade. His name was Mr. O. He was a really big help with my math. I really did not like math before working with him. I worked a lot with him throughout fifth grade and kind of just gained a lot of math confidence. So his support really went a long way with my math confidence. I went into high school and then took eight math classes in a span of four years. And a lot of that was because I had the background knowledge from him. working with him. I believe that the impact can be twofold. It can be helping them with their academic strengths and

040needs, but it's also giving them one more person to connect with. When a stage volunteer can be counted on to help come to a child who is not only just behind her needs remediation, but also has been absent, they're trying to catch up and learn the current things. And to be able to go back right to that person and get help immediately when they need it, it speeds up the process for everybody. Communities rediscover purpose and belonging. SAGE brings generations together to help every child succeed. I love it how you are always there to help out whenever Mrs. Lowe needs you. So yeah, I love it. And I get to be a kid again, so. Thank you for playing that. Thanks. Thank you to everyone who is a part of that and our current SAGE

041volunteers. I can't thank you enough for collaborating with all of the students. And having the collaboration with MBIT means a lot. And we know that there's a lot more opportunities in the future that we know that MBIT can collaborate with our district as well. I wanted to wish the entire graduating class of 2026 all the best and much success. The MBIT Executive Council will not be meeting for the next two months and will reconvene on August 24th. That's the end of my report. Thank you, Ms. Horner. With the Council Rock Education Foundation liaison, Mr. Tate. Thank you, Ms. Kahn. Just a quick report on the golf outing. It exceeded our revenue goals and was a great success. We were really blessed with spectacular weather, of course, just like graduation. And a big thank you to

042our prime sponsor, Jefferson Health. Our numerous other generous sponsors. We had a number of corporate sponsors, and that makes a big difference. All of the 90 or so golfers who participated, thank you very much. But most of all, the hardworking and creative members of the golf committee put in a lot of work preparing for the event, and a big thank you to them. Speaking of volunteers... CREF is always welcoming new volunteers. We had some new folks working on the golf outing this year and joining the marketing committee and some other roles. So CREF is always welcoming new volunteers. Lastly, the prize patrol has done its work and notified all the teachers of the innovation grants that they're going to be receiving in the coming year. And we'll have a formal announcement of those grants in

043September. Thank you. Great. Thank you, Mr. Tate. With the Policy Committee, Mr. Green. Thank you very much. The Policy Committee met on June 1, 2026, and completed its second review of eight policies in the triple zero series. These policies govern the organization, authority, operations, and procedures of the board. The committee's work is part of a comprehensive review of modernizing board policies to ensure alignment with current law, PSBA model policies, district practices, and administrative policies. Policies 000, 001, and 002 receive no substantive changes and continue to define the framework for board governance, district identity, and board authority. Policies 003 through 007 included targeted amendments to improve clarity, remove outdated language, align policies with current practice, and ensure consistency with legal requirements. During its review, the committee also discussed Policy 006.1, attendance at meetings via electronic communications.

044Following discussion and questions from committee members and council regarding electronic participation in voting procedures, the committee determined that additional review is warranted. As a result, policy 006.1 was removed from the consent agenda and will return to the policy committee for further consideration at the next meeting before advancing through the approval process. The committee discussed and reviewed all proposed revisions and will continue the policy review process at future meetings. And here are the policies reviewed. Policy 000, which governs board policy, procedure, and administrative regulations. Policy 001, name and classification. Policy 002, authority and powers. Policy 003, functions. Policy 004, membership. Policy 005, Organization. Policy 006, Meetings. Policy 006.1, Attendance at Meetings via Electronic Communications, which is, again, held for additional review. And Policy 007. policy manual access. I'd like to thank Mr. Spring for his efforts

045on all of these policies and updating them. The policy committee will not be meeting for the next couple of months or through the summer. I believe earliest is September. We haven't set a date yet. Is that correct? Okay. So the next policy meeting will convene again in September sometime. This concludes my report. So I move to approve consent agenda items B through I for second read as contained in the attachment to this agenda. Second. Thank you, Mr. Green and Ms. Soseki. Board comments or questions? This was the second read, so it's gone through committee a couple times. All right. If there's no questions or comments, if we would mark that, Madam Secretary, as unanimous. Thank you. Moving on to facilities committee report. Mr. Tate. Thank you, Ms. Kahn. The Facilities Committee met on June 4th,

046and we discussed the items that you see on the agenda before you. And additionally, we had a presentation on the Chancellor Center Renovation Project Design Development. The project's proceeding nicely. And just if you're interested, the project schedule has us in design phase until... December and then in December the relocation of offices begin. Staff moving to Richboro, what was Richboro Middle School for about 10 months I believe. The project's going well and the cost figures are actually decreasing slightly. Cross our fingers, knock on wood. And if you're interested, you can hear more on the recording of the meeting. The agenda items before you are fairly modest in scope, the largest being that North Dust Collector. machinery which has to be custom made. It's a little bit pricey, but everything else is fairly modest. And again, and

047I would offer actually, if you have any questions about what's going on with facilities committee, you can contact facilities director Jess Benda or the facilities committee co-chairs Linda Stone and I. So I will, let's see. I move to approve consent agenda items B through F as contained in the attachment to this agenda. Second. Second. All right. It was Mr. Green, the E2F. Board questions and comments regarding consent agenda items under facilities? All right. Hearing none, we will mark those as unanimous as well. Ms. Haling, thank you. Moving on to finance. Ms. Stone. Yes, good evening. The Finance Committee met on Thursday, June 11th. And Mr. Richard Dyer from Seltzer Group presented renewals for all lines of our non-health insurance plans. We'll be keeping our property liability carrier, CM Regent, with a small increase of under

0485%. There were no claims, so the increase was due only to increase in property values. Our next largest insurance cost is workers' comp, and although our loss ratio was at... 90%, the soft market allowed us to move to a new carrier, Encova, to keep our renewal at 0% increase over last year's premiums. Other renewals were at no increase and we were able to save by not being required to continue flood insurance at two locations. So overall, our broker was able to save the district approximately 1.8% on 1.2 million of premiums. So it was pretty good. The committee also spent a considerable amount of time discussing the RFP for the special ed audit and Dr. Oberman discussed the parameters of the RFP and why he recommended the Chester County Intermediate Unit's proposal at $63,000. And there

049was much discussion about the need for the audit, the timing of the audit, and what we hope to get out of the audit. And this will not be a... consent item, so we will be discussing this further at the end of my report. And several software items were also up for renewal, as well as our food service contract with Aramont. our mark, our approval of curriculum bids, purchasing cooperatives, depositories of record, and our fund balance categories. And we're going to approve using a PCCD grant of $23,500 from Fillycom Incorporated to allow for additional network security testing. Council Rock is also, we're again approving the real estate rebate program that's available to seniors over 65 who have already applied for and received a rebate from the state. Over 217 households have already applied for this year's

050rebate. And don't forget that there are rebates available for renters. It is not just for homeowners. So you should really check if you are eligible. I have to admit that I'm also on fixed income, and I've been able to take advantage of this real estate rebate program, and it has more than compensated for the increase in the school tax. So it is worth looking into for those who are on fixed incomes. So our budget process is now complete, and only minor adjustments have been made to the budget, which was presented in detail both at the last board meeting as well as the finance committee meeting last week. And we're looking to approve a final budget, which must be presented to the state before June 30th. This year's budget, which still includes a about $5 million

051deficit, is at about $303 million. This will include, though, a five-year contract for all staff, which is designed to recruit and retain the best. by increasing starting salaries for those teachers. It also includes the hiring of an additional 14 full-time staff in the area of special education, which Ms. Kahn brought up earlier. We continue to support... These are diverse and comprehensive curriculum in safe and nurturing environment for all our students with no cuts in programs. Very important. And keeping in mind that over 70% of our budget is in salaries, teacher salaries, staff salaries, and... and benefits. So the remaining amount is very little that is able to, we're able to cut and the school is facing these economic challenges just as everyone else is and we're lucky to be able to not have our children

052suffer the consequences of these economic challenges. We are also, we are proposing this three and a half tax increase, which is the recommendation of the PA Act I index. And the Act I index is designed to look at the rates of inflation as well as teacher salaries. So that's really what that number is based on. So it's a fair guideline. And we are looking at that increase even though we are seeing decrease in state and federal funding. Just for general information, every school district in Bucks County except one is looking at at least a 3.5% increase, and there are several schools that are looking at over 5% increase this year. So I think we've done an excellent job, our finance department's done an excellent job at providing what we need to provide for our students

053at the minimal amount of increase and to maintain the best school system, the best teachers, and for the future. The first thing we'll do is I want to move to approve, excuse me, and follow with me because we are skipping around a little here. So I move to approve consent agenda items B through E, G through N, and P through U as contained in the attachments to this agenda. Can I get a second, please? Second. Ms. Stone and Ms. Osaki. All right. Now I'll open it up for board discussion for those specific items of the alphabet soup here, B through E, G through N, and P through U. Board comments discussion regarding those consent agenda items. Okay. Seeing none, if we'd mark that as unanimous, please. Ms. Stone. I move to approve the appointment of

054the Chester County Intermediate Unit to audit the Council Rock School District Special Services Program subject to solicitor review and audit. Second. Thank you, Ms. Stone and Ms. Oseki. Board comments, questions, discussion? Ms. Oseki? I would like to kind of echo everything Mr. Roosevelt said about 20 minutes ago or half an hour ago. I often think back to a time that I was canvassing and knocking on doors about three years ago. And I mean, maybe more than anything else, the comments were, what's going on in the special services program? And, you know, we need to, my kid wasn't able to succeed in the special services program, this or that. I think we have a great special services program. And we had one when we got here, but over the last three years, there have been a

055lot of changes, and it's really improved. And a lot of that is really due to Dr. Oberman's leadership. That doesn't mean that we're perfect, and I think this audit is a good start to the rest of the equation, because it's just the beginning as far as I'm concerned. So I'm thrilled to... to vote yes on this and and i hope that my colleagues will join me thank you anyone else mr roosevelt Thank you. And yeah, my earlier comments would have been better placed here at this point in the meeting. But after months of discussing this and having it go through, I apologize for being a little over exuberant. I want to plug a local business as it dovetails with this as far as the special needs community. And when I came onto this board about

056four years ago, It was very apparent and interesting where the Star Center was being built. And I remember being there for the ribbon cutting my first year, which was interesting, and having an opportunity to meet a lot of the teachers and the students that were attending there. And it occurred to me, what happens when they graduate? And there was a, I guess there was a back and forth both amongst this board and with the state of Pennsylvania as far as the age. that a graduate could be within special education. And that's when it came up again, what happens to these kids after they graduate, regardless of their age. And from hearing from many, during many education committee meetings and reading emails and hearing from parents that have kids that fall into this category that this

057audit seeks to review, once again, the thought occurs to what happens after they graduate. Well, I want to plug a local business. which is the classic rock car wash in Richboro. We've had both the father and a student come to this board over the past couple years and talk about various different things and special education, which has been very wonderful. And he is a co-owner of this business, and his son, along with many other special education graduates within Council Rock, work there. And I had my vehicle detailed there, and they did an amazing job. I mean, truly amazing. And they did such a good job that when the forecast of rain came up both yesterday afternoon and then again this morning, they were talking to me about that I could keep the truck there until

058tomorrow and pick it up, meaning today. And watching the forecast move from rain at 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. to 12 was really kind of difficult. And I went there to say, I just want to make sure my vehicle isn't in the way of others. And I continue to marvel at just how well they did, both inside and outside, and how well these students operate. and conduct themselves in the working environment. This is a business that started, I believe, in 2019, right before COVID. And to be able to survive through that is really pretty cool. They're working with the NHL, and they get sticks from many NHL players. If you ever watch the hockey game and you see a player break a stick or stand around, you know, very agitatedly in the

059defensive zone without a stick as pucks are being fired at his tender. you wonder what happens to those sticks. Well, this company gets a lot of those sticks, and they turn them into barbecue sets and bottle openers and a variety. I even saw, I think today, like a broom to brush off your windshield of snow or leaves or whatever. So they do all of that, and they do an excellent job. So I encourage that. Cy, I... My comments earlier a lot of times we talk about special education audit during in education And I realize it's in finance because we're discussing the payment for it I just kind of wanted to have some of these these comments get included and I encourage all of you both to vote for this as this has been something that

060we've discussed for a long time and recognized the importance of it and seeing the embracement both from the superintendent from an administration and from the director of special education is a wonderful testament to looking within and this commitment to this district toward not only all education but special education and that's a story that I hear echoed why you came to Council Rock. It's this district has a lot to do with it. and this has a wonderful history starting in this building. As an architect, I like this building a lot. It's history, it's testament to design because it remains useful throughout its nearly 200 years of existence. Different uses from a school to administrative to what we're doing right now without needing to be torn down and something else built in its place. I like this

061building, especially the way this district honors the men and women that fought, bled, and died for the freedoms that we experience, and they came from here. So I think that's wonderful. So yeah, back to the... This audit there are this is a beginning point. This is a start. I know that there are criticisms That were about the independence of this for an independent audit. It doesn't include an IU and I I understand them, but I think it's important to get a start and figure out whether audits of special education and education at all and whether IU or whether truly independent are the way to go. I think that. that this is a good place to start. And hopefully with the work that this audit produces, hopefully it's not redundant. Hopefully it makes an impact and

062that this district can use that to move forward and help more kids get through Council Rock and recognize that there are jobs for them when they graduate and put aside a lot of concerns that these parents have and hopefully this car washes is a leading example of not only that many of these kids are high functioning and wonderful that they can facilitate and do amazing jobs in our community so i encourage echo my previous comments my earlier comments at committee meetings and at board meetings about this i i support this and i encourage other board members to support it as well thank you Thank You mr. Roosevelt any other comments from the board mr. Tate Thank You miss Khan I Agree with mr. Roosevelt. I think the choice of the Chester County, I'm losing it,

063here it is. Chester County Intermediate Unit to conduct this audit is an excellent one. At the Education Committee meeting, we got a pretty good summary of the process used to make this selection. And it's sort of typical of the way we select vendors for all sorts of projects. It's done by committee, it's a rigorous project. process and I think the result is good and I think we've gotten a very qualified group of people to do the work on this project and they said that the price they're giving us they're going to stick to no matter what so that's good to hear as well so I support this this appointment. Thank you Mr. Tate. Other board comments? Ms. Stone? Yeah, I agree that Dr. Oberman's made a tremendous impact on the program. He's also worked closely

064with the parents and the Special Ed Parental Advisory Board, which is huge progress in keeping up the communication between families and the teachers. and we're also hiring the additional staff that should really have an impact. I liked the presentation about Chester County and immediate unit, sorry, and their competence level in performing such an audit. My issue is that I believe performing this audit at this time is a little early. I'd like to see it after we have initiated all these programs, the new staff continue with the CPAC and Dr. Oberman's continued assessments before we engage in an audit, which I think may end up being redundant and I would like to spend that money, I think, at a time when we'll get more out of it, which is why I would prefer to see it

065wait at this time. Thank you, Ms. Stone. Mr. Hidalgo? Thank you, I'm really here for the budget, but I'll talk about this for a second. So at the last meeting, we did speak about special education in this audit, and I had a pretty. long conversation with everybody or had a lot to say about it. So we are deficient in things like inclusion, right? Am I correct? Was that one of the categories? And so I think about me personally, I have a very severely disabled child, so I can speak from authority as a parent. And I would know for me, having my child included in a class would be... not what I would prefer for him. So I'm bringing those scores down as a parent. And there's other parents that definitely want to see their kids

066in every class. And I want to see what we can do to help them. And that's what I think we have to do on every case. So I support. what we can do to give these kids the best education that they want or that their parents feel that they want. I feel like parents fight too hard to get what they want, and I think it's the system the way that it is. So I'll leave that there for where I stand as a parent. So when I look at having a study done, it makes me think of like when we did the the demographers. So I came in after the first demographer, then we went to a second demographer when it came to redistricting. And I just thought, wow, these guys are just guessing and they're

067doing their models and they're doing the best they can. At the end of the day, it just doesn't add up. It's just guesswork. And I felt like... It's kind of like I hope we're not going to do the same thing with special education where we already know the data and I think Along with what Miss Stone was talking about and even mr. Roosevelt talking about it might be a little redundant and then the conversations we had from administration saying that you know we could Wait a little longer and I know I'm putting words in people's mouths, but give dr. Oberman another year to implement the programs and the work that he's been so dedicated to providing. And then you look at, then I have to weigh that against the parents who want to see something

068done, and I totally get it. I'm just not sure how this scope of work looks like it's just going to identify the same information. that we have in hand. And okay, so then there's that independent thing. We need independence, something outside of the school district. So we go with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit and some people think that that's not really independent, because that's also a government agency. And so... Maybe we haven't really cooked this enough to go forward, but I think it will go forward. I think we'll get something out of it. I could vote yes for it. I'm not like a hard no on it, but... I also mentioned something that really is a big deal, and it's the level of settlements, the amount of money we keep paying. It's getting bigger and

069bigger, and I associated it to the legal counsel that we changed legal counsel. I had a big presentation, and that... these settlements were supposed to go down or we were gonna do a better job by paying more legal fees. So I think one of the main things we have to be able to do is have a legal analysis also. Not on our providers, but comparing how we handle our cases versus other places, other school districts. And maybe that's, I don't think that's part of this scope, but I think... That's where I stand is that I feel like we need to look more than just what we're doing here I think we'll feel good about doing it and I hope I'm wrong and we actually get something out of it than just spend money to say

070we did something you know, I think the best things we're doing is the parents advocating and Dr. Olbermann and the administration and teachers responding. And we have to strengthen that part at the end of the day. So that's my two cents. I can vote for it. It looks like it's gonna pass, so I'll just vote for it too. Why not? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Hidalgo. Any other board comments? Mr. Green. Just very quickly, kudos to Dr. Olbermann. Thank you so much for being willing to bring this audit up. And I believe that we should be able to know that there are certain things that we're doing right. And that's why we hired Dr. Oberman, so he could come in and understand that. But that doesn't invalidate this study, this audit. What this, to me,

071what this represents is a baseline. It's just to set a standard out there and to give us a guidebook to follow. It's like when we're testing kids. We know some of those kids. We know them well. They're going to get A's. We know that. And then some of the kids are going to be on the other side of the spectrum as well, but we still test them because we need a guidepost. We need to see how we're doing. So to me, having that audit, having this audit. For us to be able to follow as a North Star is is very very important and I don't think Even though we may know where some of these Standards are right now. I don't think in a year Knowing what we knew now is gonna change what's gonna

072happen in a year. We're gonna find that out We're gonna have those that that guideline set for us in a year or now, so I'd say let's do it now Thank You mr. Green any other comments All right, I guess I'll just kind of round out the comments. First, I just wanted to note that I really appreciate hearing from all of my board colleagues this evening and throughout the many months of education committee that we had discussed this. When we have a high-functioning board working together and collaborating, it's part of the reason I joined this board, that we had an idea initiative, brought it to the administration. And in the several months that we had this discussion, we were able to, at this point in the juncture, come to fruition working collaboratively with the board

073colleagues and administration. I know that I'm just going to reiterate a couple things that I stated in my report that as far as I believe, Council Rock has never had a special education audit to this comprehensive extent. Some of the... the audit isn't going to only touch on the programs and services, looking at IEPs and the inclusion or least restrictive environment, but they're also going to do a data analysis. They're going to look at the fiscal analysis of our district as well in the special education department and how we spend that money. There will be conducting interviews not only with stakeholders but teachers. They're going to be going into the classroom in the fall, if approved, to observe classrooms in action at the time. I think this is a responsible use of the $63,900 for

074the amount of work that the Chester County IU is willing to do. I know one of the reasons that they were selected in the final process was because of the expertise that they bring. They have audited in special education several other very large school districts in this portion of our... of our state outside the county. I also know their committee or group that come in and do the work are experts in the field. Not only have they, they're not consultants or business leaders, they're actually teachers, educators, directors that have worked directly in other school districts in classrooms, and they bring that special knowledge to do this work for us if approved. I also want to just echo what I had said at committee last week in finance that our special education program continues to grow

075year after year and that speaks not only to the strong services that we provide as a district, but also that we continue to draw families knowing that this is the district to come to for special services. But with that comes a large responsibility. having to hire new teachers, open up new classrooms, and currently servicing almost 17% of our student body population are special services students. So I think this would be a valuable use of monies. I agree with Mr. Green that we may, we're definitely gonna get something out of this, whether it's continue the work that's been ongoing, especially this past year. Here are some tweaks and things that we can do. We just came out of our special services cyclical monitoring. It just seems like the perfect time to be able to kind of

076do a deep dive and look at our department and see where we can improve. So thank you with that. And if no other questions or comments, I would like to take a roll call vote, please, Ms. Haley. Ms. Kahn? Yes. Mr. Tate? Yes. Mr. Hidalgo? Yes. Mr. Roosevelt? Yes. Ms. Osecki? Yes. Ms. Stone? No. Ms. Horner? Yes. Mr. Green? Yes. Motion carries 7-1. Great. Thank you, Ms. Haley. All right. So now, Ms. Stone, back to you. Okay. Before I read this motion, I want to make a comment. Mr. Rapp, who is CPA and our Director of Finance, has worked so diligently and is so competent and has a, and I trust him because he is a man of integrity and he understands the budget process for government entities. This is not private company, it's public.

077The guidelines are very different. And so I want to just make that comment for anyone that has any doubt about how well he has worked for this district and how hard he's worked and how competent he is in the job that he does. And with that, I move to adopt the 2026-2027 general fund final budget. Second. Thank you, Ms. Stone and Mr. Tate. All right, now we can have board discussion on the general final budget, general fund final budget. Ms. Stone? Sure. I am very... I'm very happy that we have been able to work almost miracles with this budget, maintaining, again, at the level which is actually recommended by the Act I index. We still are feeling the... the effects of the economic environment that we are in, that we are losing funds from federal

078and state, and that is affecting how we do our business. But we all know our wallets don't go as far as they used to. Our money doesn't go as far as it used to, and that's the same with the school. The reason, though, that our real estate tax, our real estate, Our property's values have remained high. The reason that people still want to come to this district is because of what we provide to our students and that we manage to keep this at that 3.5%. If someone had a recommendation for how we make it less than 3.5% and not cut, what would you recommend cutting in order to make that increase less? I don't know where you would go. So I'm very much in favor of moving forward with this and approving this budget as

079presented. Thank You mr. I'm sorry my apologies was it mr. Roosevelt you were trying to raise your hand no I I was, I believed Mr. Hidalgo indicated that he was here for the budget, so I was expecting he had some comments. I believe we are all here for the budget. I want to speak last. I didn't see Mr. Hidalgo raise his hand, so I thought you were pointing to, so my apologies. I also do want to talk, but I was deferring to others that might want to speak first, so I'm sorry. You do not want to speak at this time. I'm happy to speak if nobody else wants to speak now, but I was deferring. Well, you have to speak right now, Mr. Roosevelt. Apparently, I do. So thank you. I want to echo some

080of my comments that I've made earlier. This district over the past several years has encountered external factors of about $10 million on average, I'm not splitting hairs here, in extra expenses every year. And in addition, the district has responded with about roughly, once again, half a percent increase every year. There are a lot of moving parts. There is a lot coming up in the future. I've wanted to see five-year budget projections. I've wanted to compare a whole bunch of external factors to look at it. That would help make a decision or justify a decision. We, as board members, the nine of us, are important as a body. But individually, and this may be difficult for some, we're all going to be forgotten. Individually, we're irrelevant. We're relevant as a body of nine. and the public

081has entrusted us by electing us to make difficult decisions, and this is probably one of the more difficult ones that this body has to entertain every year. And looking forward is the task at our hand. There are always external factors, whether you're an individual that just graduated high school or college. whether you are a parent of a household with multiple kids, whether you're a grandparent on a fixed budget, whether you're a financial officer within a school district, whether you're a superintendent of a school district, and whether you're also financial officer of a... of a public company or a private company. There are always external factors and it's all of these individuals that have to manage around those external factors. And I recognize that we've got some planning ahead regarding our buildings and the master plan

082that we've been conducting as a body in reviewing for about two years, which is gonna cost a lot. And so as a result of that, we have to balance as individual board directors, the desire of our constituents and the community as a whole within Council Rock. I don't see myself as the representative for one particular area of Council Rock. While that's true, I also think as a board member of Council Rock, and I'm happy over the past years, we've been doing this, moving more forward. to a group of nine for all of Council Rock. So this isn't just a budget for our individual region, this is a budget for the entire district. So my concern is next year Act One is going down. So we have, as a district, have enjoyed the ability to increase

083taxes by a half a percent. Every year roughly for the past several years and we have experienced about ten million dollars in excess Expenses every year these are the external factors next year is another external factor act one index is going down Reportedly from about three point five what it is this year to about three point one or two or something along those lines maybe even 3.0 so How does this district manage that? How do we deal with an extra $10 million in expenses again, but we don't have the ability to increase taxes to meet that demand? That's really what's been weighing on me throughout this. And I offer these comments as an explanation for my vote, as well as deliberation of this body, as well as a discussion point for my constituents. And we...

084Won't have that ability next year, and I don't think anybody wants to cut programs or to cut And this would have been a good year, even last year would have been a good year, although we didn't know what the Act One two years ahead is gonna be. Would have been a good year to start figuring out these efficiencies. Other board members have mentioned efficiencies. And I believe, at least when I mentioned efficiencies, I'm not talking about cutting programs or cutting employees because that is the some of a big part of what makes Council Rock great. Council Rock has been great. Council Rock is great. Council Rock will be great. And it will be remembered while we will be forgotten. So I have a hard time supporting this at 3.5. But at this point, I recognize

085that there's really not too much that can be moved about it. There are... I expect at least five people around this DS that are gonna vote yes for it. And I'm gonna vote no, because I think we need to start figuring out what we can do as a district to reduce the impact of where we're gonna be next year at this time. I don't wanna see these cuts to these programs. So I'm a no for this year. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Roosevelt. Any other board discussion, comments? Mrs. Osaki. Okay, yeah, I have a lot to say I'll do my best I have a lot of notes I'll do my best to kind of go in an order here forgive me if it's a little rambly first I want to acknowledge that a lot of

086people came out tonight to to Voice their opinions, which I appreciate and I think all of my board colleagues appreciate This is a difficult task. It's it's one we undertake every year and it doesn't get any easier In fact, it's this is this is one of the hardest years that it's been in my tenure. I also want to acknowledge Mr. Rapp and his team. They do this, they do the grunt work of this budget every year. It's not easy. As Mr. Roosevelt said, the Act One index is likely going down next year. I think I interpret that slightly differently, or maybe majorly differently than Mr. Roosevelt does, because Next year, we will likely be more limited by the state Act I index, and so therefore, I think we have to be more prudent this year.

087As Ms. Stone indicated, state and federal funding has declined, and that means that our local taxes have a higher burden. I wish it wasn't that way, but that's the way it is. When we're elected to the school board, we are trusted by our constituents to do two things that don't always work so well together. One is maintain educational excellence, of course, and the best environment for our students. And another is fiscal responsibility for the taxpayers of the district, not all of whom have students in the district and some of whom are on fixed incomes. This year we have seen inflation out of control. And if you watch some of the finance meetings, you'll see every item that we... approve kind of monotonously, it's all going up. I mean, anything from like, you know, the dust

088collection, you know, at North to the air filters, like these stupid little things that we have to pay for cost more now than they did last year. And we have to budget for that. 70% of our budget is already taken up by salaries and benefits. And from that remaining 30%, we have a lot to... cover um anyhow i think everybody around this dies takes the responsibility of uh the tax burden very seriously and i know we all pay our taxes as well in this district I'm glad Linda and Ms. Stone spoke about the senior tax rebate. I think that's something that not everybody is aware of, and I know the programs are available here in the business office. You can come and find more information any time that the Chancellor Center is open. Oh, and

089I also want to say that, you know, I mentioned those. monotonous items that we approve in our finance committee meetings and facilities meetings, things like that. But those are all shopped. So just so you know, as a constituent, we don't just go with, you know, the company that we used last year. You know, we shop every single item. And somebody mentioned in public comment that we're not cutting. We're not cutting expenses, and that's also not true. We haven't cut staff, and I think, as Mr. Roosevelt said, none of us want to cut staff or programming, and we haven't, but we have cut in other areas in order to stay at 3.5%. Our expenses increased more than 4% this year. So, you know, things have been cut. We do budget conservatively, which means that we typically

090budget for a deficit. And in my time on the board until this year, we've benefited from increased market returns and taxes that leave us with a small surplus. But this year, for the first time in my tenure, that wasn't the case. Our estimated deficit became an actual deficit this year, and we'll have to cover that from the general fund to balance our budget. I think it's safe to assume that that will also be the case. Next year so something has to either be cut or we have to increase taxes Someone else in the audience mentioned Decreased enrollment and you know prior to my time on the board. I would have made the same You know assumption so if our enrollments going down why aren't our costs going down? You know I've spoken to some of

091the reasons why that's not the case, but I do want to say that there are 13 districts in Bucks County and All of them have decreased enrollment, or almost all of them. In fact, ours has decreased some of the, has some of the smallest decrease in enrollment. And we also have some of the smallest tax increases. So just for reference for the people watching at home, Ben Salem is at 4.2%. Bristol Borough is at 4.77%. Bristol Township is at 4.6%. Centennial is at 3.5%. Central Bucks is at 5.7%. Council Rock, as you know, is at 3.5%. Morrisville Borough is at 4. Neshaminy is at 4.1. New Hope-Soulberry is at 6. Palisades, I'm not sure. I found that they're at 1. I can't imagine that that's the case, but it might be. Penridge, I couldn't find.

092Pensbury is looking like it's going to be 3.5, and so is Quakertown. So while I know 3.5 is much more than typical, we're... doing pretty well compared to our neighbors who are all facing the increased costs and also the declining enrollment as someone mentioned, although as I said, our enrollment is declining quite a bit less than some of these others. I wanted to mention When we talk about cuts to programming and cuts, you know, find something to cut. Tonight we heard a great report from Ms. Horner and saw a video on SAGE. Those people are volunteers, right? They come in and they provide extra resources to our students, and we don't pay for that. Cref as mr. Tate spoke about in his in his craft report. This is an organization that is funded By donations

093and teachers get grants school district doesn't pay for that. So there are a lot of there are a lot of pieces in this puzzle and We are benefiting from the generosity of our community. So It's really everybody has to work together and and we benefit You all benefit from those programs that that enable us to keep our taxes where they are even though I understand that you're not happy about it And then last I do feel like I have to respond to the comment about fraud Mr. Rapp does our debt have anything to do with fraud? No, our debt does not it's not just State law, I can explain really quick. State law allows us to borrow 225% of the weighted average of our last three years of revenue. So the debt that's listed on

094the... on the budget is actually, it's actually not the right numbers. Those are not the final numbers. We just put a placeholder numbers in there until the final budget's ready. And it'll be at the end of this year, it'll be 239 million. And at the end of next year, it'll be 249 million. But beyond that, we are well below 225% of our last three years of revenue, which is, you know. much much higher than where we're at now, but obviously the administration is committed to maintaining a debt level that's as low as we can make it, but it is the it is the level that the level that we are at right now is completely legal. Yeah, of course. Can I also just add that there is no tax, no part of this tax increase

095is going to increase debt service. We have been Budgeting for debt service, the same amount that we budgeted this year and last year, we had planned for that when we had the opportunity to raise taxes to cover debt service, knowing the projects that we had in the future. So any increase in debt is not increasing the amount that taxpayers are paying at this point. There is no increase right now for debt in our budget. The amount of money that's going into our debt service fund to pay our debt is the same amount of money that went in last year and will be the same amount that's on the budget for next year. Thank you. That's helpful. I think you reminded me of one final point, and that is that this budget, while we vote on

096it tonight, really it is a compilation of other things that we've voted on in the past, right? Like we, this is just putting everything in one pile and saying, here it is. But the individual items, whether it's the Crespo Union or the Teachers Union or, you know, the debt amount or anything, you know, the stadium or renovations to buildings, those decisions have already been made. And what we're doing tonight is just following through on them. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Osaki. Any other board comments? So, Mr. Hidalgo? Sure. Thank you. Before I get started, I wanted to ask Mr. Amuso, please, to just keep me in line in the guardrails if I start talking about we're not in any negotiations right now, so hopefully any discussion I have about union contracts and collective bargaining is

097fair game at this point? Sure. Okay. You're fine. Perfect. Thank you. All right, where do I start? Because I've been talking about this for a long time. So I've had a lot of experience over the years with budgets and union contracts and trying to really determine where the problems are or why we always face these economic challenges. And again, we can't make widgets, so that's funny. We can only raise taxes. And I'm a very, very... Generous person, but not with other people's money. You know, that's something that just that I am so this is very difficult every time we have to Raise taxes, so I'm gonna try to lay some background for people haven't been listening to me But I I try to always say okay. I'm just gonna give an arbitrary number 2% say

098that's where we're gonna start That's where I want us to keep our tax increases and it's predictable and it's manageable. It's usually under inflation and that's where we start and it would have worked out really well. over the years, but I think we'd still be now looking at the same issues, maybe even worse because of that. So raising taxes does help for the future, but I think raising them when you need them and not just loosening the purse strings too early, when they're loose then you spend more. That's what it is across the board. So I'm gonna try to diagnose what I see, that I see as some financial stressors. that the school board, that we struggle with as a community, because we're all in this together. And I think I'll start with, I want

099to thank the public comments tonight. It was very constructive. And the one retired healthcare executive spoke about looking within, you know, versus being able to go out and sell more widgets. So we're kind of in the same position. And then... I say, well, 30% of our budget is probably discretionary, so to speak, where the other 70% is contractual. And then it's always been like this since I've been on the board because when I got on there was a union contract then and the same question was always posed, maybe stronger in years past, but basically you say, well, if you're not going to vote for the budget, then what are you going to cut? And I'm thinking to myself, well, that's not really a fair question because that question should be answered when we're negotiating contracts.

100That mainly is where we are going to save money. So we've just gotten through contracts, both professional and support staff. And I'll caveat that I've always been a proponent of support staff getting more money than they get. I don't think proportionate to the amount of work that they do compared to the professionals who earn every penny too. These are all caveats. Understand, I'm not bashing our professionals, but when it comes to an economic or fiscal discussion, we have to have an open discussion. Where we make the most impact is behind negotiating table collective bargaining which is all private and then we come out and We show what we did some people vote for it. Some people don't and what I've heard before is we were always proud of labor peace And labor peace comes at

101a big price. And that's, I'm talking 20 years. It's been, we've been so proud to not be like a shaman or somebody that had a strike or something like that. And I get it. I mean, there's something to having labor peace, but there's a price tag. And we've been doing very well. So I'm going to not try to jump ahead, but use the one word I kept. In discussions with people trying to think of this one word that was spoke under the first contract I was a part of, where I said I could vote no, but kumbaya, I'll do it because, you know, give out the olive branch. But in the acceptance discussion, public comment by a member of the union, I think the word was commensurate, which kind of means like, let me pull

102out my phone. It's basically parallel or let me just get it the right word Yeah, I can't even pronounce it correctly, but basically of the same size measurable or proportionate So basically that word and I could never remember it still can't say very well But it was basically our union contract was commensurate to the socio-economic of the community so that's Basically, if we're affluent and we can afford to pay a higher wage and so I think that that, in general, is a big deal. And not to get too far into the contracts, but when I talk about it, I would have been happy with the last contract to start teachers' salaries way over $60,000 or get there very quickly. Because if you want to hire new teachers, I want to pay them in the front.

103And what we have is... After 14, 13, 14 years, you become a career professional, and they earn every penny. I went up and knocked on the door one day. One of my union buddies from high school looked me right in the face and says, they should be paid $150,000 a year. At that time, that was like six or seven years ago, I say, I completely get it, but we can't sell more widgets. We've got to raise taxes to pay that. My point is is that once you get to the career rate? Once you get to the top of the scale I think that's where when we get to a decent very close to like the median household income Which I think is like a hundred and forty eight thousand dollars for this school district That's

104for the whole house. Not just for one income that once we start to approach that The increases when we increase that number at the top so I would say pay people bring them in maybe spread it out I don't think it's structured correctly, but my point is is that? that when you get to the top that we could negotiate better at Making less raises for people who are already making what a principal was making you know five or six years ago, so then We have to pay, the more we do that, that's more that goes into appeasers, so there's more money. Then we have to pay our principals and administrators more because we're all pushing up the scale. Which brings me back to what Mr. Secchi was talking about, where everybody's raising their taxes 5%,

1056%. And so that leads me back to where... When we would be looking at compensation packages everybody compares themselves to the neighbors And so we raised we were the highest paid for the longest time central boxes is pays really well I'm very concerned for school districts like Neshaminy and Pensbury that that say look at counts We need to get paid how much they do their tax base are different, but I think that they're going to have a really big problem, as you can see from the tax increases. So I think every time we raise our tax, when we give very good contracts, and 4% might not seem like a lot, but most people don't get a 4% every year increase. And I know that. Some do, but the bottom line is that that's where I

106feel like I'm saying all of this because the contract's locked for five years. So we start having this discussion and expose what I feel could be helpful is at the top levels, which is a whole other thing where we used to have a doctorate. You needed to have an MD, or I'm sorry, a PhD to get paid in the highest slot. And then the contract before I got in, it was like 2015. They got rid of the PhD, and then it was like a master's plus like 35 or 40 credits. And we went from having like three or four PhDs to I think, I don't know what the number is today, but it's four, 500. But it would have been a PhD back in the day with a lot of credits. And we've done things

107to make the credits a little bit, you know. More credible should I say then when we were just able to go online and do online credits So we've made we've made the fix but already until all these Professionals retire we're paying a big nut and we're going up. I think You know if it's eight nine percent But and it was supposed to be for two years, but still if it was just for one year, that's 2.5 percent tax equivalent Roughly in my head that we're paying just for the professionals or is that for all of them? I it's hard to keep track, but I'm saying commensurate and we pay because We're an affluent Community and our teachers deserve more than what they're getting now. Let me say that It's it's not that it's the hardest

108job in the world. So it's nothing bashing teachers It's about fiscals and that's why I think the support staff needs more now. That's number one number two is another commensurate, which I just found out now that that's what it is, prevailing wage. And I'm not anti-union. I'm just saying if you are a public entity in Pennsylvania and about 30 other states, there is a commensurate formula or something that basically, based on where you live, you're going to pay money. And I had a conversation with a former employee when we talked about construction costs. And I had the conversation like, wow, how much are we paying more because of this? Because I'm like, private companies don't pay this kind of money. It was about 25%. So at that time, we had two schools for about $100

109million. So there's about $25,000 that was legislated out of the taxpayers' money. Now, that's one way of looking at it. There's reasons why we have union laws, because they were taken advantage of for many years. And if you look at other states, like even just look at Virginia. I'm sorry. Yeah, maybe it's Virginia or some of these other states don't get paid very much. So that's two. And when you take inflation and prevailing wage. It compounds, and it costs us so much money, $18 million to fix this building. It's a beautiful building, and we need a place to be, so this is where we're at. And then the final part, and this is another big whammy, and this can be legislated. This is something we can all do, and that is the funding formulas changed

110for the state. And we are getting less money and there's more funding coming from the state substantially than from the federal government. So I think if there is some kind of lawsuit against the way things, the changes, I'd entertain the school district getting into this legal action because it's, again, we are an affluent school district. And we are getting less money because of that. So we're getting whammied from every angle. And as Mr. Tate said before, we are in really good shape financially to weather this storm. God bless you to weather this storm. But we have a lot on the horizon that we have to take care of. And I think... We are in a good position to handle it. But I say all this to say it's a protest vote to say, no, I

111didn't vote for the professional contract. I think we probably could have saved if we even just took, let's say, $1,500 off of the career rate people, off their increase. They're still getting a good increase to kind of give back. That would save us maybe. I don't know, half a million dollars or so. I'm just throwing numbers out there. But there's something to be said to give back. We're going to end up with memorandums of understanding if the economy goes. Because if we're increasing by 3%, 4%, 5% every year, Where we're making that money is in the EMT with the earned income tax and people are making a lot of money if there's a downturn in the economy and people and unemployment even takes up 2% we could see a Really bad Situation where we are

112looking at cutting things so I don't want to be doom and gloom. I think that sounds even cliche, but That is basically my reason to say no saying that we need to figure out first of all we need more money from the state than they're giving us they're taking it from us and giving it to other places it's crazy and that's my that's my speech i will be voting no thank you mr hidalgo any other comments I do have a comment that I need. I will make comment as well, but there is a Comment that is from a board member. Mr. Rickard who is not able to be with us this evening That she had asked me to read so it I will read that for her. I'm on her behalf. Good evening It is

113unfortunate that I cannot be there in person tonight for the meeting and vote I have a family commitment that has been planned for over a year, which is why I'm absent this evening I appreciate miss Khan for sharing my viewpoint Today, we are all feeling the impact of inflation in our daily lives. At the grocery store, at the gas station pump, and in our homes, inflation is around 4% and it affects our schools in the same exact way. The cost of supplies, services, staffing, and operations is rising across the board. I ran for the school board because I strongly believe in public education and doing everything we can to give the children in our community the best educational experience possible while also being conscientious of taxpayer dollars and responsible use of every... dollar the district

114receives. Part of that is making sure we approve a budget that provides the funds necessary to deliver the programs, services, and staff to provide a high-quality educational experience for all Council Rock students. The budget being voted on tonight with a proposed tax increase of 3.5% is already below the rate of inflation. That means even with this increase, we are effectively operating with fewer real dollars than we had before. At 3.5, we are already making concessions and will need to be extremely thoughtful, disciplined, and efficient in how we spend every dollar. I do not support balancing that gap by taking away resources and programs in the classroom that directly impact our students. Fiscal responsibility is a top priority for me, but that does not mean zero spending. avoiding any and all tax increases, or sacrificing the

115quality of our children's education. It means being intentional, investing in the areas that have the greatest impact, ensuring we are all as efficient and effective as possible, and aligning our budget decisions with our educational goals. Council Rock has a strong reputation as a high-performing district. Maintaining that level of excellence does not happen by chance. It requires continued investment. That reputation not only benefits our students, but it also strengthens our entire community by helping protect property values. Supporting this 3.5 increase is about protecting the core of what matters most, the learning experience and opportunities we provide to our students. And that was from Mrs. Sheryl Rickard. There are no other board comments. Do you want to go next, Mr. Tate? Okay. We could talk for hours about the budget and we have been for months and

116months and months There's there's a lot of moving parts in the budget. I think this is an excellent budget All things considered the cost factors that we're looking at and what we're doing in terms of impacting the classroom Something that we talked about a lot before tonight and nobody's brought up this evening That I want to raise which is we are adding 14.4 new positions in education we are adding For let's say three point four teachers. I know that sounds odd But we are adding three point four full-time teaching positions, and we are adding ten teacher aides Almost all of which are in special education and also a learning support teacher position. I'm proud of that. Adding 14.4 positions impacting the classroom is a real accomplishment. You probably get tired of my history lessons, but

117when I joined the board nine years ago, ten years ago now, we cut 41 positions. And that was... Atrocious it was embarrassing and we're doing the opposite today. We're adding positions that are going to serve our students the other Cost driver as mr.. Hidalgo talked about and others is our teachers contract and our support staff contracts We now have five-year agreements Which we've negotiated in the past year with both of those bargaining units and that'll allow us to do effective budget planning five years out The the number one expenditure in our budget is teaching our kids It's teachers, and I'm proud of that. We negotiated what, and we can't get into details tonight because there's so many, but a very fair contract with the Teachers Association. We had three board members, a bipartisan representation on

118the negotiating committee with the administration. And one of the big accomplishments of that five-year contract is to... significantly increase starting salaries for teachers because there is a growing teacher shortage. I know our teachers are well compensated, but it's a very, as Mr. Hidalgo talked about, it's a very challenging job. And there's a lot of people who are not willing to step up to the challenge, and we need to make it worth their while, and we've done so with the increases to starting teachers' salaries. I think... One of the things that Mr. Rapp just pointed out is significant, which is this budget does not increase our debt service. We have been, on a systematic basis, renovating all of our buildings. And we now have, and this is significant, every elementary school air-conditioned. You know, a neighboring

119school district a couple of weeks ago had to close eight elementary schools. because they're not air conditioned. We decided years ago that that was not something that's defensible. And as part of our renovation projects, we've air conditioned and renovated every one of our elementary schools. And we've done it without increasing our debt service. I know 3.5% is a significant property tax increase. Probably almost all of us in this room pay property taxes, so we all feel it. But as has been pointed out by Ms. Osecki, in Central Bucks, the property tax increase was, this year, 5.7%. Last year, in Central Bucks, it was 5.3%. We were at 2.96%, 2.93%. We have been very moderate in our tax increases, and I think what we're doing this year is reasonable. It's unavoidable. Costs have increased, and we're

120doing a good job of managing the budget. We have a far more rigorous budgeting process under Mr. Rapp that begins months earlier, and the board is involved every step of the way. truly interested in in how the budget works and I want to offer input on Finance committee meetings are the place to do it. We've been working on this budget for months, extended conversations in finance committee meetings, and this is just sort of the climax of the process. As Ms. Oseki pointed out, it's wrapping everything together. But I think this is a reasonable budget, and I'm certainly supporting it, and I appreciate the administration doing such an excellent job of helping the board. come to understand the budget and I'm sure that the majority of this board supports it so thank you. Thank you Mr.

121Tate. Any other board members? Mr. Green? Thank you Ms. Kahn. So we know that any tax increase is difficult. Because it affects real people in our community especially retires on retirees on fixed incomes and families who are managing the higher costs for groceries health care Homeowners who are already feeling financial increases and as board members I know we all take those concerns seriously at the same time I Believe we have a responsibility to protect the quality of the education That has made Council Rock one of the strongest school districts in our region Our children are our future and it's not just a cliche to say that the education they received today is going to shape whatever opportunities They have coming and the future strength of this community specifically I know Listening to the public and

122out in conversation when people hear about a school budget It's easy to assume that the money goes to new programs or more spending or unnecessary spending But the reality is that the vast majority of this budget to echo Mr.. Hidalgo, Mr.. Tate, Ms. Oseki, but the vast majority of this budget supports the essential services of Our students that our students depend on every day It pays for the teachers in the classroom. It pays for support staff, special education services, transportation, counseling, safety, and the benefits needed to attract and retain all of the teachers that we're talking about hiring, the new staff as well. None of us, none of us want to ask taxpayers to pay more. Before considering any increase, we have been scrutinizing, to Mr. Tate's point, All the spending you've been looking for

123efficiencies mr. Rapp's been looking for efficiencies to ensure that every dollar is being used responsibly and I believe that that responsibility comes to all of us with serving on this board But I also believe that balancing our budgets on the backs of our students is wrong and To look for the kind of gap that we're talking about now would require cutting teachers It would require increasing class sizes or reducing our support services for students. So I believe our goal as board members is to find that right balance. We've got to be respectful for our taxpayers and mindful. That we're facing these financial challenges at the same time We've got to ensure that today's students continue to receive the education that they're getting The services that they're getting Middletown Bucks Institute all the different with things

124that we saw today The different things that we offer the kids our future in this community depends on that So it's an investment in our future and in Council Rock and in our students So these aren't easy decisions, but they're important, and that's why I'm voting for the budget today. Thank you, Mr. Green. Okay, so I'm going to just kind of wrap, I guess, wrap some of this up. I know I won't really reiterate too much of many of the... Great comments from my board colleagues. I think every single one of us sitting here, this is one of the most difficult decisions that we have to make year after year. And as Mr. Tate pointed out, we've actually started the earliest this year than we have ever before. So it's been about six months that

125we've been looking at this budget from finance and all the way through. And speaking just briefly again about the teacher's contract that we approved last... of last school year and then for the support staff that we approved this year. You know, I've heard from many of you, the board colleagues talking about the majority of our budget being, you know, 70% spent on staff. So as Mr. Tate had stated, you know, this gives us four to five years of stability financially and the largest budget item in our annual budget. So we're able to plan in the future in a much more... thoughtful process. I know throughout the months, Dr. Sanko had come and stated that he went back multiple times to all of his departments and said, go back and look through every budget line item,

126requesting them to trim and make things as lean as possible. So I appreciate the administration for doing that. There is no access of money without taking away programs and teachers. I have to say this has been the most open, communicative, and transparent year of budget planning that I've ever seen. The sharing of information, the presentations, not only at our finance committees that have been so thorough, but also even at our last board meeting, you know, to educate the public in making this decision tonight. I constantly think about one of the discussions that we had at our board meeting, and it was used as a visual in my mind that, you know, thinking of Council Rock as this concentric circles where our students are at the center of it. And the administration has done an extremely

127diligent process of trying to avoid. Things that would affect our students at the center, you know and outside that center of the students We have our teachers and our staff then other items along the way so they started on the outside outermost concentric circle and Slowly tried to make their way in it way in to make this budget as efficient as possible So I appreciate that and that's what I constantly visualize at this point with a 3.5 all of my board colleagues have echoed that you know were Our costs have been over 4%. I believe it's about 4.6% to be accurate. Many school districts around us have put on hold major capital projects or going through with projects that they don't actually know how they're going to pay for. We've been continuously as a district

128over the past several years, not only been able to improve our facilities, we're also planning for the future. And that has to go in part to administration and working so diligently there. It's a difficult decision once again, but at this point, districts that are cutting staff, I know another nearby district cut 41 staff members full time. I'm so thankful we're not there. That this is the best that we can do with using our tax dollars in the most fiscally responsible manner So I will be supporting the budget tonight But at this time if there's no other board comments, we will I just wanted to one more. Sorry apologies as It miss Oseki and mr. Tate alluded to and I think even mr. Green, you know this budget is like our culminating event. So any programs,

129the math special services programs for next year, the audit for our special services, textbooks, all of these things in our budget are part of this budget. So a vote no to the budget is a vote no to supporting those items. I just wanted to state that. So Ms. Horner? Thank you. So a vote no, and I understand it is. bunch that goes into this budget. We are one of nine. We have every right to vote whatever way we wish. There are several items that I voted no and I will continue to vote no. I remind the public and the board back in September I had did a statement where I have been given information that I was not informed of of an agenda of items that were thrown down this district as Well as I

130did not choose the solicitor so I understand that But I'm here not for an agenda. I'm here for the kids all day every day and I will vote the way I want to the best for the students this district and not of a personal agenda or to put in choosing a solicitor And I asked my board members, have you been fiscally responsible? Every month I ask for solicitor bills. Every month. Even this month I questioned. And there was questions. Are you really fiscally responsible? I've been sitting on this board for two years, been attacked. I'm doing the best job I can for this school day in and day out for this district. That's my duty. And I have to be my fiduciary duty. Some of you should have thought about before you decided what you

131did before you came on this board. So I will be a no because there are the programs that I have been voting for no. And I voted for the teacher's contracts because absolutely they are. We have an excellent teacher and staff and administration. That's 70%. It's 30% fiscally responsible. I'll be voting no. All right, Mr. Roosevelt. Just really quickly, I agree. I think one member of us telling the other eight what a vote yes or no means is inappropriate. I object to that and I reject that particular comment. That's one of the elements of this board that's interesting. Not all votes need to be 9-0. Sometimes they're they're not earlier. We saw a 7-1 So that's okay, and I don't think it's appropriate for Members that vote yes to tell what members that vote know

132what that means That's that's not what this deliberation process is the members that vote no Indicate why they vote no and that's why they vote no and in some cases they indicate why they vote yes, and that's why they vote yes to have I think that that's wrong for me or for any one of us to indicate what it means for someone's yes vote or no vote. It's the second time that it's happened, and I support Ms. Horner and her comment bringing that up. A vote no does not mean that we don't support kids. It does not mean that we don't support the host of things that are in this budget. It just means that we would have done it differently. So I hope that that stops. We have an opportunity to tell the community

133and each other why we're voting yes and why we're voting no. And that should be the end of it. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Hidalgo. Yeah, it's funny because that little comment just stirred everybody up. But I wasn't going to say anything. But I do believe what that is, is like you can look at C-SPAN. And you see it every day. And one political party will say, and I think it really is one political party, but they'll say, if you don't vote for this, then you don't. It's like it's the most shallow thing. And I'm going to I'm going to scold you and tell you to stop doing that kind of stuff because you are the president and you want unity. I think we're doing a good job. We're getting over this. And that little

134comment to try to, like, maybe it's a political thing you would use in the fall, but I just know that people do attack board members. We've had, you want to go back to where it was. Like, you had signs desecrated, right? And we've had a board member that was the president had a mailer go out with, like, alphabet soup on his face. And he has children in his school district. Yet politics, that's politics. And school board is not supposed to be political. It really is not supposed to have a left and a right. And it really did come around really strong after the pandemic. But I remember when I was unanimously appointed to the board by both Democrats and Republicans, it was a comment by Jerry Grupp that you wouldn't even be able to tell

135who's a Democrat or who's a Republican on this board. We're here for the kids. That's not that kind of language further divides this board and and just brings up all the stuff that poor poor Miss Horner over there, you know got really beat up over the whole You know, she gets on the board and it's just a mess, you know, so I'm over it But I just hope that we just that's the last time we hear that on my tenure in the board. Thank you All right, I believe you're ready for a roll call vote Miss Khan yes Mr. Tate yes Mr. Hidalgo no Mr. Roosevelt No Miss Oseki yes Miss stone yes Miss Horner no Mr. Green yes motion carries five to three Thank You board secretary All right, we are moving on to

136public comment. This portion of public comment is for non-agenda items. I do not have anyone signed up at this particular time, but I didn't know if there was anyone in the audience that wished to speak at this time. Okay, there are none. Board comment, new business, old business. I just wanted to make a quick comment in terms of some consent agenda items earlier just to recognize. This is one of those consent agenda items that the board was able to come together on. And I appreciate the lively discussion and everything. But we, as one of the consent agenda items under personnel, I wanted to recognize Dr. Sankel for his annual review as our superintendent and receiving satisfactory reviews. It was unanimous across the entire board. I was able to speak with each board member. You are

137the hardest working person I know. Your nights and weekends. always putting Council Rock first and dedicating yourself to our students. So on behalf of the board, I want to thank you for your tireless efforts and hard work, and we're truly lucky to have you leading this district. And I would also like to say congratulations to our 2026 graduates. We know that you will all move on to do great things and represent Council Rock wherever the road may lead you. And also recognize and congratulate every other student that are moving up to the next grade level. In the fall, we're so proud of everything that you have accomplished. I would like to wish all of our students, families, and staff a fun, safe, and amazing summer filled with many memories. Thank you. Have a good one.

138Have a wonderful evening, and I would like to adjourn this meeting. Thank you