001All right. Good evening, everybody. We're going to call the regular board meeting of the Brainy Wine School District to order. It's 7:02 p.m. We're in the multi-purpose room at Mount Pleasant Elementary. Mr. Scrub, will you lead us in the pledge of allegiance? >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. >> The motion and second. All in favor? >> I. >> Motion carries. And that leads us to special recognition and district spotlights. Mr. Hourback is going to welcome us to his home. Thank you for having us. >> Hello. You guys hear me? >> Any minute now?
002>> You can hear me, but there we go. There it goes. Well, welcome Brain School District board. Welcome everybody in the audience. Thank you guys for coming. I'm not going to take up too much time. Um, I am the principal here at Mount Pleasant Elementary. Just finished my 10th year here at MPE, so I'm super excited about that. Uh, Mark Overly just passed the title of the longest lasting principal in one district. To me, there's apparently a belt somewhere that I will be getting at some point, but uh I'm not I'm not counting my breath. Um, but anyway, I'm just very excited to continue to serve the Brainwide School District as a leader here at Mount Pleasant Elementary School. Uh today is the last day for our teachers. Uh so we're excited. They're all very
003excited to head off into the summer. Uh so I'm also very excited to uh to kind of take a little bit of an exhale. Um as I'm sure all of you are and all of our colleagues here and people at home as well. So uh just again wanted to welcome you to Mount Pleasant, the home of the Dragons. I'm a very proud parent here in BSD. Uh if you don't know who I who I am, I do have two children in the district. Uh my two children did come through Mount Pleasant Elementary under my leadership, which is kind of fun. And then uh my daughter is going to be a rising senior at Mount Pleasant High School this year. So I'm very excited about that for her. Go Green Knights. And also my son will
004be a rising eighth grader at PS Dupont. So again, a very proud BSD parent and family member. Um and just a proud member of this community. So thank you for all that you do. Uh to to Dr. Lawson and to the rest of the board and to the audience. Thank you all for your support and uh welcome to NPE. Thank you. >> Thanks. All right, we're going to move over here for a second. So, um tonight we have the opportunity to recognize a board member who's in their last meeting with us. And I won't make you stand up here awkwardly yet. Well, wait a minute. Um, so I just had some words that I wanted to say. So, we're so thankful to Miss Kimberly Stock for her service to the Brandy White School District Board
005of Education. She served on this board since 2021 representing nominating District F, but her service to education and to our community began long before that, of course. She is a former Delaware Teacher of the Year and she's dedicated most of her life to helping students succeed and she brought that same passion and commitment to her work here as a board member. Over the last 5 years, she served the district not only as a board member, but also as a parent and an advocate for all students. She's brought thoughtful perspective to our discussions, asked important questions, and always approach the work with genuine desire to do what's best for children. One thing I think is important to acknowledge is that schoolboard service is often misunderstood. Most people see us for a few hours once a month
006sitting at this table, but they don't see the countless hours spent reading reports, attending committee meetings, answering emails, engaging with community members, visiting school buildings, and wrestling with difficult decisions. Board service requires a tremendous amount of time, dedication, and personal sacrifice. And Kim has certainly given all of that and more willingly over the last 5 years. On a personal note, I truly enjoyed the opportunity to work with you. Um, Kim, I'm grateful for the collaborative work we did together as a two-person committee developing Dr. Lawson's superintendent contract. That process required a great deal of thoughtful discussion, trust, and partnership. And I appreciate um your insight and the ability that we got to work together on that project to put the district in the best possible position for the future. Um, public education is stronger because
007of people who are willing to step forward and serve, I believe. And while tonight marks the end of your service with the BSD board, it certainly does not mark the end of the impact you've had on us all. The students, staff, and families of this district have benefited from your leadership for the past 5 years. On behalf of the board of education and the entire Brandy Wine School District community, thank you so much for your service to the district, your dedication, and the countless hours you've given. Please join me in thanking Miss Kimberly Stock for her years of service to BSD. Now you can come up now. Now you get to come up, Kim. Now you have to come up. >> I have to come up. >> You have a speech prepared. >> So we
008have flowers. Of course, this is a picture of the current board signed by district office personnel and all the other board members. and then a wonderful token to commemorate your time on the board. >> Thank you so much, Kim. >> Sure. >> I'll put this on your seat. >> I was gonna say, okay, great. Yeah, nothing like being put on the spot. I didn't realize I'd be saying anything. Um, obviously, uh, right, Jason's right. This is definitely at times a thankless job. Uh, it is a volunteer job. People often ask, "Oh, how much do you get paid?" The answer is nothing. Uh we we do get a nice meal um every every month though before our our board meetings which to be honest not every district does. So uh I do know that. So that's
009uh um but obviously it's it's a pleasure uh to serve. Um and of course you know I'm an educator, lifelong educator. Uh it's been a pleasure to work with other lifelong educators. I'm a parent. Uh, we love this district. Uh, we love, uh, Brandy 100. We love Delaware. Um, I'm in a current, uh, middle school assistant principal in Pennsylvania. And, um, I don't think my students, because we kind of move with our grade, um, I don't think that my seventh graders, now rising eighth graders, I don't think they realize that I am in Delaware. And uh my idea several years ago for our end of the year field trip for seventh graders, what do you do with seventh graders? Um they're very seventh grady. So um we uh so I recommended, well, why don't we
010go to Main Event? There's this great place in Delaware that our high school kids uh used to go to uh and they kind of liked it. So I bet middle school kids would too. So we're talking about main event and talking about expectations. I'm doing the administrator thing about, you know, representing us well and using our Panther pride and everything. And I said, because if you're going to be going to my state of Delaware, this is what I expect. And the kids just audibly what? You know, they had no idea that I that I that I live in Delaware. Anyways, uh because uh um interestingly enough, my husband and I, we work in Pennsylvania, but we still choose to live here. So great district uh made by great employees uh great parents and more importantly
011wonderful students. So thank you so much. >> Thank you Miss Doc. That takes us to Dr. Lawson and district news and updates. Good evening, board president Heler, Vice President Scrobot, members of the board, and our audience and community. Student outcomes data for this month dives into our annual fall to spring growth in reading and math with attendance implications interwoven throughout. We also examine newly established norms by our assessment vendor and WA MAP. This year, Brandy Wine's students in grades K through 10 made reading growth comparable to or greater than 47% of students in the national precoid comparison group. This falls just short of the 50th percentile, which tends to be our annual goal, three points below the norm and nine points lower than last year. This year, Brandy Wine students in grades K through 10
012made math growth comparable to or greater than that of 62% of students in the nation pre-COVID comparison group. This is 12 points above the norm, but a 9-point decrease from last year's impressive 71% growth. So, how does attendance relate to growth in reading and math? Attendance is strongly related to growth with tier one students, those who miss fewer than one week of school per year, showing the greatest growth gains. Right now, only 65% of BSD students taking the MAP test have tier 1 attendance, while 14% are considered tier three. That means they miss 20 or more days of school with chronic absenteeism. In reading, students with tier one attendance grew nine points more than students with tier three attendance. Math shows an even greater difference with tier one students making 22 more growth points than
013students who are in tier three and missing a greater number of days of school. So, how has growth changed nationally in reading and math since COVID? Nationally, math growth has increased since 2020, while national reading growth has decreased. Using the updated 2025 growth norms, Brandy Wine ranked in the 58th percentile in reading and in the 57th percentile in math, so better than half. Both growth percentiles significantly exceed the most recent national averages, which is why the district was recently recognized on the education scorecard as a district on the rise nationwide. Two education research centers, Harvard and Stanford, collaborate to examine academic growth among public school districts across the US, and BSD was recognized. On Sunday, May 31st, more than 730 students graduated from Brandywine High School, Conquered High School, and Mount Pleasant High School. As
014they begin the next chapter of their lives, we proudly welcome them as the newest members of the Brandy Wine School District alumni community. The class of 2026 also earned more than $41 million in scholarships, a testament to their hard work, dedication, and accomplishments. On June 5th, BSD's site program celebrated the achievements and growing independence of its graduating interns. site, which stands for skills for independence, transition, and employment, provides vocational training and work-based learning opportunities to students aged 18 to 22 with special needs who seek to remain with the district beyond high school to better prepare for a vocation, independent living, and necessary life skills for productive citizenship. Through in-house businesses and community internship placements, interns build valuable job skills, confidence, and independence, helping them prepare for life beyond school. Congratulations to the site class of
0152026. Congratulations are also in order to our 2026 27 Brandy Wine School District teacher of the year and educator support professional of the year. Please join us in celebrating Victoria Sorg of Conquered High School, named the 2627 Brandy Wine School District Teacher of the Year, and Heather Galloway of Claymont Elementary School, named the 2627 Brandy Wine School District Educational Support Professional of the Year. They exemplify a passion for teaching and commitment to their respective professions that make the Brandy Wine School District a place where students thrive. Through their work, they inspire excellence, foster meaningful relationships, and make a lasting impact on our school communities every day. We are proud to recognize their achievements and grateful for all they do for our students, families, and colleagues. And finally, our June monthly video. On August 29th, 2022,
016we walked into this building not realizing how fast our time in a high school would fly by. We're here today at graduation on May 31st, 2026. And it still feels like there's homework to be done or classes to attend tomorrow. Some of us discovered what we love. Some of us discovered what we don't. Some people found confidence. Some people are still searching for it. Some friendships lasted forever. And some taught us lessons instead. But every single person sitting here today changed. And even if it doesn't always feel like it, that matters. >> The truth is, no one becomes successful, confident, or even remotely functional without other people shaping them along the way. We are all the result of the people who pushed us, challenged us, annoyed us, forgave us, and kept showing up when we
017needed them. >> To our families, thank you for your constant support. There are not enough words to describe how grateful we are for the sacrifices you have made for us to get a good education. Your love and positivity has pushed us to be the best version of ourselves. To our teachers and staff, thank you for always believing in us, even when we refuse to put our phones down. And to the class of 2026, thank you for all the memories and friendships that we will miss most about these four years. Learning is not an individual thing. Learning is collaborative. I've learned so much from all of you both in and out of the classroom over the past four years. This class has shown each other wonderful support throughout these last four years. We cheer each other
018on. We show up. We work hard, set goals, and we finish strong. The road to real success can be messy, difficult, and will absolutely look different for each and every single one of us. But what's not different is that true success is built through perseverance, growth, and the courage to keep going when things do not go our way. But I'm here to remind you that failure is not this terrifying thing that needs to be avoided at all costs. It is not the end of the road, but instead a redirection. So, class of 2026, as you continue your journey into the future, I challenge you to fail. Take those chances and do the things that scare you the most. Do it knowing that you may very well fail, but the discomfort will take you farther than
019any immediate success ever will. It's easy to doubt the stability of the futures we've worked hard to protect, but there's no turning back now. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Our stories are just getting started. There are so many more scripts to write and we are going to have so many awesome episodes to future. Let's dance our way through these rolling. We certainly have earned the right to celebrate. And even though we may not know exactly where we're headed, I think we're ready for it. So, here's to the people we used to be, the people we are now, and the people we have yet to become. On behalf of the entire Brandy Wine community, I congratulate you, the class of 2026. >> Now that you have received your diplomas, you may
020move your tassels from right to left, >> symbolizing that you are a graduate. Congratulations again. Thank you as always, Mick and President Heler. That concludes my monthly report. Thank you. That brings us to public comment. Just as a reminder, um speakers are given two minutes to address the board. Um generally, it's not a two-way dialogue. Um but all the board members will receive your contact information to reach out to you with any follow-up questions. So, speaking of teachers of the year, our first speaker is the current Delaware State Teacher of the Year, Jenna Delitario. >> Good evening. My name is Jenna Delotario. I'm Tally Middle School's reading specialist and the 2026 State Teacher of the Year. Tonight, I'd like to highlight two opportunities for collaboration and problem solving. First, Tally Middle School is overcrowded. We
021are ending the year with 96 students while Springier has approximately 776 and PS has about 667. This impacts safety, daily operations, and the learning environment for both students and staff. Our school team continues to problem solve internally, but the challenge requires a broader response. I hope the board, district leadership, facility staff, and our community will work together toward a long-term solution. Second, I would like to encourage a conversation about middle school scheduling and its impact on students with the greatest learning needs. Students who receive reading and math intervention classes, learning support, and/or language development often have the least flexibility in their schedules. Too often they lose access to electives, related arts, and opportunities for creativity and movement. The students working hardest to meet academic expectations should not have the fewest opportunities to experience a well-rounded
022school day. At the same time, many sixth graders struggle with the transition to middle school. Moving from one or two teachers to seven classes, seven sets of expectations, and seven organizational systems can be overwhelming, particularly for students who are already cognitively overloaded. I hope the district will consider convening a middle school task force to explore scheduling models that better balance intervention, support, and student engagement. Thank you for your commitment to Brandy students and I welcome further conversations around tallies overcrowding, middle school scheduling and other important topics. >> Thank you. >> Next up is Bonnie Hayes. >> Good evening. My name is Bonnie Hayes and I'm the president of the Brandy Ryan School Nutrition Association. This is my first time standing before you all. And believe me, I don't like having to do this, but we
023are at the end of our rope. Our current two-year contract expires in 15 days. And rather than negotiating a new contract, your administrations are asking us to extend our current deal for one more year. First, they lowballed us with a 5- cent per hour increase. After we refused to put their insulting offer to vote, they proposed 10 cents. That's less than half of 25 cents increase we got the last time you they asked us to extend the contract. It's less than half of what Colonial Food Service workers just agreed to. And it's less than a third of what food service workers in Aquinamic got. 10 cents an hour works out to an extra three to seven dollars per paycheck. That doesn't even cover the increased cost of gas, work, never mind groceries, rent, or other
024high property tax increases we're all paying here in the district. That means they are essentially asking us to take a pay cut and at the same time they're telling us they plan to cut our hours and eliminate substitutes and when we receive late orders, we are not getting paid to stay and to take care of that. That might help in your bean counters, but here in the real world, that makes serving safe, healthy meals to more than 10,000 students every day virtually impossible. Most of us are either moms with children in the district or people like myself retired from other careers and are doing this because we care about our school and community. We are not just employees of the Brandy Wine School District. We are Brandy Wine parents. We are Brandy Wine taxpayers. And
025we are Brandy Wine voters. We deserve better than this. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Hayes. There are no virtual public commenters. That brings us to board business. Board member liaison reports. Mr. Acriman, Delaware School Board Association Executive Board. the executive board met the first week of June. Um, two items I want to bring to your attention. One is is that the factors that calculate district dues will not change in the coming year. Um, Brandy Wine's dues actually decreased in the current year because our unit count went down compared to other districts. So um we have two districts that are at the top rate right now and that's Red Clay and Christina um which is 1,200 units is basically the top number that we consider. So um if we do have a unit growth we
026will see a small increase but overall our dues are remain the same. The other thing is is that we did elect officers for the coming year. I'm going to continue as president. Uh we did have the other officers uh Dr. Hanwell from Cape Henlopen, uh Jessica from Caesar Rodney, and uh Adele from Sussex Tech are continuing. We are now also had Jonathan from Simrna will be our legislative chairperson and we are looking to be more proactive in the future with legislation. So I know we I heard that from you, Frank. So hopefully we'll be able to follow through on that. All right, that brings us to Mr. Lavoy, DSBA legislative. >> Thank you. The uh Delaware State Board of Education Legislative Committee met on the 27th of May. I was not there, but Mr. Akaman
027was gracious enough to stand in for me and be my voice. But here's what happened. The joy fi finance committee recently in in do restored $26 million give back um to the way it was in 2018 and I think that falls upon a welcoming years anybody who's looking at district finances. The joint finance committee also has set up continued funding for the public education funding commission as a permanent body and um the and the hybrid funding model that they have proposed. They also approved $100 million for fiscal year 2028 to implement that new model for um education funding. Uh one other highlight, the committee opposed the proposed bill to require union contractors for all school construction work. And just for the future, DSBA annual meeting on August the 28th will be from noon to 3
028in Milford, Delaware at the Surf and Turf. And our next legislative committee meeting won't be till October 7th at the Great Fox Grill in Dover at 6:15. If you have any questions about uh the school Delaware School Board Association's support uh or opposition to um current proposed legislation, please contact me or Mr. Acriman. Thank you. >> And I don't know if you had seen in the minutes, but we did change the position at the executive board meeting on Senate Bill 322. from opposed to neutral. >> Was that for Yes. Refresh my memory. 322 Senator Sakola's bill that spreads out the 10% over 5 years, 2% a year. Yes. >> Starting in in 2014. >> Thank you. I forgot to include that. Thank you, Mr. Acriman. >> Thank you. That brings us to District Finance Committee,
029Mr. Scruba. >> Uh yes, the district finance committee met this past June 10th. Uh we reviewed the May monthly financial report that Mr. McCoy will review later. Um we did touch on some of the joint finance committee budget decisions that Mr. Lavoy mentioned uh as well as uh the committee, you know, kind of making it a recurring point of their meeting to um make sure that uh the district's being transparent uh with forthcoming transparent and forthcoming with the public as we, you know, kind of see the referendum window uh closing in. um kind of looking at past practices of the community engagement that was involved um for the best outcome highlighting you know certainly our financial position that we cover here monthly but getting that out to the broader groups you know highlighting our student
030growth that Dr. Lawson, you know, talked about earlier as well as our programs and our opa operational needs. Um, you know, and kind of encouraging the district to district district to continue their position of standing before the public and being being accountable. Um, we also trying to read my notes here. Oh, there was some discussion just about and looking I think last month we talked about some of the high school uh not high school but the all of the building budgets and there was a recommendation uh to Mr. McCoy to you know kind of look to putting some protocols or processes in place um to at certain benchmarks uh to make sure that the schools are checking in or um himself or someone else at the district is checking in with the schools once the
031budget reachs a certain benchmark. Um there wasn't a decision on that benchmark or a recommendation, but you know maybe around that 75 80% mark uh making sure that there's a touch point uh with the uh building leaders to just you know get a gauge on where things are. And our next meeting is tentative for July 8th. I think the holiday week. We're making sure we have enough members. Uh so anyone interested to attend, just make sure you're checking uh the district website 10 days out. We'll have the date posted, but tenatively July 8th. Thank you. >> Thank you. Health and Wellness Advisory, that's me. We did meet on May 21st. It was a full full agenda. Um just a couple of highlights. Um we're continuing to work on the wellness policy update that um was
0325 to 10 years old. We're trying to update that to align with um current practices and what we're doing in the district currently. Um Dr. uh Rivera and Miss Lawson had reported that our um the majority of the current AEDs within the district have reached their end of life. Um so there's kind of a cycle approach to replacing them, but the first 35 devices that um had an end of life for this year were replaced and then there'll be other waves of that as more devices expire. Um we talked about athletic trainers and there's going to be a new portal called rank one that's going to manage um student physicals um that the trainers and um nurses will have access to. So it'll be a bit of a learning curve for families this year as
033they navigate the sports health physical process um because they're going to have to work through this new rank one platform as well. And then we talked a little bit about House Bill 394, which is a House bill that prohibits the sale of caffeinated beverages in school. Um, and there was some discussion about how to make sure that we implement that correctly within the school. And then there was a a discussion about what our 26 27 focuses are going to be. And we'll decide that at the next meeting. Um, the next meeting of the committee isn't until January 21st, 2027. And there was a lot in the minutes. So, um, Miss Harris is going to put the minutes into the Friday board packet for everybody if they want to read all the details. That brings us
034to, uh, Miss Stock, parent and citizens advisory. >> The parent citizen advisory committee did not meet and they will reconvene in the fall for the new school year. Great. >> Thank you. And sorry, Mr. Squarebot does have a report for maintenance advisory. >> Uh, yes. On June 2nd, the maintenance committee took a little road trip down to the new Pritchette Academy in Christina School District. Um, I think that was the old bank. Is it John here? Old Bankoft. Um, just to kind of, you know, discuss and get an idea of some new design elements that were used in the school. uh some of the new materials uh things that we may you know try to consider uh or you know based on what we saw take another path as we uh hopefully uh near the
035new Bush school. Uh next meeting for July is to be determined. >> Great. Thank you Mr. Lavoy 91.7 WH. >> Thank you. Uh the WNP advisory committee report uh WNPH's new station manager and CTE teacher is Benjamin Bean and he begins his role in Janu excuse me July 1st replacing the retiring Paul Wishrad. Mr. Ben Bean had been a social studies teacher at Mount Pleasant for several years um and had required had the required credentials pardon me to fill the role. He also has a strong interest in continuing WNPH's history of providing Mount Pleasant students hands-on experience in broadcast journalism and providing the larger Wilmington community with highquality student generated programming. Thanks again to Paul Wishingrad for all he has brought to the station, to our district, and to the entire BSD community. Best wishes
036for a well-earned relaxing retirement. The advisory committee meeting originally scheduled for July has been cancelled, but the next meeting will be held in November. The date and time will be announced later this summer. And remember, stay tuned to super 97.7 FM at home or in your car or by streaming wmp.net for a robust menu of student generated news stories and interviews, sports coverage, and a broad spectrum of musical favorites. Thank you. We're waiting for the Frank Lavoy show on Super 917. Uh Mr. Acriman policy review committee that I know has been very active. >> Policy review committee met uh last Thursday and um some of the fruits of that labor will be on tonight's agenda with the cell phone policy first read. uh you know we are required to have a policy of most of
037the you know where the rubber meets the road is going to be in the student code of conduct but the policy will set the aspirational tone for that student code of conduct. Uh it has all the required elements uh of compliance uh to be in line with state law and I I applaud the group for coming together and getting it done. >> Thank you. Um, Mr. Nm is not here tonight for the Wilmington Learning Collaborative, but uh, Dr. Bergos will actually be in person next month to present to the board and the community. That brings us to the district success plan, Mr. Jordan and Mr. Lavoy. >> I'll defer to Mr. Jordan. >> Thank Thank you, President Heler. Um, the district success plan committee met uh, June 11th uh, 5:30 to 7:30 here at Mount
038Pleasant Elementary. Um, we were fortunate to be joined by community members, uh, current and former staff, members of the current administration, as well as a student representative, uh, to go over a variety of data, including, um, some submissions. As you know, we had a um, a survey that was out there. We had 518 submissions on that survey uh, with lots of good data that we can use to actually help inform um, some of what we're doing in that work. And what we did uh we focused on two of our focus areas and and that the first one specifically was high impact instruction and student achievement. The second one was culture, climate and community. Our next meeting will be this Thursday uh June 18th right here 5:30 to 7:30. And uh we will I believe focus
039on the other two categories that we have here and that's staff recruitment, retention and teacher voice and number four operational excellence and fiscal stewardship. >> Great. Thank you. Are there any other board member reports? That'll bring us to the consent agenda. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> Move to approve the consent agenda. >> Mr. Acriman, is there a second? >> Second. >> Give it to Mr. Scarbot. All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed or abstensions? Motion carries. Brings us to personnel matters. Is there a motion to approve the personal matters discussed in executive session? >> So moved. Mr. Jordan, is there a second? >> Second. >> Mr. Lavoy. All in favor? >> I >> abstain. >> Roll call, please. Miss Harris. >> Mr. >> I. >> Abstain. >> Mr. >>
040Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the student matters as discussed in executive session? >> So moved, >> Mr. Acriman. >> Second. >> Mr. Jordan. >> All in favor? >> I any obstensions? >> Motion carries. I believe it was combined. >> All right, that'll bring us to old business, the student code of conduct final approval. >> Good evening. Good evening, President Heler, Superintendent Lawson, members of the board, guests in attendance, and those joining us virtually. The revised student code of conduct has been before the board since our April meeting. The revisions reflect the recommendations of the district code of conduct committee, which comprises a variety of stakeholder groups, as well as the review and guidance provided by the board's legal counsel, Mr. Stafford, particularly regarding
041updates to the search and seizure provisions. I am here tonight to request board approval of the 2026 2027 student code of conduct. >> Is there a motion? >> The superintendent's recommendation. >> Mr. Arian, is there a second? >> Second. >> Motion to second. All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed or abstensions? >> No. >> Roll call, please. Miss Harris. Mr. >> Yes. >> M. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> No. >> Thank you. And then um just for clarity, we're going to go back to an item because I don't think it was clear that personal matters were combined. So our vote was clearly on 7A. Um we'll take 7B as a separate item just for clarity. Is there a motion to approve the
042superintendent's recommendation on employee matter 26-019? >> Motion to approve. >> I would argue we approved it as part of the personnel report. >> I guess this vote is for additional clarity. I don't it wasn't clear to me. A was personal matters. B was employee matter 26019. Okay, >> there is a motion. Is there a second? >> Second. All in favor? >> I I >> Any oppose or abstensions? >> Abstain. I I'm I'm sorry. I I feel like there are two parts of A. I feel like there's some discrepancy versus I feel like there's two parts to A and I thought are we voting on both parts of A? I >> guess technically we've already voted. Um >> I I abstained. That's why I abstained. So I'll continue abstaining. Okay, I think I think we definitely
043voted on A. So, um, we need a roll call then for B. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Abstain. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. Jordan. >> Yes. >> Thank you. Okay, that'll bring us back to old business. 9B would be the 2627 superintendent goals. At our last workshop, we had discussed kind of the board's vision for the goals and there was a request for Dr. Lawson to come back to us taking all that feedback um with recommendations for what the 2627 goals would be. Would you like to say any words or shall we? >> All right. Um so they are in the uh board packet just super high level um three goals as we've had for the past couple of years. The first is focusing on on
044track attendance rates. The second is on improving the district's overall score on the DSSF framework and the third is continued um public reporting on student growth u proficiency levels uh student data in those categories um demonstration of mastery of standards and uh student voice information. Is there any discussion or a motion to approve the proposed goals as the 2627 superintendent goals? >> Move to accept. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Motion and a second. All in favor? >> I. >> Any oppose or abstensions? >> Motion carries. Thank you. Uh 10A is the proposed 2627 board of education meeting schedule. Is there a motion to accept the board meeting calendar? >> Mr. Lavoy, is there a second? >> Second, >> Mr. Scorbot. All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed or abstensions? Motion carries.
04510B is a vote on whether the board should consider hearing a complaint based on a written record or have invite the parties to appear in front of us. Is there a motion on 10B? >> I'd make a motion to um vote upon the written record. >> Second. There's a motion, a second to vote based on the written record. Is there any discussion? All in favor? >> I >> abstain. >> Roll call, please. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Miss >> abstain. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. Jordan. >> Opposed. Four, one opposed, one motion carries. >> Thank you. Um, Dr. Rivera 10 C is the first read of policy 6.16, student cell phone use. >> Good evening, members of the board of education and superintendent Lawson. Uh, I,
046uh, board member Ralph Ariman did a very nice job summarizing this. I uh appreciate that. I'll go in just a little bit more detail. If you can recall earlier this spring, the board reconstituted the policy review committee. The committee's charge has been to review state requirements and our current BSD policies and we are going to make recommendations to this board based on any considerations that we find. I do want to give a public thank you to the committee members. As Ralph said, this committee has been amazing uh since we started meeting each month since April. They've been extremely collaborative. They put in hours of homework to be very prepared when we've come to each of these meetings. And you can see it's a very representative group. So, our first consideration centers around Deler Senate Bill
047106, SB 106. This is a requirement that passed in March of this year that requires school districts to adopt a policy regarding student cell phone use during the school day. Part of the legislation required that the Department of Education provide model language and implementation guidance to the districts which we received after March. And the law also requires that the districts have this policy submitted and approved by the board before August 31st. So it's very fast timeline to get this done. The requirements in the bill as Ralph alluded to uh was one of our guiding factors here. It stated that we had to have clear expectations for student cell phone use, restrictions on instructional time, different grade level implementation considerations, appropriate consequences for violations, different exemptions, communication with students and families, and a consistent implementation across
048schools. The draft policy that the committee worked on over the past three months is in board docs. You can read it there. what the committee worked on was breaking down what the requirements are um in the legislation and wanted to make sure that we were compliant. Um but I want to note that we had uh additional guiding principles other than compliance which is obviously important. We also uh discussed what was best for students based on research and our own observations and experience as educators or parents and community members. And we also were concerned how do we create policy where the language was flexible enough to remain relevant as technology continues to evolve and new devices emerge in the coming years and decades. Uh I also want to note that um BSD was moving in this
049direction anyway before this legislation was enacted several years ago. We piloted cell phone pockets in our high schools and secured pouches in our middle schools. These pilots demonstrated positive academic and behavioral outcomes. Um, even this year, Mr. Paladinetti has been working closely with the secondary schools building leaders to support a consistent implementation of these ideas across schools next year. And at the elementary level, student cell phones have been off and away during the school day. It is uh important to note that the policy you have before you meet the requirements in Delaware Senate Bill 106. The committee's recommendation also recognizes that there are developmental differences among students. Elementary and middle school students will operate under a full day restriction model. In elementary students, devices will continue to remain off and away throughout the school day.
050In the middle school, student devices will remain inaccessible throughout the school day. High schools will operate under an instructional time restriction model. The committee felt that there was an important difference between an 11-year-old middle school student and an 18-year-old senior who may be balanced in employment, college coursework, family responsibilities, and other obligations. We also believed that part of our responsibility as educators is to help students develop appropriate technology use habits that will prepare them for college careers and adulthood. Finally, this policy established district expectations while allowing for flexibility for the student code of conduct committee or andor school leadership teams to implement additional restrictions on other electronic devices if they decide to do so. >> Are there any questions? And the uh the full draft of the policy will be in board docs on board
051docs on Friday for you to review and provide feedback to Dr. Aera and Mr. Acriman um for a vote at the July meeting. Are there any questions or comments? >> It should be up right now. >> It's right here. I'm looking >> refresh. It was up then it got down then was back back up again. It was a >> It's there. >> Little glitch. Sorry. >> Refreshing. >> It got knocked out when the presentation was uploaded earlier today, but it's there. Dr. Rivera, is there any consideration for um smart watches? >> Yes. So that was uh that was uh we had ample discussion last meeting about that >> and um that discussion led to the policy language was written in a way where we believe it does not prohibit and actually maybe even encourage uh
052schools and district to consider collectum if they choose to do so. Even the definition of cell phone which was given to us by the state in the legislation is just any kind of electronic device which a smartwatch would do. And we spel a sentence in there that um code of conduct and schoolbased restrictions would also apply under this policy. So if a school decided to put these in pouches, this policy would support that, but it doesn't require them to choose to do that. Any other questions or comments? >> And that that allowance doesn't um ruin the the call for consistency across schools that the state requires, right? >> That's correct because the consistency was around cell phones. Good question. >> Thank you. Kudos to the committee. Great policy. That brings us to Mr. McCoy and
053salary schedule structures for the non-union groups. >> Good evening, board president Heler, Vice President Scrobot, Superintendent Lawson, board members, and audience members. Uh, I'm here tonight to talk about three salary schedules that have changes to their structure. Uh, there should be an attachment on diligent that we may be able to display. So the first structure change is to the district office and operations staff. So that includes district office staff, transportation, nutrition and facilities positions. Uh the change that we made to this is that we added steps to reward our employees for years of service. So this is similar to 99% of the salary schedules that we have in the district uh where you are there are steps through the schedule. Uh so we added $750 as you move through the steps. Uh and that is
054the major change to this schedule. The next schedule uh if we can scroll down to the next option should be the chief's one schedule. So this was a a simple change. There are nine chief ones scattered throughout the schedule. Most are on the top line and that is line 16. So there are nine chiefs, seven of them are on line 16. So we added the longevity stipen to reward those who can no longer step to a higher step and see a larger increase. So the longevity stipen is $300 for steps 16 through 25. and steps 26 and above, you get the $300 plus another $150. Um, so that is uh we think a a nice offering to this group that are the unsung heroes of the district, especially after the winter we had and the
055hours that they had to put in to clear snow and and John could speak to the the hours that they work. The next one is a even simpler change. This is the It was originally the JOTC schedule. We added the constables to this schedule. Uh we did not know where else we should add the constables. So we we popped them on here so that we don't leave them out in future years and we added a flat 3% to their salaries. Um so all of these schedules that you see here have increases to get the groups at about an average 3% increase. And that's what you'll see on all of our non-collective bargaining agreement salary schedules. And because of the the amount of money that the state has put into teacher increases that flows through um
056our schedules, because we're on steps, we're on units that are tied to teacher pay. And because of that, the state pretty much picks up the entire portion of the increases that will be going to the non-collective bargaining agreement groups. And these went to the district finance committee at our June meeting and they were all approved by the district finance committee. >> Any questions or comments? >> Move to accept the recommendation. >> There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. >> All right. Any other comments? All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed or obsessions? >> Motion carries. It stays with you for the monthly financial report. >> All right. So, the story of the May 31st, 2026 financial report is that our only measurable revenues for the month are real estate taxes and interest income,
057while our expenditures took a larger than expected jump during the month. On page one, the largest increase occurred in line one and line two. Current expense tax receipts are currently $427,000 above what we had budgeted. Um, additionally, in June, we expect to receive $900,000 for the second portion of the senior property tax credit from the state. Uh on the flip side, earlier today, the county sent us our monthly email about the um real estate taxes that we can expect to receive for the month, and it appears that the large commercial rulings have caught up to us, and we will actually owe Newcastle County $100,000 in return tax revenues. It's the first time I have seen that. And I think we're the first district in Newcastle County to have to return real estate tax funds. >>
058And Mr. real quick that was based on appeal resolutions or >> Yes. So, I asked them for the detail behind the numbers. I don't know what parcel specifically this pertains to, but um I assume one of the larger appeals that we spoke about last month asked for their taxes to be refunded rather than asking for a credit on next year's tax bill. So unlike regular, we actually have to send them money back as opposed to stretching that out over a period of time or >> that I so I'm not sure how it will actually play out because it's never >> them sending us less at the next distribution. I guess we >> well our our whole distribution for the month would be us sending them back I think it was like $97,000 >> and so
059that was a result of a bill that was presented by Kim Williams that if we they were owed they could ask for the refund as opposed to crediting it the next year. >> Yep. Yeah. So, our residential collections were in the $200,000 range, but our commercial side of things had a refund of in the $300,000s and they net to $97,000 back to, I would assume, Newcastle County. More to come on that. I'm still learning what that means. Um, our interest income on line two has reached and surpassed our budgeted amount. Um, unfortunately, if you do look at uh the interest received this year compared to last year, we're a million dollars less than what we re received last year, and that's because of our delayed tax receipts. Um, scrolling down, our total state and local
060operating revenues are at 99.5% of budgeted compared to 97.6% of budgeted for the pri prior fiscal year. The remainder of our revenues aside from collection of taxes in other tax categories remains relatively unchanged from the previous month. Um if there's no questions on revenues, I'm just going to keep it moving to the expenditure. >> Mr. McCoy, if you could just mention the line number each time you jump for >> sure follow along. >> Yep. >> So moving on to expenditures on page three. Um, keep on going. All right. Line two, local salaries, is trending higher than last year at this time. And this is due to an internal process where we moved 1.9 million in tuition tax salaries from the tuition tax operating unit into line 2's operating unit. Uh the the purpose of this
061move is to match the expense where the funds are budgeted and we made the same move last year. However, we did not make the move until June. So our numbers are a month behind when you compare it to the prior year. So our number this year looks inflated compared to last year's. Line 12, special education. Uh, it shows as being overspent by 617,000. So, we dug into the details of line 12. There's 1.64 million encumbered this year compared to uh $359,000 that was encumbered at the same time last year. Uh, so that seems like a lot to ride out one more month of the school year. So, we kind of looked deeper into it and we realized that some of the purchase orders that were out there cover months after fiscal year end. So, we
062chopped that amount off of the the purchase orders. Uh so, the over budget has in June, you'll see it's been reduced from 617,000 to as of today it's at 192,000 over budget. And then as as we go into next year, we'll add the amounts back to the PO. Um, but having the July and August amounts on the PO before year end um does not give us an accurate picture of what our numbers look like as of June 30th. Uh, looking at the totals at the bottom, our operating funds are at 92.78 obligated compared to 94.66 for the same time last year. So overall, even with that blip, we are still doing pretty well. Page four has more of the same over budgets in regards to special education. Uh the tuition tax line, line 29, is
063substantially overspent. U we talked about this in more detail last month and I've mentioned in prior meetings that um speced costs have become a significant significant challenge to our budget. Um however they are costs that we we need to cover as it is uh in the b best interest of our students in our district. Uh so I believe we're facing the same issue here as we were with the speced line on the previous page where there's a little too much encumbered. So, we're going to dig through what's encumbered, uh, the $2.7 million, and see if we can knock some of that down, um, to get a a truer picture of what our budget ending balance looks like at June 30th. >> Mr. McCoy, like what would be an example of a purchase order that's encumbered
064now, but wouldn't be until next fiscal year that >> we could make the adjustment on? Uh, a lot of the contractor contracts go until August 31st. August 31st. So, when the purchase order was put in for those contractors, it was put in at an amount that would cover it all the way through August 31st >> because of summer school. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Um, Mr. McCoy, that the increased uh cost of for special education, uh, could you comment on or Dr. Dr. Logic could comment on is that because of an increase of special ed students and special needs students uh into our district or are we attracting more students with higher needs? Uh yes, there has been um a substantial increase in the number of students with special needs in our district. Um
065and not only that, but the level of the needs of those students is higher than we've seen in years past. So we have um I think it was about a hundred more complex students than we had two years ago. And the complex the students who are in the complex category are some of the highest need students. >> Yes, they more than doubled. >> Y >> not just with personnel. >> Correct. The number of students more than doubled. >> Right. Thank you. Uh, so there's also an over budget on line 32. That was another purchase order that was put in for the summer. So we um bumped it down to an amount that will cover us through June 30th. So that over budget will go away on on the next month's board report. Uh, moving on
066to page five, the individual school budgets. It appears the buildings realized that they were uh a little slow on their spending and they ramped it up in May. Uh they went from 66.51% obligated last month to 81.01% obligated this month. So we're still below the 84.15. Um and as a whole we are looking pretty good. I do expect there to be uh at least one over budget next month. Um, so that is why the DFC made it a point that once a building gets to 80%, we need to start having conversations about their budget and what they intend to do with it for the remainder of the school year. On page six, we've cleared out any prior year incumbrances tied to local funds. So all that remains on this report are prior year incumbrances related
067to state and federal fundings. So some of the buildings have money left. That's vocational money from fiscal year 25 that we have not found a use for at this point. Moving on to page seven. This is where we see the impact of revenues being stagnant and our expenditures being higher than we anticipated. Uh so the cash flow ending and projected balance has dropped to $8.893 million. Um, and with the news today that we owe tax receipts back to Newcastle County, I would expect the projected balance to fall closer to our benchmark target of 8.85 million. In May, spending was 500,000 more than projected, thanks in large part to uh, special education was working on some invoices that were wrong, so they were working with the vendor to get them revised, and those all made their
068way to get paid in the month of May. Um, additionally, you saw on the previous uh pages that the building spending had ramped up. So, that also helped with the um higher thanex expected spending. So, overall, I was hopeful that mid-year additions to our tax base would help Brandon School District surpass the benchmark of 8.85 million. Unfortunately, expenditures necessary to meet the needs of our students and staff have not allowed that to happen and will likely end up very close to our benchmark amount of $ 8.85 million. >> What What is the value of the ending of the give back? So, how much does Brandy Wine stand to gain next year in state funds? So, Brandy Wine, um, last year we had to give back $1.9 million to the state. Um, so what that was
069is we were able to pick specific state funding streams and and give them back to the state. Uh, the state required the districts to give back in total $26 million and our piece of the pie was $1.9 million. So, we gave back a combination of some um division one units, teacher units, um an admin assistant, an assistant principal. There was votech money, um professional development money, and driver's ed money. So, those categories outside of the units, they're all state categories that have a lot of hoops that you have to jump through in order to spend them. So, we gave them back as part of the give back. We'll now have those and we'll have to spend them for their designated purpose. The large chunk is the division one units. So, we'll now be be able
070to put teachers in those units. For example, we could pull a teacher out of a related service unit and we can cash in an unused related service unit. So by putting teachers in the units that we don't have to give back, we can cash back units elsewhere and recoup some money from cashing back those units. So we give back 1.9, we're not getting 1.9 of free money to use as we want back. We still have to use it strategically, but it will help the district's budget and it will help offset some of the costs that we've seen. So if we cash in related service units, we can then use it for special education contractors. So the um May 31st, 2026 monthly financial report was approved by the district finance committee at our June 10th meeting.
071If there's any other questions, >> motion to accept the finance report. Okay, there's a motion. Is there a second? >> Second. Motion to second. Any other discussion? All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed or abstensions? Motion carries. General information. Our next board meeting is July 13th right here and then August 17th and September 28th. Before we adjourn, Mock, thank you again so much. >> Enjoy your board retirement. >> Is there a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. Second. >> Second. All in favor? >> I. >> Motion carries. Have a great night, everybody.