001All right, good evening everyone. We're going to uh call the regular meeting of the Brandy Wine School District Board of Education to order. It's 7:03. We are in the Carcraftoft Elementary School cafeteria. And can I ask Mr. Mr. Scrobot to lead us in the pledge of >> 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. I'll preface the meeting that this is our first meeting using a new meeting management system. So hopefully it goes smooth, but if not, it's the first time we're uh all learning this together. Uh is there a motion to approve the agenda? >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> All in favor? >>
002I. >> Motion carries. I'd like to ask the principal of Carcraftoft, Mr. Overly, to come up and welcome us to his great cafeteria. Good evening and welcome. I'm Mark O. I'm the principal here at Carraftoft. This is my 12th year as principal, 24th in the Brandy Wine School District. So super proud for uh you guys to be here this evening. So I always say like when I give tours to new uh prospective parents, I always say how wonderful Carraftoft is and I always say I'm pretty biased obviously because I'm the principal here, but I've had all three of my kids go here. Um, I have one that's still in fourth grade, one at Tally, and then one at uh, Conquered. And I also wanted to say that he does play baseball, and we're super excited
003that Coach Hamburger's here, uh, being recognized this evening. Um, so again, he has such a wonderful experience. All three of my kids have gone through here, and like I said, I'm always so proud of the academics, but what I'm most proud of is the positive climate and culture that our teachers and our staff work at every single day here. Um, and I know that I see one of our former Carcraftoft kids here, Molly Andrews. So, welcome back. Um, and welcome to um, Caroft. Um, and welcome and have a great board meeting. Thank you. >> That brings us to our high school reporters. We're going to start with Mount Pleasant High School. Kamani and Stephen or just Hi, it's just me tonight. Hello, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Steven Rice. I'm the vice president of
004the student council at Mount Pleasant. I'm so excited to be with you here today. I know it has been a while since our last meeting, so I'm so glad we can all be back together to show the amazing things going on in the Brandy Wine School District. The first thing I would like to mention is our sixth annual Greek nightstep showcase that was run by our BSU to help create a fun night of culture and representation. The festival had upwards of 700 people in attendance. And let's just say I think all of them thought it was a blast. Next thing I would like to mention is our Delaware's Educators Rising State Conference where they had two gold medal placements. Along with this, I would love to shout out our DECA program and their gold medal
005as winners. Do you feel the warmer weather starting to show? So that means our spring sports are back in session and I would love to congratulate our spring sports on a wonderful start to the season. I wish the best of luck to them. So go Green Knights and I actually just witnessed a girls lacrosse win like not even an hour ago. So congratulations to them. Uh next up I would like to talk about inclusion day. And I think I speak for the entire Mount Pleasant community when I say inclusion is not just something we take lightly lightly. We as a student body know that we are stronger together than we are divided. to showing our understanding of others no matter what disabilities or one might have because at the end of the day we are
006all humans and together is where communities and families like the one we have at Mount are made and as always our music department has been in full swing as we come closer and closer to the end of the year. I would love to congratulate the members of the Mount Pleasant choir that had made it into all state choir and the members that made it into all eastern choir. And I hope all the concerts went well and amazing. And a shout out to me to to the members of all state band and all state orchestra on their performances along with our music and our music department. Our drama department has been hard at work. We just finished our production of Mamame Mia where we were glad to welcome students from Tally Middle School. They all put
007in hard work together along with us to create an amazing show and I think it paid off as we sold over 1,000 tickets. But that may have been helped by our news appearance on channel 6 news. So big thank you to them for the opportunity. Next thing up is our Entra X entrepreneurship program went to the University of Delaware to present and what an amazing job they did showing Mount Spirit outside the walls of Mount Pleasant. So a big shout out to them. And finally, I would like to send out a massive shout out to Mr. Sha Aino for being named teacher of the year. We truly appreciate all that you do for our schools and our community. So, that concludes our session session and I hope you have a wonderful evening and as always,
008we are Mount. Any questions from the board? >> See, were you um were you in Mamame Mia? Did I >> I was in Mamame Mia. >> I I didn't get to go, but I heard from so many people over the weekend about how amazing it was. So, congratulations. >> Thank you. I really appreciate that. >> Anyone else comments, questions? >> You also have between this meeting and the last board meeting there was like another uh like uh performances one >> um one acts uh we talked about I they ended right before the last meeting >> okay that must have been one >> um but those also went amazing as well so I really appreciate that >> I I had some questions for you Stephen um a few months ago we asked what you were going
009to do after high school and it was kind of to be determined I didn't know if you had an update for the board is still to be determined. I am I am waiting to hear back from University of Maryland and I have an audition at Talson literally this weekend. So, >> well, good luck for that with that. >> Thank you for your time. >> Thanks. >> Thank you. >> That brings us to Brandon High School. I think I only see Logan. Yes. Hello. Sadly, Julian couldn't make it today, but I'm Logan Scott and I am Brandy Wine High School student council president and I'm super excited to share some amazing things that have been happening at Brandy Wine recently. For clarification sake, some events that have happened more recently in March will not be addressed
010in this meeting. They will be addressed in the next meeting. At the end of February, our amazing drama department put on their performance of Matilda. Coming up soon for our D drama department is their one act sketch comedy show. Be on the lookout for more information regarding that soon. Additionally, our music department has sent several of our choir students to All State and I would like to congratulate those students. While it is still very early in the spring sports season, I am excited to share that several of our teams, including boys lacrosse, girls soccer, baseball, boys tennis, and boys volleyball, have started off their seasons with winning records. Our winter sports teams finished the year with some amazing accomplishments of their own. Four of our swim of our swimmers managed to break two school relay
011records. Congratulations to Jackson, Colin, Henry, and Will. Additionally, our competition cheer team took home first place in their category. Recently, our school came together to celebrate spread the word day, celebrating inclusion and kindness. In addition, we celebrated our BSU spirit week and national school breakfast week. Our college and career center has hosted many incredible OP talks, giving students an opportunity to interact with those across many careers. Also, we would like to congratulate Cole Barnac for becoming a National Merit Scholarship Award recipient. That is all that I have. Go dogs. Any questions from the board? >> I know you were in Matilda because I was there. So, I also want to say what a great show uh >> that was. I really enjoyed it. Um, >> thank you. There there were some very funny parts. I
012really enjoyed the show. Any questions or comments from any of you? I >> I had a question, Logan. Um and I meant to ask Stephen this as well. Do you guys have any activities planned for Earth Day? >> For Earth Day? >> Yeah. >> I believe that one of our chemistry teachers se tends to celebrate Earth Day. We usually do a competition. Students will make teachers like shirts that have Earth Day messages on them. And I believe that they have some form of voting for that, but otherwise there isn't that many that I've heard of. Although we recently have I believe this is the first year where Branduine has had AP environmental science as a class. So I will have to ask our teachers for that if they have anything planned for Earth Day because
013that would be really cool if they did. Yeah, I had gotten a question from a community member about uh I think it's April 22nd is plastic free lunch day and then um there is a really really free market at Belleview Community Center April 11th. It's kind of like a pass along >> uh old items for new items, that sort of thing. And um they wanted to make sure that the high school kids knew about that too. So that's all. >> Thank you. That brings us to conquered Michaela and Molly. Good evening everyone. I am President Michaela Michaelelsson and I'm Vice President Molly Andrews of the Conquered High School Student Council and we're excited to bring you up to speed on the amazing things that happened at Conquered over the past month. So to begin this
014month, we'd like to first give a special shout out to Joseph Zahib, a junior at Conquered High School who has been honored with the 2026 Congressional Gold Medal Award. This is the US Congress's highest honor for youth. So an outstanding job, Joseph. Additionally, Conquer continues to prepare upperassmen for independence through education and important life skills. School nurse Mrs. Weaver recently held a health literacy seminar, helping our students gain a clear, accurate health information while learning how to advocate for themselves and navigate their healthcare needs independently. Thank you, Nurse Weaver. In the in the arts world, conquered students studying French, Italian, and Spanish recently visited the Metropolitan Museum. where they studied jokes in a lot of different languages, right? That's why it's so funny >> in New York City enjoying a cultural experience as they explored
015art and history from around the world. Conquered art students Kayla St. John, Satie Hall, and Rachel Q were recognized with honorable mention awards in the Delaware Regional Solastic Art and Writing Awards, the nation's longest running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens. The music department also had eight choir students participate in the Delaware All State Chorus Festival alongside state's top corral musicians. Congratulations to them on an excellent concert. Additionally, the music department recently presented a wonderful performance of the spring musical Be More Chill. It was a huge hit. We've been making a lot of his Oh, I'm sorry. Could you switch the next slide? I'm sorry. Thank you. We've been making a lot of history at Conquered over the last month. The Delaware Law Related Education Center named Conquered the most improved team. Just
016three years after finishing in last place, Conquered High School's mock trial team placed sixth in the state with an and was also named the number one public school in the competition. Along the way, the team secured impressive victories over last year's runner-up Wilmington Friends School and this year's runner-up Padawa Academy. Continuing with the theme of law and engagement at conquered, Miss McKelie took our students to the Wilmington University Law School of Law where they watched oral arguments in the criminal appeal before before the Delaware Supreme Court. It was a wonderful experience for the conquered students. The historical moments don't didn't stop there. Our girls basketball team advanced to the Elite 8 in the DIAA state tournament which highlighted a major victory upset over number five St. Georgia, which placed them in the quarterfinals. An accomplishment
017like this has not been done in over the la over the last 15 years at conquered. Continuing with the basketball excitement, our boys team also made history with their first state tournament appearance in 10 years. Our students showed up and showed out for the game. The gym was completely sold out days before tip off. We are incredibly proud of all of our student and student athletes and we look forward to continuing to share even more exciting updates as our spring sports get underway. Before we end, we'd like to shout out our Raiders who are continuing their academics at a university level. Congrats to our very own Michaela Michaelelsson on her commitment to the University of Virginia along with Lily Belair in her commitment on the University of South Florida. Paige Bennett and Kira Pile on
018their way to South Car Coastal Carolina University. Tory Romeo to Florida Atlantic University, Mave Tiny on the University of Utah, Shawn Dockerty, Jason Shift, Evan Jones, and Steph Coer, and many other students on their commitment to the University of Delaware. We cannot wait to see what our students do and continue to show the Raider way at a collegiate level. Thank you. >> Thank you. I enjoyed following the um basketball uh drama and success over the past couple weeks. Thank you. Any questions or comments from the board? >> I I had some. Okay. So, we have one update to University of Virginia. Any other updates? >> Um I'm going to the University of Delaware for nursing. >> All right. Fantastic. That's all I had. Thanks. >> Thank you. Yep. You got to get down here. >>
019We're gonna invite Dr. O'Hamlin to discuss the Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame. Good evening everybody. Uh members of the board, members of the community. Tonight we are going to uh honor and recognize Conquer High School teacher and basketball coach Tim Hamburger for an extraordinary career in Delaware baseball and for his recent selection into the Delaware Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Tim is has distinguished himself as an elite baseball player long before he became one of the most respected coaches in our state. As a student athlete at St. Marks, he was a standout infielder and earned first team all-state honors as a shortstop. And he also played a key role in the 1994 St. Marks State Championship team win. He continued his career at Wilmington University during that program's NIA era where he became a
020four-year starter under coach Matt Brainer. During his collegiate career, Tim served as team captain all all region honors and was recognized nationally as an honorable mention all-American outfielder outfielder, an honor that reflects his exceptional consistency and performance at the highest level. Those experience as an all-state player and all-American calendar athlete athlete helped shape the foundation for his future success as a coach, as a teacher, and as a mentor. Tim began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Pensville High School in New Jersey before returning to Delaware to serve as an assistant coach at the University of Delaware and later at Brandon High School. In these roles, he quickly developed a reputation as a thoughtful teacher of the game and a strong communicator. And he he later served as head coach at Sanford School before
021taking over the conquered high school baseball program in 2007. Over the past 19 years, Coach Hamburg has built one of the most consistent and competitive high school uh baseball programs in Delaware. He's also been recognized as state of Delaware coach of the year twice in 2012 and 2019 and is currently the only active head coach to have received that honor multiple times. He's also believed to be one of the only individ individuals in Delaware baseball history to earn first team all-state honors as a player and later received state level coach of the year recognition as both an assistant coach and as a head coach. But beyond wins and championships, Coach Hamburg's programs are defined by how the game is played. Under his leadership, Conquered Baseball has received the Rocky Salvatore Sportsmanship Award five different times,
0222009, 2012, 13, 17, and 19. And during that span, no other program in the state has won that award more than twice. The la that level of recognition speaks to the caliber of coach Amber has built one grounded in sportsmanship, accountability, and character. Many former conquered players have returned after competing completing their college careers to serve as assistant coaches in the program which is a powerful testament to the lasting impact that coach Hamburger has had on the young men he has coached. Coach Hamburger's influence extends beyond well beyond conquered high school. He is a longtime member of the Delaware Baseball Coaches Associate Executive Board, a strong advocate for improving high school Baseball across the state, and a trusted mentor to many young younger coaches who seek his guidance on leadership, program development, and player growth.
023For nearly two decades, Tim Hamburg has repres represented Conquer High School and the Brandy Wine School District with integrity, dedication, and excellence. So, please join me in inviting Tim up here and please join me in congratulating him and head baseball coach Tim Hamburg on his induction to the Delaware Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. When's the induction ceremony? >> Um, June 17th. It's a Wednesday night. Um, the Blue Rocks, I think their games at 6:30. The induction is June 17th at 6 before that game. And then the hope is to hang out afterwards and have some lemonade and pizza. So, One more. >> Congratulations. >> And what we're staying with >> Dr. O'Hanlin. >> I'm back again >> to uh to congratulate our Delaware Teachers Institute fellows. >> I'll be here all evening. Right. I'd
024like to welcome Dr. Barbara Frillman, the director of the Delaware Teachers Institute. She is here this evening to recognize Brandwood School District teachers who successfully completed the 2025 cycle of the Delaware Teachers Institute. The DTI program engages educators in intensive professional learning seminars and requires participants to complete extensive research and writing focused on strengthening classroom instruction. Upon completion of the program, each fellow receives a certificate of completion from the Delaware Teachers Institute. So, if you could welcome Dr. Barbara Filament. I just have a couple things. Thank you so much to everyone here. Um I'm here this evening to thank the school district, Brandy Wine School District, the administration as well as the board and the teachers in your district. I am a resident in your district. Um but I do teach at Red Clay. Right.
025So um I know I'm like but I see a lot of friendly faces that I've known over the years. Right. It's one small state. That is what I always remember. Um, so I'm here to also just let you know a little bit about DTI, which it is an educational participation, a partnership between the University of Delaware, five Newcastle County school districts, and Yale University, which that's where the model began and was refined. So we are still affiliated with them. Uh and the mission is like Dr. O'Hanland said to provide current contentbased knowledge for public school teachers kindergarten through 12th grade. And that's really important because a lot of our professional development is geared towards pedigogy and um learning new types of strategies. So this also lets us keep up with things that have changed over
026time. um it happens through seminars that are led by University of Delaware faculty in which there's a collegial relationship. No grades are exchanged but there is a um there's a relationship that is built as teachers uh which are known as fellows end up getting them to research and to write curriculum which from my point of view is extremely important. This organization allows for teachers to become leaders but remain in the classroom. Um, we do know from research that teachers are um there's a a higher retention level for teachers that have participated in this program to remain in the classroom. They are able to be curriculum leaders. They are able to mentor their colleagues as they come into the program and they're also able to serve in leadership positions. three of your uh teachers are doing
027that now. Stacyanne, Josepha, and Alyssa have all um come into the program and serve as part of the leadership committee which makes all the decisions for the institute. The teachers determine with professors what seminars are offered and it's all geared towards the unique needs of their specific students, which that's the bottom line. This program offers teachers the opportunity to remain in the classroom and do good by the people that they serve each day, which are their students. So tonight we'd like to recognize we're a little we've had a little bit of a transition at the uh university level. So you'll probably see us in late spring again, but we are here to recognize those teachers that have finished the program at the beginning or the end of last year at this point in time. So
028we have Tara Brady. We have Michelle Brinmer. Michelle, we'll get that to her. Don't worry. It also allows for teachers to collect certification hours as as well since they're putting in so much time. Joseph Castelli, Alyssa Lupamo, Rashida Washington. Thank you. Great. I think they're going to take your photo as well. Well, and I want to once again thank everyone here for the participation in the institute and also the support that you've shown. We really appreciate it. >> Oh, sorry. Congratulations everyone and thank you for putting in the time to do this. >> All right. And that brings us to Dr. Lawson with the superintendence report. Good evening, board president Heler, Vice President Scrobot, members of the board, and members of our audience and community. Digging deeper this month into our student outcomes data tonight,
029we draw strong correlations between regular school attendance and proficiency rates when we examine a cohort of Brandy Wine students. Last year's third grade students who took Smarter Balance in spring of 2025 were the first cohort of students to return to school full-time in person after schools closed due to the CO 19 pandemic. As you can see on the screen, their kindergarten attendance rates were disproportionately low compared to years prior. This is school year 21 and looking at the 78% for kindergarten attendance. In fact, they were the lowest we've ever experienced. They missed more days in kindergarten than they did in third grade just this past year. As a result, that cohort of students accumulated a significant number of missed instructional hours. To better understand how a student's cumulative absences between kindergarten and grade three correlate
030with student proficiency on the Smarter Balance Assessment, we started with the data set of students who tested last year. 789 grade three Brandy Wine students took both the math and ELA Smarter Balanced assessment last year in school year 25. Some additional students received exemptions from the test. they took the alternate assessment or they had parents opt them out. If you go to the next slide, you'll see that 445 of these students attended the same Brandy Wine Elementary School for the four years between kindergarten and grade three. So already this reduction in the data set from 789 to 445 students shows that our overall smarter balance score reports do not capture the impact of other factors that affect performance and outcomes such as student mobility between schools and districts. So, we analyzed these 445 students across
031all four years of enrollment and connected it with their grade three achievement levels. Our next two slides will show how achievement levels on Smarter Balance have a strong correlation with absence levels. So, as you can see on this chart, only 17% of the 445 students who missed up to a week of each school year do not meet ELA standards. But 52% of the students who missed 16 or more school days each year do not meet the standards. And similarly in math which has more interdependence among the standards which means that the concepts are weaved over the course of time and you need one for the other shows an even steeper increase in the percentage of students not meeting standards as absences from school rise. At the lower end of absenteeism students are better off in
032math than in reading. Only 12% of these students who missed up to a week of the each school year do not meet math standards. But 52% of students missing 16 or more days each year do not meet and only 21% of that group are proficient. Data continues to show without a doubt how much school attendance matters in meeting proficiency and state standards. As recently as last week, I had coffee with the superintendent and a grandfather came in. He had been through BSD schools. His children went through uh BSD schools and was asking um about the number of instructional days that we have in Brandy Wine School District and was concerned that the state reduced um the number of days to a number of hours, an equivalent of hours. and he was encouraging us to look
033at uh finding more instructional days for students across the school year. This data set also shows that a commitment to send your child to the same Brandy Wine School District elementary school for all four consecutive years between kindergarten and third grade despite a global pandemic and historic low rates of attendance in kindergarten in 2022 provided the structure and support needed to achieve proficiency of rigorous grade level standards if they came to school. March is recognized nationwide as music in our schools month. A time to celebrate the important role that music education plays in the academic and personal development of our students. Throughout the Brandy Wine School District, students are engaged in band, choir, orchestra, and general music programs that foster creativity, discipline, confidence, and collaboration. We thank our dedicated music educators for inspiring students and
034providing opportunities for them to share their talents through concerts, performances, and special events. Music remains an essential part of a well-rounded education in BSD, and we are very proud of the many accomplishments of our student musicians. March is also recognized as theater in our schools month, celebrating the important role theater arts play in student learning and development across the Brandy Wine School District. Theater programs provide students with opportunities to build confidence, develop their creativity, strengthen communication skills, and collaborate with their peers on stage and behind the scenes. We thank our theater educators and directors for their dedication and for creating meaningful experiences that allow students to explore the performing arts while showcasing their talents through productions and performances. Brandy Wine School Districts from multiple Brandy Wine School District students from multiple elementary schools showcased their
035creativity, collaboration, and problem solving skills at the 202526 robotics extravaganza on March 14th. Several BSD teams were recognized for the outstanding work teamwork awards were presented to Harland Elementary, Forwood Elementary, and Carcraftoft Elementary. Spark awards were earned by teams from Carcraftoft Elementary and Lombardi Elementary. The judges award was awarded to a team from Maple Lane Elementary. And in addition, Harland Elementary received the operational excellence award recognizing the leadership and support of Michael Phobes, Harlon Johnson, and Mel Wadd. Not only that, but they swept the table, I think, with first, second, and third place. Harlon, the Harlem Hawks really showed themselves at this event. It was wonderful. It highlights the district's continued commitment to fostering innovation, teamwork, and STEM across learning and STEM learning across our schools. Last month, over two dozen students and staff from
036Springer Middle School had the opportunity of a lifetime traveling to London, England for a unique international exa exchange centered around music and collaboration. Experiences like this reflect the incredible work happening across our schools, and we are proud to support opportunities that expand learning far beyond the classroom. Take a look at the impact of this unforgettable journey. About a year ago, the Springer Jazz Band was getting ready to perform in Philadelphia at the National Jazz Festival. I received a phone call from the head of the jazz festival saying that a group from London was coming over and they wanted to visit a school with an active jazz program. I asked Dr. Seammons if we could host the group. We said yes and the kids got to mingle, the staffs got to mingle and had a good
037oldfashioned jam session and uh a friendship was born. Welcome Springer to the UK. What we wanted to do is to give them a bit of a an experience of what it's like to be in school in another country. We have a similar set of values in terms of uh the value that we put on arts and culture um but they do it in such a different way. So, it's really interesting to see their perspective, but also for the students to come and spend some time with our students to see how the British education system works um and you know, experience a little bit of the culture and the food and and and all of those things. >> The majority of the band went uh anywhere from 6th to 8th grade. And while we were at
038Kingsdale at the school, they we spent the entire morning with our students shadowing a student from Kingsdale. And then our staff got to hang out and tour the building uh with their staff and learn how they do their schedule and how their day works. for them to have this experience in the at middle school level is unbelievable. To get to come across um across the ocean to see how music is done in some of the places where music started is, you know, something they'll never forget. >> We talk about education and we talk about what a comprehensive public school does. You know, here at Springer, we're able to give kids this experience which is able to carry them beyond just grades six through eight. And now hopefully this trip has inspired some students to be
039more worldly um and travel and perform and learn beyond just the walls of this building. Whilst being in in the US, um we teamed up with an incredible school um uh Springer uh Middle School um from Delaware. Please give them a huge round of applause and we're so so excited to have them here with us for this special special concert and they're going to perform for us. seating in their auditorium was like a stadium seating and you turned around and the audience was right there and uh it was packed and I turned around and when we were ready to play our first note I told the kids I said you're you know about to perform in London, England and they gave me a big smile and and away we went. The support from district office
040is just unconditional and they get it. And as someone who has worked in various districts, you know, I I am proud to be a BSD and this is the only district I want to be in because of that support. And they understand that when there is a big idea and there's an opportunity to give staff, students, a community a wonderful experience that will last a lifetime. They're all in. uh and that makes it it makes it invigorating and motivating to come work and you know be an educator every day. The support is is special that we receive in BSD and that philosophy uh to give for our students uh it's it's not everywhere and it's I think what makes it extra special to be part of this family. and sending our very own Mick Austin
041on that trip was also a good idea to capture uh just the the joy. And so I would be remiss if I didn't recognize Mr. Robert Baronio who's sitting in our audience, our phenomenal educator. President Heler, that concludes my monthly report. >> Thank you. I I was going to say uh about Mr. Bronio's vision and my kids both went through Springer so know him well and um it's not a surprise that he was able to get those kids to um London and I'm I'm very jealous and as Mick knows about the opportunity to take that trip. Um and then I I just had one question on the attendance data. So I know it's been a focus for the last two years on trying to improve attendance like h is that having any impact like what
042what are we seeing from that attendance focus? >> We are seeing improvements. Uh we are in our second year year two at the elementary level um year one at the middle school level. We we haven't uh broached high school yet for obvious reasons just in terms of how their schedule works. But um we we are continuously improving. But I think the other piece is really the home and family connection. Um we need uh our families to be partners with us in education and to ensure that we're both swimming uh in the same direction, rowing in the same direction and and working together. And so the more you know and that's really the purpose of sharing in-depth data like this. These are our students. This is our cohort. And I think it it's helpful for parents
043to know that if their students miss barely any school, like we all know, kids get sick, that happens, but the a minimum amount of school really um is close to guaranteeing proficiency if um there there is engagement there. So again, just trying to share our own data and and convincing folks that it it matters. >> That was a great way to look at it in my opinion. Any other questions or comments for Dr. >> Yeah, just a quick question. Uh do we have any information about the types of absences that are going on in terms of like you said somebody being sick or you know somebody some something more um detrimental or or you know somebody moving maybe custody issues whatever the case may be. Do we have any sort of information just so that
044we could then come up with a a solution or a policy to try to either mitigate the loss the learning loss or um to try to address you know mitigate the a number of absences in general. >> So that's a great question and yes we do have families that have hardships. So um as part of our MTSS uh work uh Dr. McKenna leads on the non-academic side uh we have what's called an attendance action plan. So when we begin to see attendance attendance rates uh accumulate or when we see those numbers accumulating we are trying to intervene with support uh before there are consequences that are negative in nature. So we're uh reaching out to the family. We're asking if there's anything that's going on. We're seeing is it a transportation issue? Uh is it
045a choice student who's being driven to school versus missing a bus. Um and so we are trying to dig into the causes for this and partnering again with families to ensure that children are healthy and well and that they're coming to school. And to the extent that we can do anything, uh we we are happy to do that. And so before there are uh punitive consequences, we we are working through that MTSS process to look for supportive ones. >> Any other questions for Dr. Lawson? That brings us to uh public comment. Just as a reminder, speakers are allowed two minutes. Um we'll all learn together how that two minutes will be communicated in this new system on the screen. Uh it looks like there's no virtual speaker request. Um and the only in-person speaker request
046is from Miss Kristen Bruce, our board member elect. Hello everyone. Thank you for um allowing me to speak tonight, introduce myself. I am very excited and honored to introduce myself as the uh school board member elect for nominating district F. Um I live in Welshshire with my husband and two children. One of which attends Carcraft is in fourth grade and my oldest is a tally and um had attended Mount Pleasant and Claymont uh through the gifted program prior to middle school. Um, we've just been very pleased with the experience that our kids have had in the district. Um, the culture, the experiences from sports and drama club and chorus. Um, and this is just at the elementary school and beginning of middle school level. Um, so I'm really looking forward to um, working with you
047all and serving the district going forward for the next four years at least. >> Thank you. It seems like it's a long way away, but um it'll go really fast and you you'll you'll be up here in a couple months. Thank you. Welcome. >> That brings us to board member liaison report. Um Mr. Acriman is absent tonight. Does anybody have this report for DSBI executive? >> Uh no. There there wasn't a a meeting I think since the last report for that, but I have a legislative update. >> Perfect. Uh Mr. Lavoy with the SBA legislative. >> Uh early in March, uh David Tull, the executive director of the Delaware School Board Association, asked by email for feedback about three bills that were uh that involved public education and that were going to be considered by
048the general assembly on the 18th of March. one would establish a title nine coordinator within the state department of education, a new position, and it spelled out some specific duties for that position. I uh sent a copy of the bill to our two title N coordinators in the Brandy Wine District, Althia McIntyre and Yolanda McKini, and they saw no major problems with the proposal, but did offer a caution or two, which I passed on then to the DSBA and to the local state representatives. Another um bill would re remove the requirement for a parent to provide a birth certificate as part of the uniform public school registration process and would allow just another form of proof of age or date of birth. And the third addressed the increasing concern, believe it or not, with harassment
049of student athletes by parties engaging in sports betting. I was shocked at that. But when you think about all the things that people bet on now online, it wouldn't be surprising to think that a student athlete at our high schools might be approached. So this would establish such harassment of a student athlete as a criminal offense and provide other legal protections for any targeted athletes. Uh I reported to the DSBA executive director that we had no oblig no objections to either of those last two items as well. Um, the next meeting of the legislative committee is going to be on April 22nd at 6:15 in Dover. Uh, Mr. Raan and I plan to attend. There any questions? >> Thank you. >> And Mr. Scarab, District Finance Committee. >> Uh, yes. District Finance Committee met on
050March 11th. Um, we reviewed the monthly financial report that Mr. McCoy will go over shortly. Uh I did just want to add the comm community the district finance committee as the board representative I do sit on that committee and I do am engaged but I I tend to take a or I try to take a smaller role and let it maintain as a community-led group. We have a a chair. We have community members. And I just want to say that, you know, they are very intentional in discussing the dreaded rword referendum and being very thoughtful and transparent with the community each month as we look at our carryover balances and know, you know, what our triggers are when we need to start talking about that. Uh and that was part of the conversation this month
051and you know we'll probably continue to you know address that going forward. You know we know with the last referendum you know discussion that it would you know get three years uh three years out of that before we came back to the community and the committee is very intentional in working to see what they can do uh again to be thoughtful and transparent with when the next one may approach and staying on top of Mr. McCoy to what moves and suggestions the district can make, you know, to try and stretch that out uh a little bit longer than we initially anticipated. So, uh our next meeting will be April 8th, 5:00 p.m. uh district office in the conference room. >> Thank you. Uh maintenance advisory committee, Mr. Jimmy. >> Uh since our last board meeting,
052we have had two maintenance advisory meetings. uh one on February 17th at uh Tally Middle School. Uh during that uh presentation, Mr. Reid was kind enough to show us the food preparation process and everything that goes along with uh feeding the students at, you know, the BSD. It was a very interesting uh presentation. It was a very illuminating and uh positive experience. I think if anybody has any questions for Mr. Reed about that, he has all the information. It's uh it's very uh it gives you a great appreciation for everything that gets done to feed the kids at this at these schools. It's it's not uh it's not by accident some fairy doesn't come around and put you know uh sprinkle pixie dust and make it happen. A lot of hardworking people uh really put
053a lot of effort into it. So it was a very good experience. Our next meeting was March 24th at Springer Middle School and that was a uh overall description of the maintenance required for the district in general. Um there were some issues with certain buildings, certain questions about things that need to happen. Um and basically just overall maintenance that needs to be done. Uh some of those things um are going to take a little bit of time to develop and to see what what's going to happen. Um, but I will say again, Mr. Reid and his team are on top of everything. And I mean that both in terms of observing things uh throughout the district and also trying to address them as quickly as possible, whether it be with outside consultants internally. Uh it's
054uh we I feel as if we were in in good hands with Mr. Reid in terms of the maintenance of the uh BSD. That is not to say that there aren't things that need to be done. there absolutely things that need to be done but uh I think whether we're able to identify them and move forward in the right direction um pretty pretty coherently. So our next meeting will be uh it is scheduled for April 7th but uh there's a chance that that will be moved due to it being during spring break. >> Thank you. questions. >> Question. Parents and Citizens Advisory Committee. Miss Stock is not here this evening. Um I I did attend the meeting. It was on March 26th. It was very well attended. I would say it was the last meeting
055of the year. Um myself, Miss Stock, Mr. Lavoy, and Mr. Jordan um were all present. The topic of the meeting was special programs including language immersion the site program AVID international balorate AP childfind Bush um all those kinds of specialized programs that we offer in the district. Um I I think it was a excellent meeting. It was kind of a round table where each um participant had a passport and they you know had to visit each table to learn about each program and get their passport stamped so that they talked to everybody. Okay. So, it was a great meeting. Um, like I said, it was the last of the year. So, I will offer that if you're a parent and are interested in attending those meetings next year, you should reach out to your building
056principal. If you're a community member that is not a parent and are interested, reach out to the board member that represents your nominating district. If you don't know who that is, just email the generic board address and we'll get you set up with the information for next year. I think the first meeting was in October, but I forget the actual date for next year. So, uh, there'll be more on that as we get closer, but always looking for new members and fresh thoughts and voices to join that, um, committee. And that'll take us to Mr. Jordan for the parent council for students with disabilities. >> Thank you, President Heler. I will point out that on the agenda it does say Ms. B. Jordan, uh, which happens to be my wife's initials. So, I will let
057her know. >> We can call her up then. Give us one second if we could. Um so so we did have a meeting this month. Um it was on March 9th uh 5:30 to 6:30 at Mount Pleasant Elementary. Um and the session included presentations on the secondary course selection process. Uh and that was presented by Dr. Cut and Angie Hansen as well as uh University of Delaware's career and life studies certificate program and the spect spectrum scholars program uh presented by Julie Harrington, Jay Sers and Laura Gibson. Um the purpose of these presentations was to provide uh families with information about planning for future academic pathways as well as post-secondary opportunities uh for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities so that they too can access college experiences and develop independent living and career skills. After
058the presentations, um there were breakout sessions uh and these included sessions on early childhood toileting strategies uh which was facilitated by Destiny Genite, augmentative and alternative communication supports presented by Deborah Ford and opportunities for student engagement through Special Olympics presented by Nikki Moberry. Um, these really gave the families uh some practical advice and strategies on and opportunities to ask questions. Our next meeting uh which I believe will be the last for this year uh is May 11th again at Mount Pleasant Elementary from 5:30 to 6:30. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um back to Mr. Lavoy for the 917 WMPH advisory. >> Thank you. At the last advisory board meeting on the 9th of March, the retiring station manager and CTE teacher Paul Wishingrad introduced his successor, Mr. Benjamin Bean, who is currently a social studies
059teacher at Mount Pleasant, but he's going to segue into that position under Mr. Mr. Wishingrad's um guidance. He's already begun orienting Mr. Bean to the station me Mr. Bean, pardon me, to the station manager responsibilities and which he'll begin assuming this summer because of course WPH is on the air 247, 365 days a year. Um, WPH has been broadcasting and streaming 247 throughout the entire winter except for just a few hours overnight when windows seized up and I wonder why. Could have been the temperature and the ice uh or when there were power interruptions. Um, as part of an agreement with the Delaware Public Media, WPH has been airing two of their programs, Hometown Heroes and The Green, in exchange for two intern opportunities for Mount Pleasant student broadcast journalists who rise to the appropriate
060level in their coursework at WPH, which is an amazing opportunity for our kids. We were also reminded that one or two Mount Pleasant student journalists are able to participate in the long-running KYW news studies program in Philadelphia each October. And again, more opportunities for our kids to get meaningful experiences. I would just like to say on behalf of the board, the district leadership, Mount Pleasant student journalists, and the entire Brandy Wine community who enjoy listening to WP. Thank you. Paul Wishingrad for your years of dedication to teaching our students what good broadcasting and journalism is all about and for the millions of hours of quality program you oversaw. Best wishes for a fulfilling retirement. Paul, the next meeting of the WP advisory board will be Monday, July 13th at the WPH studios in Mount Pleasant
061High School at 6 PM. Thank you. President, I had a question for Mr. Lavoy about um the radio station. Um after seeing the presentation tonight about the Springer Jazz Band performing in in England, has the Has the uh radio station thought of an opportunity to maybe even get one of those kids into the studio? Maybe they could play their favorite records or something like that or even any kind of a performance, anything. Um and that's question one. question too is is there that opportunity for board members to get on air and spin their favorite records? >> You mean you have Oh. Oh. to spin their records >> or or or hit play whatever. >> Have you been invited to speak there? >> Haven't you been invited to speak? >> No. >> Oh, >> no. I
062would love to. >> You have to playlist. >> All right. Well, that answers question two. >> They do they do interview board members occasionally. Okay. Okay, >> maybe if you stopped asking the high school kids questions after >> uh No, that's a great idea. I'm not sure that their studio could could uh even support a combo. It's very cramped headquarters, but they could probably do remote coverage in in the music room. That's a great idea. I'll bring it up to Paul and to to Benjamin. >> Okay, >> thanks for that suggestion. >> Sure. And even um was it Mr. Baronio? even hearing him, you know, spin some records for an hour if he was interested to hear what, >> you know, what he listens to. I think that'd be pretty cool. >> And is there
063a dedicated audio um from the London performance that maybe we could broadcast? >> Okay. >> Kingsdale was the London high school that they went to, right? >> Yes. Mick Mick's also a member of the advisory board. So if I forget to bring that up, remind me. >> But you should email U Mr. Wishingrad. So the for anybody not familiar with the playlist is um you pick a group of songs that are meaningful to you and a student picks a group that are meaningful to them and they play one of yours, they listen to yours and then they kind of give feedback on yours and you do the same for them and um it's a great show. >> Yeah, that sounds fantastic. >> You can hear them all at wmp.net net also if you want to
064hear them um played back. All right. And then um we're going to just stick with Mr. Lavoy since Mr. Acriman is not here tonight for the policy review committee. >> Yes. The Brandy Wine School District policy review committee was formulated. And here are the current members. Ralph Arian, myself, uh Kenny Rivera, Kevin Paladinetti, Christopher Sco, Greg Golden, Leslie Ray, and Dana Jackson. Our first meeting is scheduled on April the 23rd at 5:00 pm at Mount Pleasant Elementary School multi-purpose room. If you're interested in board policy or in school district policy, you're welcome to come and participate. >> Thank you. And back to Mr. Jimmy for Wilmington Learning Collaborative. We had not one, not two, but three meetings in the month of March on the 4th, the 20th, and the 26th. Um, and the reason for
065these meetings was primarily to discuss the budget. As some people might know, there's a lot of uh questions about the budget going forward with regards to the WLC. um how that affects the BSD is relatively minimal because again we have one school involved in the WLC, Harlem Elementary and uh it's doing very well um with the WLC um you know getting resources and things of that nature from it. Uh but I will say that the reason for all of these meetings is because there's a concern that the budget of the WLC is going to be cut substantially. Obviously everybody's concerned about that. Part of the reason for the proposed cut is because there is believed to be funds that have not yet been used that were appropriated in earlier years. There's some questions as to
066whether or not those funds have been um allocated for purposes already, whether or not they will be spent, how they've been sent to different accounts and things of that nature. So, there's a degree of just making sure and understanding. I think part of the reason why we have so many meetings was to make sure that we understood where the money was, who it was allocated for. And again, while this is not unimportant, the fact that we have one school involved does somewhat mitigate the uh level of effect that it would have on the BSD. Uh and the next meeting is on Wednesday, April 1st at uh 6 PM at Warner Elementary. U so I will give you an update as to what uh conclusions we had there as well. >> Any questions? And uh next
067is Mr. Jordan and Mr. Lavoy with the new district success plan committee. Is there an update on that? >> Thank you, President Heler. Um there there is an update. So um for those listening and those in the audience, we have been sending out surveys. We've also been accepting um requests by community members who would like to be part of the um the district success plan committee as well as soliciting input from across uh the Brandy Wine School District community. Uh the goal will be to produce a success plan um that meets the districts and the community's needs. Um we had originally scheduled a meeting for um April 1 of this week, but we realized that that is Passover. So, we have actually rescheduled that to Monday, April 13th. Um, and that'll be at Mount Pleasant
068Elementary. And, and Mr. Lavoy, correct me if I'm wrong here. I think we had picked 6:00 to 7:30 for that meeting. >> Uh, I think we said 6:00 to 8. >> 6 to 8. All right. So, that'll be Monday, April 13th at Mount Pleasant Elementary. Um, after that, uh, the goal is to have a couple of meetings each month. Um, of course, public input would be welcome at any of those. >> And we'd like to encourage everyone within listening uh range to go to our uh district website and look at school success or excuse me, look at success plan and go to that and answer that uh short questionnaire because that will give us the feedback we want from as many citizens as possible. Okay. >> Thank you. Are there any other board member reports?
069>> Not a report per se, but and I'm sure this is already teed up, but if the um performance video, the sizzle from the London performance, is that going to be carved out and kind of put as its own standalone on the YouTube channel as well as our socials >> right now? >> Probably already done. >> This this video is already posted even though the meeting is not over. That's how good Mick is. You had to see it first. >> Any other board member reports? >> All right, that brings us to item six, the consent agenda. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. All in favor? >> I. >> Motion carries. >> Um we'll do personnel matters uh individually. So we'll start with 7A. Is there a motion
070to approve the personnel report as discussed in executive session? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion a second. All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed or abstensions? Motion carries. It brings us to 7B. Is there a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation on employee matter 26-013 is discussed in executive session? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion to second. All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed or abstensions? Motion carries. And 7 C. Is there a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation on employee matter 26-014 as discussed in executive session? >> So move. >> Second. >> Motion second. All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed or abstensions? Motion carries. Then for student matters, is there a motion to accept the student matters discussed in executive session? So moved. >> Second. All in favor?
071>> I. >> Any opposed or abstensions? Motion carries. That brings us to new business, Mr. Reid. Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Before that, I did um as part of that personnel, we approved the hiring of our new supervisor of technology who happens to be in the audience tonight. So, Mr. Philip Smallwood, if you'd like to wave, >> welcome to BSD. >> Um, thank you for reminding. I wrote it down so I didn't forget. I forgot. Uh, Mr. Reid, uh, contract for Lombardi's roof. >> Um, good evening. Um, I know this is one of the more exciting items that we are going to be discussing and I know the students and staff are very excited about this at Lombardi, but we will be replacing 53,000 square foot of the 60,000 square foot roof. We received 13 bids
072because we got our design done early and our bids done early because contractors look to book book up early. So, we received 13 bids, which was good competition. The price of the contract came to $1.145 million. That's $21 per square foot. Um roofing prior to COVID was $20 a square foot. After COVID, Conquered roof came in at $38 a square foot. Tally last summer was 36 and this came in in at $21.34. So, good competition. This is hopefully a sign for better things. Um, and as part of this project, just so people understands, the um, roofs of these buildings are insulated from the outside, the flat roofs. So, we have to take all the insulation off, all the roofing off. Um, right now the the building has a minimum of an inch and a half
073of insulation. New county code is 6 in of insulation, so it'll be a much thicker roof there, but all that has to come off, reinsulate the building from the outside, re-roof it. Um, we're putting on a 25-year warranty product and we will start the beginning of the summer and get it done in time for the kids to come back. But they are so excited about this. >> Thank you. >> Does that additional insulation give any extension to the lifetime of the roof? >> Um, it'll help. Uh, schools used to do tar roofing, which is 450 degree tar with guys up there slopping around. The roof is built out of wood. So, the last thing we want to do is be doing is to be doing that. Um, this is a rubber style roof. So, when
074they say it has a 25 year life, at 25 years in one day is usually about when they start to fail. Um, but we have to plan for that. And the district does have a plan for all its roofs, when they will fail, when they will need to be replaced. Um, I'm sure we'll be asked the question, why are we doing this roof and not Mount Pleasant Elementary, which is almost a hundred years old? Once a roof project raises a certain dollar threshold, we're required by law, by code to go to capital referendum. This project is barely below that threshold. So Mount Pleasant Elementary, Mount Pleasant High have to be a capital referendum. Lombardi fits in as minor cap. >> So with a 20-year lifetime, >> 25 year >> 25 expected. Should we start putting
075our CNS now? >> Yes, we should start submitting it for Lombardi right now. >> Thank you. But it will be the most beautiful roof in the Lombardi area and on Faulk Road. >> Is this is the great state of Delaware um contributing any money to this or >> it's our minor cap um budget which is um 60% state funding, 40% local funding. >> Okay. >> And this is 45% of our total funding for summer projects goes in one roof. >> Yeah, roofs are expensive. >> Mr. Rita, I just want to ask, were there any calculations made about how much we would save on air conditioning and heating with that 6 in? >> Um, we have not because a that takes a lot of um effort, but it's not going to be a whole lot. Um,
076there's a big debate whether or not you go with a white roof, black roof to to um to favor heating or air conditioning. Lombardi doesn't get a lot of summer school, but it is highly used in the winter. So, we are going with a darker color roof to uh favor a heating season. And while we're there, some of the mechanical units are old. We are going to letter bid the replacement of those units because you don't want to be put a new roof on then come back a year later and cut it to fix the mechanical. So, we're going to try and replace the library unit and the cafeteria unit while we're there. Um because they are um now 21 years old and a unit like that should last about 18 years. So, we're we're
077at that po point where we need to do some of that other work. So, and and it won't just be this project alone. We'll be doing other things at Lombardi while we're doing this. >> Thank you. >> Oh, we need approval from the board to move forward. >> All right. So, we're looking for a motion to approve the contract to Winchester Roofing Corporation, which was the low bidder for 1,145,697. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Okay. Motion to second. All in favor? I I >> Any oppose or abstensions? Motion carries. That brings us to Mr. McCoy with the I lost it. with the uh February monthly financial report. >> Good evening, Board President Heler, Vice President Scrobot, Superintendent Dr. Lawson, board members, and audience members, and future board members. Tonight, we will we will be
078reviewing the February 28th, 2026 monthly financial report. There aren't many noteworthy changes in revenues. So, I just wanted to take some time to talk about our real estate tax revenues. On page one, at the top of page one, line one, current expense tax. Through February, we have received 98.9% of our current expense tax. It's likely that we will surpass our budgeted tax revenue by year's end. Brandine School District reset its tax rate to be revenue neutral. We did not utilize any of the 10% increase that was allowed by state code after the reassessment. Because of this, revenues in excess of what we budgeted may face scrutiny. So, I just wanted to clarify the reasons for this. And there are two main reasons why we most likely will collect more tax revenue than we budgeted. First,
079there was a substantial amount of assessment added to our tax base by Newcastle County in the January ads. um that was from the Delm Marva assessment corrections. This created additional tax revenue for Brandy Wine School District. Second, as of March 9th, there are still 400 plus appeals that need to be decided by Newcastle County for Brandy Wine School District. That equates to over $240 million in assessment that's still at risk of being removed from our tax base. That roughly calculates out to $2 million in tax revenue for Brandon School District. Many of these parcels under appeal have already paid their taxes in full for the year. When these appeals are settled, the parcel owner will have the opportunity to request a refund or receive a credit on next year's taxes. If they select a refund,
080it will pull down our revenues for this year. If they select a credit, it will pull down our revenues for next year. Because so many appeals still exist, our revenues are slightly inflated for this school year until the appeals are settled. Adding another layer of of uncertainty, as of March 24th, there is still $3.4 million in unpaid Brandy Wine School District taxes compared to $1.4 million at this similar time last year. It's nearly impossible to predict how much of that will be paid before the year ends. On line two of the same page, we finally had a somewhat normal month of interest revenue, receiving $164,000 in February. Our March number was even more promising. So, even though we're at 65.7% collected, we should be very close to the budgeted number of $1.3 million by year's
081end. There was no notable changes until line 25, other state revenue. We received two items of note. $137,000 from the state for the lit literacy emergency fund and $112,000 from the state for the midyear unit count since our enrollment has climbed by 114 students since since the September unit count. Moving on to page two. The only items that have changed in a material way is line is line 44. The state has provided us with the state share of our minor minor capital improvement funds $975,000. Uh I don't have anything else noted on the revenue side of things. If there's no questions, I'll Yes. >> And have a how um the literacy funding, how are we tracking that somehow separately? Right. It's restricted. >> Yeah, it has its own um funding. So we can just pull
082specifically that funding. >> Okay. So like there's like a sub account of that main account where Okay. Thanks. >> On page uh page three, excuse me. The first two lines, salaries, uh those are comparable with last year's numbers at the same time and align well with the percent of pays that we've had so far this year. So there's uh no concerns with those lines. Um the only thing that stands out on this page is unfortunately on line 11 we have an operating unit that is over spent. Uh so this is operating unit that was over spent last year because the er a lot of er expenditures were added here without corresponding budget dollars to cover the expenses because it was over spent last year. Expenditures were moved out of that operating unit and into other
083operating units um just to kind of uh bring down the ugliness of the over budget. So when I built the budget for this year, I did not pick up the expenditures that were moved into other operating units. Therefore, I did not put enough budget money into that operating unit. So, it's showing that it has been overspent. However, there's not there's no material difference in what they spent funds on compared to last year. So, I'm confident that our budget as a whole has the money there that it needs to cover all of these expenses and that will end up as expected as a whole. At the bottom, you can see that our budget is 66.57% obligated compared to 70.31% for this time last year. On page four, I have um no highlights to call out on
084this page. And on page five, you can see the individual building spending is looking good compared to last year. Um, so are there any questions on the expenditures? I know I glossed over them pretty quickly, but not much has really changed. All right. Um, page six are the prior year appropriations. We continue to spend down prior year funds that have been encumbered. Uh, there's no items that I wanted to call out on this section. Um, so again, if there's any questions, we'll just keep it moving. All right. Uh, the cash flows report on page seven. The main item of note on this analysis is that the projected balance at year end is now $9.275 million. This is up from $8.76 million last month. The reason for the increase in the ending balance is due to
085the tax collections in excess of what we budgeted that I mentioned earlier. Because of the volume of appeals and the speed at which Newcastle County is working through them, coupled with a higher unpaid amount than we've seen in years past, it's been extremely difficult to really nail down this cash flow analysis. So that the ending balance has fluctuated a lot more than I would have liked, but clearly as the as the months continue on, we're getting closer and closer to our final number. Um, so taking into account that we still have over $3 million outstanding in taxes, um, the appeals, I don't know that they expect to get through all the appeals in this school year. Um, so I feel confident that we should be over the 8.8 um, target mark. So that's all I
086have. The district finance committee approved the February 28, 2026 monthly financial report at their March 11th meeting. If there are any questions, I'm happy to take them now. >> So, you know, this ending balance has been a worry of mine, so I'm happy to see it higher than the uh 8.8. >> Quick quick question uh for everybody's benefit and everybody listening. How is it going to work if there are appeals and those appeals are successful in terms of the 9.2 to it money that's already been given to us or money that's already been given to the BSD is are we going to write them a check is the like how does the logistics of I understand the logistics of us receiving tax income what's the logistics of us repaying that and you know do we
087anticipate there being any costs involved with that other than you know obviously pay you know the amount of money that we're giving back to to individuals >> so a as it's worked throughout the year and hopefully as it will continue to work is Newcastle County takes the refunds out of the money that they've collected for our district for that month. And so we don't even see the payback. >> So there could be a month where it just oh that's you know not precipitously but that's less than what we had had the month before or the year that month the year before and it'll just be because that's when all the appeals are addressed fully. It's possible there could be a month where the revenue we've taken in in taxes does not cover the refunds. There
088are still some major um parcels out there that are under appeal that could have a substantial refund due to them >> and we could and and also this appeal process could be months slash years in the in the making >> that I don't theoretically >> I don't think they'll finish this year's appeal appeals until next year. I we thought that there would be another influx of appeals for next year, but the county said that they only received about 400 or so last time we spoke to them. So, I would think that they could get all of the appeals done next year. It's actually why there's several bills sitting in legislature or at least their stirring of potential continuing to split rates and then continuing to reset tax rates because of the flux that we continue
089to see. Typically tax rates aren't actually moved until another reassessment is done, but we're experiencing such um >> volatility. >> Yes, that's a great word. Volatility. It's fair to say Kent and Sussex do not have the same volatility and planning issues that Newcastle County school districts are having. >> Yes, that is correct. >> And as a as maybe a silver lining, we would still be able to benefit from the interest even if we do have to eventually even if if funds do have to be returned for the month, two months, 10 months, whatever the case may be, we're still benefiting from the interest amount that we'll be able to acrew. >> Yep, that's correct. >> Okay. Next year though, we'll face the same thing where they pushed the deadline back so we won't receive our
090funds for a while. So our interest will be lower again. If you want to feel sad about the interest, look at where we were compared to last year. And it's not a pretty sight. Any other questions? >> Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the February 28th, 2026 monthly financial report subject to audit? >> So moved. >> Second. Motion to second. All in favor? I. >> Any opposed or abstensions? Motion carries. That brings us to old business. Dr. Rivera, Conquered Soccer Association, and Tallyville Softball leases. >> Does anybody have any questions? My um my only question I I guess is just clarification of the language about for lack of a better term competing advertising. They're very aware of that to communicate that with whoever their fundraising either personnel or companies are. >> Yeah. Yes.
091And to be clear, this has never been an issue with the two organizations we are voting on here tonight. conquered soccer and Tylerville softball has never >> um we've never encountered this with them >> and just >> we were creating the blueprint for future leases if you get what I mean >> and just to reiterate the funds the funds um brought in through this change so far this is we're not looking to quote make money we are breaking even we are paying for the things that are necessary to maintain these facilities >> so these two >> yeah ineneral But >> yes, these um they're responsible for paying for any type of improvements they want on their land. And then the lease agreement has if they do not choose to renew or terminate the the lease,
092then they have to pay to return the property back in the condition and remove any um things they build, anything they put on property, they need to pay to remove it before the land comes back to us. >> Okay. Very much achieving status quo. >> Okay. >> And and Dr. They're responsible for uh mowing and that sort of thing. I >> I couldn't hear you. I'm sorry. >> I'm sorry. Um they're responsible for mowing and >> that is absolutely correct. >> All right. >> Is there a motion to approve the leases for Tallyville Girls Softball and Conquered Soccer Association? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Before we vote, I did want to make a comment. Um, now that it's been moved, I am a volunteer coach for Conquered Soccer Association, but I had no role
093for either the district or the Conquered Soccer Association in negotiating this. I, like I said, I'm a volunteer. I don't get paid. Um, I do not see a conflict of interest in voting for um the contract with Conquered Soccer. >> Thank you. All in favor? >> I I. >> Any opposed? >> Motion carries. >> All right. That brings us to general information. Our next meeting is April 20th at Brandy Wine High School, followed by a workshop on May 4th at Mount Pleasant. And then currently the May meeting is scheduled at Brand is that for a celebration is scheduled at Brandy Wine High School >> for celebration. >> Oh, for celebration. Yes. >> Perfect. >> Um, any other comments, questions, thoughts? Motion to adjurnn. >> So move. >> Second. >> All right. >> All in favor?
094>> I. >> Thank you. Meeting adjourned at 8:24. Good night everybody.