001Ladies can start 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 guys. Mr. Pioner, would you please call role? Mr. here. Mrs. Here, Mrs. Janet here. Mr. McGregor here. Mr. Scaza here. Mrs. Mr. Mojack here. Present one. Thank you. I'll make an announcement. We had executive session here earlier tonight and discussed a few legal and personnel matters. Uh next is adopt the agenda for the business items. Kids were going to do a little Oh. Uh at that time no I'm sorry. Yeah. Good evening. Thank you for having Independence Middle School here this evening. We have some amazing students here with us tonight and they are each going to share with you what they are
002proud of about being an IMS student. So ladies and gentlemen, make sure you say your name when you come up and share your thoughts with us. Hello, I'm Annabelle Lafy, one of the NJHS representatives and the NJHS treasur. I am on team freedom as an eighth grader. I am here today with Hi, I'm Kimus, also an NJHS representative and the vice president. I'm also an eighth grader on team Liberty and we are here today to talk about IMS's clubs. IMS has a wide diverse range of options for our students to be a part of the community. This can include joining and applying for clubs. Some popular group students have joined/man requested for include NJHS FCCLA student council and yearbook. Adrienne Hoffbower, gold medalist at the recent FCCLA competition, describes the club in three words, leadership,
003communication, and personal growth. She also says this is a club that helps it members discover their true selves. FCCLA taught me to be a leader, to work with people, to communicate with people who are at a higher role, and to believe in myself. Emma Clston, a loyal and involved member of the student council, says, "I joined the student council because it can teach students how to communicate with adults and become a leader. Becoming a leader can happen through helping others and problem solving. For example, when setting up for dances, there can be problems or people might need help. Someone has to step up and become a leader." Emma Nelson, a creative member of the yearbook club, says, "I would describe Yearbook Club as customizable, enjoyable, and impactful. I joined Yearbook Club because I wanted to
004make an impact on my school through helping design a yearbook that kids will purchase and look back on for years to come. Each of these amazing members are all a part of an important of important and fun clubs. Every student has an opportunity to join a club that is right and fit for them. However, these are not our only clubs at IMS. Some other clubs we would like to mention are handbook choir, DND, art club, ukulele club, science club, BP connect, and student voice. Thank you for listening. Thank you. Hi, my name is Adam Lameasure. I'm in eighth grade and I'm representing the IMS student council. As someone who participates in volleyball, basketball, lacrosse, and track, I can say that the athletics at Independence are great for so many different reasons. To start off, playing
005a sport doesn't just help your help you physically, but also mentally. I truly believe this because I am someone who will go practice on my own time if I have a lot going on and need to calm down. Also, everyone who goes to play can all relate by sharing the love for the sport and that can build friendships that will last not not only while just playing the sport, but can last throughout their life. Voting these friendships can help the team bond and play better together. So, while one team can just be players on a team, we will have a team that can be a family and celebrate everyone's victories. Some teams at IMS like to give out awards at the end of the season to congratulate people for what they have done and make
006them feel good about themselves in their playing. Some awards I have gotten are outstanding athlete, sixth one of the year, fastest feet, and leadership. Whenever I got these awards, I felt very happy to know that what I've done was seen and that I have a purpose in what I'm doing. In the end, there's such a wide variety of sports at IMS. There's definitely one for [Applause] you. I'm Ruby, a member of student council and an eighth grader. One thing that I'm proud of at IMS is the music department and all of the opportunities in it. In chorus, you learn to sing songs that have important messages like we are the world, which we sang last year. The songs spread the lesson of helping one another. When we sing and learn how, we spread important morals
007through our voices. If you are a great singer, you can even have the opportunity to be part of independent singers where you sing for our community. In orchestra, you play powerful pieces where you learn teamwork. You have to learn how to work with other others to be in sync and to play beautiful harmonies and melo and melodies where we play as one and accomplish great orchestral pieces. Orchestra also gives students the opportunity to express themselves through their instrument. They can help deal with stress and other emotions they experience. In H handbells, students learn how to make beautiful chimes while they spread their joy. The audience feels happiness and has a smile on their faces. They also work on teamwork even more than orchestra since they all have different bells at different pitches, making playing harder.
008It also teaches motivation since they work very hard to achieve their goals. There are many great parts of Independence Middle School, and chorus, orchestra, and handbells are only part of it. [Applause] My name is Bria Lang and I'm a seventh grader at Independence Middle School. I participate in lacrosse, track, field hockey, cheer, drama club, chorus, student voices, and orchestra. These activities are provided by Bethl Park for the middle school students. I am grateful that we have the opportunities to be a part of these activities. They provide us with life lessons such as teamwork, leadership, discipline, overcoming adversity, and sacrifice. Student voices is a club that allows teachers to hear about problems and come up with solutions in our school from a student's point of view. I'm very proud to be a part of the undefeated
009middle school cheer squad. As a team co- captain, it gave me the opportunity to demonstrate my leadership skills. I also participate in our school's track and field team. Not only is this sport compet competitive, it allows athletes the opportunity to get into better shape for other sports that they may participate in. Something else that I'm proud of is our math classes. Bethl provides four different levels of math for seventh and eighth graders. Seventh grade math, eighth grade pre-alggebra, and 9th grade algebra are the levels for seventh grade. Eighth grade pre-alggebra, 9th grade algebra, and 10th grade geometry are the levels for eighth grade. As a student in algebra, these class systems have pushed me to my best ability and got the best the best education I could have. I take pride of many things at
010Independence Middle School, but these are just a few. [Applause] My name is Pen McLaclin. I'm a seventh grader at Independence Middle School. And two subjects I enjoy are technology education and school band. In Bethl Park musical programs, there are plenty of amazing teachers and a wide variety of instruments to learn from. There is also a marching band program and multiple jazz band programs for students to take part in. I play in seventh grade percussion and I'm glad that I am getting these skills that will take me to the next level of my musical career in high school. Another program I take pride in is Teched. Techad allows students to experience multiple creative classes through the years such as constructive learning, coding, measurements, woodwork, and 3D design. I feel strong that the skills I've learned will
011be beneficial for classes to take in a career and in my future. Thank [Applause] you. Hello, my name is Matthew Lton. I'm in seventh grade and I'm on team valor. As a student at IMS, I have many things I'm proud of at at our school. I'm most proud of our club, school sports, and the inclusiveness. As a swimmer for the IMS team, I can say there's so much camaraderie and passion in our common sport. I have met some of my really good friends from the Bethl Park, IMS, and WCK teams. Anytime we are in practice or at a meet and myself or another swimmer may not have a great swim, add time on their swim or not meet the goal they wanted to achieve, the coaches and other swimmers reassure you that it's okay to
012have an off swim. But the next time we need to push ourselves to our limits to make up for our swim. Two words I would describe swimming as are persistence and encouragement. In drama club, we build a family on our love for performing, acting, and singing. This year we did the musical Elf Jr. I was cast as Michael Hobs. The drama club puts on amazing shows with such talented kids. Even if you weren't cast as a lead part, you still have a huge role in making the show come to life and making it feel real for the audience members. Performing on the IMA stage has helped me get more confident so I can do bigger shows. It allowed me to have the opportunity to audition for the Bethl Park High School musical. I was cast
013as K I was cast as Kurt von Trap in The Sound of Music at the high school. The IMS drama club has helped me make new friends, collaborate with others, and I'm looking forward to performing on the new stage with my fellow drama club members. One thing another one another one another thing I am proud of at IMS and all the Bethl Park schools is the inclusiveness. I have a brother with Down syndrome and Bethl Park is a great place for kids like my brother to feel the support and the inclusiveness others our school have. He was involved in the sore class and was in the IMS musical when he was there. The sore class was very beneficial to him and his peers. The musical was a great way to have fun and perform with
014his peers and non-disabled students. There are so many things I'm proud of, but those are just some of them. Thank you for listening. Nobody can say it better than our students. Thank you so much for inviting us here and allowing them to share what they're proud of at Bethl Park. Have a good night. Thank you, Mr. S. At this time, we have a little certificate for your students. So, Mrs. Sutton, Mr. Miller, Mr. Beck, you want to come up also, please? Mrs. Janisac and Mrs. Fay will be presenting here for you guys tonight. [Music] Well, you can hand them out and then we'll do a call out. You guys did a great job. [Music] didn't know that you're going to be in every single pitch you're going for. Megan didn't tell you that. There's an
015extra charge for photos. Wait, hold on. Turn that Okay, everyone. Good. All right. Hey guys, congratulations. [Applause] Thank you, Mr. Carley. Yeah. And it empties. At least we get them here for 10 minutes. Get them for 10 minutes. It's like church. Pass the basket around. Except for the communion just takes early dismissal. Like the priest that goes to the park. Okay, back to business. All right, we're back to business. Now, adopt the agenda for business items. Somebody please be move it forward. Second. All right. Business items agenda has been moved by Mrs. Janisak, second by Mr. Scowzo. Mr. Pisher. Vote in is open. Thank you. [Music] Yay. Yes. Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. The minutes, if everyone had a chance to review them, have a motion to approve them, please. Second. All right. Minutes been
016approved. Moved by Mrs. Headley, second by Mr. Scowzer. Mr. Picinary. Do you mind for vote? Voting is open. Yeah. Thank you, sir. Motion passes. Caleb Caleb. Joe Caleb. Caleb. Caleb. I apologize, sir. I I will guarantee by June It's only one more meeting till he graduates. Mr. Motra, we're going to make him a name plate. He's he's he's been a steadfast. We're going to make him a name plate. Just I apologize. At this time, student government Caleb, would you please offer your report? Um it is currently our spring spirit week. Yesterday um yesterday was pastel colors day. Um today was floral and patterns and tomorrow is country verse country club. Thank you. Um we are currently planning our staff appreciation week which is May 5th through the 9th. Some of our plans include our annual
017staff breakfast and a lunch in for and additionally we will have a lunch for the cafeteria staff and gifts for our crossing guards and bus drivers. And finally we are planning a drive for an animal shelter the Washington area Humane Society. Um, we also hope to get IMS student council involved to make this more of a communitywide um drive. Thank you, sir. Very good. Uh, next is PTO PTA is Miss Griffith. Miss Griffith, if you're possible, would you join us? We're good. She's not coming through. Hello, Miss Griff. Griffith, you there? Please. I think it's moving. Now it's off. Now it's on. Can you hear us? Don't forget if it's Morris code, I'm sorry. I'm not a Mr. Beck military, right? Well, uh I do have the report here in front of me. I can
018read it since her connection seems to be technical difficulty. So, we'll start with NAMS. They recently wrapped up a successful book fair and they continued the fun with their popcorn Fridays, a school store followed by an amazing talent show where the students were odd with students awed and wowed to the crowd. Penn last week uh visited the book fair and they're now gearing up for their first ever night at the museum. The event will showcase Penn students dressed as historical figures who will bring their stories to life, sharing their contributions to the world. In addition, there will be a unique student artwork and a mini museum from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Lincoln wrapped up its book fair, which was very successful. Tomorrow is its annual science fair and art expo, and Friday it
019begins Lincoln Loggers practice sessions. IMS PTO will host a young entrepreneur day at the IMS cafeteria on Saturday, April 26th. They also continue to have successful school stores and popcorn Fridays throughout the month. The IMS PTO is also busy planning teacher appreciation activities for May 5th through the 9th, as well as move up day on June 6th at the BPHs football field. Nominations are being accepted for the incoming 2526 PTO board and elections will occur at our virtual PTO meeting on May 12th. Washington just finished up two fundraisers, Sarah's Candy and Copout perogis. We have a fourth grade pool party coming up at the YMCA. The green team had their recycling event the p previous weekend, April 5th, at the school and we're currently working on planning our sports day, which is May 14th. The
020We Run Club is off and running. Ben Franklin, the kids did an excellent job during the readathon and loved getting to throw pies at their teachers. Fundraisers are wrapping up and everyone is preparing for the art and science fair. The kids also have been doing so well that they earned an ice cream party for the schoolwide sore time. That's your PTA PTO report. Thank you, sir. Uh at this time, solicit report. Um I do not have a report for this evening. Thank you. Oh, very good. Thank you. Uh any committee reports from uh our colleagues? No. Yes, ma'am. I just have a couple things from PSBA, Pennsylvania Schoolboard Association. Um they have announced that they are running a let's see an asynchronous course in partnership with Millersville University for school leaders on foundational AI and
021that is a cohort that is opening June 16th through August. So if anyone's interested in that, the PSBA institute website will have information available. They are currently working on a cybercharter funding reform campaign and you all have access to that information in your my PSBA pages and they are continuing to run uh coho co cohorts on safety and security with pensi um and actually shipped us a whole bunch of stop the prop door stickers which I noticed over at the high school. Thank you for putting those up. Um, and they are having an advocacy day in Harrisburg on May 13th. So, anyone who's available to attend that, they will set you up with legislators that you can advocate for public school funding throughout the Commonwealth. And they are coming out in May apparently with a
022webinar about building board bridges, but there is nothing currently available. I'll let you know when it's available because that does sound interesting. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mrs. in a sec. Uh, at this time, Superintendent Walsh. Thank you, Mr. Modrack. Good evening, everyone. Start tonight with first a shout out to our IMS folks. That was great. It was really nice to see such a a depth and breadth of uh experiences that the students are having and what a great group to represent the school. So, thank you for the IMS folks. Please pass that on to them and it's nice to have the team back there. Uh second thing is to share with the board a couple of uh snippets about the retirees as we do every month. You'll be voting on two retirements tonight.
023Uh this first is for Vincent Gavalic. Vincent started his career as a Bethl Park School District substitute custodian and uh in 2009 he took on a 12-month union position and in 2012 he became the head custodian at Franklin and he'll retire from that job at the end of June. Edward Stano was originally hired as a substitute bus driver in March of 2012. He was hired full-time in January of 2013 as a bus driver and he'll retire at the end of the school year, unless you want to vote no and keep him on for a little bit longer. I'm sure Dr. Corsinski. So, we wish uh Vincent and Edward a long and happy retirement. Thank them for their service to Bethl Park Schools. for your strategic plan update. Uh we would be on the last of
024the cycle is the budget and finance goals and uh the board will be hearing more from Mr. Pisherary next month on budget and finance particularly the 2526 budget and how things look for that uh preliminary budget approval. So I'm going to actually just circle back and share a couple of one document with you that's at your desks already. uh you had asked for this year to get quarterly reports on the traffic in the high school and IMS teams room and uh you'll see here the the front side of this report shows you the the attend the participation or the services in um both of those spaces from the first nine week or from the third nine weeks and on the back side you have Neil and the elementary schools use of the tiered intervention systems
025that we have in place for student support. I'd like to turn the microphone over to Mr. Cromy who has his five big things for May. All right. Good. Yeah. Good evening, everyone. It's uh always uh fun to talk about all the great things that are happening at Bethl Park. Of course, there's always way more than five things that are I feel like Billy Joel. Um, okay. So, there's always way more than five things happening at Bethl Park that are great and uh it's always hard to narrow it down, but this month we're especially excited about some of the things we're talking about. Uh, of course, Bethl Park's colors are black and orange, but we chose blue uh to be our theme this month because our our theme for this one is autism awareness and acceptance
026month. Uh, April is autism awareness and acceptance month. Bethl Park High School students in room 403 marked paraprofessional appreciation day and autism awareness and acceptance day by honoring support staff and promoting autism awareness. Students and staff wore custommade shirts to show their support highlighting the school's commitment to inclusivity and appreciation. Four seniors from the class of 2025 have received appointments to the United States Servicemies for the first time in school history. Their achievements reflect their and the school's strong focus on leadership, service, and academic excellence. Seniors Clancy Aie, Brady McCirin, and Roco Capazolei will attend the Naval Academy while Aaron Hoffower is headed to West Point. They will each report in June to take the next step in their journeys. Sophia Iorio has earned Ganon University's prestigious Presidential Scholarship, a 4-year full tuition award valued
027at nearly $170,000. She plans to enroll in Ganon's 5-year PA program and was selected from a competitive pool based on her essay, art project, and interview. Inspired by her cousin, a practicing PA, Iorio wrote about her role, her as a role model, and created the collage of Pittsburgh's yellow bridges to represent her character in connection to Ganon's mission. Jacob Cunningham, a third grader at Memorial Elementary School, recently had the experience of a lifetime training at Real Madrid Academy in Spain. After impressing coaches at a previous camp, he was invited to Madrid where he practiced at Real Madrid's elite facilities, toured the city, and attended a match between Real Madrid and Laggonis. He his strong performance earned him MVP honors for the 20145 age group and a full scholarship to this summer's training camp in Pittsburgh.
028On Saturday, May 3rd, from 1 to 4 PM, the district will host its annual Artsfest and Steam Expo at Bethl Park High School. This interactive community event celebrates creativity, innovation, and discovery for learners of all ages. Attendees can explore a variety of student artwork and hands-on projects in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. That concludes our five big things. Thank you, Mr. Cromy. And uh I think we had talked about bringing those four gentlemen up to the board for uh a little more recognition for what is clearly a a milestone, a significant event in all the academyy's history to have four from one school system. Yeah, they're going to they're going to um appear at the May 27th meeting and um they're very excited about it and if you meet them, they're uh they are
029amazing representatives of Bethl Park. So, we're very proud to be associated with them. Yeah. So, we're proud that they're going to serve in this way. I'm noticing, by the way, that they're very strong, handsome guys with lots of hair that will probably be gone by the time they were they were talking about that. They were saying they were talking about like different ways to shave. They had like different strategies involved. I don't know. I said I do it naturally. You know, I'm a traditionalist. That all happens postp prom, right? They don't have to worry about short hair. Thank you. So, the last piece for tonight from my agenda will be the uh curriculum and instruction department's bright spots. And tonight, Mrs. Figley is going to share with you a little bit more detail about our
030high school or our new elementary school project and the nature lab. Hi, good evening everyone. Just wanted to take some time today to share one of the pieces of the elementary construction that we haven't had an opportunity to speak a lot about. Um, from the early early stages of design, we wanted to have an outdoor classroom. Uh, a lot of research supports outdoor classrooms. If you've ever seen children engaged in outdoor learning, that is enough to tell you that this is a great idea. Um, an outdoor clock classroom is a great way to foster curiosity and wonder and hands-on learning. It teaches students to appreciate the environment. Um, naturally immersive and engaging for students. It is a multiensory experience. There's a lot of physical health benefits. It is not stagnant learning. Students are able to
031be outside getting natural light, more oxygen. This is going to reduce stress and improve engagement. Um, lots of opportunities for real world application of math and science content and critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration. Just to provide some context of where this is in the elementary center, elementary school, sorry. Um, if you right on the bottom, you're looking at the blueprint of the middle floor of the school. So, I have the yellow arrow pointing to between the two grade levels. Um, this area has all been designated for the outdoor classroom. I have a quick video to provide perspective. All right, we're looking at our stream lab. We've got the K1 stream lab 2 three art rooms kindergarten wing currently standing in the outdoor classroom toward the education that bridge that connects the grade level and
032next up will be the first grade classrooms inside classrooms will have a view of the outdoor classroom Um, so that right there, the big blueprint, we did post one over there on the wall as well. Just kind of shows you uh the grand scheme design, but we're going to break it down into smaller pieces. All right, we're looking at Got it. This first part of the outdoor classroom is right when you walk out of the stream classroom. So, this is concrete and these are where you're going to find opportunities for more traditional learning that you would see inside that we can take outside. Um, so you'll have flexible seating, um, easels made of either plexiglass or chalkboards, opportunities for play, lot of flexible seating and storage so that we can This is all outside so
033we need to make sure that everything is weatherproof. There's also a large area um below that um where we'll show you some of the blocks that are available outdoors. Some of the things that we imagine would be happening in that space would be uh imaginative play such as a rock kitchen, um water tables, uh you natural wood blocks, those are from the imagination playground, um the blue blocks there. Um also a shed with all of the things that you would want to use when writing in nature. Um, that could be chalk, it could be paint brushes made with sticks and feathers. Um, and like I said earlier, we would want to have different media for the students to create on, whether it be chalkboards or plexiglass. Here's some um, samples of the flexible seating we'd
034like to see in that space. Now, we're going to walk a little bit farther out past that first concrete pad. Um, so what you're looking at here is the longer part of the courtyard. Um, if you see the white rectangles kind of planted around, those are where we will have simple machines. Um, and we'll get into that a little bit more. Um, the foot is actually was it didn't start that way. Um, but once we realized what it was, we thought that it had a great place um to talk about your your footprint, your digital footprint. Um, also a great way for young ones to talk about measurement. Sometimes we measure in non-standard ways. Um maybe we're measuring in sticks or paper clips. Um so we thought it was a great feature. It was an
035accident, but we love it. Um the simple machines are a really great way to introduce design thinking. They are an exploration of force and motion. And the students can create endless things using the simple machines. And they also can use that in that process where they're going to try to find the most efficient way to design. Um the simple machines are deeply rooted in applied mathematics and real world applications. When you think of things like transportation, um vehicles, uh construction, these are the basis for a lot of things. So those will be um scattered throughout the courtyard. Here are some examples of the way we'd like um those to be placed for the students. We are working with the industrial arts workshop who was a metal welding um organization in Pittsburgh and they are going
036to help us. We've requested the screw um but we have asked them to design that for us. Um but you are able to purchase those in different places um but we do see some opportunities to work with the high school wood shop as well. Um, in addition to the um I'm sorry, the um simple machines exploring physical science, you also can explore the exploration of waves, light and sound waves. Um, we'd like to have opportunities for making music. Um, that is a pebble well. Um, exploring light and mirrors. Uh, we have a sund dial, also a magnification station that the students can explore items that they've collected. Um, a a big part of this will be the school garden. Um, this is definitely something that we've seen happening in the buildings now and we'd like
037to expand on that. Um, these are great opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. Kids can be encouraged to eat healthy. Um, it definitely takes responsibility and patience to grow a garden. Um, again, reducing stress and anxiety, strengthening the school community when we're all working together on something, promoting sustainability, which is also something that is in the new science standards. And and a big piece of the school garden is that the students have a part in the design and the planning of it. You really see a lot of ownership when you offer agency to the students. Here are some of the ideas we have for the outdoor classroom where the garden will be. Um, but we would like to see, like I said, see the students in their ideas for design. One of the things that I am
038really excited about in the outdoor classroom is that when often when we're teaching students, they'll say, "When am I ever going to use this?" Um, there is no better place for measurement and data than in an outdoor classroom. Um, nature certainly lends itself to numbers here. So, I I wanted to show you kind of the continuum here from kindergarten to first grade in both measurement and data. So students are going to go all the way from very simple things like describing and comparing shapes and sizes all the way to in fifth grade when they're solving problems using the conversions. Um if anyone's ever built anything, you know that's challenging. That's a life skill that we want our students to have. Um data is something that's a very big part of the PA steels. Data literacy
039in general is a very big part of the 21st century. Um so it starts in kindergarten where you're classing classifying objects and counting them. moving in sophistication to fifth grade where you're then solving problems involving computation of fractions. Um, and that's going to get as far as the sophistication is going to go from tables and charts to picture graphs, line graphs, scatter plots. These are great when you're out in outside. You can be calculating the weather, how tall the plants are, but this is definitely a real world application for the kids. And I wanted to show you here that the there's a big shift in in math standards when the students go to sixth grade. So you'll see that number and operations are you're spending five years working in number and operations in base 10.
040And in sixth grade you're going to be moving to ratios and proportions, the number system, expressions and equations. We want them to have that conceptual knowledge that they've explored and discovered in elementary school. Same thing with measurement and data. It gets a little bit more sophisticated moving to sixth grade when we start learning about statistics and probability. Um you may have noticed under the the bridge would be the covered portion of the um outdoor classroom and made in turf is the golden ratio. I don't know if you're familiar with the great golden ratio. You probably are and maybe don't realize it. Um but it is the it's the most commonly occurring ratio in nature. Um it's quite lovely and pleasing to the eye. Um but it's also related to the Fibonacci sequence. Um so when
041you have repeated those sequences, you can see some of the examples in nature there. Um the universe, storms, flowers, animals. For all my math people who want to understand the golden ratio, essentially it is when you're taking like a Fibonacci sequence and those numbers are going to add in they're going to increase each time by one and you're going to add the two numbers previous in that sequence together. So you can see it underneath the numbers as it's adding. And when you get far along in that sequence, if you take a ratio of the of one of the larger numbers and a smaller number, it's always going to come out to 1.68. Um, and that is the ratio of the golden ratio. Um, so you can see that up there. When you keep repeating that
042in a golden rectangle, you're going to start to get the golden spiral, which where you start to see that curve. And you may not even realize it, but a lot of people use it in design. um whether it be architecture or art, um the human face, even if you think about how a resume is positioned, it is very much used in design to make sure that it's aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Um the last thing I wanted to share with you that we're really excited about is the interactive signage. This is a really great way to have the students interacting with the environment. We also want them to be a part of creating this signage. Um, something we saw at the botanical gardens, um, they had a little mailbox where they would, um, they called
043it the tree times and they would keep up-to-date information about what was happening or what was growing in the garden. Um, we can also get some help from the middle school teched shop there. That sign is simply made with a laser engraver. It could be used signs can be used for wayfinding to help them identify things. And in the spirit of inclusivity, we would also want to have a PEX system. um so students uh who are non-verbal could be able to see and communicate with those in the environment. Um so we're very very excited about the outdoor classroom. There's really not anything like it around and it really provides a great opportunity for us to get really really creative with the curriculum. Um again shout out we the smartest person in the room is the
044room. This project has absolutely been a collaboration. Ideas from the Botanic Garden, Children's Museum, um, industrial arts workshop, and I didn't forget about Zen Mark. We our first sculpture that will go in the outdoor classroom um, was welded by a student at the industrial arts workshop. He is a praying manis, and his name is Zen and Mark keeps trying to hide him from us. He is not He is not hidden. She had she tried to have that thing moved into this building and she needs a little work on her ratio because quite large Anthony. Yeah, that was me to try to That was Anthony. But he's going to be the mascot for the Zen is well preserved and taken care of right now. I'll believe it when I see him. Thank you very much. Thank
045you, Mr. Spigley and Mr. Cromy. I had just one question. I mean, that was super interesting on the outdoor classroom. How do you see it now getting actually integrated into the curriculum? You know, like what does it look like in the day of a life of a student now who would experience this? So the stream teachers will be responsible for the engineering units and also the environmental and sustainability units. So those teachers would you're going to try to be very deliberate about when you schedule those units so that you're there you're not stepping over each other and everybody has time to use it. Sure. Now, in general, the math and the gardening and the measurement and data, a sign up genius, um, even something like MLER, what we use at the high school, just having
046a schedule of when it's available, teachers can go on, reserve it for a certain amount of time, you can fit up to three classrooms out there. Okay. Um, it's it's a pretty large space and so teachers will be able to reserve that space to go out. Yeah. Okay. Good. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you, Mr. Pigle. and we'll uh we'll look forward to the quiz on the golden ratio at our next board meeting. Yes, I can tell. Thank you. That's all I had. Mr. Can we request to be here? Yes. Yes, we should. He's the one that took him out of here. He was not Does he need Zen is under protection? He is fine. Um Zen won't fit in this building. We tried. Um we can't get it through the doors. I I came
047back from a weekend and they tried to put Zen through the doors and the it will not fit. No, no, we are not doing the roof. We got all roof problems anyways. Zen might need a a hawk shirt or a hat or something. We could get Zen in the building, but it would take us to cut it apart and then reweld it. We don't want to hurt Zen. Thank Thank you for the effort. All right. Thank you everybody. I have pass it back to you. Thank you Dr. Walsh. This time we are open for public comments on agenda items. Going once. All right, we'll move on to our next item. Consent agenda. Mrs. Hoppy, who do you like to have have consent agenda? Oh, who would I like to? I think Mrs. Feice tonight. I
048think I'd like Mrs. Special. Thanks, Gail. This is Feice. Would you mind taking the consent agenda tonight? 552 things on the consent agenda. We'll do a quick version. There there are um 23 items on the consent. No, 22 items on the consent agenda. Um Oh, do you want second? Thank you. You're welcome. We're ready. Voting is open. You're my best friend. That's all. All righty. Thank you, Mr. Scalza. Motion passes. Mr. Scowza, curriculum committee. Okay. Okay. We have one item. It's discussion on inclusive education. Thank you. Um, so I wanted to talk a little bit about inclusive education and what that means and and doesn't mean. Um, the Bureau of Special Ed in the Commonwealth is taking a particular interest in the data for especially for students who have an intellectual or developmental disability or
049multiple disabilities and their rate of inclusion in general education spaces, which is something that happens across the state and and really at a national level. um you know there's it's it's not an it's not something that is unique to to our district. It's kind of like a societal thing and that's just where we are right now. Um but I wanted to start talking about what really effective inclusive practices look like um and also what they don't look like and see if we can get a board conversation going about that and generate some interest. This is one of those changes that um it takes a long time and planning there's a lot of planning involved and it's something that has to kind of grow um and I am always hopeful that we can grow that but
050without starting that conversation somewhere we just keep like delaying it. Um, so I gave everybody um a pamphlet uh designed for school leaders about achieving inclusion. Um, and I just want to read on the the second page of it in the box. I think it's a really good definition of what we're talking about. Says inclusive education means that we no longer accept that separate classrooms, separate schools, and separate lives are in the best interest of any student. Separating people by ability disadvantages everyone. Belonging is a human need. Our educational system, practices, and spaces need to be reimagined. Every student is valued because of their strengths, gifts, and even challenges. As disability is simply diversity. Everyone benefits from meaningful participation and opportunities to learn grade level content with diverse peers. We must trust that all students
051come to us as incredible whole people who do not need to be fixed. Yes, Mrs. spice. Okay. I didn't know I didn't know if there was more, but I just I'm a life skills teacher, so I don't know if uh people know that or not, but I've seen this um and it's it's pretty outstanding and and really what it means is that you're putting your kiddos with disabilities in with your regular kiddos. And it works really well if you do that at a at a really young age, like in elementary. I know that I teach high school, but I know that um watching my guys that went into um like your regular readings and your regular maths in elementary school, they picked up so much. And while we do adapt work and and and level
052and all that, it's amazing the kids that um and I'm just going to say this and I'm probably going to get in trouble at work, but the kids that were in life schools from a really early age compared to the kids that were in those uh regular or learning support classrooms, the basics of of letter recognition and phonics and and number recognition and onetoone and stuff like that, they they have it because I think it was taught the way that everyone else is taught even though it's adapted. So, um I do want to say that I think it's awesome especially at those younger ages and at the high school level right now like I've had my guys for years and years and uh we have a coffee shop where I work that the business class
053teaches the life skills kids. They we there's we're the teachers are outside the um the shop. We don't go in and teach. and the mentorship and the growth like between even like the regular kids, the regular ed kids and my kids, the growth has been amazing. But my kids can go in and do whole stations now in the coffee shop that there's no like it's astounding. It's awesome. So, I do feel like um sometimes you hear inclusivity and you're like, whoa, that's going to be a disruption in my classroom or that's how do we do that? But when it's done the right way, it's huge. and they have like buddies and the the regular ed kids are totally into it. Like they're friends with my kids now and they love taking them under their wing
054and helping them and working with them and it's just a it's a really cool thing to see. So, I'm going to shut up now, but it it does work if we like do it right. And I think that's like that's kind of why I wanted to bring it up because I think sometimes a lot of people think that um they may hear about students who are having a hard time and often assume that that hard time is hardwired to the disability and it isn't there. There really really aren't disabilities that come with that as a guarantee. Um, that's often a reflection of a kid not being able to get their needs met in the moment. And it is a big shift because it's a systemic shift. And I'm, you know, Buffy and I for for
055a while, she thought I was saying, "We're just sending all these kids to you tomorrow. Good luck with that." Right? And that's not and that was never um that's not effective. That's like not an effective way to do it. It requires a system change and I'm about the systemic change and I know that the inclusive practices work. My job is helping families and school teams brainstorm and implement inclusive practices in ways that work for students and families and schools. Um, not going to say it's easy. I'm not going to say it's a magic wand. Um, and it's something that requires us all to change our hearts and our minds about what we think is possible for students and people with disabilities. And sometimes people think it's not possible, but I know it is because that's
056I see it every day. So that's what I wanted to open up and see if you guys had thoughts. So I just had a question. I mean, I don't think we're on the scale of zero where we don't do this at all, but where where are we falling short? So, a truly inclusive education is where everybody starts in the general education classroom. And it really is kind of what IDEIDA imagines that everybody starts there and all everything you can possibly do to like change the environment, change the way all of the adults think about students. And when you are successful doing that, fewer and fewer and fewer students need to or want to be in a different placement, whether that's outside the district or a different placement inside the district. And there's always going to
057be that continuum of services. Um but a lot of it is about training providing training and professional development about what is different in people's brains so that they're understanding um the kids are trying to make a connection and they're they're having difficulty and they may not be able their brain is not wired to do the thing you're expecting them to do in the way you're expecting it. And when we can all work together and understand that people are all different yet everyone is valuable. So we're not doing that today. I think as with all districts and all schools everywhere, we can do more. Um, I also think bringing a a parent panel together of families in the community who have experience with that with their kids, um, who are wired differently and what would help
058them would be a good idea because then you're hearing from those families because I've heard from them, but if they're not calling you, I can't tell you all their stories. Dr. Mitch, Dr. Shu, if you don't mind. uh percentage-wise of of our students K to 12, we identify how much how many how much of a percentage you think have been identified through the mechanism and tools we have available of our overall student uh population that are designated special way 19% currently 19. So it's a good portion obviously almost a fifth and then of course we have x amount of staff that would tied in to to that too. So we do have a large you know large population within our community and again we we in the years talked about it Bethl has been known
059to be one of the forefront leaders in special uh education um for students and their families. So but again yes could be room could be better. Yeah, there are a lot of things that um that we could do and also those are the students who are identified um and there are students that have disabilities who don't might not qualify for those services and there are a lot of students who aren't identified. They themselves might not know maybe nobody wants like the family doesn't want them to be evaluated or who are on the edges. And the one of the wonderful things about inclusive education is you're changing the learning environment for everyone. So what is available for students is available for everybody. And it helps kids who might not have or need an IEP, but who
060are getting an understanding that they're they're not forgetting the pencil on purpose to make everybody angry. And if after a couple of times it's not getting corrected, like then then we need to build a support for that. and teaching students how to access supports and know what works for them because it's not really about fixing everybody, right? It's about helping helping students learn what they need to be successful and how to access it. Yes, absolutely. in a bigger more inclusive way that requires more supports and the allocation and distribution of our supports perhaps in a different way. Yes. Well, and it is though still um special education and it is an individualized plan. So I don't think that and and again I'm speaking as an educator um a special educator for a million billion years
061I feel like and uh I do think that sometimes those um the life skills room is the best place. I do. I think that some of those kids need that and they that and and I mean I wouldn't have a job if there were in a life skills room and I take what I do very very seriously. So I don't I do think you know and I again like I said I think that in the lower grades is our opportunity but um the needs change and and sometimes you know every kid's not going to fit anywhere. True. So that's just to clarify for all the teachers who are thinking I'm talking about eliminating the teachers. No no I didn't mean right. I just it made me realize that some people might think that it it's
062more about having gened teachers and special ed teachers work together um to create cohesive classrooms where students without disabilities can be successful and students with disabilities can be successful and everyone grows up knowing that each of them have strengths and gifts and everyone needs help with some things. And it really it also is our opportunity to change that larger world because when kids leave our buildings, they become the hiring managers and companies and they become the night shift at the car wash or the gas station. And when they have grown up knowing kids with disabilities um and understanding them and accepting them, then they're not afraid to make that decision to hire because they know that they can do that job. So, it really is a way of of kind of making that impact in
063a a broader sense as well. And it's good for all kids. Kids without disabilities. Um, research shows, which your booklet covers, uh, that they do as well as or better when they have an inclusive class system set up. So, something they wanted to start talking about. Absolutely. I think when we hear a lot about inclusive education, I think a lot of people's brains go straight to life skills. They, you know, and and that's only a small percentage of that 19% that uh Dr. Shu just mentioned. Um it could be a kid in my co-taught bio class over Mount Leman who's a phenomenal writer, wins awards for writing, just 4.6, but cannot do math for the life of her. Every time math with that disability that she has in math, it freaks her out. All right.
064So having that type of inclusive education is is appropriate for that girl. All right. Otherwise, can she can she access any class that has a a big part of it as math? Probably not. Um so so it's it's important to think bigger than just life skills. It's I guarantee you guys you would walk in any classroom say let's say we go with the percentage 20% of the kids in each classroom are identified as as uh special ed you wouldn't be able to point out 99% of them. I guarantee you that. All right. And the one you do point out is probably the one telling you. So um just keep that in mind. Okay. Are there any other questions from any board any other board members? [Music] Okay. I I think that Oh, shoot. I to
065your point of um having a spectrum of supports that we provide students um our last December count showed that we had students in an itinerate setting, meaning that they are participating with their typical peers, 80% or more, um was 68.5%. So a large portion of our students are participating with our students with their typical peers. Thank you folks. Okay, any other further questions? Okay, I think that concludes our discussion. Mr. Modrack. Thank you, Mr. Scowzo. Uh at this time, Mr. McGregor of the personnel committee, please. Okay, under personnel tonight, there are six items. I will read those. Acceptance of resignations. Number two, approval of contracts. Number three, appointment of assistant superintendent for K through uh or 6 through 12 education. Ch change of assignment. Number five, approval of staff train the trainer for focus. And
066number six, approval of extended school year staffing. Now, before we vote on all of them, I would like to hold out number four for now. And if we have any conversation on one, two, three, five, and six, let's have it now. If not, then I move those uh five to vote. Is that cool? Can we do that? I'd like to second the I guess the one two three and five and six. Yes. Okay. At this time, we're moving items one to three and five and six and by Mr. McGregor, second by Mr. Scowzo, and we will hold out on number four. Change of assignment. Mr. You can vote on number six. Yep. Motion passes. Okay. Number four, change. Okay. Number four, change of assignment. Tonight, we have three individuals out here in the crowd who
067are going to come up and and give us a rundown of their entire professional career. Uh we're going to start in alphabetical order. That's our first step. See which one comes up first. All right. So, Mr. FY, can you please come? Does he have a twominute match? Start the timer soon as you hit the mic. So this this uh the motion that that's preceding these talks actually is regarding appointments of principles and the board had um is aware that we've been through some transition and so tonight we're ready to make these recommendations to the board about principles and who's going to be leading us through 2026 and beyond all the way to uh the better future that we have for Bethl Park. So we'll start with Mr. Fody, who is up for approval tonight as
068the principal of IMS, Independence Middle School. Uh, first of all, thank you so much for this opportunity. Um, I've been in Bethl Park for 15 years, which is hard to believe. And I taught at the high school. I had a chance to be an assistant principal. And I feel like I know this community like a family. Um, the staff, the family, the families I've met with as a special education teacher. Um, even though I don't live here, I kind of feel like this is home. So, this is incredibly exciting to me and I like to look at it as a great opportunity to go to the middle school and prepare them for what's next. And um, and I think with everyone who's involved today, there's going to be a lot of collaboration and a lot
069of moving forward about the park. I'm excited. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Fodsy, you got a little sneak peek at the caliber of student that are going to be waiting for you at IMS tonight as they presented here. Great. Miss Miracle and Dr. Walsh will give you a rundown on Miracle. So, Mrs. Miracle is is our recommendation to the board to be the principal of the new elementary school that's opening in the fall of 26. We want to make this appointment tonight because there's a lot of work to be done between to now and then. And we want our new principal to be in the in the front of those conversations leading and helping everybody make those commitments and decisions. So, she's on your agenda for approval tonight. She'll maintain her role
070as the Neil Armstrong principal until we cut the ribbon and move into the new school. I want to thank everyone for this opportunity, but I do want to say my voice is shot from um elementary germs. that's a thing. Um, so thank you so much. I met with you all earlier in the month and talked a lot about what we envision for the new elementary school. And one of the things I can say while I was sitting there thinking, I was watching Mandy's slides and not only is the outdoor classroom taking root, but I have watched the entire building take root in the backyard of Neil Armstrong. And so while the trees got cut down when I came here in January last year, I've watched each and every step and I feel like I'm, you
071know, raising the building up while we watch it from our cafeteria windows. I'm very excited to take a visit over there and see what it's all about. It looks really amazing from the footprint that we looked at tonight. And I'm really excited to get back to elementary school. While I love fifth and sixth graders and it's been wonderful, uh, my heart is with the little ones and I'm really excited to get back to them, too. So, looking forward to a really, really big future here. Thank you. So, we've had a lot of conversation as a board about giving the community a chance to see some bits and pieces. Tonight you saw a lot about the the outdoor classroom which we've been teasing about. Um not teasing but tempting. Uh our plan then is is for
072Mrs. Miracle to start visiting each of the elementary schools to introduce herself to the faculty and the staff. Uh and then we're going to host a a parent information night. We've committed to u May 19th for a community forum. We'd like to invite folks to join us to see more, hear more, uh get a little more meat on the bone. uh uh so to speak about what's going to happen, when it's going to happen, how it's going to happen, who it's going to happen with, and and every other possible uh subjective pronoun that I can put into that conversation. Uh and we're just so pleased that to be able to have such a you know, a great administrator uh taking us into that better future. And last uh will be our recommendation for Mrs. Raquel
073Sutton to be principal of Beth Park High School. uh the board already just moments ago uh will commission Mr. Volani to be the princ the assistant superintendent. So that leaves Mrs. Sutton the opportunity to take Bethl Park High School to its next best. You know, the administrative team read the book Good to Great about two, three years ago. And one of the key pieces of Good to Great is about having the right people on the bus and in the right seats. And the motions in front of you tonight are getting not just the right people on the bus, but getting them in the right seats to help us take the bus down the road. So, Mrs. Sutton, come on up. And let's put a little pressure on you, Mr. Sutton. I'm going to say first
074clarify I'm not qualified to actually drive a bus. Just in case we can arrange that real fast. That's it. I can't see over the steering wheel. Job descriptions are being expanded a little bit here, guys. Sorry, Mrs. No, but I'm going to put some public pressure on you. So, I'm going to say right now to everybody in the room that she is almost done with chapters 1, two, and three. And we hope that by the time she starts in August, she would be Dr. Sutton. So, no pressure. No, no pressure. Come on. Let's get those chapters done. ABD Sutton. Very close, but so far away. Um, first, I want to thank the entire Bethl Park community. Uh when I started here in January of 2022, um I was trusted with taking over IMS and a
075major renovation project. Um I've been able to see so many things happen, but I've learned so much about so many facets of education, architecture, construction, and mostly working with people. Um and it's been an amazing opportunity. This decision is, I'll be honest with you, it's bittersweet. Um, I love IMS and the kids and the staff. It's been amazing. Uh, but I'm really excited for new opportunities because continuously this district has been able to provide me great opportunities for growth and welcomed me into your community the whole time. So, I am very thankful that you are trusting me to take the next step. I am excited about what the future has to hold. I'm absolutely ecstatic about our new team, the big three. Um, and I'm anxious to work with uh Mr. Vaini and have all
076this time spent over the summer learning about the high school and stepping onto the next stage. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Any discussion on number four? Hearing none, I would like to move number four. Second. Second. Number four, change of assignment. Moved by Mr. McGregor, second by Mrs. Janisac. Mr. Pisher. Voting is open. Thank you, sir. Motion passes. [Applause] Okay, we just broke Gmail and social media right now because I'm sure that the texting and the chatting is going crazy right now out in your school community. So hopefully you can get your messages out to your folks. stayed secret this whole time. I'm not so sure. I think we came close to a complete meltdown. Fortunately, social media is always very responsible in speculation. So, well, the internet, it's got to be true, right? I
077want to say congratulations to Mr. Vani officially. [Applause] You have nothing to say. And that put the clock up. Hey, that's the first that's the first time. I'm speechless. Excuse me, sir. I think you should go up to the front so the community can see you. Thank you. We going to overtime now? No, I think he just wants him to go up there so the camera [Applause] the slide's open. That's okay. Oh, I would just like to say Dr. Walsh, thank you for the recommendation. School board, thank you for this appointment. Uh, it is truly an honor and a privilege. Uh, you know, coming to Bethl Park in 2018, uh, serving at the high school. Um, with just my colleagues, the administrative team up at Central, uh, the high school, the staff, the students for
078sure, and, uh, the families. Uh, they've welcomed us in. My family is now a part of this community as well. uh love Bethl Park and I'm just very excited to continue the great work. Uh the big three are going to be amazing uh in their roles. Uh and there's just bright days seeing where Bethl has been, where it has been with our going with our strategic plan, our leadership across the board and all the amazing initiatives we have going from the elementary school to the middle school uh at IMS and the high school. Uh again, honored and privileged to continue this and I'm excited for the next step uh in my new role. So, thank you all very much. Okay, now we're done with that. Yes. Uh Mr. Christensen, since you have a light load,
079would you mind taking finance committee here tonight? Yeah, there are uh six items under finance. Uh one is uh payment for the new K- through5 elementary school project. Payment for Independence Middle School phase 2 renovations. payment for independence independence middle school phase three in re renovations acceptance of sorry my eyes are failing me high-5 transition grant items declared unused and unnecessary and approval of st student services contracts would anybody like any of these held out separately seeing none I move items one through six second Uh items one through six moved by Mr. Christensen, second by Mr. Scowzo. Uh Mr. Pisher on number six, student service contract. Is this a new group that we're working with? No, this has been a group that we have been working with. Um you know, Dr. Mch has been working
080with them for quite a few years now and they've been providing all kinds of sub services for us. if it's subs at Pathfinder or subs at our school here. Um they're also going to just support a little bit extra to us during the field trip load that we have coming up because um it's that time of season. All right. Thank you. Thank you, gentlemen. Voting is open. Motion passes. Thank you, Mr. Christensen. Uh you have one item for facilities, please. Yeah. So, for facilities, uh last meeting we had an update from the subcommittee group uh that has been exploring a bunch of different opportunities that we could pursue for our buildings that will be vacated after the elementary school is open. So, we heard uh I mean it it was a kind of an oral
081presentation. We heard a lot of uh good ideas. Uh we wanted to talk a little bit about the next steps kind of the timeline for how we come to decisions and actually the board taking action. And so the process I wanted to propose is that um I would work with Dr. Kzinski over the next four weeks or so to put together a plan, summarize, you know, in in writing what we heard from the group last week to lay out these different options, lay out a master schedule of timing and some of the key milestones and decisions that have to be made along the way. We'll put that into a proposal. We'll present at the first meeting of June to the board, to the community. We'll take input. If we make need to make a version
082two, we'll do that. Once we have a proposal we're comfortable with, we'll take a vote and move forward on those. And the result of that proposal will be a number of action items for administration, for a solicitor, for many people involved uh to make this plan happen. So that's that's the proposal, you know, in terms of kind of the plan to get a plan. Um any discussion and and again restating the obvious we are working on a date of August 15 15 2026 right and working backwards right and that's our and that's the plan we're going to work off of at this point in time right and dates are important also status the buildings that are existing are important Dr. Walsh has reminded us that once they're vacant, you know, we don't we can't insure
083them. We're liable. So, there are some really hard and fixed dates that we need to work around and build this master plan around. I also have some materials at your desks folks that uh keep feeding your information pipeline uh tonight so that you are better prepared to have conversation and and enter in these discussions and make decisions. Uh you have uh appraisals from uh the buildings and that was completed by um an agency back in May of 23. So you have a rough idea of the investment uh that uh potentially the b district would have to work with. You have another copy of theou that the municipality uh and the district entered into uh regarding two of the buildings. you have a copy of the um uh payments that the district has made to the
084municipality. Uh and uh related to thatou, one of the things that we knew that the municipality was doing was waving certain fees and costs related to construction and renovation. Probably the most significant of which was the 1% building permit fee that would have been assessed on the new project, saving the district by waving it, saving us $1.3 million in costs uh in exchange for uh receiving those two buildings. Um so you have some perspective as to whether we're getting our money's worth on that trade. And then the last is relative to the possible reuse of Neil Armstrong after its closure. We had a some conversation about finding a home permanent home for our above before and after school care programs. And you'll see some of the payments that we've received on the current provider of
085before and after school care and what kind of income we could expect in 2026 if we continue that in one location uh outside the new elementary school. So, that's just food for your consumption and information, and we'll keep passing things on as we have it that will help you be better informed uh as Mr. Christensen brings these proposals forward to the board. Can I Thank you, sir. Janice. Oh, can I ask can I just ask a question? How long is How long is the um appraisal good? Does it expire? We would have I would I would think we'd probably want to get updated ones. Okay. because I think there's been a significant change in the real estate market particularly with a common level ratio. So I I wouldn't these numbers aren't going to be lower.
086Okay. Yeah. I since we were talking about um NAMS and the use of NAS potentially for the afterchool care for Lois Johnson and I guess um somebody from the community kind of pointed out that that may increase traffic and parking needs. Um, so I want to make sure we were all thinking about that and if it was worth that versus just having them do it in our elementary. Yeah. So, you know what I like what is the benefit we're getting out of that arrangement other than the and the point in me sharing this information and thinking about it going to NMS was because it's I think there's we're we're keeping that building in our possession right we can't afford to demolish it and it's really we can't sell just that building because it's surrounded by
087our property that we need so by having an occupant that's paying rent we have some sort of income by which we can use to fund its continued operation, the heat, the lights, etc. until we're in a position to do do something differently, do something different with it. Yes. Okay, that totally makes sense. That's what I was missing from last week's mention of that. And if we look back, you know, two three years ago when we first started this project, we had uh Hayes go through and do a um an assessment of the facilities. And surprisingly, even though it doesn't look like it on the outside, if I remember right, NAMS actually had one of the better report cards, you know, when you get down to the bones level of, you know, how it was, you
088know, built and everything. So yeah, doesn't look like it on the outside, but you know, on the inside, you know, it had that dual issue that it had like the good bones, but it had been so customized for the unique middle school experience, it would have been very difficult to turn it into something else, a different type of setup would have been really expensive. Yeah. The the cost this cost still of renovating it for educational purposes, right, you know, is going to be a problem. Yes. Is this one, Dr. Mr. Walsh, the what we've what we have paid. Yes. Okay. And somebody's collecting the part we haven't paid or the municipality is. This is everything we've paid the municipality in terms of dues and fees, right? Construction both at IMS and the elementary school project.
089Right. It's coming the money is coming from uh money we have put in escrow. Yes. When the projects are done, they will release the rest of the escope back to the district. Yes. It is not tied, I want to be clear, it was not tied to theou that says they're going to wave fees. Yes. Because all of these fees, you'll notice, aren't actually going to the municipality. Correct. They're paying inspectors, third party inspectors, uh, that have to do inspections of various stages of the project. Yes, it is the what they wave that I wanted to. Yes. What they wave would be for sure, we know for sure 1% building permit fee of your overall project cost. Okay. Thank you. And there's in addition to that there would be uh inspectors from the municipality that do
090inspections that they're not going to charge us for. These however are third party inspectors that have to be paid. Right. Okay. Dr. W. Thank you. Very informative and helpful. All right. We'll move on then. At this time we have policy committee. Mrs. Hoppy, this is you this time. Well, I'm gonna actually defer to Mrs. Headedley because she's the only board member we have not heard from this evening. Thank you. And she has uh helped with several of these to look at revisions and and check on um citations and things. So take it away, Mrs. Hedley. Thank you, Gail. Um so this is just um the revision. It's the second reading of third for multiple different policies that we have been reviewing. Does anyone have any questions, comments on them currently? Just to um point out
091to the board that after last week's discussion, we did a modification to 8:15.2. This is still the [Music] same policy with just very slight modifications. It'll it'll take its third and final reading in May for approval in May. This is the student cell phone policy that would limit the use of felt cell phones at IMS and the high school in out of academic spaces. I think that IMS is already in that policy world, but this is be new for the high school that uh it's not just teacher discretion anymore. This would be strictly uh restricted use in academic spaces. Could I ask a question? Yeah. Yeah. Are we going to secure like some method of storing them in the classrooms and have them for the fall or teachers going to do their own things or
092Yeah, I guess yes, I think we should provide those sleeves or the whatever they call them now. But um jail, say it again. Cell phone jail. Cell jail. Cell phone jail. Um yeah, we that for those that would need it, we would be able to provide that. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Sadly. At this time, we have another session of public comments on any item that you choose. Two minute time limit. No takers. Okay. Board comments. Aaron. Nice shirt. I'm going to start this off tonight, which I never do. Um, we mentioned earlier today, uh, Mr. Chrommy mentioned that April is autism awareness month. And I'm wearing Sophie's potluck shirt for autism for this month. And so what it does for me at least for this month, uh it helps me just, you know, be a
093little less judgy, a little bit more of a listener and and uh you know, just remember that not everybody enjoys eye contact and small talk and and just keep that in mind and uh as we go through this month and and hopefully it continues on throughout the rest of the year. All right, that's all my uh that's all I have to say. Thank you. I'll ditto that because actually that's that kind of dovetales right with that inclusion conversation about just understanding that um not everybody's brain works like yours works and that's okay. and the whoever they are are also valuable members of our society and our community and our schools would not be the same without our fun and fabulous colorful friends. So go students be yourself. Thank you. Ladies, I just want to remind
094uh people you heard us talk about the cell phone policy. The third reading is next month. Uh please if you have any questions, review the policy and get a hold of administration or one of your board members here. Also too, we had earlier uh this year or last month, we had conversations about metal detectors, weapon detection systems to be introduced. Uh the administration uh did design a pol uh policy to bring forward. Uh I would imagine at the end of this calendar year or school year we will have a final answer on that whether this district like many others in Alen County some just recently will move forward with a metal detection system at some of our buildings aka high school and the middle school. Um that is still up for a conversation but please
095like to see impact uh input from our community. Again, get a hold of your administrators andor your board members and please let us know uh what your thoughts are to help us make our decisions as we move forward on that. Uh with that, nothing else being said, motion to adjurnn. Second. Second. And all in favor say I. I. I.