001I'll read from the binder. Um, so let's call this meeting to order with a uh moment of silence and a pledge of allegiance. >> Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right. Can we have a roll call, please? >> Mr. Minion >> here. >> Mr. Francis >> here. >> Mrs. Irwin Adams. Mrs. McInness. >> Mr. Cook >> here. >> Mr. McCully >> here. >> Mr. Romanowitz >> here. >> Mr. Pacificico >> here. >> Mr. Papus >> here. >> Thank you all. I'd like to sorry I'd like to announce that prior to this meeting we had an executive session to discuss personnel issues. Um next um do we have any citizens
002who would like to address the board? Okay. Seeing no one, we'll move on. Uh item number three, uh seeking a motion to approve the U minutes from the special board meeting of June 30th of 2025. I have a motion. Do I have a second? I have a second from Michael. Would anybody like to discuss? Okay. All in favor of approving those minutes, please signify by saying I. I. Anyone opposed? Motion carries. Next, we'll move on to number four, finance. Um, we were provided a list of payments um to view. Uh B, administration recommends approval of the student accident insurance renewal with RPS, Bullinger Specialty Group, Mutual of Omaha, for the 2526 school year. There is no crease in the premium from last year. That's crazy. Uh under C administr administration requests approval to lease five
003parking spaces at Logan Elementary to Child Advocates of Blair County for a uh $100 a month. Under D, administration recommends approval to renew the Lexington Mall partners lease agreement for a three-year agreement from uh 2025 through 2028. Under E, uh, we're asked to approve the Mansion Park rental agreement with the Alunary School District and Bishop Gilfoil Academy High School for the 2025 2026 school year. Under F, administration requests approval to accept the donation from the estate of Charlotte A. Miller in the amount of $20,000. Funds are to be used to establish two scholarships known as the Jimmy G. Miller Business Education Scholarship and the Jimmy G. Miller and Charlotte A. Miller Scholarship. Uh, under G, administration requests and recommends approval to increase the adult meal lunch prices to $4.85. The price increase is necessary to
004be in compliance with funding regulations. And lastly, administration requests or recommends Nolton diagnostic be a provider for students enrolled in partial uh hospitalization program. Um so we have items 4 A through H. Um seeking a motion to approve those items. >> So move. >> Do I have a second? Any discussion on these >> on the adult lunch program? Uh a lot of mothers come with their kids that really can't, you know, can't afford, you know, uh that 485 may not sound a lot, you know, but do they get a break? Some of the parents that pricing is for staff that are building not. >> No, this is only for staff during uh the normal instructional year. >> Yep. >> And they and they get a nice portion. um they get an adult, you know, they
005don't get the the kid portions. They give them a nice portion and they have a lot of options. So, >> members, >> absolutely. And it's a very reasonable price for uh for the for the lunch being offered. Thank you, >> Mike. We'll catch you in here. >> We require Mr. Papis to bring lunch with him when he comes into the building. >> Okay. under uh item number five, policy. Um we had several uh the final reading of several policies. >> What's that? Oh, I'm sorry. All in favor of approving those items in section 4, please signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. Um so we'll move on to 5A. Uh several uh final readings of policies. Policy 103 discrimination of of harass discrimination harassment affecting students. Policy 104 discrimination harassment affecting
006staff. Policy 234 pregnant parenting married students. Policy 317 professional conduct and discipline procedures. Policy 320 freedom of speech by employees. and policy 815.2 use of gener generative artificial intelligence in education. Um, do I have a motion to approve those final readings? Do I have a second? Would anyone wish to discuss any of these policies? Ju just real quick on the discrimination, does that include all students? uh the that have you know the kids there's maybe some kids that uh that may not apply to I just want to know if every kid is responsible for their action on on this policy >> the 103 >> yeah that both of those policies in regards to discrimination would apply to all students Um, so it it would not it would not differentiate between students of of any special
007need, race, gender, etc. It it's universal. >> Uh, that's all I just want to make sure that. Thank you. Thank you. >> Okay. Anybody else? Everybody in favor of approving uh these final readings of these policies, please signify by saying I. I. Anyone opposed? Motion carries. We'll move on to six. Education administration requests approval of the CNS contract speech language pathology services incorporated doing business as Blair Therapies agreement beginning June 16, 2023 through June 30th, 2026. There's an amendment that we were presented under B. Administration requests approval of the attached 25 through 26 memorandum of understanding between Blair Senior Services Foster Grparent Project in the school district. Under C, administration requests approval to participate in the Pennsylvania mental health education learning program in schools. PA helps. Under D, um, administration requests approval of the attached
008memorandum of understanding between the school district and Penn State Center for Childhood Obesity Research. Um, under E, we were provided uh, a list of volunteers to approve all clearances and TB tests had been received. And lastly, under F, administration requests approval of the attached one-year 2526 agreement between the school district and five cycle financial cycle education. Cost is not to exceed $2,500. Seeking a motion to approve items 6 A through F. So who who So we have a second from Justin. Um any discussion? >> How many kids are actually how many kids that >> So they we utilize them with our overflow. So if we don't have enough internal um service providers or rosters get too high, we utilize them when we have more kid needs than we have available providers within the district. Miss
009Sanders, is that accurate? >> Okay. >> IE means an independent educational evaluation. And so one of our students um through the IEP process is is having an independent evaluation conducted by a psychologist outside of the school district and that was requested in in part of an IEP process with a student and family. >> Okay. Thank you. And another thing, the uh obesity program, is that specifically low income? >> No, they're able to provide support. They came into Learning Express um to run programming with our students. So, they're going to be coming into some of our kindergarten classrooms um this school year to be able to look at my plate, health and wellness, and some different aspects that they'll be teaching in the health classes. >> Yeah, I I must maybe I misread. I thought it
010it just mentioned low income, but uh >> we are considered lowinccome as a district because we hit above 60% in the poverty rate, but it is not specific to the students. So, each student kid is eligible. Correct. Thank you. >> Yes. >> Is is the the FI cycle is that is that like a curriculum to teach financial >> Yes. So >> for students >> so currently we're running a course called money math um where it's taking those financial literacy skills and then applying them. So it does um gear itself towards the mathematics portion but it's relating financial literacy. Um this is not the course that all students will take. um that will go into place in 2627. So we're currently in the process of working on some of that of what that course will look
011like that all students will be required to take before graduation. >> That's awesome. That's great. Terrific. Okay. Anybody else? Okay. All in favor of approving item 6 A through F, please signify by saying I. I. Anyone opposed? Motion carries. Um we'll move on to seven personnel agenda items. Um we were provided a list of comingings and goingings and changes. Um seeking a motion to approve item 7A. Do I have a second? Would anybody like to discuss any of the personnel agenda items? Pretty straightforward. Okay. All in favor of approving item 7A, please signify by saying I. I. Anyone opposed? Motion carries. We will move on to eight, business operations. Um under A, we were provided uh two lists. Admin administration requests approval of payments to listed vendors for the 2526 school year. This authority will
012allow prompt payment of items that will acrue to the district to the district's advantage per policy 616 payment of bills. So there was a general fund vendor report and a cafeteria vendor report. Under B, the uh the monthly repository bids are presented to us. And under C, uh administration is requesting the following reposi repository bids received by the Blair County Tax Claim Bureau be denied based on action taken by the city of Altuna. D. Administration requests approval to offer the following dispositioned items for public sale. Uh we have a snowblower attachment, a backho attachment, a trailer, and a power generator set. And then under E, we are just provided with uh administration requests approval of the following Amtran bus drivers for the 2526 school year contingent upon receipt of all required clearances and forms. I'm
013seeking a motion to approve items 8A through E. We'll give Mike the motion and Dave the second. Anybody like to discuss any of these items? >> Yes. That's just to allow us to cut the checks and mail the checks without it having to go through the list of payments on the board agenda. >> Yes, you can certainly do business with it. That's just our most frequently used vendors that allows us to take advantage of discounts and prompt payment. >> Sure. Anybody else? Okay. All in favor of approving items 8A through E, please signify by saying I. I. Anyone opposed? Motion carries. We'll move on to nine. New business. Administration recommends approval for the Central Blair Recreation and Park Commission requesting a $15,000 allocation for their 25 2025 budget. Uh the Altun area school district athletic
014office requests retroactive approval for Altuna AAA Baseball League, Inc. to use Mansion Park baseball field on Tuesday, July 29th from 5 to 8 for the purpose of baseball practice. A certificate of insurance has been provided. C. Uh, administration requests approval of the Altuna Police Department to use the Altuna Junior High School facility on September 13th and September 20th of this year for testing purposes. D. Um administration recommends approval to use the Association of Educational Purchasing Agencies Cooperative Purchasing Group. And E administration requal approval of the Altuna Area Education Association Association collective bargaining agreement for August from August 16th, 2025 through August 15th of 2029. seeking a motion to approve items 9 A through E. Do I have a second? Any discussion on any of these items? Okay. All in favor of approving items 9A through
015E, please signify by saying I. I. Anyone opposed? Motion carries. Number 10 is for information only. The Bureau of Special Education is seeking mentors in a number of areas in an effort to attract, prepare, and retain special education administration and staff. There is a $1,000 stipen for participation as a mentor. The mentor hours will be completed outside the workday. Uh Michelle Sanders, director of special education, and Aaron Dunl, special education autistic emotional support instructor will submit application to participate in the 2025 26 uh PA APR monitor mentoring project. Moving to 11, I would we don't have any committee chair reports I would imagine because nobody has met for such a long time. Um B, no board president's report. C. Brad, do you have anything you'd like to share? >> Very briefly. So, we were with
016our local um legislators last Friday and just a brief update on the state budget. Um there isn't one and and there's really not um in the foreseeable future from what was reported um by our local legislators. I know that they're going to be hopefully called back soon um to work out the the the differences. um that does put school districts in in a difficult situation in terms of paying their bills and you know maintaining operational costs. Um we you know Sue has assured us that we are in in good shape in Altuna in terms of um where we are in terms of of payroll and daily operational costs um for for a period of time. But, uh, if anyone can can again promote with our our local legislators the importance of passing a state budget,
017um, so that that funding can be released, that would be excellent. Good news is that the federal government has has gone back on their previous withhold and are starting to release uh, federal funding to school districts and uh, the the money that was possibly um, going to be withheld is is now, as far as we know, going to be fully released. Um, but we are waiting for official word on allocations um, with all of our our title money. Um, if you didn't notice on the way in, um, today is a big day because students are back on campus uh, for all of our extracurricular activities, music programs. We'll be starting our student orientations um, and other pieces. Our our new staff members will be coming next week for new teacher induction and orientation. Um, so
018this is a very busy time in the school district and and it's really an exciting time um when you start to see kids coming back from their break and uh getting ready for upcoming sports seasons and musical seasons and and really just a return to school. Um so we're super excited. You know, there's been a lot of communications going out to families and and we'll be welcoming new and returning students here in the very near future. And just one just kind of final update. We had a a presenter at a previous board meeting that had a concern about uh Keith Athletic Field. I just want to assure the public and especially those neighbors in that area um that your concerns have been heard and and are being addressed um with our LEI and and and
019we have a very positive group uh the 814 group who has worked well with us. um and and we are working on rectifying any of the concerns of neighbors in that area and we'll continue to do so. So, thank you and welcome back to yet another school year. We're super excited to get started. So, um looking forward to great things this year in Altuna. Thank you. >> Brad, did our state officials mention anything about cyber funding? >> So, cyber funding is a part of the puzzle right now. So there's reform that has been proposed as part of the budget that would be favorable um to school districts in terms of limiting um the the amount of tuition. However, that is being utilized and and this is my opinion uh as a bargaining chip with some
020other pieces that are part of you know the various budgets. Um, so when push comes to shove and the budget is finally approved, um, what that will look like in terms of true reform will remain to be seen. Um, I will promise you that we are making uh we're taking very aggressive steps at trying to attract our our families and students that are currently attending outside cyber schools to try to bring them back to the opportunities that we have here at the Altun Area School District, which I believe are abundant and and we have something that can meet the needs of everyone. Um, so again, to any of those families that are out there that are looking to have that conversation, uh, we would welcome the opportunity to do so. But in terms of legislation,
021um, we are waiting for how that that bargaining chip is going to be played at the budget level. Um, just to backtrack one second, I was I attended the same presentation with Brad um, in my capacity in my job. Um and I I was struck well first of all uh drug and alcohol in amongst Blair County students is it's not explo it's sort of stay flat but what what the striking thing to me was um the suicide suicidal ideiations um clearly clearly spiking in in 10th graders and um it was really sobering to to think that there's that any children out there um that the the percentage of children that are out there with with these thoughts. And it just brings to mind how important it is that we all support whatever we can do
022from a counseling and behavioral health standpoint to support these kids. We probably could do I know we do a lot, but we can always do much more. And um you know, I think we should all continue to think that way because it is again very sobering. So, thanks for jogging my memory and um we'll we'll carry that memory forward as we make decisions to support anything that can mitigate, you know, this it's an epidemic, it would appear to me. So, um I wanted to bring that up. Thank you. Um moving on to 12. Uh no employee unions response. I don't think anybody from middle management. No, Mr. solicitor. >> It'll be quick. Uh special ed uh school law symposium September 10th. It's out at uh IU8 at their training facility right here on 764. There's
023two presenters of note. We did bring back the hearing officer who's retiring at the end of August, but one of your independent evaluators is going to be a presenter there only because he has a 35page resume and he's quite outstanding and he actually does training in California for this uh state's uh psychologist association and the like. Uh but you know there's a great push. You just adopted your 815.2 to your artificial intelligence. Uh that is a big push. You know, it's from a push from the federal government. You know, President Trump has pushed that out. There's new mandates, requirements, but there's going to be a a very good presentation from somebody has a good understanding as does Bryce here, but I didn't ask Bryce. Uh but, uh this person hails from intermediate unit 7. Uh
024and it's really to give uh administrators and teachers a comfort level. You know, you can't press it and impose your will down on people that might be a little resistive. It's basically trying to give them a comfort level to understand what they can do in the best interest of of kids ultimately with uh generative uh IIA. And so I would encourage anybody, it's not that expensive. uh there there's going to be a lot of good information shared and it's well worth the time for uh any administrator, psychologist or special ed supervisor. Thanks. Okay. Thanks, Carl. All right. I will seek a motion to adjourn this meeting. Michael, do I have a second? All in favor signify by saying I. I. Anyone opposed? Meeting is adjourned. >> Thank you everybody. Appreciate it. I'm