001No, I didn't get any message from it. >> Still got a minute. >> What? Justice. >> Emily is now on time and she is on it. All right. >> Okay. >> Yeah, we're ready. >> Okay, >> ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Abton Heights School Board meeting for Wednesday, October 22nd. Would everyone please rise and pledge the flag? Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Mrs. OD, may we please have roll call here. >> Here. here. >> Here >> may I please have a motion to approve the agenda for this night for tonight's meeting. >> So moved. >> Second. >> On the motion. Roll call, please. >> Mr. Abdella. >> Yes. >>
002Mr. Azar. >> Yes. Mrs. Henderson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Karum, >> yes. >> Mr. Robson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Tierney, >> yes. >> Mr. Aker, >> yes. >> 70. >> May I please have a motion to approve the minutes from the board meetings of September 17th and October 8th. >> So moved. >> Second. >> On the motion. Roll call, please. Mr. Azar, >> yes. >> Mrs. Henderson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Karum, >> yes. >> Mr. Robson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Tierney, >> yes. >> Mr. Abdullah, >> yes. >> Mr. Aker, >> yes. >> 70. >> Okay. Next, we have our student representatives. And I understand we have a new student rep tonight. Welcome, Anna. >> Good evening, everybody. So tonight we have our junior board rep Anna Flynn with us. Uh she's absolutely wonderful and
003personally I'm very excited that she's here tonight. So tonight for our athletic notes, girls tennis, our girls tennis team, the district 2 class 3A championships hosted Wilson High School, the district 3 runnerup yesterday in the first round of the PIAA 3A girls tennis team championships. Unfortunately, the team season came to a close as the girls fell to the Bulldogs 3-0. The Comets finished with an outstanding 7 and2 record on the year. On Friday, October 31st and Saturday, November 1st, our singles champion Sona Hanamali and district doubles champions Sammy Rosenstein and Amishi Amit will travel to Hershey, PA for their PIAA championships rounds. Good luck to our athletes. For field hockey, our number six seated field hockey team earned an impressive 2 to1 quarterfinal win on the road at number three Juan Palac in the PIAA
004district 2 class doubleA playoffs. The Comets now travel to number two Dallas for the semi-final round tonight at 6:30 p.m. This group has shown tremendous growth since the season opener and continues to represent Abington Heights with determination and pride. Abington Heights uh will advance to the district finals and they will automatically qualify for the state playoffs when they if they win tonight. For football, on Thursday, October 16th, the Thomas defeated the Scranton Knights 49-13 at home in the 2025 homecoming game. Senior wide receiver Gavin Anders made history that night with three receptions for 60 yards. He became the school's all-time leader in career receiving yards, currently 10th all-time in the LIAA. He also holds the school record for career receptions, ranking seventh all time in the LIAA. This Friday, October 24th, the Comets travel to
005Harmon Geese Memorial Stadium to face Hazelton area at 700 p.m. in a non non-league matchup. Your Comets are currently ranked number two in District 2, Class 5A. For cross country, our boys and girls, both teams uh competed in the PIAA District 2 Class 3A championships today, Wednesday, October 22nd, at the Wyoming County Fairgrounds. Our boys team entered with an 18-4 record and finished at district runner-ups. Jack Shoemaker placed fifth overall and qualified for the PIAA state championships on Saturday, November 1st. Joining him and Hershey will be our undefeated girls team who entered districts with a 22 and 0 record and captured another impressive performance today. Anna Puchelowski, who recently committed to James Madison University, finished first overall. Also qualifying for states are Marley Gilboy, Cali Gilboy, Morgan Kresy, Julia Healey, Kennedy Lots, and Laya Caribelloo.
006Congratulations to all of our runners on an outstanding season. For girls volleyball, the Lady Comets finished their regular season Monday night at Dumour with another 3-0 sweep, securing their first Lacawana League title since 2002. This also marks the first undefeated regular season in program history. Senior Madison Smith achieved 1,000 career digs, a program first on senior night last Wednesday. Several Comets surpassed 100 kills this season. Elena Kaskowski, Kiki Beck, Abby McDonald, and Hildy Tumbled. Junior Bel Wentz had 853 career assists and is on pace to reach 1,000 next season. another potential first for the program. She's also fewer than 10 aces away from recording her second straight 100 ace season. The Lady Comets are ready for the District 2A playoffs where they'll look to capture their first D district title since 2009. For girls soccer,
007the Lady Comets finished the regular season with an impressive 5-1 win over Mid Valley, clinching their third straight Luana conference championship. District playoffs begin Saturday, October 25th at home against Wall and Paul Pac. They are currently ranked number one in the Lacawana Conference and number two in the District 2 Class AAA. For girls golf, the Lady Comets competed in undefeated regular season and repeated as District 2 champions. Briana Mafet qualified to compete in the PIAA individual state tournament this past Monday and Tuesday. She was joined by her teammates Liz George, Kate Peters, Grace Bennett, Margot Grad, and representing ah at the PIAA team state championships at Penn State earlier today. This marks the first girls golf team in history to represent Abington Heights at the PIAAA state championships. For boys golf, the Comets captured their
008third straight Lacawana League championship defeating Delaware Valley 315 to 357 led by Mal Medalist Connor Mali Kelloski. They went to win back-to-back district championships defeating Pittston area 30 315 to 3 332 with standout rounds from Ryan Boyd, Philip Matthews, Will Her Harold, and Sebastian Mayer. Sheamus Kelly and Ryan Boyd qualified for the PIAA individual state championships held Monday and Tuesday at Penn State. Earlier today, the boys competed in the PIAA championship tournament, marking the fourth time in history and third in the last five seasons that our boys golf team has qualified for states. For boys soccer, with a win last Wednesday at Homesdale, Comets clinched their fourth straight Lacawana League Division 1 championship. Junior Joey Pivarado reached a major milestone earlier this season, scoring his 50th career goal against Gran High School. The Comets are
009currently ranked number one in district 2 class AAA and will host Hones Honesdale on Friday night at 700 p.m. in the district quarterfinals on the new multi-purpose field. Couple of winter sports reminders. Vote or visit registration guidelines for in full details. Uh we have free physical on-site physicals on Monday, November 3rd. These are appointment only and students can register online. The first practice trial date is Friday, November 4th. All PIAA winter sports begin. Boys and girls basketball, wrestling, swimming, and diving, and indoor track. To be cleared for tryyouts, all athletic forms must be submitted on planeths.com student central by Monday, November 11th. For our returning athletes, if you already participated in a fall sport, they do not need to a new physical. Just complete section 7 on Planet HS. Um, we have a college recruitment
010education seminar coming up this Thursday on October 23rd at 700 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Families and student athletes in grades 9 through 12 are invited to attend our college recruitment education seminar. The topics will include understanding college recruitment timelines and eligibility, communicating with college coaches and programs, academic and NCAA requirements for all levels, and building a recruitment plan throughout high school. We encourage all students and parents to attend together. Whether you're new to the process or already being recruited, this session provides valuable and practical guidance. It's been a very exciting and successful fall season for Abington Heights athletics. Our student athletes continue to embody sportsmanship, teamwork, and academic excellence, making our district both proud on and off the field. Thank you for your continued support for all of our athletic programs. Go comments.
011>> Thank you very much. >> Thank you, >> Giana. You had you you received a new title. Oh, yes I did. >> What can you Can you share with the board? >> Yes. So, this past Thursday, I was on the homecoming court at the homecoming game and I won homecoming queen. >> Oh, >> yes. Congratulations. >> Thank you very much. >> Good night for the swimmers. Um, so our homecoming week was a huge success. Student council organized a spirited lineup of theme days and school spirit ran high as grades competed for points leading up to Friday's ultimate competition. The bonfire returned for a second year in a row, made possible through the generous pallet donation of approximately 650 pallets from Dave Weber and Stone Furniture. Special thanks to the maintenance staff for their help with
012setup and cleanup of the event. The annual fun Friday featured competitions between grade level teams as they battled for the coveted golden tube. As part of the festivities, student council hosted a pumpkin painting activity using 50 pumpkins purchased from a sale across the across from the Abington Community Library for $1 each. Proceeds from the sale supported the Appalachian Service Project, a volunteer organization that helps make homes warmer, safer, and drier for families in need. It was meaningful for student council to contribute to another organization dedicated to positive community impact. The week concluded with a lively pep rally celebrating all fall sports and all fall all fall sports teams and inviting everyone to support the girls soccer game that evening. The event included class chance, games, and even student le roller coasters, all culminating in the
013senior class winning the Golden Tube. On Saturday morning, 192 sophomores and juniors took the PSAT, and that evening, approximately 750 students attended the homecoming dance at at the high school. The next dance, the winter semiformal, will be held in January. Dr. Tion has shared additional information and calendar updates with families, and we look forward to finishing the quarter strong. Thank you. >> Thank you very much and welcome. >> Okay, our next item of business would be the superintendent report. But before we start that, I would like to just remind everyone that if uh for you wish to make public comment to the board, please fill out a card that you can get them from Mrs. OD before you come up >> with that. You want to do a public comment first? >> Well, I I
014just thought we had some new faces in the crowd. Maybe give them a chance to pull out a card. >> Oh, okay. >> What's that? Yeah, just a couple remarks. >> All right. Um, I'll just make a a few remarks uh in my report. Um, and this has to do with an action item that we have on the agenda uh tonight relative to uh South Abington Elementary and uh our our long-term uh facility improvement plan. We've spoken over the last four years um about our facility improvement focus knowing that this is going to be going on for some time and that we would aggressively go after grants both uh competitive and non-competitive. And over the past four years uh we have received close to $5.5 million in grants. We have pursued a lot of safety
015grants. We've done a lot of enhancements inside and outside uh of our buildings. Uh a lot of those enhancements. Uh we've talked about uh certainly we've talked about uh the middle school and the $15 million uh project there. But on tonight's um board agenda, you will see uh a project that is a little over a million dollars, and that's for air handling units, and that will be almost fully funded uh by grants. We uh received a little over $1.1 million in grants. We believe that this project is is going to be 10 1.03 million with a match. and that if the board so cho chose we wouldn't even um I mean it's in general funds so we'd use our money but we we received $775,000 in and in and um grant and a grant for
016school improvement but also a discretionary grant of 275,000. So that 275,000 could in fact be uh part of the match um there. And this is for air handling units. Um this is something that we really don't um focus on much when we talk uh about facility improvements. However, the air we breathe, specifically clean air, is very important. So, these uh air handling units, just so you know, on top of the uh South Abington um gymnasium not only take in air from the outside, but it also recirculates some air uh internally, puts it through a filter and we can we we you know put some heat to that and pump that out. Um and as you are probably aware uh during COVID we really spend a lot of time talking about air handling units and what
017we are looking for inside of our classroom. So while it is very important to have uh some really nice clean uh modern safe spaces, we know that we can start to make some dents in some of the mechanical and electrical upgrades that we need to do in our schools by pursuing a lot of these grants like we have. So, we are going to be $200,000, $500,000, $700,000 uh just chipping away at at some of these things. So, I just want to uh say thank you to the board because, you know, we have a lot of parallel plans when we talk about uh facility improvements. Later on in January, we're going to be uh meeting with and and presenting at a board meeting with uh our uh construction management company where we'll be uh talking about
018the progress we're making at the um middle school. Um but we'll also be talking about what our plans for that are upcoming. Um taking a look at some of the smaller projects we've done. We have, you know, close to 50 small projects that the board has been working on. A lot of those too are are are grant funded. However, we're going to get to a point here where we're going to have to start uh prioritizing some of these smaller uh projects. Uh, and while that is fun, it somehow sometimes means some some tradeoffs because we have a a lot of projects on the list um that have to do with safety and um a really small uh pocket of of money. And as that is happening, we'll be watching our state legislators and hoping um
019that they that they uh find some common sense and and get a budget passed. Um most adults in the room, all adults in this room understand that there are obligations that we have uh as uh a group of elected officials and this board did their job and passed the budget prior to July 1, a balanced budget. And in turn, all we asked for is telling us what our budget was. and and here we are and we're going to be close to 30% uh of the way through the year uh in the in the coming weeks. Uh still without a budget and just because we are not in a desperate situation like many school districts, that doesn't mean it's a good situation. I was asked by a legislator a couple days ago, what is the impact?
020And a lot of people talk about uh TAN loans, short-term loans where they're paying uh high amount of interest on a on a loan. And I I I feel for those districts and we have lost the opportunity uh to uh make money on our money and gain interest. Instead of gaining interest, we're putting money uh out the door on things that uh we we we shouldn't have at this point. And we've done a great job, the board, at investing our funds over the last four years, probably to the tune of two to three million dollars. Um, and you know, I'm going to be very transparent. Some of that has to do with an inverse yield curve, and we got we got we got a couple tailwinds. However, that's really important uh to be able to
021invest uh shortterm like we do as as a as a district. So, I I I just wanted to um say that out loud and and and publicly in every opportunity uh that we can. I know our local legislators are are there advocating for us, but um it's getting louder and louder uh out there and and and and for good reason. So, >> thank you very much. >> Okay. Uh this would be the part for public comment. We ask when you come up you state who you are and where you live and keep your comments to more or less three minutes. We have three speakers. The first is Ryan Griffith. >> Hi, good evening everybody. Can everybody hear me? Okay. Uh my name is Ryan Griffiths. I'm a resident of South Edmonton Township. I'm a parent
022of three children, one of whom is a first grader at Clark Summit Elementary. I've been a public educator for the past 16 years and I'm also a member of the Abington Youth Soccer Board of Directors. And I say those things to qualify my comments that I'm about to share. Um, my topic tonight that I wanted to speak to is a full day kindergarten program. Uh, while I appreciate that the board is dedicated to our district and its commitment to critical facility needs, deferring the implementation of a full day kindergarten program is a short-sighted approach that fails to recognize its potential as both a necessary educational investment and a long-term facility planning imperative. Any significant facility upgrade or construction project should be considered futurep proof. If full day kindergarten is, as the board has suggested and
023I'm sure is committed to, an eventual goal, then addressing the necessary classroom additions or modifications now during these um already planned facility overhauls will be less expensive than initiating a second separate construction phase later. Moreover, a facility assessment should factor in increased student seat time and capacity requirements of a full day program, making necessary spatial planning and construction a core part of immediate planning, not an afterthought. The board, I'm sure, correctly notes the academic benefits of a full-day program and its support by research, and I don't need to go into that. I think we're all very much informed about that. However, these benefits do not level out over time in a high-erforming district as ours. To suggest so would be a dangerously complacent stance that misunderstands the purpose of early childhood education. While the district's
024overall performance is high, the initial advantage gained in a full day program is often crucial for socially economic socioeconomically disadvantaged students or English language learners. These early gains are vital for establishing a strong foundation, mitigating the risk of future achievement gaps, and ensuring equitable access to the district's high quality programming. Even if gains level out, it is very shortsighted to suggest that high performing schools such as ours should not m should maintain the status quo, but we should be maximizing every student's potential. A strong start is the best way to ensure a district remains high performing for all students into the future. While facilities maintenance is crucial, it should not serve as an excuse to delay a program that offers clear academic, economic, and equity benefits. A full day kindergarten program is not a future
025luxury. It is a present necessity whose facility requirements should be integrated into the current building plan. The board can demonstrate the commitment to offering the best possible educational opportunity by making this essential program a core component of its immediate financial and planning priorities. I think that's my time. Okay. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, >> Ryan. Thank you very much. >> Next would be Katherine Gity. Hello, I'm Katherine Gity. I go by Katie. Um I live in Clark Summit. I'm over on Landown Avenue. I have four kids. I have two at cse right now. Um I'm here also to talk about full day kindergarten. I've seen so my two at cse are in second and fourth grade now. I've seen them go from kindergarten to first grade. I've seen them struggle the my daughter
026the first half of first grade my son probably like the first two three months of adjusting to the full day even though we have them in a supplemental kindergarten program during the day but that fragmented kindergarten day does not equal out to the full day of kindergarten. Um they love their school. I love their school. You know, we moved here for the schools and my husband and I are both fully in favor of the full day kindergarten. My sister teaches in Scranton. She she sees the benefits of full day kindergarten there every day. Um and I would love to have the same benefit here. Thank you. >> Thank you very much, >> Caitlyn K. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you this evening. Uh, my name is Caitlyn Kim and I
027also live in Clark Summit. I'm a parent of two young children and I've been an educator for the past 12 years. When we moved back to this area, we were thrilled to have found a home in a district with such a wonderful reputation. And I'm also here tonight to ask the district to seriously consider moving to a full day kindergarten model. Edmonton Heights is known for excellence, but right now our kindergarten program is not meeting that standard. The current half-day schedule is less than three hours long, shorter than most preschool programs. For a district of our caliber, that's simply out of step with what our students and families need. Today's parents of young children are overwhelmingly from a generation with the highest rate of dual working households in history. While the half-day model may have
028been acceptable in the district in the past, it no longer fits the realities of modern family life or the developmental needs of children preparing for today's classrooms. Families are juggling care gaps and transportation challenges that could be alleviated by a full day option. It's also worth noting that our district tends to enroll kindergarteners at a later age and this model of red shirting does follow the research of what's best for our children. However, that means many of our children are nearly seven years old before experiencing a full day of learning. We are delaying critical social, emotional, and academic development at a the very time when their capacity to grow is at its greatest. I also understand that budgets are always part of this discussion. And I'd like to reframe this discussion from we can't afford
029it to what do we choose to afford. The truth is we can always find money for the things that we decide are important and our budget is a reflection of our values. If we value early childhood education, if we value equity and opportunity, then we need to invest in expanding our half-day program. Our neighboring districts have figured it out and I hope our community can find a way to support this critical issue that would bring us up to speed with our peers throughout Wacawana County. I urge the board to make full day kindergarten a genuine priority as a goal that reflects the values of our district and the needs of our families. Thanks for your time and your continued commitment to doing what's best for our children. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you.
030>> Okay, next we move into our action and discussion items. First is a treasures report. >> Do we have the board report? The board? >> No. >> Do we have any board reports? I apologize. >> No, it's okay. I do not have a board report, but can I make a comment on this? >> Sure. >> I think for the last three meetings, we've heard um quite a bit of conversation from our community on the opportunity for us to explore an all day kindergarten program. Um I have been advocating for this for a long time. I am a person of priorities. I have an all in favor of all of the facilities and all of the things that we're doing that are important to our district. But the most important thing in our district is the
031academics. And this has been an issue with Abington Heights for quite some time. I would really like for us to explore this to look at an a way that we could possibly look in the future within the next year or two to implement a full day kindergarten program at Abington Heights. I don't know what that means, but if we don't start now, we will not get this done. And this is one of the top priorities that should be done before anything else. We've added a $5 million gym to our middle school project. We had put that as an addendum. Maybe that's something that we continue to look at to explore to not do that at this time, but to put an investment into an all day program for kindergarteners. Thank you. >> Thank you very
032much. Are there any other board reports? Look, I will let me piggy back a little bit on on what Mickey said and I'll reiterate a little bit what I said um last week. Um we are and have been uh exploring this option and I understand that you know by me up here saying that we're exploring it. I mean, I would roll my eyes uh at at me, but uh we will we will talk more about this in the in the spring as I talk to the board about tradeoffs. Um, this is a a a complicated financial decision and I'm putting on the side the academics and while I can I'm I'm kneedeep in the research and I uh with this and I can um provide all sorts of information about the efficacy of full day
033kindergarten whether you're looking in urban areas, urban fringe areas, suburban areas or rural areas specifically within Pennsylvania and do the the correlations and and and where the kids uh seem to fall out. Um ultimately what I would tell you is that um the same thing that that um bothers me personally with with some charter schools um is one of the things that uh I I I see full day K as a little bit of a panacea and that's you know as a former school counselor I I worry about the the social emotional well-being and that's my word that I've been using since the 1980s. um not one that perhaps took on a a different um meaning. Um and that's really important that we we we we teach these skills and at the same time the
034board has a fiscal responsibility here. So when I say we're exploring this, make no doubt about it, we need seven new teachers, and that's with me uh force transferring approximately four. That's not a fun thing uh to do. Six new teachers is is, you know, going to be in the ballpark of 750,000 going up and up and up in each year. and and and and Mickey, while I hear you about the gym, and I and I won't even argue about the efficacy of that gym, let's just say I said, you know, you're right, Mickey, that $5 million is going to run out in in three years. The the the challenge here is when time we're looking at a program, we're talking we're looking at do we have a recurring revenue stream? compounding that is that
035during COVID, the years leading up to it, we had cut our staff by such a high amount that we had to use all our COVID money to hire 12 to 14 teachers. We did everything that we can through attrition to bring that number down to six, but we had to absorb those six, which was another $650,000 there. Um, on top of it, when we talked about the facility planning and and and and this board did, you know, talk about full day and that that is also mentioned um in the report as well, um that we would have to be adding in all our all of our buildings. And in 2020, it was $243 a square foot. Now we're to build new. and now we're looking at around around 500. So those are challenges. I'm not
036saying that they're insurmountable and I haven't talked about them, but you owe it to hear it from me about some of these things that we're looking at. And if the board said to me tonight, do it, I would tell them that, okay, we'll start planning now and it will be for the 2728 school year. Okay? Because we need quite a long runway for this. And it's actually a a pretty short runway because what I would never do is tell the seven kindergarten teachers that we have now that have been teaching half day that, you know, they need to figure it out on a on a short timeline. I want to make sure that our teachers are prepared from going from a half day program to a full day program. What does that mean to them?
037What does it mean about their pacing? what does it mean about the instruction? What does that mean relative to the resources uh that we that we provide our students? Um so those are the things that um we're certainly looking at. Um as well as as as um as I when I say to explore that means I also have to talk with some um you know community members. I mean, I was like tired and feathered when I talked about a little bit of like um uh child care in some of our elementary schools. Um and and that's after talking with some people. Uh so that we we do have plenty of um small business owners in the community that have uh provided supplemental instructional support. And one could argue that supplanting it in some cases um
038and that that would have an impact on them and we owe it to them as members of our community um to talk about that and if that did happen, how do we help prepare them for that? Because very much like us, they have budget, they have staff, uh and it's just the right thing to do to have discussions with them to help them plan it. I wanted to give you some of that information to let you know that this is something um that we are exploring and that it was absolutely had everything to do with as we talked about um the facilities and we and and we and we um had to prioritize. >> Sure. Um, so a lot of us ran for the board around the same time and we, one of the things
039I have four kids. I know the value of full day kindergarten. I completely related to your comment about how when they're in a half-day program, they come home and they're like wired and, you know, it's hard to transition them. So I I agree with your with the sentiment and I want to be forward-looking. Um when we arrived here, we had a lot of work to do. Um we had opportunities to put to um implement full day kindergarten 10 years ago, 20 years ago. There were opportunities for funding. There were opportunities for um capacity. We missed those opportunities. when we came to the um when I shouldn't say many of this cohort came onto the board, we initiated a facilities study. If you haven't looked at it, I highly recommend you look at it. As a
040parent, and I I assume since you all are involved that a lot of you have volunteered in your schools, our middle school is basically at capacity and is not serving that population. and we have a lot of concerns with that building and that is why we chose to prioritize it. There are several meetings from the spring of 23. Does that sound right? >> Winter maybe uh where we talked about this because I'm just as passionate as you all. I see us moving forward in this direction. I do. I think a lot of us here are committed to that. Um, and I will say some of the things because I'm a big believer in showing up and I'm a big believer in what's possible and what you can do in the near term. Right? The impact
041on our budget will be significant. As Dr. Schaefer said, what we can do is we can advocate to our state legislators to put this in their budgets. Um, we can advocate for cyber charter reform which frees up a significant amount of income for us, your tax dollars actually. So, um, in the meantime, I continue to advocate, please, but those are some positive things we can do as a team to make this happen. Uh, and I don't for a second doubt that, um, this was one of my goals on the board and it can't it might not happen tomorrow. You know, we it's hard to do everything at once, but it is something that is still on our radar. Um, so I appreciate you coming out and I just wanted to give you some of that.
042uh some of my perspective because I feel personally accountable for it to you and and I appreciate that you shared your thoughts. So, thank you. >> Thank you very much for your comments. Mrs. Henderson, >> hi. I just wanted to um clarify what Dr. Schaefer said and and I will say as a parent and I was also a school counselor and a teacher, so I see the value of a full day kindergarten program, but just to clarify, Dr. Schaefer said uh each of the buildings would require an addition, you know, and and I just want to highlight, you know, there's no there's not enough physical space. We we're out of classrooms, you know, and several people said that why don't you make the administration building a kindergarten center, but you know, we can dig back
043into the archives and see like there's a very good reason why this building is no longer a school, right? Like for those of you with young kids, we would have to outfit the building ADA compatibility. We would need where would we put the playground? That on the pit? I don't know. lots to figure out there, but classrooms with little people like that, we would need bathrooms in every single classroom. So, when you're looking at if we could even outfit this building to be a kindergarten center, um I don't even know if that would be, you know, feasible. So, I just wanted to make sure that, you know, to Dr. Schaer's point, like the buildings are at capacity. So, if it were just a matter of finding the money for the teachers, that's just half the
044problem. um it is, you know, we'd have to look into putting additions onto the elementary schools, whether it I don't know, trailers or physical structures. Um so there is a lot to consider. So I don't want you to think that when you come here, your comments are falling on deaf ears and we're just kind of smiling and nodding. Like it is a conversation that we've had many passionate debates and conversations around. But it is very complicated. Like Mrs. Kum said, you know, there wasn't a long-term financial plan to to pay for the staffing and for the physical space. So, we are working on it. Um, it's it I know I get it. So, thank you all for coming out and um thank you. >> Thank you very much. Anyone else? >> Okay, Mrs. Carum, the
045floor is yours. >> Um, this is the treasurer's report. We began the month with a cash balance of $12 million700. I'm sorry. Let's start over. 12,718,442. We took in monthly revenues of $15,875,57789. Our net dispersements were 4,15,92726 for a cash balance available of $24,577,655. >> Thank you very much. Any questions on the treasures report? Can I have a motion to approve it? So moved. >> Second >> on the motion. Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Henderson. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Karum. >> Yes. >> Mr. Robson? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Tierney? >> Yes. >> Mr. Abdella? >> Yes. >> Mr. Azar? >> Yes. >> Mr. Aker? >> Yes. >> 70. >> Mr. Aar ask the board consider a motion to approve the personnel report as presented. >> So moved. >> Second. >> On the motion. I just
046want to make one comment. Uh it warms my heart for two reasons. >> I I know one of them. >> The first is to see the name Kevin Manning on the list of coaches. Kevin's been a dear friend of mine since I moved back home 15 years ago. I've coached with him and I'm good friends with him. He's an excellent coach. He's an excellent human being and we're lucky to have him start coaching for us. And second, he just so happens to be coaching girls wrestling which we've all talked about adding to the agenda. So, I think it's just fantastic that we're adding that activity for our student athletes. >> Thank you. >> Very good. Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Karum, >> yes. >> Mr. Robson? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Tierney? >> Yes. >> Mr.
047Abdella? >> Yes. >> Mr. Azar? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Henderson? >> Yes. >> Mr. Aker? >> Yes. >> 70. Sir, ask the board consider a motion to approve the October 2025 volunteer list. >> So moved. Second on the motion. >> Roll call, please. >> Mr. Robson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Tierney, >> yes. >> Mr. Abdella, >> yes. >> Mr. Azar, >> yes. >> Mrs. Henderson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Karum, >> yes. >> Mr. Aker, >> yes. >> 70. >> Mr. I could ask the board consider a motion to approve the October tuition reimbursement report. >> So moved. >> Second. on the motion. >> Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Tierney, >> yes. >> Mr. Abdella, >> yes. >> Mr. Azar, >> yes. >> Mrs. Henderson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Karum, >> yes. >> Mr. Robson, >>
048yes. >> Mr. Aker, >> yes. >> 70. >> Mr. Aur ask the board uh consider a motion to approve the KCBA uh proposal for mechanical upgrades at South Aton project budget is 1.1 million. And as I mentioned earlier, um this could seemingly be done with all grant funds that the board wish, but at minimum 775,000 uh from a grant that we received uh last year. >> So moved. >> Second motion. >> I have a comment. >> I just want to commend the district for um every dime that we get from from grant writing. And I know it's not easy. every dime that we get is is a dime that we don't have to spend more from our tax dollars. So, I commend the district for for getting this grant and and continuing to do the
049hard work in grant writing. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Roll call, please. >> Mr. Abdullah, >> yes. >> Mr. Azar, >> yes. >> Mrs. Henderson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Karum, >> yes. >> Mr. Robson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Tierney, >> yes. >> Mr. Aker, >> yes. >> 70. >> Okay. Okay. I'd like to consider a motion to reappoint Christopher L. Schaefer, Doctor of Education, as Abington Heights School District Superintendent for a term of 5 years beginning July 1st, 2026 and ending on June 30th, 2031. >> So moved. >> Second. >> On the motion. >> Roll call. >> Mr. Azar. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Henderson. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Kum. >> Yes. >> Mr. Robson? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Tierney. >> Yes. >> Mr. Abdella. >> Yes. >> Mr. Aker. >> Yes. >> 70.
050>> So So Dr. Schaefer, I don't see much white hair right now, but I I I expect in five years won't be or it's all going to be white. One or the other. >> Congratulations. >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I am. >> Okay. Uh is there any new information for the board? >> Is there unfinished business? >> Mr. Aer. So, uh, today was was interesting about the the full day kindergarten. It seems like there's some momentum on this topic. You know, it might be a good idea for the board to dedicate some time to discuss it. Like it it we used to have uh work sessions. I mean, this is a good one because as I remain silent, I I noticed that there were some assumptions that are generally accepted that may not
051be true. So, I think it would be good if we talked about it more. not just maybe sound bites to responses to comments. >> You know, I think that's a good point, Mr. Robson. Um, we are, of course, working through the middle school project. We got that started. Uh, we still don't know what the state subsidy is. So, we really don't know what our budget per se is. You know, if if we've got some good tailwinds, uh, we are certainly going to have to start looking at the other projects that were entailed in the facilities project. And I think certainly all day kindergarten would be an important part of that discussion. Um, so I think it's a question first of all of determining what capacity we have and then taking a look as a board
052on the priorities and I I don't know whether that's a board retreat excuse me or a separate meeting but at some point in time in the very near future we do have to start setting additional priorities for the work going forward and I should definitely >> excuse me but I I was thinking even before that even before we talk about money just the efficacy of full day kindergarten. Uh because there are a ton of studies out there. Some include p values, some don't. And I brought up p values on another topic a long time ago, uh which ended up being correct. So, and my my my feeling on this has changed over time because I looked at some of these and I was surprised actually at the results of some of these studies. So, I'm
053glad that people brought it up. And for every study there are, you know, we didn't talk about the other studies and I'm not saying which way or the other. I think we should just discuss it. >> So you're I I just add to that. So I completely agree with you. So I thought that you meant we should talk about it in the in the framework of prioritization which we're actually but you're talking about >> forget about the money. >> Like is it something that really we should be investing in >> or is it is it not something we should be investing in? Right. And I think that because I've heard since I've been on the board, I've heard people and you've been an advocate of it from day one. I had it on my on,
054you know, there's board members on here that sort of started doing Facebook pages when they run for election for the first time. I was one of them. And so it's on my list of of things that I wanted to try to accomplish, right? But since then, I have heard, like you say, mixed opinions on on how valuable it is. And I've heard at one end of the spectrum how incredibly valuable and necessary it is and then I've had I've heard other arguments that it's not >> Yeah. So for example, when you say valuable and this is rhetorical, I'm not questioning you. >> Is valuable 60 days, >> right? >> A year, right? >> Six years, lifetime, >> right? >> Some of these studies uh tease that out. And I think some of the the comments
055of full day kindergarten is good. >> I don't think anyone would argue with that, >> right? >> I think the question of how long and how good, right, >> we may want to get into some of that detail before we even talk money. >> No, I think it's a great idea. >> Certainly. >> Uh not on all day kindergarten. Um but uh one of the goals of our superintendent is the um academics and reviewing the academics and giving the board an a little view of the past years in the in the view of whether or not the administrators met their goals. >> Is there an opportunity for us to um hear how last year went? >> I think if we have a review of that in November state I don't know whether Yeah, >> my
056my time at here is over in November and I would really like to um get a get a get a little understanding of how we did last year and what goals are you looking to work on for this year? >> Yeah, >> thanks. >> Sure. We'll we'll we'll have that upcoming. Typically what I do is I present it after the state makes it official because everything is just kind of uh embargoed uh and it's not yet official. I I I I think we kind of know where we we sit. However, there have been changes that that that that move the needle. Um so, uh and part of the reason too is when when when the state puts it out there, then I'm able to go into a larger data set and see how we did
057as compared to others, as compared to uh similar or like organizations where I can like do some comparisons. I mean, as there's some school districts where I won't compare us to, and there's others that I know I'm going to go straight to. Um, so when I when I don't have that information, I kind of feel like I'm I'm I'm leaving something out. Uh, so I I keep on, you know, hitting that refresh button on the state state website, but we'll we'll we'll we'll get some. I can just I can tell you like anecdotally that um we were very strong in math. uh we made some pretty nice gains uh in ELA. It was a was a is a a story where in some grades it was uh up to even and in in some grades
058um they they they went down. Um so I'll get I'll I'll have that like I do every year. It's just I I don't know if it has anything to do with the state budget or or or not, but it's um you know, it's October 22nd. They haven't published it yet, so I'll get that. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Okay. Can >> I just add one more thing? >> Sure. So, I guess we've been talking a lot about prioritization of facilities tonight with, you know, the great community comments about all day, kindergarten, and other topics. >> The project that we approved tonight to at least start, which isn't visible, right? It's going to be one of those things that we spend a million and fortunately it's hopefully going to be funded mostly by grants, but
059it's still a million dollars that we could put somewhere else that somebody would actually notice. You're not going to see that stuff. It's just it's but it's absolutely necessary. So, I just want to put it on everybody's uh sort of calendar that we're getting close to a point where we should get back together and talk about prioritizing like the there's lots of little stuff that happens every day in the district that Dr. Schaefer handles, right? Um, some of that could sort of dribble over to our discussions, but there are some many big projects that are still necessary, like necessary, not like once, like necessary. And we don't have the money to do all of them fast. We'll hopefully have the money to do all of them eventually. I don't know how long eventually is. It's
060many, many years. But we, as a board, we we do need to get together. We've been I've been and the facilities committee has been waiting because we've inundated administration for the last 18 months with projects and this middle school project is a bear of a project and oh by the way it's only 60% of the middle school right so we should be getting together in the near future though to talk about you know I could rattle them off um what do we spend money on next in terms of the bigger projects we've talked about a lot of stuff in the facilities reports whether It's STEM at the high school, libraries and entrances at the elementary schools, all day kindergarten, the other 40% of the middle school, right? HVAC, air handling. Like there's a lot of
061projects that that we unfortunately have as a school district deferred >> and they're right they're right in our face as real needs right now. And we can't do all of them immediately. We just can't. Yeah. Right. Exactly. Yeah, we have it all. It's just a matter of talking about it. >> Well, we have our retreat usually planned for January, February, and I think after the holiday would be a good time to >> if we start now, we might be able to get a big by >> Who wants to volunteer? I know Gretchen won't. She's out. She >> Gretchen and Anthony are not the award. So, >> she got a she earned an Emmy last year. She doesn't She's got a year off, >> you know. Uh I I I think you're absolutely right. It is
062a question of priorities. And I think every item every item relates back to academics. A STEM STEM project, the high school finishing out the middle school because you're going to have half a middle school that suddenly has a beautiful environment to learn in. And you're going to have the the other half the middle school who's who's still in >> Yep. And so these are not easy questions and these are, you know, questions that we as a board have to deal with and we're going to we're going to make the best decisions we can for the students of the district. >> I think we have to do I mean it's I think it's a good example that we're not doing a good enough job as much as we've tried because we just don't get a lot
063of attendance at board meetings and when we have these special meetings people don't show up and it's hard. I when I wasn't on the board I didn't pay attention. I'm guilty of it. I have I have three kids. I had a job, my wife works, so we just didn't have time to pay attention. So, I'm obviously paying attention. We're all paying attention. But I don't think that people are. I really don't. They don't know like evidence the last few meetings how many people are coming to rightfully ask for something that they passionately believe in. They don't understand, a lot of them, I think, how much we have talked about this. And as hard as it has been for us as a board to not do certain things now and to continue to defer certain things
064now because as a board we viewed the middle school as absolutely essential to do first. So I don't think that we have to figure out how to get that better out to the community. I I mean when you look at the middle school project, we're really looking at u saying we need to improve the educational >> environment in the middle school >> and one could argue is that is that a higher higher priority than all day K you know it all depends on what you said really >> people and no you're not going to get agreement on >> and there's no agreement on it and all we can do as a board is is make the best decisions we can >> with with the resources we have. circle. >> Yes, we have. >> I'm just
065going to be I'm just going to be blunt. So binary, it's a relatively binary decision. Do you do you do you build the other 40% of that middle school and get those kids out of the half circle that are still going to be there for an indefinite period until we do it? Two grades are still going to be in that half circle. Or do you do all day all day kindergarten? It's really hard to do both when you don't have the finances. So, these are the the difficult decisions that I think that I I'm not I'm not arguing for one or the other. I'm just saying that I think that we have to do a better job of letting people know that we are talking about this all the time. >> I agree. Absolutely. And
066you know and part of it relates to communication. >> And one of the reasons we are have such a concerted effort on communication is precisely this reason because we do need to get out in the community and we need to communicate not only with the parents of the students but the whole community because we are spending their money and they need to know how we're doing it. So I I think this is all very good stuff. I appreciate the advocacy. It does keep us honest and it does keep us on track and it does and if you recall a couple meetings we were discussing the air conditioning in one of the buildings, you know. So I do think that um that we are going to hear from the community a lot about how we spend
067the tax dollars and what we're prioritizing and I think we're on the right track and it's just everything all at once. So we have to make those decisions and we do have better because you know if we prioritize school day kindergart you know talking about school safety which was another bullet point on many of our election you know pages so that middle school project really improves schooly >> that's exactly right and you know it's all connected >> yes >> if we do all day K I guarantee Five years later, those same parents will be back talking about why we didn't do something in the middle school. >> And and and you know, they're not wrong. >> Yeah. Right. >> Now, like for example, the facilities report doesn't get better over the next four years, >>
068right? >> Exactly. Right. right now >> so in reality >> and and I'll and I'll tell you I I disagree a little bit because I think it is easy to to to make the decisions on some of these things because of situ of uh workshops that we had Chris that you led where we really looked at the three categories of priorities and when you look at it that way is middle school safety after not only parents and rhetoric and anecdotal evidence but a professional company comes in and says is you're doing awful. You got a 67, right? And so, so then this then the and we don't know the benefits net of a certain uh initiative. It's actually pretty easy. >> And we made this decision. We did. >> Yeah. I I will um there's
069I have a a threequarter baked uh presentation for January the 7th. So, it's a harbinger of things to come where ICS is going to be here. I'm going to talk about some of this, but um and I wish the folks were uh still still here. See you later, Dr. Tion. >> There is no there is no sneaking out. She sent us a text explaining why she needs >> I don't read text during meetings. >> I Oh, it's horrible. Yeah, one person. Um, but I I I I I I do want to say because I I I I don't think that we can reiterate this enough and this is the stance that the board has to t taken and and really was the only one as I talked to you about it is that when we
070were in our planning stages, we determined and it was pretty easy to identify this problem is that we had to take a considerable amount of time into the future to start building up capital in order to pay for what we're what we're doing right now. And part of that had to do with say, you know, the act one index in 2006. You know, it become it became very difficult post 2006 to invest in uh new programming because you had to limit tax increases. And certainly we understand that. And then uh we made a decision when when uh when u you know the um uh some bonds uh were paid off that we put that back into our programs, but that put us in a spot where we didn't have any capital surplus. So we said
071three years ago that we are going to be raising taxes in order to get that surplus to a point where we can afford our debt service. So you know while we are in a very healthy position, we've also earmarked funds that aren't quite there yet to pay for that. So I you know I just I I just can't say that enough. I mean, talk about when you're like we're threading threading the needle and we've had some good tailwinds and we hope we get more tailwinds where it, you know, it will be feasible for us to do more projects and invest in more of our programs. But I just wanted to put that out there like that was our grand strategy recently. >> Yeah. I just want to make a comment. I think what Rod had
072said about communication, I think um sitting here for 20 years and just listening and having opportunities to hear community speak. um these last four years we really didn't have the community coming to meetings and we used that as a kind of a compass of listening to the community and we we were packed and I'm not sure if it was COVID I'm not sure what has changed but these last four years it's been pretty quiet from our community and tonight I think one of you just said it's it's a good thing to get a pulse of what you know and have us listen to what our community is asking for us and they're not always in tune with everything because they're not coming to these meetings. But it is important for us to understand that um
073they are the compass and help us to make the decisions that we have to make. And I think you know give yourselves a pat on the back. You've done a really good job because they haven't been here. They really haven't been here. And it's it's been an adjustment for me because I used to use them as a compass and and uh I just want to compliment all of you. These decisions aren't easy to make. They're not. And they're they're difficult ones. And and and we worked really hard on every step of this path um as you you're learning how to be a board director at the same time because most of you have only been here for three or four years, right? Yeah. Okay. >> So, I just want to comment on that. So, thank
074you. >> Thank you. Okay. Is there any other new business? We're good. Okay, that's >> I was just gonna say Dr. Tion and her team did a fantastic job with homecoming, but she ran out. But I'll say it anyway. >> Dr. Tion and her staff um it was it was amazing. It's not just a dance or a game. It is a whole week of like school pride and just working together and they do a lot for their for our kids. So kudos. Okay, we're adjourned. >> Five more meetings. >> Not voting. Not voting.