001Good evening everyone and welcome to the April 14th, 2026 meeting of the Abington Board of School Directors. I note the attendance of all board members with the exception of Mrs. Brown who is excused. Uh please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance 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. >> The Abington Board of School Directors has convened this evening's meeting at the administration building and the public is welcome. This meeting is also being broadcast live on the Abington School District YouTube channel. For those members of the public who cannot participate this evening, the meeting is being recorded and will be available on the district's website and cable channel no later than Friday,
002April 17, 2026. Comments from citizens will be conducted in person and by phone. Instructions for calling into each public comment section of the meeting will be displayed on the screen during each segment. The board thanks the public in advance for its cooperation. This is a place where we hold dignity in high regard and everyone's voices are respected and welcomed in this space. >> Dr. Fetcher, do we have any additional announcements or agenda items? >> Yes, Dr. Larry. Um, first I would like to uh recognize that today is Holocaust Remembrance Day in the United States. So, I ask that we please start tonight by holding a moment of silence in memory of the millions of Jewish people and others around the world who were victims of Nazi persecution. Thank you. Next, I have an announcement this
003evening. Uh, I want to remind everyone that next Tuesday, April 21st, we will be we will host an open house to review the designs for the new middle school, uh, which will be held in the little theater beginning at 6:30 p.m. If you visit 1d1Future.org, there is a popup window with a link to register for the event. The registration form includes a space to list any questions you may have going into the openhouse which our partners at ICS will work into the presentation. For any questions that arise during the presentations, attendees will be able to submit questions via a QR code which will be read aloud during the question and answer period uh which that will continue until 8:00 p.m. Uh if you are not able to attend the open house, a live stream will
004be available via our Abington School District YouTube channel. The same QR code format will be utilized for online viewers. frequently asked questions and the meeting recording will be made available on the 1ASD1 future micro site at a later date. Um, as this is part of our continued commitment to ensuring the community is involved in the future of Abington Middle School, we encourage the public to join us if they are able. Thank you. >> Okay. And just um for clarification, we are using the written question format in order to create an equitable situation for both people who are watching the live stream and people who might be able to attend in person. >> Yes, that is correct. Um having call-ins in the little theater is is rather difficult from a tech tech standpoint. >> Okay. All
005right. Great. Thank you very much for that. Um, with that we will move to opening comments of board members. Mr. Allen, >> good evening everyone. >> Miss Eisenhart. >> Good evening and welcome to the meeting. >> Mr. Muhammad, >> good evening all. >> Miss Falding, >> good evening everybody. And tomorrow happens to be tax day. Got to get me. >> Miss Hartman. >> Good evening everyone. Welcome. Miss Fraser. >> Hi guys. >> Miss Fletcher. >> Good evening. >> And Miss Lee. >> Good evening. >> Okay. Good evening everyone and welcome to the meeting. Uh that brings us to our student council representatives. >> Thank you Dr. Mauy. At this time Lana Brown, if you could come forward from Abington Senior High School. >> Good evening, Dr. Maui, Dr. Fetcher, and members of the board of
006school directors. My name is Lana Brown and I am the student council president of Abington Senior High School. To highlight our students, the Abington Senior High Art Department was proud to showcase the work of 21 students in the recent Pennsylvania State Education Association's Touch the Future exhibition held at the Montgomery County College Fine Arts Building. We would like to recognize the following students for their hard work and creativity. In ninth grade, the recognized students are Quinn Permute, Anna Lee, Sierra Ekenro, and Brook Brook Sanchez. In 10th grade, we have Aubrey Jones, Bria Jackson, Hi McDonald, Ailia, Kelby Fam, and Rean Smith. For 11th grade, Michelle Yakapua, Lily Fields, Jessica Birkenstock, Frankie Marino, and Leah Bryce. Finally, in 12th grade, Maria Rohawk, Nicole Robertson, Abigail Heinrich, Kase Jean Charles, Olivia Renzy, and Sadie Weintock. Additionally, senior
007Liam Pendergast has been recognized as a top senior's boy lacrosse player in the Bucks County area. We are extremely proud of all our students for their outstanding achievements. Now, to recognize Abington Senior High School's tremendous faculty and staff. Betina Roar was nominated and selected as a grand prize winner of the Citadel Heart of Learning Award. As a grand prize recipient this year, Betina will receive a $5,000 award along with the program's signature glass heart trophy. In recognition of her achievement, Abington Senior High School will also receive a $5,000 award. Mr. Isaac Pico or organized and held the ASHS Final Four Ping Pong Championship, awarding 12th grade winner Eric Ginsburg. Next, the ASHS Key Club led by adviserss Christa Peters and Marissa Dargorio along with student leaders Samantha Mcuade and Kennedy Botttow participated in an eight-week
008fundraising challenge for rising stars. Through their efforts, the Abington team raised $2,892 to help grant wishes for children with critical illnesses in our local region. Furthermore, Lisa Marlau at Congregation KI hosted a traveling museum exhibit featuring a cattle car installation. Yes, >> William Pendergas and Betatina Roar also provided comments to the Jewish exponent, helping strengthen ASHs's relationship with Congregation Ki and the region's Jewish community. Additionally, we are proud to share that the Abington Art Department was recognized for their leadership and celebration of the arts fest. Lastly, regarding faculty, Abington Senior High School is proud to share that Randy Garbo will be recognized by the Southeastern PA Soccer Hall of Fame as the recipient of the John Na Nanooki Award for Coach of the Year. To close, I would like to highlight some of the amazing
009recent events that Abington Senior High School students and faculty have participated in and organized. Under the direction of Mr. Rosenfeld ASHs hosted the 29th annual indoor guard and percussion show. Next, we are extremely excited to share that Abingtonthon was a huge success. Under the direction of Mrs. Carter and Mr. McNair, students raised over $73,000 for six pediatric cancer organizations with the 12th grade class notably raising $26,4214 for CHOP. Additionally, Mrs. Vanage and the ASHS military club are raising funds to create summer fund baskets for incoming military families in our community. Mr. Wy and Red Cross Red Cross members also facilitated the Arrive Alive program for 11th graders with presentations focused on safe decisionmaking and responsible behavior behavior behind the wheel. Lastly, student council along with Mr. Banks and Mr. Garry facilitated the annual blood drive
010on April 10th. The drive had 96 students sign up and ultimately collected 70 units 72 units of blood. With each unit having the potential to save three lives, our donors donors gave enough blood to potentially save 216 lives. Additionally, 60 of the donors were firsttime donors. We are we are incredibly proud of the Abington Senior High School community and the students, faculty, and staff who make our school such a special place. Thank you for your time today. respectfully submitted Lana Brown. >> So, thank you, Lana. I have a quick question for you. Um, this time of year, a lot of seniors are making a decision about what's going to happen next year for them. And I don't know if you've made that decision yet. If you would like to share it. >> Yes. I actually
011officially committed two days ago to um Penn State University. >> All right. Congratulations. Thank you. >> Thank you very much for sharing a lot of things going on. and we appreciate that. At this time, Nathaniel Henshaw, if you could please come forward from Abington Middle School. Good evening, Dr. Mauy, Dr. Fetcher, and members of the board of school directors. I am Nathaniel Hunaw, and I am on the executive board of student council for Abington Middle School. Student council is excited about wrapping up the year with spirit weeks and a door decorating contest. In addition, they will begin working soon on plans for elections for the 2026 2027 school year. Students in the going green club painted rocks to refresh the school spirit garden that is by the middle school entrance. The rocks are decorated with
012school colors as well as a school motto that we are safe, responsible, and kind at AMS. TADA will be hosting its last event this year extravaganza on April 24th. Students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades will enjoy carnival style games and contests, music, and a variety of activities including a 3v3 basketball tournament and a family feud tournament. The evening will end with an exciting raffle giveaway. Students in the STEM club are designing and building carnival games using cardboard and simple circuits. These interactive games will be showcased at the SRK carnival in June. Students in the crocheting club continue to create a welcoming and encouraging space to be creative as they share their talents with one another. Student athletes are participating in sports. They are working hard at practice and in their competitions. Seven students represented
013Abington Middle School at this 2026 PMEA Junior High Songfest at Upper Perkyomen Middle School on Wednesday, April 8th. The students join their voices with middle school singers from all over Bucks and Montgomery counties to rehearse challenging music and to sing for a packed house that evening. A great day was had by all. The eighth grade algebra 1 classes concluded their trash ball data project by completing the trashball finals bracket in front of the entire eighth grade at the middle school main gym on the Wednesday before spring break. During March, 585 algebra 1 students participated in over 817 trash games, choosing between either two-point or threepoint shots. Students use the rules from the earlier rounds to organize and analyze the data collected from the tournament using various data displays. NJHS students are working on the books
014they created for the kindergarteners at Overlook Elementary School and are looking forward to sharing them on May 28th. In addition, our April meeting will give students the opportunity to hear from a guest speaker from the breathing room to learn about how they can show the community support for families who have been affected by cancer. Abington Middle School's newest club, Next Level, recently learned about the joys of sports card collecting. Thanks to an exciting lesson from Mr. Eken Road. The members are working to build their own birdhouses with the help of Mr. Steinhard and Mr. Fogle as well as other staff members. Students in the Reading Olympics competed at Upper Dublin High School on March 23rd thanks to the PTO providing for providing pizza and snacks for the students after school. Blazing Books, Voice Voyagers 2.0,
015and Book Warriors each earned red ribbons. The Sigma 67ers, Cookie Bookies, and main character Energy earned blue ribbons, which is the highest rated level. Congratulations to all of our Raiders. We're looking forward to competing again next year. Thank you and have a great night. >> Thank you, Nathaniel. A lot going on there as well. And um nice job summarizing for us. We appreciate it. >> Thank you. move on. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> At this time, I'd like to ask Miss Ali Artur, communications coordinator, to share two videos highlighting uh recent media coverage of Abington School District. >> Good evening, Dr. Fetcher, Dr. Mauy, and members of the board of school directors. At the end of March, both of our secondary buildings held two annual events that speak to the true spirit of our Abington
016School District community. In recognition of World Down Syndrome Day, Abington Middle School students and staff participated in the 9th annual BuddyWalk, which celebrates our differences and promotes inclusion. Despite the dreary weather, hundreds of students came out to support one another in the spirit of friendship. At the high school, as Lana shared, um more than 300 students participated in the annual Abbingthon event, um which is the culmination, um of a year's worth of fundraising efforts for pediatric cancer focused organizations in our area. Uh this year Abingtonthon students raised more than $72,000 for for the cause. Both events were covered by 6ABC action news and I'm happy to share those videos with you this evening. >> We're today walking as one. Abington Middle School continued the beloved tradition this afternoon in honor of World Down Syndrome Day.
017>> The school's buddies club hosted its 9th annual Buddy Walk. The club's biggest event of the year. The club pairs differently aabled students with a buddy from the general education population. And every year this event promotes inclusion, friendship, and of course, school spirit. >> We hope that we everyone sees that we are together. We do things together. We hope that people come together as a team cuz we all matter. >> Well, throughout the year, students and their buddies spend quality time together, taking part in after school activities. They range from learning to performing a dance routine together to creating pieces of art as well. And they do really create some lasting relationships. >> Yeah, we love that. That's very cool. >> Yeah, that'll do it for action news at 4 today. >> Abington Senior High
018School is ending the school week on a high note. More than 300 students are celebrating the culmination of their year-long fundraising effort to benefit pediatric cancer treatment and research. >> Yeah, this is the school's annual Abbing Fawn event. It features dancing, singing, lots of games. The high school trying to break last year's fundraising total of more than $75,000. Good luck to them. >> Thank you. >> Did Did they break what they said last year? >> No. 73. >> Okay. Good. Good. Great showing. >> All right. At this time, I'd like to ask Dr. Alice Swift to recognize the Abington Senior High School chess team who competed in United States Chess uh Federation's high school championship in Chicago, Illinois earlier this month. Our U200 team played seventh in the country. Uh just an important note and
019I've loved to watch the journey. The team has placed in the top 10 of our division every year since 2011. Oh, >> and you just said everything I was supposed to say. No, I'm just kidding. Okay. Good evening, uh, Dr. Barry, Dr. Fetraer, and our distinguished members of the board of directors. It is my honor to recognize an outstanding group of scholars whose dedication, discipline, and intellectual excellence continue to bring pride to our Abington School community. Earlier this month, the Abington Senior High School chess team competed, as Dr. Fetcher said in United States Chess Federation High School Championship in Chicago, Illinois is one of the most competitive scholastic chess events in the nation. They competed against top teams from across the country and our U200 team earned an impressive seventh place national ranking and currently
020we are ranked number two in the state of Pennsylvania. This achievement is not only a testament to their strategic thinking and perseverance, but it is also a legacy of sustained excellence. Remarkably, the Abington's chess team is placed in the top 10 division every year since 2011. Standard of consistency that speaks volumes about their strength of the program and their commitment of its scholars and our coach. Um, and our scholars this evening, thank you. They exemplify critical thinking, focus, and sportsmanship. They represent the very best of Abington Senior High School, and we are incredibly proud of their accomplishments on the national stage. Please join me in congratulating the Abington Senior High School chess team for their continued excellence and for representing our district along with Coach Simmons with distinction. >> You all want to join us
021for the picture. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much. That concludes our honors for this evening. >> Okay. Um I just wanted to also add my congratulations to Ms. Roar and co coach Garber for their awards. Um those are great accomplishments. That brings us to our first section of Comments from citizens are being conducted both in person and by phone. The phone number to participate in public comments is 267715 and is now being displayed on the screen. You'll be able to join the meeting by calling in on your mobile or landline phone. A citizen will be recognized once during this period of the meeting and each citizen's comments will be limited to a total of three minutes except at the discretion of the president. Time may not be yielded or otherwise transferred
022by one speaker to another for purposes of extending a given speaker's time aotment. If there's anyone present in the room who'd like to make a comment, please use the microphone either to your left or to your right. Thank you for waiting for the for the neighbor to leave. Thank you. All right. Go ahead. >> My parents did a good job. Yeah, >> sometimes. >> Go ahead. >> Hey, Joe Rooney. I live in Orangeley. Um, first, Coach Simmons left. Does anybody know what his secret sauce is? They're just unbelievable. Every single year, these kids are coming up. Um, we need to interview them and find out how you're getting these kids, so many 10 years worth of kids to be so good at chess. I'd like them to beat me half a dozen times so I
023would learn something. But, God bless them. I'd make a recommendation. We need ICS to talk to Coach Simmons. We need to transition from just building buildings to getting better education and he knows how to do it. So, that was really awesome. Um, second, real quick, I have to go look it up. I think if we have a public meeting, you have to have public comment and uh I know you all want to control it by having submitted questions and read what you want, but I'll be back with you on that. But I think if you have all these people here, open records and I'll have to look the rules means public comment in that uh that uh middle school thing you're going to do. So it's worked before when Tamar Climman embarrassed herself and we
024had that big meeting over at the middle school. Um it worked for public comment and it was very it was very instructive. Board needs to hear stuff face to face and not just get to pick and choose what they want to read and don't want to read. So, um, I've been part of that where you submit questions and they get edited, they get modified, and they get grouped together. So, that's not where Hey, um, I don't know another really quick thing, and I'm sorry, Dr. Schwiff left, um, Dr. Mallalerie, Dr. Fetcher, and the board, you owe Dr. Swift a public apology for the character assassination that you did to her, and I'm still waiting to see that. And the same thing just like uh Melissa Mauy said, we have to have those difficult face-to-face discussions.
025Well, they have to be held. This is it right now. It's difficult, really hard for me to say this to you guys uh about baseless charges, whether it's anti-semitism or board members casually throwing out uh the charge of fascist to people that they don't know or even people sitting in a room. So, you brought it up about those difficult conversations that we need to have and they need to be face to face. So, I'm just wondering if it was blather or if it was really honest. So, I'm looking forward to that. The next one is I don't know if you all saw it, but the Abington Library is planning on tearing or I know they're going to tear it down. They're going to build a new library. We already have a hundred million dollar valued
026by ASD building over there with a beautiful library. It's already owned by the taxpayers of Abington Township, which are you all are representing. And it would be economically great. It would be environmentally great to repurpose and reuse that building rather than tear it down because the next thing we're going to hear is we're going to need a new township building because they've already brought murmurss of that up and then you're going to start working on McKinley Elementary because it's just a little bit younger than Navington Middle School. So, it would be real smart to save that $und00 million building and repurpose it. Is that it? >> Your time is up. Thank you. >> Thank you. Hi, uh, Jen Pertell. I live in Glenside. Um, uh, I wanted to also congratulate the, uh, the chess team.
027I mean, just, uh, years and years of excellence and, uh, as somebody who has tried to play chess, I'm even more impressed because it's not been successful. Um, I also, um, was, uh, amazed at the list of things that both of the student council reps had to go through. I mean, not only do they have to be up there and present all this, but there was a lot to cover. And it's really impressive the the gamut of things, the um the how involved these kids are, how involved the the staff is as well, uh the impact they're making, and just everything that they're getting out of it, uh besides just the the academics that they get from the district. So, that just was impressive. And I would also like to uh say thank you for
028the open house and all of the information, the outreach, and the um transparency for the middle school project. Uh I look forward to the open house. Um but it's just really um exciting to watch the whole process go and I really like appreciate that you're including the township and the residents and all that. So thank you. >> Thank you for your voice. Anyone else in the room? M. Oh, okay. >> George Salona Rosalyn, according to information on Next Door, you intend to raise taxes by as much as 10.81%. These will be t catastrophic for the poor and elderly in this township. The median income for residents 65 and over is approximately 34% less than that of residents ages 45 to 64 approximately 35.6% 6% less than residents 25 to 44. According to point2omes.com, approximately 28%
029of Abington's residents are at least 60 years old. The seniors that have built Abington into a desirable residential township do not deserve to lose their homes from such enormous tax increases, and that will happen. The decision to increase taxes to these staggering rates shows no respect, no empathy, no consideration for the seniors who have worked all their lives and built Abington into a thriving township. You pride yourself on setting examples for children, for students. That is a deplorable to steal a word from someone thing to do. Furthermore, these decisions are following the most lopsided process, uneven in untransparent referendum that I have ever seen. And I came from Philadelphia. I saw a lot of things, but what this township does, their commissioners, the people in charge, is again deplorable. a referendum that barely passed, not
030a mandate for you to raise taxes 10% 11%. That completely contradicts the narrative that you put forward that tax increases would be minimal. There is a higher bar to transparency. You have not met it. You are unilaterally imposing agendas, tax increases, and pure disrespect for people out of autocracy and authoritarian processes. You have not even considered costcutting measures. You have not even considered fundraising efforts from private entities. Poor families in Abington will be forced to leave. Working families will be overburdened, will have to leave. They will not enjoy this middle school. Speculators and landlords will come in because property values will decline because when home ownership rates decline, speculators do come in. I saw that because I lived in Philadelphia for 64 years. >> The people >> I'm sorry, your three minutes are up. >>
031Yeah, of course. You don't want to hear something you don't like. Thank you for your voice. Anyone else in the room? Mr. Cargus, do we have anyone on the line? >> We do. The next citizen for public comment, phone number ending in 4437. Please state your full name and your full address. >> Connie Briggs, 2953 Suscoana Road, Abington. >> Thank you. Go ahead. Um, I still see somebody talking on my screen. Is that >> No, no one is speaking in the room. You have the floor. >> Oh, okay. All right. Something's out of sync or something. >> Yeah, there's a little bit of a delay. >> Okay. Thanks for that. Um, >> yes. Uh, thanks for uh uh letting me comment. Um I uh I have a next door post that uh George Salona mentioned
032and uh he's contributed uh some statistics and uh 1,400 people have looked at it. Um I just wanted to comment on the budget though because uh on February 10th uh ASD presented the preliminary 2026 27 budget with a proposed 10.81 tax increase because that was above the 3.5% act one cap. the district needed either PTE approval or voter referendum to go to above the amount of 3.5%. After a lot of followup, I I I checked with uh your CFO and the Montgomery County Voter Services and Nancy Gent's office and PTE. I learned that there was would be no referendum and that PD approved one exception for Abington uh the $4.8 million for school construction electoral debt. I didn't know what that meant, but uh PTE I had to email them again and they said this
033amount represents the tax revenue ASD may raise above the index of 3.5% and that based on ASD's preliminary budget assumptions, it corresponds to about a 1.3738 additional mills. This appears to translate to a total tax increase of about 7.1%, not 10.81%. Importantly, PD's approval appears to set an upper limit, but this is not a required final number. Could be less than 7.1%. And as residents, we we're asking you to try to make it as low as possible. In other words, ASD still appears to have a choice about whether to tax us for the full amount or not. I have four questions, please, and I hope someone can answer those. I'll try to get them fast. Does the board consider the rough uh roughly 7.1% to be the current upper limit for the 202627 tax increase?
034Question two, should residents expect the full PTE approved increase or is the board considering a lower final tax increase? Question three, what operating costs can still be cut to lower the tax increase further? The greatest proposed increases in the preliminary budget are induced fees and debt service about 5.5 million increase, salaries about 4.8 million increase, professional services up about 1.16 million, and other services up about 1.01 million. Question four, when will the public be allowed to see the district's 2-year cost cutting plan mentioned in the March 24th meeting? residents deserve clear answers before the final budget is proposed. Thank you. >> Thank you for your voice. >> Mr. Cargus, do we have anyone else on the line? >> We have no more callers. >> Okay. Dr. Fetcher, >> I don't have any comments this evening.
035>> Okay. Um I'm gonna ask >> I'm gonna ask you a question then if you don't mind. Um, in terms of procedure for the public meeting, >> okay. >> Um, how are we when community members write in their questions, are we editing those on the fly or are we going to read them as written? >> So, we'll read them as written. We will put all of the questions and answers of the questions on our on our website. Uh so we we will go through everything as much as we can in a set period of time and make sure that we answer everyone. Um in terms of the format, it is it's an openhouse format to show a presentation and get feedback. People can ask questions ahead of time. Um and some have >> and we
036will incorporate those into the presentation and we'll try to get to as many questions as we can that evening. >> Okay. And questions that we don't get to at the meeting will be answered subsequently. >> Yes, we will. >> We will post them on the website. Uh and if it is an individual question that's very specific to a person, we'll make sure that we make contact with that individual. >> Okay. Okay. Um other questions or comments from the board? >> So can I >> Miss Fletcher? >> Yes. So, just on that in the in the open house forum that we're going to have next week, the people that are in the room, will they be I know because the audio is is a challenge for them to hear through the I I understand there's an
037audio challenge. Maybe this is a Mr. Carus question. Will they be I know they're using the QR code in the room as well. There's not live questions in the room either. It's all all the questions are being submitted digitally and then read by the the moderator as they're coming through. That's correct. >> Okay. I just wanted to make sure. Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> I had a point of clarification. Um, could we clarify uh jurisdiction of what properties within the district are concerns of the board? Is it limited to districttowned properties within Abington Township? >> I'm not sure I understand your question. >> Is this in reference to the township building? >> Correct. I thank you. >> I think it's important to understand what this board is able to speak on um when
038it comes to public commentary regarding township buildings. um >> and influence >> and collective. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. >> What what our influence is in in the in the public space >> with respect to the township properties? It's the same as every other citizen of the township in terms of as a as a resident of Abington Township. You don't have any control or authority or or influence over their use of their property or whatever renovations they may or may not believe are are necessary. So, um, just to clarify, this board would be reviewing questions and commentary in regards to districtowned properties such as the school buildings or buildings that were in this district that were once used as schools. Is that correct? >> Correct. It would be any property that you currently own. I mean,
039for example, this building, which is not currently a school, would be one of those. You're you've got other buildings that are not schools, but it would be everything that that the school district owns as a property. So, it would be your schools and the other accessory structures. >> Okay. And um uh Mr. Donahue for um questions concerning that citizens may have regarding um other township buildings, where is the correct place to place those commentary and questions? >> You they would direct those to the township building or the township commissioners, township manager. Again, if that's the Ammon Township Public Library system, Ammon Township building, those are down the road. >> Okay. Thank you. Anyone else on the board? No. Okay, that concludes the uh first section of public comments and that brings us to the approval
040of minutes. Yes. >> Okay. Miss Hartman, can you please read the recommendation to approve the March meeting? minutes and the revised February minutes >> that the board of school directors approves the minutes of the board meeting on March 10th, 2026 and the board meeting on March 24th, 2026 as well as well as the revised minutes of the board meeting on February 10th, 2026. >> Okay, second. >> Dr. Fetcher, we have a second. >> You have the minutes and uh there is a revision uh in the minutes. I just want to clarify what that means. Um, we had a resident um explain that everything that was brought up by that resident was not included in the minutes. Um, and it was missing some of that. Uh, so we made the revision uh to in be to
041include what the concern was. >> Okay. With the am I under do I understand correctly with the clarification that board minutes are not transcripts of the board meeting. Correct. Is that correct? >> Correct. Um they are the if there's a desire for verbatim we have we maintain videos of the of the meeting. Um but in in this particular case it was um a point was not captured. Okay. >> Um and in general uh so we felt that it was important to amend that. >> Okay. Great. Thank you for including that. Uh anyone else? >> Okay. This is a voice vote. All in favor? I >> I >> The eyes have it. The minutes are approved. >> All right. That brings us to item seven. Miss Hartman, can you please read the recommendation to approve the
042personnel addendum? >> That the board of school directors approves the changes in personnel as reflected in personnel agenda numbers 7.1 and 7.1A and confidential addendum number 7.1B. >> Second. You have a second. Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Mallerie. Uh, the personnel addendum begins with the appointment of one administrative staff member, the request for leaves of absence for four professional employees, and compensation for IEP meetings, interpreter and translation services, and tutoring. I bring your attention to the retirement of Mr. Brian Griffin, an English teacher at Abington Senior High School, who has served the district for 30 years, and I'll be sad to see him go. had an opportunity to start my time in Abington with him as well. So, >> we certainly uh wish him well in his retirement and I hope that he has
043a stack of really good books that he's been desperate to get to. >> Um any other comments? >> Yeah, just congratulations. 30 years is is remarkable. >> Yeah, it certainly is. Um all right, Mrs. Flanigan, this is a roll call, please. Mr. Allen >> I >> Miss Eisenhart >> I >> Mr. Mhammed >> I >> Miss Balding >> I >> Miss Hartman >> I >> Miss Frasier >> I >> Miss Fletcher >> I >> Dr. Mauy >> I the eyes have it and the motion passes. Miss Hartman, can you please read the recommendation for permits for use of buildings and grounds? >> That the board of school directors approves the applications for permits for use of buildings and grounds as reflected in addendum numbers 8.1. >> Second. >> Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Mauy.
044The permanent denim continues to reflect requests for buildings and grounds for meetings and other school events and activities for this time of year. >> Okay. Questions or comments from the board? >> I just add um having been on the property in the evenings to pick up my uh my child, it's exciting to see how much traffic there still remains in the building and how much activity there is with the students and it reflects what we see here in in the addendum. Uh it's just it's just a constant activity between the staff and the students and and the community. It's very very engaging. >> Absolutely. And I see one event up there that's particularly momentous for our students and that is the commencement ceremony. >> Yes. >> On June 11th with a rain date of June
04515th. >> Um so I know we have a lot of high school seniors who are excited about that date. >> June 10th. date of 11th and 15th. >> We got you. We got you, Dr. Maui. >> Okay. >> Yep. >> All right. I'll be getting my eyes examined shortly. All right. Thank you. Um, anyone else? >> I didn't know. >> I think I noticed football yoga there somewhere and I that was a first. I never noticed it before. >> Yeah, I saw that, too. >> I like to see what that's entailed. >> Ah, >> interesting. Thank you. >> Don't know much about that, but I can uh definitely find out. >> I like football and and yoga. >> Definitely yoga, right? >> Usually not at the same time. >> I do know that, you know,
046the Steelers did take ballet at one point, so it could be just to enhance their balance flexibility. >> Totally. >> All right, >> Mrs. Flanigan. This is a roll call vote. >> Mr. Allen, >> I. >> Miss Eisenhart, >> I. >> Mr. Muhammad, >> I. >> Miss Balding, >> I. >> Miss Hartman, >> I. Miss Frasier >> I >> Miss Ledger >> I >> Dr. Mauy >> I the eyes have it and the motion passes. Miss Hartman, can you please read the recommendation for advertisement for bids? >> That the board of school directors approves the advertisement for bids as reflected in addendum number 9.1. >> Second. >> Dr. Fetu, we have a second. >> Thank you, Dr. Mauy. Uh this evening, the advertisement uh for bid is for the contracted transportation services. As you know,
047we have both in-house transportation and we have a contractor um and that is um going to be up within a year uh from now. So, we want to go out to uh our RFP and um we have about onethird of our transportation is uh through the contractor and 2/3 in-house. And uh Mr. rem I don't know if you we go we transport to approximately n is it 90 to >> okay >> 81 different non-public schools so Mr. Is there anything else about the contracted transportation services you want to add? >> No, we just this year, this time around, we just decided we should go out earlier uh to, you know, uh see what was out there. We haven't um it's been what, five years since we did the last one. >> Uh there's been some
048changes in the market, changes with different companies, >> so uh we're excited to see what there is out there. Um, also, uh, uh, we're also looking for off-site, you know, uh, to because our contractor and we share the same location. So, this is for us to hopefully branch out of our parking facility and, uh, gain some more room uh, with the construction coming up with the middle school as well. >> Okay. That's in anticipation that where district vehicles like for maintenance and stuff are usually parked as the the construction project gets underway will not be available. >> Correct. >> Okay. >> Hopefully it becomes a permanent solution as well. >> Okay. Um, I certainly appreciate the um starting that competitive process early, particularly with an eye towards saving the district some money on that budget
049line. So, any other questions or comments from the board? >> I have a question. I I I don't know how if this is even possible or something that is done, but I'm sure that we share um with other districts the need for transportation with neighboring districts the need for transportation to the same schools. Has it ever been considered to collaborate with neighboring districts to transport kids to schools that might like, you know, Jenintown or Cheltonham or Upper Morland that are that are close by that might I I don't know if it's even possible. I'm just thinking from a cost savings perspective. That's a great question. >> Yeah. >> So, yes. Um, the answer is yes, it's been explored. Uh don't quote me on the year. Um going to go with 2007. uh there was a
050Bucks Montgomery County uh sort of consortium that got together to explore especially for non-public schools uh ride sharing um amongst districts where you know if you have a bus going to a school in the uh the western side of our district for example uh you know starting at the eastern side and working your way through um that process um I think was an was they spent about two years on it and they couldn't get it to they couldn't get it off the ground. Okay. >> Because there was uh >> no offense, but there was a lot of legal questions as far as liability and >> um you know uh some districts aren't they don't own their own equipment. they're contracted and who was responsible and who was going to foot the bill and for the
051you know contracted services things of that nature. So it never actually got off the ground. >> Okay. >> Locally um we do when we can uh help each other out in a sense um uh with transportation to other locations. Um it's not something we do on a like a global uh uh service. Uh you know we will maybe trade off a student or two depending on you know uh who's going where and who has room. um kind of like the MCIU does where they they uh you know they take requests from multiple districts and um they'll split the cost of of you know we may have two students somebody else may have you know one and they they all share a vehicle and they split the cost. Um, usually we do it more of of
052a, you know, it's a one, it may be a student, they only have one student there, you know, and if you take my student for, you know, that school, I'll take your student for that school. >> Okay. Um again, uh there a lot of times it gets into the weeds with legalities and liabilities and things because you know um many districts in their policies will will state that they only will transport students that are residents of the township and not you know not provide transportation to anybody else for a multitude of reasons. Um usually we haven't uh had any requests recently for any new students. Um, but the one or two that we do have been, you know, vetted and they are residents and there's been back and forth between my department, my office and
053Dr. Malor's office and, you know, just to make sure that we're dotting our eyes and crossing our tees and we're not putting ourselves in a spot where, you know, um, down the road it may be an issue. >> And we use B we're contracted with Bulmont Transportation right now. Is that correct? >> I'm sorry. >> Do we we're contracted with Bulmont? Is it Bumont Transportation that we're No. >> Who are who are we using currently >> for transportation? We're looking uh Abington Trans is our main contractor. >> Okay. >> Uh that we share the property with currently um for a lot of outside placements. We uh we're we're dependent upon the MCIU. >> Okay. >> Uh MCIU uh if they own any vehicles is very few. Uh they're probably 95% contracted out to a multitude
054of carriers all over Montgomery County. You're probably thinking like maybe Bucksmont or >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> or um Transnet or MTS or one of those. >> That's all through the IU. >> That's all through the MCIU. Um several months ago we asked you to approve a contract. Not several months ago, like three month two months ago we asked you to approve a contract with First All. uh we've now brought them on board as a transportation solution for us. Um many districts are using them as well. It's more of a sort of a ride share sort of program um where um you know to help with transportation. The MCU is is pretty much overwhelmed with >> with requests anymore. So um we there are there are like our alternative you know solution for um out
055of district placement transportation. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> I also have a question um involving liability. So if twothirds of the transportation is provided by Abington I think you said is in-house twothirds of transportation. So that leaves the rest they're independent contractors I take it. So my question is does it does the district save money by not being responsible for liability insurance for that third or whatever it is as for the outside providers >> Patty. >> Yeah. Who provides the liability insurance for the outside contract? >> Trans the contractor would supply us with a certificate of insurance. Um they need to maintain their own liability insurance. So, in a sense, it saves the district money from liability insurance. >> Correct. But also from a potential from a staffing perspective, if they're staffing
056costs are um lower than or different than ours, we might be able to experience savings from that end as well. >> Thank you. >> Dr. Petra, do you want to add anything to that? No, I was just going to say part of the process um that we're going out to advertise is to get an idea of what the total cost would be. And obviously over time we always do an analysis between in-house costs and going out to uh a vendor. And uh for some of these um vendor services, we do bus within uh according to PA state code, it's under 10 mi, anywhere within 10 miles uh if students are enrolled in schools that we bus to. So sometimes it's more advantageous to use um a contractor to do those longer trips or those distances
057and do in-house in the local area. But we do an analysis of that and then the roots are planned according to that. >> All right. So I was thinking in the event of an accident and it's through the independent contractor will the liability fall on the school district for ultimate payout or the indiv independent contractor >> the operator of the vehicle. So be the contractor's insurance would respond to >> thank you. Okay. Thank you. >> Anyone else? Okay, this is a roll call. Mrs. Flanigan, >> Mr. Allen, >> I. >> Miss Eisenhart, >> I. >> Mr. >> Hi, >> Miss Falding. >> I >> Miss Hartman, >> I. >> Miss Frasier, >> I >> Miss Fletcher, >> I. >> Dr. Mauy, >> I. The eyes have it and the motion passes. Brings us to item
05810, awards of contracts. Miss Hartman, uh, could you please read the recommendation for the awards of contracts? >> That the board of school directors approves the awards of contracts as reflected in addendum number 10.1. >> Second. >> Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Ma. Tonight, uh, for your consideration, we have two awards of contracts. One is for, uh, core server infrastructure refresh and for media servers. I'm gonna phone a friend and ask Mr. Cargus if you could explain those items, please. >> Yes, thank you, Dr. Fetcher. Um, the first one, uh, the core server, uh, infrastructure refreshes our virtual server stack. Um, we're looking to refresh it is outdated, um, and no longer warrantied. Um, and it stores um, a lot of our local files and applications, um, domain controllers for our network, so on
059and so forth. um and it's in need of uh refresh re replacement. And then the media servers, I'm looking to replace two of our uh servers to um replace um aging hardware again um which supports 480 cameras across the district. >> Thank you. Um, and this is already budgeted for. It's in the current budget. Correct. >> That's correct. This this it's for this year to be purchased this year and um installed this year. >> Okay. >> Other questions? >> U Mr. Cargus, could you explain or maybe just identify the anticipated um lifespan of these two purchases for the district? um you know in providing the security and uh that it will do for the district. >> Both um the the core server um installation and hardware as well as well as the media servers come
060with fiveyear warranty um at which we you know we we do an assessment of it and if we feel it that you know this the the hardware is still good what we usually get an extended warranty at that point in time. Uh could you explain the the status of the current uh hardware and the the concerns that that prompt us to consider this uh this refurbishment >> for um again for both um for both purchases the hardware is no longer under warranty um and no longer under support. So for the for the virtualization stack, if um if anything fails within that stack, we would have to replace the whole stack because they no longer make the parts for it. Um the media servers um we've already had in uh last year one of the media
061servers crash on us. Um and we lost some some footage and um I brought a server to you. Um I think it it was at the beginning of this school year actually. Um so for the first one the ramifications are huge because it supports um a lot of the applications and network and everything that we do in the school district and the second one supports um all the different security cameras and footage um across the district. >> Mr. Carus, could you explain how or just give us an idea of how old are these two that I mean, you said that we're going to try to get, you know, five to seven years out of the new ones. How how many years did we get out of these? >> Yeah, the the um >> the ones
062that you're replacing, sorry, >> I'm I'm sorry. The the core server stack is 12 over 12 years old >> and the media servers are um seven years old. Okay. >> So old for technology. So, you're looking to get roughly the same amount of time out of the new pieces. >> A minimum five years. Um, actually looking at seven. >> Okay. >> Minimum. >> Okay. Okay. And again the the costs are higher than normal because of the explanation I gave from the previous meeting about just all the hardware prices and stuff because of the >> mass AI data centers being built across the nation driving prices up. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Yes. >> Any other questions or comments? Maybe, sorry, I think I might have asked this earlier, but just for for the larger
063audience, um, how long does it take to get this up and installed once we once you get the the go-ahad, if you get the go-ahhead, right? Are we talking weeks or months? I mean, I know before we had a lot of delays with the technology, is this in the same capacity? >> We were quoted like a right around a 40 to 50 day um, >> wait time for for the hardware to come in. Um it seems like that's changing weekly. >> Okay. >> Um so the the the intention is to get them in again and installed before the end of the the school year. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Before the end of the school year. >> Before the end of June. Correct. >> Okay. All right. Great. All right. Anyone else? Okay. Mrs. Mrs.
064Flanigan, if you would please. >> Mr. Allen, >> I. >> Miss Eisenhart, >> I. >> Mr. Muhammad, >> I. >> Miss Balding, >> I. >> Miss Hartman, >> I. >> Miss Frasier, >> I. >> Miss Fletcher, >> I. >> Dr. Mauy, >> I. The eyes have it. The motion passes. Miss Hartman, can you please read the recommendation for the IDA pass through funds and notice of adoption of policies and procedures? that the board of school directors authorizes the superintendent to enter into the use of funds agreement with the Montgomery County Intermediate Union unit number 23 for IDA funds for the period July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2027 and adopt the Montgomery County Intermediate Units policies, procedures, and use of funds under the federal requirements of 34 CFR part 300 which fulfill requires irements of
06522 PA code chapter 14 and the regulations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act part B. >> Second. >> Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Mallerie. Uh we receive approximately $1.1 million of IDEIDA funds uh from Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, who receives the funds from the federal government. The funds are used to pay for a wide variety of special education expenses such as special education teacher salaries and benefits, extended schoolyear services uh for students, professional development, technology, and other various supplies and programs uh that support our special ed program. uh the agreement pertained to the distribution of those funds and uh the notice of adoption of policies, procedures and use of the funds and cite the federal regulations that we agree to follow as a recipient of IDA funds. Um Miss Capola, Miss Denakola and
066I can answer any questions that you may have in regard to the pass through of the IDA funds. >> Okay. This is typically a block grant. Is that correct? From the federal department of education, >> Miss Danakola. >> Um, you could consider it similar to that. Yes. >> In other words, it doesn't come directly to us. >> No, it flows through the IU. >> Okay. And then the IU distributes it to districts. >> Correct. Once we incur the expenses, we submit a reimbursement request to the IU and then we get our funds reimbursed. >> Okay. So, it's a reimbursement situation, not a grant situation. Okay? >> And there's specific purposes that we could utilize it for. Um, special education related salaries, benefits, contracted services. Um, so it's we use those funds for a myriad of
067items. >> Okay. So, if this is a reimbursement situation, does that mean that um that districts across the county submit their expenses until the block grant is exhausted? Each district gets their all own allocation. >> Okay. >> Um it's released each year and then each district spends up to their allocation. >> Okay. So expenses are submitted against that allocation. >> Correct. >> Okay. All right. Great. Thank you, >> Miss Eisenhart. >> Um yes, just to clarify a little bit on that process, can you explain um does the federal government allocate the funds for each district to the the McGomery County Intermediate Unit? That is correct. And the only thing the intermediate unit can do with those funds that they receive is disperse it to the school districts. >> Okay. And do you know anything about
068the history of why the it goes through the um Montgomery County intermediate unit? Do other counties in the state of Pennsylvania operate in a similar >> All counties within the state operate in that same regard. So they administer the IDA programs um for the federal government. they receive in the funds and then they disperse it to the individual school districts. >> Okay. I'm just curious if this is um like an additional checks and balances mechanism um that is established within Pennsylvania specifically for idea funds. Um it may be why that you know structure was established because there is a very prescribed list of allowable expenditures for these funds. Um and when you submit your claim for reimbursement to the um intermediate unit, you have to submit also proof of you know whether whether it be
069a vendor invoice or any kind of supporting documentation to support those expenditures. And then the intermediate unit is the organization that kind of holds that um flow of documentation and ensures that it's following federal guidelines. Do I understand that? >> Um that is helpful to understand. any other um of our federal funding. Is it through similar mechanisms or is it paid directly to the district for federal funds? >> Other funds such as title one funds, they come directly to the district. Okay. >> Through the Pennsylvania Department of Education. >> Okay. Thank you for clarifying. >> Any other questions? No. >> Okay. Mrs. Flanigan. >> Mr. Allen. >> I. >> Miss Eisenhart. >> I. >> Mr. Dr. Muhammad >> I >> Miss Balding >> I >> Miss Hartman >> I >> Miss Frasier >> I >>
070Miss Fletcher >> I >> Dr. Mauy >> I The eyes have it. The motion passes. Miss Hartman, can you please read the recommendation for the board policy first reading? >> Oh, >> this is item 12. >> The f I'm sorry, I was saying food service policy. >> That's okay. that the board of school directors approves the first reading of the board policy entitled food service as reflected in addendum number 12.1. >> Second. >> Dr. Fetcher. >> I'm going to ask uh Dr. Melor if you could please uh review this item. >> Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Fetcher. The district recently uh completed a school nutrition program administrative review which is conducted at least once every five years by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. And that process included both on-site visits of the food service program
071at two of our schools as well as off-site review of various financial documents as well as policies and procedures. In the process of the off-site review, the auditor recommended a uh revision to the policy regarding food service, specifically with respect to adding additional information regarding what are called non-program foods. Uh non-programmed foods, as you can see on the screen, were previously or currently um explained within the policy, but what has been recommended uh to the district is to add additional verbiage. And we have located that here and highlight uh additional information with regard to specifically what non-program foods are which include adult meals allear items but also that we have a procedure to track revenue and expenses separately from revenue and expenses of reimburseable meals or the meals for which uh they're being purchased by
072students uh and that are also part of the free and reduced lunch uh program. Um it was also recommended that we explicitly state um that we have price markups on those non-program foods established in a particular basis by percentage or flat rate as well as that we on an annual basis review the price for adult meals uh to ensure that both the adult meals and the other alocart and non-programmed foods are self- sustaining. Dr. Fcher, >> thank you. Dr. Melor, can you explain why that recommendation >> was made or Miss >> Dakola friend as well? >> Okay. >> So, I will tell you that it's not that the district has not been um capturing these costs separately. The district's point of service program does capture the costs separately. um the auditor just wants it to
073be very um transparent and in a policy they want to see exactly that we will track it separately even if we're already doing it. >> Okay. And is it and that's because student meals are um subsidized. >> Correct. We receive a federal and state reimbursement. >> Okay. on student meals on the first meal that a student would purchase in a day if they order a second meal. We do not receive reimbursement on that. >> So, we need to have a tracking system that tracks all of those items separately, including any additional items like snacks or alocart items that um a student might buy or that an adult might buy a meal. We're tracking those separately. Our point of service system does do that. Okay. >> But our policy didn't have language stating that we do.
074Okay. So, that's what this recommendation was. >> Okay. >> Another question. Also, excuse me. >> I'm sorry, Miss Eisenhart was going. >> Okay, that's fine. >> Um um one question about this when you're talking about non-program food shall be priced to generate sufficient revenues to cover the cost of such items. I guess I have two questions on this. One, was the district not doing that before? And two, do we anticipate cost changes for um non-program sales at our cafeterias districtwide? >> The district was following this before. It just wasn't again represented in the policy. Um and the intention of that part of the National School Lunch Program is you don't want your federal reimbursement or your state reimbursement subsid sub subsidizing those non-program costs. So from that perspective, they're always priced at a level to
075make sure that they're covering the cost of that product and also delivering that product at the lunch line. >> So this the second part is do we does the district anticipate any change in the cost of those non-program food items? >> That is reviewed on annual basis and over the course of the last year as some food items have increased in price. We have made some adjustments. They're generally a 5-cent 10-centent adjustment uh to things such as ice cream or cookies or some of the other alocart items. So, we also in that process look to have other substitute items as well. So, it might not be a particular name brand cookie that is sold anymore. We might go with a different um supplier for that item in order to keep the cost down. I I
076appreciate the clarification and uh thoughtfulness on keeping costs affordable for those nom non-program foods. Um it is a cost that's transferred to families. Um and um you know it's good to know that they are stable or if they are going to increase. So thank you for clarifying >> Miss Fraser. Thank you for your patience. Yeah, I was pretty much thinking about um at the school where I work, for example, they sell small water ices for $4. So that's a considerable markup. So there are a lot of fundraisers and of course teachers selling lollipops, chips, you name it. Even water and so this speaks directly to that. That's what I had in my It does, correct? Fundraisers. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Anyone else? Oh, Dr. F. Just want to mention that um as
077we talk about the different types of items um they all must follow federal guidelines for items. So uh sometimes especially when we meet with student groups they will say this cookie doesn't taste like the cookie I buy in the store because there are certain ingredients that they're required to to maintain within these uh variances and that is all these items do fall under under that and um it also prohibits um sales that do are not compliant of that during the school day as well. Okay. Anyone else? >> All right. Mrs. Flanigan, please. >> Mr. Allen. >> I. >> Miss Eisenhart. >> I. >> Mr. Mohamad. >> I. >> Miss. Balding. >> I. >> Miss. Hartman. >> I. >> Miss. Frasier. >> I. >> Miss. Blger. >> I. >> Dr. Mallerie. >> I. The eyes have
078it. The motion passes. Uh, Dr. Fetcher. Are there any additional reports and recommendations by the administration? >> Yes, Dr. Mauy. Uh, I provide the conference attendance professional leaves and a capital improvement projects report for your information. >> Okay. All right. Great to see our uh teachers out there engaging with the larger community. Any other comments? No. Okay. All right. Um, that brings us seeing that there is no other business to be brought before the board, that brings us to our second and final uh section of comments from citizens. Once again, they are being conducted both in person and by phone. The phone number to participate in public comments is 2677153717 as being displayed on the screen at this time. Uh as before, you'll be able to join the meeting by calling in on your mobile
079or landline phone. And again, a citizen will be recognized once during this period of the meeting. And each citizen's comments will be limited to three minutes except at the discretion of the president. Time may not be yielded or otherwise transferred by one speaker to another for purposes of extending a given speaker's time allotment. If there's anyone present in the room who'd like to make a comment, please use the microphone either to your left or to your right. >> Whenever you're ready. >> Okay. Joe Rooney. Um, first, uh, capital improvements. They paid 4.8 million bucks to ICS already out of their 22.12 million contract. Was that budgeted into last year's budget between >> the primary and June, or where did that money come from? Uh, along those same lines, um, Connie has done a lot of
080research. She asked very careful and specific questions. If any of you are on note next door to your you can see the interest that there is in this from a lot of different people. The fact that not one of her questions was addressed or even paid the respect of being acknowledged does not bode well for the people who are going to the next meeting to think that their concerns will be any more considered during that meeting. Um, I found it disrespectful. Her her efforts are laudable and worthy of acknowledgment. And I can see by your faces y'all don't care, but you're supposed to be representing all of us. Okay? And that should at least have one of you say, "Hey, I have a lot of I'm interested in the second question that she asked." But
081nobody said anything. It's in a public meeting here and it's videotaped. Everybody can watch it or listen to an answer. You're gonna write an answer to somebody and put it on a website somewhere. It's almost unfindable, which is by your intention to do that, but it's not how public meetings are supposed to work. Second one, the questions that were asked before, we own a hund00 million capital asset by you all's valuation right now. You're the elected leaders from the township and Rock Ledge along with our commissioners and Dr. fetcher and the township staff are hired to manage this stuff. So, if you have a hund00 million and you haven't considered what to do with it other than tear it down and turn it into a parking lot, that's shame on you. What have we got
082coming up? We have a library coming up. We've got McKinley to be and to to uh probably is the next thing on your chopping block to put another $80 million into. So, you just borrowed 285 million bucks. There's already 5 million down to IC. So, what are we going to do with that hund00 million of taxpayerowned value? And you asked about the building. Argley schools got an alternative use. This building is over a hundred years old. It has an alternative use. McKinley Elementary is now owned by a church. Uh Rocklage Elementary is now owned, not owned, but it's operated by Rock. The Hamilton School still in business right there. The old schoolhouse is still in business. There's tons of things that are used with these valuable assets. Don't tear them down and throw them out
083because you all don't want to do homework because you don't want to look and see what do taxpayers have to pay for. Tomorrow's tax day. Federal dollars get filtered through a federal bureaucracy, the state, and then down to here. The local ones go right to here, and the state ones get filtered. We're all paying. Your time is up. Help us to reduce our tax. Please take a seat. Anyone else in the room? >> Mr. Cargus, do we have any callers on the line? >> We do. Um, the next citizen for public comment, phone number ending in >> 4228. >> Please state your full name and address. >> Anyone else? >> Carol Fullfor 1610 the Fairway. Changing town, PA. Um, I have two questions regarding the 2026 27 preliminary Abington School District budget presented on February
08410th. And I'd like to know when will residents learn what tax increase Ammon School District plans to include in the final proposed budget due May 12th. and go ahead. >> We typically try and answer questions at the end. So, go ahead and ask your second question. >> Okay. Second question is, will residents have an opportunity to comment on the proposed budget before it is voted on in June? >> Yes. Okay. Anything else? >> No, just those two questions, please. >> Okay. Great. Thank you very much for your voice. Dr. Fetcher. >> Oh, I'm sorry. We We don't have any other callers, right? >> Correct. We have one call. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Murray. Um I'm going to ask Miss Denola if can you review the um budget process and
085timeline and when decisions are made and the opportunities for for public feedback and or comment within uh the budget process. >> The final budget would need to be passed by the school board by June 30th. Um at that point there would be public comment at the board meeting that the budget would be put upon. That would be the final budget and that would be the tax increase that would be on the tax bills um July 1. >> Okay. >> And in terms of uh other budget presentations between now and and >> the proposed final budget, the final budget can it can change between the proposed final and the final that needs to be adopted by May May 31st. Uh, can you also address the um question that came about the capital um fund and the
086use uh and paying for there there was a quote that um $4.8 million has gone to IC. >> So that that those payments were provided for by the first um bond offering that was done for the middle school project. and some of and and what within that what are some of the um uses of that $4.8 million what has been accomplished as a result of that? >> There's been a lot of design done. There's been submissions to county departments to state departments for the permitting rel related to the project all the buildup for the project. um the geotechnical um drillings that were done to see the ground surface. Um many many things have been um happening in the background while we prepare to actually sub put out proposals for bids and such for the project.
087>> So on any major project these are typical things that occur on a construction project. Similar correct similarly in the beginning when we were designing uh the additions and renovations at the senior high you would see expenses incurred like this. >> Correct. Okay. >> Is that it? Okay. Questions or comments from the board? >> No. >> I think one of the questions that the caller had was when if citizens will be able to provide feedback. Um so on May 31st, correct? Is that the meeting when the budget is presented? It needs to be done by May 31st. It would be at I believe at our second meeting in May. I believe we have that slated for. >> It's when the proposal is due. >> May 12th. >> Okay. So then any citizen is welcome to
088come in and speak at public comment as they always do to share their concerns or feelings about the budget. >> Okay. And there will also be >> public review >> a month plus between the final the proposed final budget and the actual final budget. So both at those meetings and at subsequent public meetings as well as um through email, >> correct? >> If if citizens have questions or concerns. >> Okay. Okay. Anyone else? Miss Lee, >> um, for the meeting regarding like the middle school project, if someone were to like or where could they find like the website where the questions and answers would be posted? >> Great question, Dr. Fetcher. >> One future.org. >> Okay. >> And just to clarify, that's O ne, not the number one. >> Correct. Letters, not numbers. >> Just
089just checking. And on that website there is a frequently asked questions section. Okay. Is that on the page the landing page or no? >> Miss Arur, can you explain what's on there and can can we pull up the page someone please? >> Yes. So on the page on the page right now um are a few questions at the bottom. Um there are archived frequently asked questions um from previous stages of the project. Um as the designs advance um we'll be building out a more robust frequently asked question section. Um but if you scroll down to the bottom uh there are some of our initial ones uh right there and then as we've done in previous stages we'll build it like I said an FAQ page. >> Okay. But it is that's on the landing page.
090So no one needs to go sort of rooting around the website for that. >> Correct. >> Okay. >> And everything is archived here from the start of the process um for the past year and a half, two years. >> And is there still a place on the site where people can submit questions that are answered? I know we had that for a while. Is that still active? Um there's now an email link at the bottom of the page um that uh is uh specific to this project and we are responding to questions via that email address. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Dr. Fetcher, I have an uh a question that's preferably related to this, but more specifically about the public meeting next week. Did we get a hard copy announcement to the public library? >>
091Yes. Yes. Um the library and the township building both have um flyers out. >> Oh, perfect. Thank you so much for doing that. >> And we will also um during the meeting if someone does not have access to a QR code where you will have uh index cards as well where people can write their questions down. >> Great. Appreciate accommodating that. Um, and just once more for the viewing audience at home, the proposed construction of the new library is a township project and not a district >> project. So, it is unrelated to what the district is doing. >> Yes. >> Correct. >> Okay. >> Yes. I we have no jurisdiction or decision-making power in regard to that. >> Okay. All right. Okay. I think that brings us to closing comments. >> Mr. Allen. >> Uh
092nothing. Thank you. >> Okay. Miss Eisenhart. >> Good night everyone. >> Mr. Muhammad. >> Good night everyone. >> Miss Spalding. >> Have a good evening everybody. >> Miss Hartman. >> Good night everyone. >> Miss Fetcher. Fletcher. Sorry. Frasier. >> Yes. I'd like to thank the high school and everyone that's been involved in their humanitarian efforts. It's very impressive. >> Good night, >> Miss Fletcher. >> Good night, everyone. >> Dr. Fetcher. >> Good night, everyone. Frasier. >> All right, the meeting is adjourned. Thank you everyone for coming out.