February 10, 2026 Meeting of the Abington Board of School Directors

001Good evening everyone and welcome to the February 10th, 2026 meeting of the Abington Board of School Directors. I note the attendance of board members uh with the exception of Miss Hartman who is excused this evening. 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. The meeting is also being broadcast live on the Abington School District YouTube channel. For those members of the public who cannot participate this evening, this meeting will be recorded and will be available on the district's website and cable channel no later than

002Friday, February 13th, 2025. 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 and high regard and everyone's voices are respected and welcomed in this space. Dr. Fetcher, do we have any additional announcements or agenda items? >> And no, Dr. Mar. >> With that, we will move on to comments from board members. Um, we're going to do this a little differently this evening. I'm going to read a statement from the board. The board has become aware of an organized walk out by some of our high school students who wish to exercise their First Amendment rights by

003protesting peacefully against recent ICE and CBP practices. We recognize that the administration is legally obligated to accurately record attendance and has been working diligently to apprise students of this and other consequences they risk should they choose to participate. Having said that, the board also wishes to take this opportunity to make the following statement. In accordance with the district's mission, we celebrate the historical and culturally diverse roots of our community and its proud traditions. In concert with the district, we recognize and lift up the uniqueness of each student as they prepare for the challenges and opportunities of their futures. We further affirm and support the district's commitment to inclusive and equitable practices that encourage students personal growth and cultivate their sense of belonging. We acknowledge that among the proudest of this district's pred traditions is its

004abiding commitment to educate future citizens who approach personal, local, national, and global challenges with serious knowledge, discerning minds, compassionate hearts, imaginative solutions, and a deep and abiding commitment to community. The board recognizes that part of this education includes the vibrant traditions of communities including our own that have coalesed around matters of justice, emancipation, fair wages and working conditions, suffrage, voting rights and civil rights and that have expressed themselves through the most American and most Abington of traditions nonviolent protest. In the past, Abington students who have felt strongly about the injustice of school shootings, the many wrongs of institutional racism, and other injustices have also chosen to make themselves a part of this peaceful and eloquent legacy. We applaud our students embrace of their constitutional rights and the rich American tradition of nonviolent protest, though it

005may come at some personal cost. on behalf of communities everywhere who see friends and neighbors imperiled by ill-conceived and lethally executed immigration policies. Thank you. We'll move on to individual comments from the board. Mr. Allen, >> uh beautifully stated, Dr. Mallerie, thank you for those words and good evening everyone. >> Mrs. Brown, >> uh good evening. I also support uh what you read and I want to say I'm reminded of uh 20 uh when board meetings were held virtually uh and our students uh some of our students participated in a peaceful protest and I was proud to participate along with them. I recall stating from my living room as we um as the it was featured virtually that there would be a time where what we stand for will no longer be popular. Uh and

006unfortunately we've seen that we've seen DEI programs stripped from companies. We've seen um massive layoffs. We've seen people lose their credentials based on the color of their skin. And now uh we see what's happening here with immigration. Um and one of the statements I recall making very distinctly was that when it's no longer popular, know that I this is a I statement will still be with you and I will still support you. Uh so I am proud of our students for taking a part in a peaceful peaceful protest uh for something that means a lot to them um as well as the community that we serve in. Thank you >> Miss Eisenhart. >> Uh good evening everyone. Welcome to the meeting. Um thank you Dr. Mauy for your words on um behalf of the board.

007We appreciate you your eloquence in stating it and um I too am always in support of our students as they uh start making decisions um and bridging that gap between adolescence and adulthood and I'm proud of the district and um and our community in the support that we can garner them this evening. >> Thank you Mr. Muhammad. We are in a time where book bannings and attacks on true history feel and look like the book burnings from the notsodistant past and fictional novels. Where acceptable disregard for human life is built into the political calculus of too many Americans. where love, acceptance, and charity for our neighbor has been replaced by fictitious talking points of a fascist presidential administration and cowardly media personalities masquerading as journalists. I sit back and remember that we are on day

00810 of Black History Month. And now more than ever, black history is where we should turn to have hope during these trying times. the very black history that this administration and its supporters would like to see erased. It is from black history that we can learn of the bravery of Ona Judge who resisted enslavement at the hands of President Washington, escaping from his Philadelphia home and resisting his efforts at reinsslaving her until his death. It is from black history that we can learn the power of self-determination as exemplified by Artural Shamberg, Carter G. Woodson, and Charles Bloxson who experience inaccurate or omitted histories of Africa and African peoples across the globe and dedicated their lives to transmitting black history to all who care to learn and teach it. It is in black history that we

009can connect with the self selflessness of Francis Ellen Watkins Harper and William Still, leaders of the Underground Railroad right here in Philadelphia, who left a blueprint for resisting oppression and safeguarding our persecuted community members. It is in black history that we witness the power of collective organization as organized as organizers as evidenced by organizers like Ella Baker who when organizing groups throughout the nation always asked what do you hope to accomplish in this black history. We rec we recognized that it was never one individual hero who came along and brought about change but a collection of fearless leaders, organizers, students, and more who stood up to evil, put themselves at risk with the hope of creating a better world for all who inhabit it. It is in the spirit of black history that I commend

010every student who plans on walking out tomorrow. It is in the spirit of black history that I say to the righteous students of Abington, continue to lift your voice and make it clear that we as a community do not stand for the evil that is running a muck in our society. Do not be deterred by naysayers. Dr. King had millions upon millions of naysayers. Do not be swayed by eye rolls and the inhumane positions of some within our community. You are right. You are brilliant. You are powerful. And you are our future. Lead on, young people. Lead on. Good evening. >> Thank you, >> Miss Falding. >> Yeah, good evening everybody. Um, well, you can see I'm a senior and I remember not just George George Floyd's killing in 2020, but I remember the 60s.

011That was a very tumultuous time in this country. Um, I'm grateful that I had the parents that I did who kept a close check on me. Otherwise, I might have gone astray. But um the power to protest and to make your voice heard is is important. Um I'm concerned about the potential dismantling of the uh 1965 Voting Rights Act and just other changes that are occurring in our country. So it's it's it's concerning. However, I do support our students right to um use their voice and protest peacefully and um and I wish them well. As you said, uh they are our future and black history is American history. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Fraser. >> I'm a uh Hello everybody. I'm listening to the eloquent words of my colleagues here and I'm proud not

012just to be a part of Abington's community, but a proud member of this board. Your intelligence, your compassion, your articulation, and again, I'm proud to be a part of this board. Thank you for your work. >> Thank you, Miss Fletcher. Wow, that's a lot to follow, but I uh will echo my sentiments to what everyone has said so far. And I am proud of Abington and I'm for empowering our children to be able to think for themselves, know what's right, and to stand up for it. So, as others have said, they have my full support. Miss Lee, >> yeah, I'd also agree with um what everyone else said and like um if people aren't able to like participate tomorrow, I just want to say that there's also like other ways to fight and >> speak

013up. >> Oh, and other ways to um like fight and spread awareness and every every individual person's matter like their voice matters. Um and I'm really proud of the courage of people who are playing to wall tomorrow as well. >> Thank you. All right, that brings us to uh our student council representatives. Dr. Fetcher, can you please proceed? >> Yes, Dr. Maui uh from Abington Senior High School, Anna Brown. >> Good evening, Dr. Mallerie, Dr. Fetcher, and members of the board of school directors. My name is Lana Brown and I am the student council president of Abington Senior High School. To begin with academics, we are excited to recognize Abington Senior High School senior David Phillips who was selected as Eastern Student of the Month for Arts and Technology in Willow Grove. David was honored

014for his outstanding work in Eastern's protective services program. This prestigious award is sponsored by Eastern's faculty joint operating committee and the Willow Grove Rotary Club and only 10 students are selected each year making this a tremendous achievement. Additionally, many Eastern scholars recently competed in the Skills USA competition, earning impressive results across multiple disciplines. Harrison James placed first in protective services and Alexa Gagnan in design, photography, and illustration. Scholars advancing directly to the state level include Savannah Adams and Julia Lynch in allied health as well as Ace Williams in design, photography, and illustration. Sid Baitman received a second place award in vet veterinary science. Finally, third place winners include Chase Lambert and Jackson to Thomas in col c col c col c col c col c col c col c col c col c col c

015col culinary arts too. Asia Proser and Isabella Nappic in exercise science and rehabilitation. Eli Gley in robotics and automated technology. Dion Hunter in design photography and illustration. Tyler Little in veterinary science. Victoria Stillman in networking and cyber security. And Grace Elliot in welding technology. We are incredibly proud of all of our Eastern scholars for representing for representing Abington with such excellence. Regarding athletics, we would like to recognize Abington Senior High School scholar athlete Ryan Salman, who earned his 100th career winning career wrestling win against Quakertown High School. Ryan is only the third wrestler in Abington history to reach this milestone since 1981. An extraordinary accomplishment that reflects years of dedication and perseverance. Turning to the arts, we are proud to highlight Abington Senior High School senior Julie Murphy, whose large-scale screen print titled Fishbrads was

016selected for inclusion in Threaded Currents, a joint exhibitation between the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia. Julie created this work while participating in the fabric workshop high school internship program and we are thrilled to see their talent recognized at such a prestigious level. Next, we are excited to share that many Abington Senior High students placed in the 2026 PMEA Allstate Modern Band Festival. This year, Abington Senior High School had more scholar musicians placed in the All State Modern Band than any other school in the state of Pennsylvania. We are incredibly proud. To close, we'd like to share a few updates on Abington Student Life. Student council will be hosting another fundraiser at Crumble Cookie to continue raising money for the Ronald McDonald House. In addition, there are

017two upcoming dances to look forward to. Junior prom will be held on March 19th at the Fuge and Frost Hob, the freshman and sophomores formal, will take place in April. As you can see, our students continue to excel across disciplines and represent Abington Senior High School with pride. Thank you all for your time today. Respectfully submitted, Lana Brown. >> Thank you, Lana. U just want to say that, you know, we're very proud of all the things that our students are doing and giving back to the community. Um and also the accomplishments of our students. Quite a list there. Um and we do look forward to honoring um some of our students that you mentioned uh at our um upcoming board meetings as well. So, thank you for sharing all that. >> Thank you so much.

018>> Thanks, Lana. And next from Abington Middle School, Manan Alex. >> Good evening, Dr. Mallerie, Dr. Fetcher, and members of the board of school directors. I am Anon Alex, and I am on the executive board of the student council for Abington Middle School. Tada had an exciting January. On Friday, January 9th, we held our annual Bring It On competition where the white team defeated the maroon team in an evening of sneaker hunts, human anagrams, scooter relays, and other wacky races. We are looking forward to our next two events, movie night, and unique board game coming up later this month. Reading Olympics members voted on their team names last month. The six teams competing in March at Upper Dublin High School are Sigma Delfia 67ers, Cookie Bookies, Blazing Books, Voice Voyagers 2.0, Book Warriors, and Main

019Character Energy. We'll have one more practice session before the big day. Going green members are shown how to take a cutting from various types of plants as a way to make more of that species. To support this type of asexual reproduction, the students are testing the cutings in various environments. some in a cup of water and some in a sealed damp container. Many students took samples to test for themselves at home, too, and plan to report their results at the next meeting. NJHS. In January, members were given the opportunity to listen to a guest speaker from the SPCA. They learned about ways they can help animals in need, how to volunteer at the SPCA, and how to read animal behaviors so they know when their own pets are happy or scared. NJHS members also volunteered

020to go to Overlook Elementary to create children's books for the kindergarteners. This is a highlight for many NJHS members and they are looking forward to the return trip in April where they will read their books to the students. Athletics winter sports will be coming to a conclusion before the end of February. Our student athletes had have had a successful winter season. We are looking forward to the spring seasons. February is a math contest month. Math Olympiad members will be taking their fourth contest this week with four left to go in March. Math Counts will be sending 14 of its members to the regional math counts competition on February 21st. The AMS math competition was given on February 5th w with the top 65 students still competing for grade level recognition. And our top math students

021in grades 6, 7, and 8 will take the PA math league contest on February 24th. Many students in our school participate in more of more than one of these math clubs and competitions. The Builder's Club is wrapping up their collection drive to help schools in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa. This week, members will be organizing and packing up all of the donations to be shipped to the island. Thank you to everyone in the community for your support. Thank you. >> Thank you very much for sharing. I you know I just amazed by uh the continued um with TATA continuing doing great things and and creating a space for for our students. Um and sounds like really fun as well and the literacy initiatives woven throughout much of what you uh presented this evening. We wish, you

022know, of course the uh reading Olympics teams the best and our uh students taking the PA math league excited for those results. Um also coupled with a lot of the community outreach that you mentioned and uh community service. So thank you for sharing it with us. >> Thank you, Manan. >> Okay, that brings us to board honors. Dr. Fetcher, can you please present our board honors? >> Yes, Dr. Mallerie. Uh Dr. Swift, principal of Abington Senior High School, Mr. Charles Gray, athletic director, uh will share highlights from the 2025 fall sports season at Abington Senior High School, including uh honoring several of our teams and student athletes who have received individual recognitions. >> Good evening, Dr. Maui, Dr. Fetcher, and our board of directors. At this time, we'll have uh Mr. Grassy, our athletic director,

023come in and we'll begin our uh recognition for our fall 2025 sports. >> Uh, excuse me, Dr. Mallerie, if you would like to join us at the tavern. Thank you. >> Good to see you. >> Good evening, Dr. Fetcher, Dr. Mallerie, and members of the board of school directors. Tonight, I am very excited and proud to share the outstanding accomplishments of our student athletes, teams, and coaches for the fall of the 2025 athletic season. First, I would like to recognize the Abington boys soccer team, who was led by coach Randy Garber. Abington boys soccer won the Suburban One League, were runners up in the district championship, won the Liberty title, and the coveted state championship with an overall record of 22 and three. This is their seventh consecutive league championship. Coach Garber has led his

024teams to 12 straight District 1 playoffs. Abington boys soccer had 11 players recognized for their stellar play being selected to one of the Liberty Division all league teams. Five players were all league first team in the Liberty Division. goalie George Hooven, midfielders Shaun West Morland, Owen Gessing, Kyle Cretchman, and Jazza Vasquez. Three players were selected all league second team. Kevin Kelly, Everett Muma, and Carter Shannon Shannon were outstanding on defense. Three players made the all league honorable mention team. Chase Mezer on offense, Denn Dennis Kak on defense, and Zachary Gertie at midfield. Our very our very own Kyle Cretchman was named to the national all-American team, first team all state, and the player of the year in the Liberty Conference. Finally, >> we would like to present the 2025 Pennsylvania State Coach of the Year

025for the high school large public school to Randy Garber. >> This evening, we also have Sam Aruda who was a major player with us this season. He was one of the leaders in goals this season with 14. Thank you boys soccer for a fun and super exciting season. >> Our next team to be recognized is the Abington girls soccer team who was led by coach Rick Tomkins. The Abington girls soccer team finished their season with an overall record of 107 and one. In the playoffs, Abington lost a very competitive game to Marple Newtown by the score of two to zip. Coach Tomkins and staff, which is made up of all Abington alumni, made the District 1 playoffs for an impressive seventh time in eight years. The Abington girls soccer had seven players recognized for their

026stellar play by selecting them to one of the Liberty Division All League teams. Three players selected to the All League first team. Those players were Addison Hayden, goalkeeper, Nia Riggs, defender, and two-time first team selection Alexis Whe as forward. Two players were selected to the all- league second team. Emily Kaser, defender, and Addison Doyle at midfield. Two players were selected to the honorable mention all league team. Marray McMacken at midfield and Mia Sorrow as a defender. Nia Riggs was also the Liberty Conference player of the year and selected to the Pennsylvania Allstate team. With us this evening we have Emma Rean, Charlotte McCruden, and McKenzie Garry. Thank you. >> Our next athletic program is is our boys and girls cross country teams. Both the boys and girls cross country teams finished their season with a

027record of three and two in the Liberty League and did an outstanding job in the in the Abington Invitational, Council Rock Invitational, the Suburban One League Championships, and the District 1 Championships. Our district 1 qualifiers, the selections were for the boys were Chase O'Brien, Nolan Flood, Abel John's, Jackson Fiola, Rowan Schmuck, Terrell Wright, and Tyler Ramsey. Our PIAA District 1 qualifiers for the girls. Michaela Fitz Maurice, Anna Tetsoff, Chelsea Higgins, Mercedes Sandival, Audrey Flitter, Jesse Crowe, and Malaya Reed. We also have with us this evening from the boys team, freshman Joe Urban. Thank you. And they were coached by coach Neely. >> Excuse me. >> Next, the Abington football team have four student athletes recognized by the Suburban One Liberty League. Senior Aiden Turner, who will be attending Kutztown University on a full athletic scholarship,

028was selected by the opposing coaches to the coveted All Liberty Division first team as a wide receiver. Antonio Ford, Eric Hopkins, and Jake Leech all were honorable mention all league selections. Coach Fleming has many players returning and is looking forward to an exciting season as our head coach. Tonight we have senior Declan Doyle, freshman Eli Hansen, sophomore Jason Razer, and freshman Daniel Budo. Congratulations to Coach Fleming and staff, as well as all the football players who worked hard this season. Next with our head coach Jerry Frasa is our boys and girls golf team. Coach Frasa had a fun and exciting second season at Abington Senior High School. His enthusiasm and passion was shown throughout the season. Our golf team finished the season with three exciting wins, including a season low of 2011 against Ben Salem,

029which is a very competitive score in the suburban one league. Sophomore Jake Caps qualified for the District 1 playoffs with an outstanding 40oot putt on the 18th hole. Jake was also selected to the second team all league as a in his in only his second year. Coach Frasa is very excited to see his growth as well as everyone in our program over the next few years. This evening we have seniors NateWigley, Eli Greenley, and Harry Call. Thank you. Girls tennis. Girls tennis led by Coach Hagerty. Our girls tennis team finished the season with an impressive 8 and5 record which was second in our very challenging league and had seven players selected to the suburban one all league team for their stellar play. Coach Heggerty extends a special thank you to this very talented and su

030successful group of seniors. Rean Lee and Harlo Wildman were selected to the first team all league in doubles. Jane Pigford singles and Gabriella Cornell Arguo in singles were selected to the second team all league as well as Kayla Tuttle and Haley Quigley in doubles. We also have an honorable mention selection in freshman Parker Shaw who was selected to the team while playing third singles. The girls tennis team continues to impress and will look to have another strong season next year. Thank you. Next, we have Coach L and Coach Doyle. Abington Field Hockey finished their season with four impressive wins and competed extremely hard in the challenging Suburban One League Liberty Division. The team included 11 graduating seniors who were excellent student athletes. Our field hockey team had five athletes receive Liberty Division all league honors.

031First team all liberty division was Mave Link who led our team in goals. Second team all liberty division Janice Kunahan, Carly Hughes, and Key Gallagher. Our honorable mention team all league was Brook Brooke Dockerty. Tonight we also have with us Bailey Lur. Congratulations 2025 field hockey. Our final sport this evening is our girls volleyball team. Girls volleyball is led by coach Marlene Jackson. The team had three players selected to the suburban one Liberty Division all league team. Juniors Sophia Heninger and Maddie Peltzer were selected to second team all league in the difficult Liberty Division. Key Boils was selected to the honorable mention Liberty Division all league team and had an outstanding season. Coach Jackson is very excited about the upcoming season as this was her first year with Abington and has a lot of potential

032and eager to get started next year. Thank you everyone for your continued support for our athletic our Abington student athletes. Getting to do that is one of the best parts of this job. >> Dr. Fetcher, I believe that brings us to agenda item four. Can you please pre proceed with our board uh board orientation? >> Yes, Dr. Mauy. At this time, I'm going to ask Miss Denakola to present the preliminary general fund budget for the 2026 2027 school year. >> Good evening. Tonight, I will be presenting the 2026 27 preliminary preliminary general fund budget. This budget is the first step in our two-year process to um stop spending our fund balance and to uh bring our fund balance usage down to a level of zero hopefully by the next two years. So, while you will

033still see some fun fund balance usage in this proposed preliminary budget, we hope to continue to decrease that usage. Mhm. >> So tonight I will review the budget assumptions, the items that we are known factors and other things that we will continue to evaluate through the budget process. I will review the Pasers rate history and employer contributions. Review our revenues and expenditures. Uh take a look at our the real estate tax increase impact on the average homestead in our district. and then review the budget timeline. The 202627 proposed preliminary budget, the act one index is 3.5%. That 3.5% is currently built into this initial proposed preliminary budget. That would be our current known assumption. The estimated assumption that is built into this proposed preliminary budget would be the referendum millage related to the referendum debt

034for the middle school project. The real estate tax assessment values will be finalized by the county in June. So, we will continue to update the real estate factors as we receive more information from the counties. Earned income taxes, real estate transfer and interim taxes, and other local revenue. We will continue to update those items as our collections proceed throughout this um current fiscal year. From our state revenue sources, a basic education subsidy, special education subsidy, transportation subsidy, our ready tolearn grant, and property tax relief. um we will estimate those at the 202526 amounts. The property tax relief will be certified um by Pennsylvania Department of Education in May. So those amounts will be updated um within the budget at that time. From federal revenue sources, our title grants and access funding. We're estimating those at

035our 202526 amounts and we will update those as we receive final amounts from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. From an expense standpoint, our known factors are our collective bargaining agreements which drive our salaries. We um from an employee benefits perspective, we know what our pasers rate will be at 33.59% for 2627. Um we will continue to update our other benefit costs as we receive more information on where we are trending. And then for all our other services, our purchase professional services, our purchase property services, our other services which includes transportation, um the mandated charter school costs, supplies, property and equipment, and then our dues, fees, and debt service are all based upon our statistical estimates. Our debt service would be based on um our known debt service and then what we estimate for the middle

036school project in the 2627 budget. Um Pasers continues to be one of the largest costs within our budget. Um you can see the history of the Pasers contribution rate has grown from a 16.93% to 33.59% for 2026 27. That 33.59% would be a net expense to the district. That's net after the subsidy we received back from the state. it would be 17,391,124. From a big picture look, the 202627 preliminary general fund budget at this point, real estate taxes are budgeted at $150,183,544. Interim and other taxes are budgeted at $338,100. Earned income taxes are budgeted at 12,126,838. Delinquent taxes are budgeted at 1,415,610. Investment earnings are budgeted at $2,520,000. Idea grant revenue is budgeted at 1,967,595. Rental revenue is budgeted at $84,000. Tuition revenue at 5,000. and then other miscellaneous revenue at $1,5,000. Total state revenue

037is budgeted at 41,639,345. Total federal revenue $2,286,459 for total revenues of $213,571,491. Our employee salaries for 2026-27 are budgeted at $103,549,418. Our employee benefits are budgeted at $61,43,778. Purchase professional services $8,988,240. Purchase property services 1,971,350. Other services 12,191,49. Included in that 12 million is roughly $3 million of mandated charter school costs. Supplies 8,277,499. Property and equipment 1,812,398. And then our dues, fees, and debt service $17,810,472. For total expenses of $216,4,564. That is a budgeted use of fund balance of $2,433,73 which is about $3.3 million less than what's currently budgeted in in the current year. The proposed um impact on the average homestead property within our district, the median homestead assessed value in our district is $127,450. The millage rate of the 3.5% increase would be a 39.9021 mills. The real estate taxes, that's not including

038any homestead exclusion at this point as that's not been certified by the state would be 4,552.38 or $14 monthly increase. The referendum debt, the estimated millage related to that would be 2 million 2.8148 mills. The dollar value of that would be $319.82 or roughly $26.65. So total real estate taxes on the median homestead assessment would be $4,872.20. The total monthly increase of $40.98. Now those items um will be offset by the homestead farmstead assessment when that is determined by the state. Additionally, if um a property owner is eligible for any state property rebate or our own rebate, they could receive up to an additional $1,900 off of their tax bill if they qualify. The key dates for the budget timeline as mandated by act one are to pass our prelim preliminary budget, which is on

039the agenda tonight for your approval. Um, also on the agenda for tonight is um approval to apply for the referendum exception related to the middle school project. That must be submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Education by March, 2026. The proposed final budget, we would be looking for adoption on May 12th, 2026. And then on June 23rd, 2026, we would put forth the Homestead Farmstead exclusion resolution and the final budget. And again, all along this timeline through that June 23rd date, there will be um many changes to the budget, many updates provided to the board, to the community in regards to what our revenues are looking like, what the expenditures look are looking at, and the steps we're taking to decrease that use of fund balance. >> Thank you. We can answer any questions uh

040that you may have. Please note that this is the beginning process. This is the starting point um that will go through this timeline uh as we work toward June. >> Okay. Questions from the board? >> Mrs. Brown? >> Uh yes. Regarding state revenue with the $555,760 decrease, can you just speak to um what flags are there that's um you know signaling this decrease? So the biggest factor is going to be your pasers decrease >> decreases that reimbursement that we get on the pasers >> subsidy. >> Thank you. >> Miss Eisenhard, did you have a question? Uh just going to ask if you could please define piecers um what that pertains to and maybe the significance of uh what number was that the slide that was dedicated to show the increases over >> um >> so

041Pers is the state retirement system for school employees. >> Um there is um it's the rates have fluctuated greatly from that 16.93% up to the 33.59%. Um the increases have decreased over that time frame, but it's still a great percentage of our budget. Um since 20134, it's been a $274% increase in cost to the district. That's about 12.7 million over that time frame that has increased due to >> and do I understand that that the state is who dictates the Okay. >> The state um retirement board certifies that contribution rate every year. >> Okay. And that's for districts, all districts across the city, not in Okay. inclusive of Abington. Thank you for explaining that. >> Anyone else? Miss Lee. >> Okay. Um I want just wanted to get a couple of things clarified. Um because

042Pasers is such a big part of our budget. Could you just um refresh my memory about how many how many employees the district has and how many of those are benefit eligible? >> So we have about 1,200 employees of which about 990 are benefit eligible. >> Okay. Okay. Um and in the now I can't remember the the line it was other >> other services. >> Yes, that's it. Thank you. Um, how much of that is cyber charter costs? >> Cyber charter cost is about 2.5 million of that. >> Okay. >> The remaining 5 million going towards charter would be for brick and mortar charter schools. >> Okay. Um, okay. >> To put the charter school cost in perspective, that also just since 2015-16 has grown from $752,000 to $2.8 million. >> Okay. So that's another

043mandated cost. Um that's had a significant increase that is largely out of the district's control. >> Okay. That rate would have to be changed by the state legislature. >> Okay. >> Could you speak to the I would say significance of lowering the the fund usage from what I've seen it in, you know, double digits >> in years past. um or at least the projected fund usage um to $2.4 million next year. And you could you also talk about the status of the fund usage this year as well? >> Correct. So the the 202526 budget has a budgeted use of fund balance of $5.8 million. Um we will be revisiting, you know, what that's going to actually look like. Um next month we'll have a closer estimate of where we think we'll actually finish. um not

044being the one that has built this budget, I kind of need that little extra time to take a look and see where where I think we'll end. Um the 2.4 million use, while it looks like an aggressive like correction to be made, I think with um all the steps that we've been taking and the administration working very collaboratively um to just look at the expenditures that we can control um without disrupting any programs, without disrupting any employee benefits, just the things that we can control to bring that number down. We know that um use of fund balance impacts our credit rating which incre you know impacts our borrowing rates and things like that. We want to make sure that we're in the um best financial situation possible and that we can um start putting money

045aside for the future for capital projects or other initiatives that we may have. >> And I appreciate the use of the term that we can control. Right. >> Um, you know, many of the questions that were asked were focused on areas that just have grown and grown and grown and they were way out of our out of our control. Peasers and charter schools um uh specifically um and those have been a strain on the budget for many years now. And so as a district, we are responding to some of these uncontrollable expenses um and trying to get our financial house in order. And so I commend you on on your work and the entire district for one maintaining high quality but also being fiscally responsible. >> Um I would just like to add my thanks

046to Dr. Fetcher and Miss Denola for taking up the challenge that the board gave you. um at the beginning of last summer to develop a a two-year plan to sort of write the district's financial ship and rebuild that fund balance. So, we're stop we're not doing deficit spending anymore. Um so, thank you very much for that. Any other questions or comments? >> I do. uh for information purposes, I know that we have our own cyber program and that is a cost avoidance from cyber charter school. Um are there any ideas of what the cost avoidance is that from maintaining our own program? I guess how many students are enrolled in our program? Um and if there's any quick math. So, so my mind in going to that is is really the what can we do

047to recapture kids that are enrolled in the cyber charter school to get them into our cyber program to see that cost avoidance and then they get an Abington diploma at the completion of it. >> That's really the the the crux of my question, not so much the math. Well, Miss Sama, could you speak a little bit to our enrollment within the Abington Cyber Education or ACE program? >> Sure. And I don't know the total cost savings, but I can tell you just based on um the the cyber charter rate and what we pay, it's about half our program um per student. So, and then it also it does vary by student and whether or not the student has an IEP or not. There are different rates um according to the state. Um we have this

048year at any time probably between 50 and 75 students enrolled in our ACE program. Um some of those students are full-time but a good portion of Mosum are part-time. So in many cases our students will choose to come to our school for specific courses and then we'll do some online. Um, and the benefit of our program is that our students have the ability to participate in our athletics, in our clubs, um, to come to our library and check out books and all kinds of other activities. Um, they also have a counselor they meet with on a weekly basis. So, we do try to, you know, have them fold into the Abington community so they they get that benefit and they also graduate with an Abington diploma. So, there's lots of benefits to using our ACE

049program um, for our families. in addition to a benefit to the district because it is um a cost savings there. >> So >> in terms of the second portion of Mr. Allen's question, meeting with families to explain that um and and people who want to go on cyber education and the benefit of doing that through us versus going to another um cyber charter school. >> Yeah. So any um family who would reach out and say that they're interested in pursuing cyber, we do try to meet with them in person or at least virtually. Um so we have a meeting with every family that's considering going to cyber. Um typically that does happen at the building level. Um I am present at some of those meetings, but for the most part it is with the assistant

050principles or principles and their counselors. So they can just talk through all the different reasons they might be thinking about going to cyber and we can talk about what supports we can potentially put in place in person. Um we do try to keep students in person when we can. We do believe that is the best option for most of our students to be in person. But um every child is unique, every family has different circumstances. So we really do try to work with every family to figure out what is the best solution for them. And um we do come up with a lot of creative solutions for them. So, um, I think the team does a great job of working with families to try to to keep them here in Abington and to figure out

051the best solution for them. >> Thank you. >> Do we I'm sorry. Go ahead. >> So, I see that online cyber cyber charter schools like aggressively at TV ads and everything, give out iPads. Um, I know my understanding is we can't like do that type of marketing and aggressive marketing like they do, but like can we send a letter to all the people enrolled into cyber and say, "Hey, we have this for people who might not know." >> So, we have sent letters um over the years. We make phone calls. Um, so we've done a variety of different things at different times. Um, we often try to time those as to when like enrollment would be happening. So we might do a big push in the summer before the fall um the beginning of the

052school year or at the mid semester when people might be um getting ready to enroll in a second semester. So we do do things like that and again some of that does come out of um my office, some of it actually has come out of the office uh pupil services and then sometimes from the building level. So we use a variety of approaches >> um to you know try to bring families back or families have never been with us to get families to to consider Abington. Yeah, I would like Miss Tenacola, you've given the totals for um cyber charter schools and as well as brick and mortar charter schools. Could you break that down to the individual cost whether it's a a student um with general ed student or student a special ed student so

053that um we understand the the total that you know where that total comes from. So, for a br a regular education student in a brickandmortar charter school, we pay $18,88.69. For a cyber um cyber charter school regular education student, we pay $16,767.99. From a special ed special ed student costs for brick and mortar, it's $34,817,21. For cyber charter, it's $31,691.50. So those there was a little bit of um charter school relief that we have seen um but gen not necessarily enough relief at this point. There is um new stipulations um beginning in March that the um parents of students enrolled in cyber charter student or um charter schools will need to present information to both their home district which would be Abington and the charter school that they proof of residency that they do live

054in the district that they say they do. Um this is not something that has occurred in the past. PD is releasing a template um in March for to help parents about what kind of documents they can supply. So twice a year they will have to do that. That may help us capture students that don't necessarily live in our district yet we're paying for them. >> So there could be some relief there. >> And that special education rate which is a little less than double is not classified by the type of special education. Whereas some may need more than others. It is a flat rate. >> Correct. >> Yeah. >> Um I want to thank the administration for the constant transparency and and teaching that occurs during these budget sessions. Um, you learn a lot when

055you pay attention to these meetings and it helps me to understand the immense expense that goes into running a school district. And that school district is funded by our community. >> And you know, we we recognize that uh the tax burden can can be heavy on community members. Um, but my thought process as a community member is that we're making an investment in our children and the future of Abington and we want to maintain the high quality education that we've seen in this district for decades. And um, you know, I say it often and I'm I'm you going to hear me say it often again. Um, you know, if you want nice things, you have to pay for it. And um you know we have a nice thing here and it's just there's so many

056uncontrollable costs that make it a challenge to to work through this budget and we ask for patience and understanding for our community from our community. >> I have a question excuse me I have a question about the first slide it mentions a contribution rate and a district rate. I don't want to assume that the contribution rate is the employee or could it be the state contribution. >> The contribution rate is what we as a district pay for each dollar of salary. >> Okay. >> And then the so that's the amount that we pay in and then we get reimbursement of roughly 50% from the state. >> But we pay in 100% of that amount and then we get that back from the state. >> Thank you. I just had a quick question. Um, are students

057enrolled in um, the Abington Charter School, the ACE program able to take AP classes? >> Yes. >> Okay. And you know further on the discussion I think it is important to note uh that I would welcome anyone who is looking at the difference between Abington School District and our charter and the charter schools that uh some of our students attend to look at their achievement rates. >> Yep. >> And to also um look at the opportunities that come out of there. And you know it's when you look at the numbers there's no comparison and uh you know they may change their name and reclassify themselves as a new charter uh just to start over again but we still will um we still much better education and results here at Abington School District >> 100%. Thank

058you. >> Excuse me. >> Any other questions or comments? Okay, that brings us to agenda item five, the first section or segment of comments from citizens. Comments from citizens are being conducted both in person and by phone. The phone number to participate in public comments is 2677153717 and is being displayed on the screen at this time. You'll be able to join the meeting uh 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 by one speaker to another for purposes of extending a given speaker's time allotment. If there's anyone present in the room who would like

059to make a comment, please use the microphone to your right or to your left. >> Go ahead. >> Hey, good evening uh ladies and gentlemen. Joe Rooney. I live in Arsley and uh I noticed tonight you didn't say anything about dignity, but normally when we get up here when you talk about comments, you talk about dignity and decorum. Now, I realize that uh you all want to divert your signal on your initial comments, but to hear a school director call somebody a fascist from the podium because you disagree with somebody politically, well, that's unprofessional and it really is out of control. Now, none of you all stopped the thing. Nobody said anything. So, I have no idea if you disagree, but you're not surprised with that. There's nothing dignified about that at all. Very unprofessional,

060and I'm actually shocked to hear that, to start off a meeting like that. Um, why are you unserious? That's one explanation of it right there. You just had a presentation from Miss Danacola with a $12 million budget increase in one year. That's over $500 for me, my neighbors in Arsley, Roslin, or wherever. It's more for some people and less for some. That's over a 10% tax increase. Not a comment in the beginning from everybody. I don't know if you even knew it or read it or even understand that, but that's something that you ought to have commented on. So, getting on to this uh protest theater tomorrow, it's a failure from all of you. You are supposed to protect the superintendent from bad decisions. There's no upside for Abington Township in having kids walk out

061of school and have a protest. There's lots of opportunities or things that could go wrong. We pray nothing goes wrong. We pray that nothing happens. But right now, the superintendent and the principal's jobs are online. The dignity of Abington School District is online. Okay? and the health of students is online because there's lots of unknowns that you have no idea about. Now, I know you've got a little map where you're going to close everything down. This should not have been allowed. Why else are you unserious? You vote all the time. Is that a minute? Okay. You vote all the time for these board policies and these superintendent administrative procedures. A political protest on school district pro property is not allowed. You all have voted on that and now you're overriding it. Who gets to say

062what policies get enforced when and where is it so everybody's treated equally? It's not explained everywhere. The easiest thing to say was no. Then let people go out on Saturday to Old York Road. They can hold signs, protest, blow whistles, do whatever they want all day long. It should not interfere with our school district. It should not imitate intimidate other students. And it should happen on somebody else's time, not when we should be learning in school. Thank you. >> Thank you for your voice. Anyone else? >> Carol Gladfrey, 1021 Devon Road, Jenintown. Dr. Mallalerie, thank you for your comments at the beginning of the meeting. I appreciate that. I attended elementary and junior high school in Webster Groves School District just outside St. Louisis, Missouri before moving to Abington and eventually graduating from Abington. I

063recently read an article about the Webster Groves middle school and high school students expressing their First Amendment rights and holding a protest walk out last week. I was pleased to know that the Webster Grove School District allowed this to take place. Then I recently learned the Abington Senior High School students had approached the administration to hold a protest walk out tomorrow. As a product of the 60s, I know how important protests can be. I am so proud that Abington students came forward and want to express their first amendment rights. Also, while I realize the protest is not sanctioned by the Abington School District, I want to thank Dr. Fetcher, Dr. Swift, and the Abington School Board in their efforts to ensure the students have a safe protest tomorrow. I am proud to live in the

064Abington School District and proud to see our students getting involved and expressing themselves. Thank you. >> Thank you for your voice. >> Hi, I'm Joe O'Brien. I live in Glennside and uh I'm old enough to remember the 60s >> and I remember seeing Dr. King's speeches >> and the one thing I will never forget that he said was, "Don't judge a man by the color of his skin. judge him by the quality of his heart >> on his character. >> And that's one thing I will never forget and I see people who don't understand that comment at all. But what really bothers me is I pulled up some information from usnews.com. Okay. And you're allowing a protest and this is some results. They say on the standard math test, elementary school 60 uh 62% pass.

065Middle school 44% pass. high school 26% pass. That means 74% of the high school students can't pass the standard math test. Reading elementary school 69% middle school 58%. When they get into high school, they're up to 77%. But that still says 23% can't read enough to pass the standard test. Now you're raising it by $14 million or $14,000, whatever the number is. I don't even care. But the education has dropped dramatically. 74% cannot pass the standard math test. 23% can't pass the standard reading test when they graduate. And you're allowing a protest to go on where they walk out of class? That makes absolutely no sense to me. and you're raising the rates when the education is dropping. Are you worried about education? I don't think so. I think you're worried about political things. I

066have no clue. You're looking at education when you see these numbers. >> Thank you for your voice. >> Uh my name's Lester Caesar. Uh 1747 Ferndale Avenue in Abington. Um, I actually came here because, um, my son, he's he goes to Overlook Elementary School and he I I got his assessment scores back, uh, I guess midyear assessment scores, and to be honest, they were fantastic. They had him 90% in math. He was above proficient in reading. Um, my only concerns are is that cuz I work with my son every day after school with his math and his reading and to be at the level of 90 percentile and above proficient in reading just has me a little bit concerned about the other kids that are in the class that scored lower. And uh don't get

067me wrong, I'm proud that we're giving all our kids the advantage of uh expressing their first amendment rights. Uh and I too went to Abington School District uh from fourth grade and graduated in 2002. Uh but at those times we were known as a blue ribbon uh every elementary school, every middle the middle school, high school and uh entering this year for kindergarten and I hear it was the other grades also but like the curriculum itself wasn't really in place at the time. and talking to his teacher, talking to administrators, they expressed to me that these scores are just where they're meant to give us a a point on where our child is and how they rank as far as what they should be at by the end of the school year. But if uh

068and if his numbers are correct, if those are the points of where our kids should be at the end of the school year, shouldn't we have a curriculum that is kind of pushing them to be further past um further past where we expect them to be at the end of kindergarten because we all know the summertime lol, you know, and then we end up spending the first two 3 months months of school pretty much retaching them everything. Is there anything about the curriculum that we can uh change so that we can make sure that our kids are learning? And for granted, I'm happy with the scores that he gots, but I put a lot of work in with my son after school. And for the parents that aren't able to do that, um, are we

069supposed to just accept them accept it for, you know, they just need to work more? >> Thank you. >> Answer if they want. >> Thank you for your voice. Anyone else? >> Hi, Jen Portell. I live in Glenside. Um, I wanted to, um, thank you all for supporting the kids that are going to be going, um, out of school tomorrow to protest what's going on with, uh, ICE and, um, and everything, especially in Minneapolis. Um, I think it's um, pretty impressive that these kids are paying attention enough, definitely more than I did in high school, um, and that they want to have their voices heard. Um, they have a First Amendment right. They also have a right that the Supreme Court said you you don't lose your right to protest just by walking in a

070school. Um and so I think that them knowing that they can do this, they want to um show that they are upset about what's going on and um and somebody had said that these kids are transitioning from being adolescence to being adults. Well, they will spend a lot more time than most of us. a couple kids here, but most of us in the world that is being created right now. So, I absolutely think that they should have a voice and should be able to talk about what that they what they think is going on. So, I applaud everybody for supporting them. Thanks. >> Thank you for your voice. >> Excuse me. >> Anyone else? >> Okay, Mr. Cargus, we will go to the phones. Do we have anyone on the line? >> Yes, we do.

071Um, next citizen for public comment. phone number ending in 4437. Please state your full name and full address. >> Um, my name is Connie Briggs. I'm a Rosalyn resident since 1995. Um, I have a comment about the budget, but before I start that, I just wanted to uh express my opinion that I'm glad our students are engaged in their constitutional exercising their constitutional right tomorrow and I wish them well. And if the other side students who agree with the other side wanted to do that, that would be their right too. So >> um my public comment is uh on the budget. Uh I reviewed those uh documents that you kindly put on your website and I thank you for that before the meeting I could review them. Um many residents are facing rising costs everywhere.

072Housing, utilities, insurance. Mine went up 22.5% this year. my premium uh health care costs and deductibles for families and seniors. An increase of about $40 per month with what you're you may be uh proposing in school taxes is significant even before the middle school bond is going to be rolled out uh fully. This is the first year. It's a minor roll out and then it's going to be more dramatic the next two years and probably approaching $600 a year after that. So uh for the median household um the budget increases total spending about 13 million in one year nearly uh 5.5 million of that is for new debt service related to construction projects and more than 7 million is for higher ongoing operating costs. That number 7 million for higher ongoing operating costs is a

073concern that we're going to be get stocked with a 10% tax increase if the referendum is passed. Uh for example, uh salaries are increasing by 4.8 million of that 7 million. Professional services are increasing by 1.2 million and uh transportation and other services and by 1 million and maintenance and operations are also rising there. These are permanent costs. They will continue year after year. They deserve careful scrutiny. I'm asking the board to look closely at whether there are ways to moderate these increases such as reviewing staffing levels, limiting growth in outside contract, delaying non-essential spending, negotiating um uh benefit packages like our township uh manager did using reserves uh strategically to soften the impact. On the revenue side, local property taxes are increasing by nearly 16 million while state funding is actually declining. That means

074homeowners are paying for almost the entire increase. We're shouldering the burden. I also noticed that the budget documents show only standard local, state, and federal revenue categories. I don't see information about competitive grants or other outside funding opportunities that may have been pursued. So, I don't know what the landscape there is. I used to work for nonprofit and I worked on grants and I hope that someone is doing this in as creatively as possible. Could the district provide the public with a summary of what additional funding sources were applied for in the past two years? >> I'm sorry, your time is up. >> Okay, I'm just going to finish the sentence. Okay. And what plans exist going forward? That information would help residents understand whether these tax increases >> Thank you for your voice. >>

075Thank you. >> Uh Mr. Cargus, do we have anyone else on the line? >> We do. Okay. The next >> citizen for public comment. Uh, phone number ending in 5002. Please state your full name and address. >> Hi, this is Elizabeth Kerr, Chester Avenue in Abington. Um, I wanted to first say thank you to the board for all of your impactful statements at the top of the meeting and for recognizing the importance of the great diversity of our community at large and specifically in our high school of over 3,000 students. I didn't find them to be virtue virtue signaling at all. These kids have been practicing how to survive active shooters since age five. It should not be a surprise to anybody that as they've gotten older, they've recognized the need for change and they

076want a voice in shaping their future. Many of the students that are planning to participate in tomorrow's walkout are not old enough to vote yet, but they will be soon. So, if you want to spark change, you start with the voice that you have. And that's what they're doing for the Abington citizens who are women, who are non-white, non-able-bodied, or andor non-heterosexual. We have rights and freedoms because large groups of committed people spoke up and fought for change. That's what these kids are trying to do. Today's students are more tuned in, more aware, and more motivated than many adults give them credit for. They're growing the skills and confidence to rebuild the world that is literally burning down around them. Thank you. Thank you for your voice. >> There are no more callers. >> Okay.

077All right. Uh Dr. Fetcher, >> Dr. Mauy, um I just want to clarify in terms of there was a question about the curriculum >> in in the elementary. Uh this is our first year with our new language arts curriculum and I and math is in its uh second year at this point. Um so when we find that uh performance of students is not where it should be uh we have shifted our curriculum accordingly and uh we are hoping that that aligns more with the standards of the state you know Pennsylvania state standards as well as um to to assist our students uh in filling some of those gaps. >> Okay. Um, I just want to add a quick note that um to the community member from Overlook, thank you for taking the time to work

078with your son. Parents are a critical part of the equation of our students success. So, thank you and I'm glad he's doing well in math. Okay. Uh, that brings us to item agenda item number seven, Mrs. Brown. >> Yes, Madame President, that the board of school directors approves the minutes of the board meetings on January 13th and January 27th, 2026. >> Second. >> Uh, we have a second, Dr. Fetcher. >> Uh, minutes have been uh issued for your approval. Okay. Questions or comments from the board? This is a vote by acclamation. Okay. All those in favor say I. I. >> I. >> The eyes have it. The motion passes. Mrs. Brown, can you please read the recommendation to approve the personnel agenda? >> Yes. That the board of school directors approves the changes in personnel

079as reflected in personnel agenda numbers 8.1 and 8.1a and confidential addendum 8.1b. >> Second. We have a second, Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Mauy. The personnel addendum begins with the request for leaves of absence for one professional employee, appointments of three professional staff members, and compensation for parent meetings interpreter and translation services. It's my honor to bring your attention to the retirement of Miss Anmarie Magga, an elementary teacher at Ryal Elementary School who has served the district for 40 years. Wow, >> these numbers keep going up and up. I feel like there's a competition amongst our our faculty, but 40 years is extraordinary. Um, certainly a pleasure to extend our congratulations to Miss Beaha on her retirement um and thank her for her service to the district and to many, many, many students. um

080comments and questions from the board. >> I can imagine she may have taught you know children and their parents. So just thank you for your longevity um and for your commitment to education. I hope that your next chapter is a healthy and a happy one. >> Yes. >> Anyone else? Okay. All right. Uh, >> Mrs. Flanigan, >> Mr. Allen, >> I >> Mrs. Brown, >> I, >> Miss Eisenhart, >> I, >> Mr. Muhammad, >> I, >> Miss Falding, >> I, >> Miss Frasier, >> I, >> Miss Fletcher, >> I, >> Dr. Mauy, >> I. The eyes have it. The motion passes. Mrs. Brown, can you please read the recommendation for permits for use of buildings and grounds? Yes, Madame President, that the board of school directors approves the applications for permits for use of buildings

081and grounds as reflected in addendum number 9.1. >> Second, Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Mary. The permit addendum continues to reflect requests for buildings and grounds for meetings and other school events that are typical for this time of year. >> Okay. Um, is it I forget if it's on this item or not, but I note that the uh Montgomery County Board of Commissioners will be meeting >> in a building. >> Yeah. Uh, next Thursday at 6:00 in this very room. >> That is correct. It is part of their um they have gone to different locations and they asked us if we would uh host them here at at our district and um been working with them to to welcome them here and we're excited to have them in Abington School District. >> We look

082forward to hosting them. We do have the best room. >> All right, other questions or comments from the board? I think it's it's always worth saying again and again. Thank you to the staff, the community members who create spaces like these for our students to have joy uh for uh belonging uh both inside the classroom and outside the classroom. So, thank you so much. >> Yes. Thank you. All right, Mrs. Flanigan, >> Mr. Allen, >> I. >> Mrs. Brown, >> I miss Eisenhart. >> I >> Mr. Mohammed. >> I, >> Miss Golding, >> I, >> Miss Frasier, >> I, >> Miss Fletcher, >> I, >> Dr. Mauy, >> I. The eyes have it, the motion passes. Uh, Mrs. Brown, can you please read the recommendation for approval of the 2026 2027 school calendar? >> Yes.

083That the board of school directors approves the 2026 2027 school calendar as reflected in addendum number 10.1. >> Second. We have a second. Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Mary. Tonight, we recommend the calendar for the 2026 2027 school year, which is attached to the agenda and on the screen. Uh, this includes adherence to major holidays and observances, creates a total of 182 student days, also adhering to our 191 contractual days for our teachers. The first day of student attendance for grades K through six and grade 9 is on Tuesday, September 8th, 2026. And the first day of student attendance for grades 7 and 8 and 10 through 12 is on Wednesday, September 9th, 2026 after Labor Day. >> Okay? And we do that split start to afford our youngest students and then those who

084are new to a building to make a easier transition. >> Yes. So all elementary students start on that first day. Our sixth grade and our middle school come in to aid with to ease that transition as well and our ninth grade at the high school. >> Okay, great. All right, questions or comments? my heart started beating a little faster and it's not because of the coffee, but my youngest of five starts kindergarten and um yeah, it's my baby. Check on me in September. But thank you for the calendar. Um I just wanted to share that moment of joy. That's that's funny because I was just thinking about a little girl who started kindergarten in this desk district 20ish years ago who is graduating from law school this spring. >> Yeah. >> So, it's a long

085journey, but it's a joyous one. >> A very prestigious law school. >> Yes. >> Right. I just I I having had a ninth grader this year going through that transition, I love the idea of giving them that space to learn the building and to figure out where their home is and where they belong before it becomes quite so chaotic. So that definitely smoothed the transition and calmed some nerves. So I I think that's a nice thing to do even if it affords us the extra day. And and one thing to note um the at the middle school the seventh and eighth grade and at the high school the 10th 11th and 12th graders are often present on that day to assist and welcome uh the students who are new to you know new to the

086school because of uh being either sixth or or 9th grade. Um I can't say enough about watching and being able to witness that in action. Uh it's amazing uh to see that and there's no better way for students to learn and navigate a building than through uh peers and it's just I I thank all the students who volunteer to do that and you know it's hundreds of students volunteer. >> Yes. And it's just impressive and I'm glad that we do that. And this day also helps um by staggering that start for this to happen and really eases a lot of our students into that transition. If you think about our elementary schools and the size of our elementary schools moving to a middle school, it's a huge transition. It's the first time our kids are

087moving from class to class and not just in one classroom. and it requires a special handholding uh and care and uh moving to the high school it's a whole new world as well. So uh I appreciate all the students who volunteer, the teachers and staff who do that and I appreciate um the board for uh approving a calendar that allows us to put in that program. >> Yep. It's great. Anyone else? >> Okay, Mrs. Flanigan >> Mr. Allen >> I >> Mrs. Brown >> I >> Miss Eisenhart >> I >> Mr. Mlet >> I >> Miss Balding >> I >> Miss Frasier >> I >> Miss Fletcher >> I >> Dr. Mauy >> I the eyes have it and the motion passes. Mrs. Brown, can you please read the recommendation for the 2026 2027 public

088board meeting dates? >> Yes. that the board of school directors approves the 2026 20227 public board meeting dates as reflected in addendum number 11.1. >> Second. >> We have a second. Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Maui. As we do annually, we have looked at the relationship between the school calendar and public board meetings. Uh public board meetings are usually held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. The December reorganization meeting is recommended to be held on Tuesday. Um December 1st. Tuesday or Monday? >> It's It's a Monday, right? >> It's usually Monday. >> It's Tuesday. >> It is a Tuesday. >> Yeah. It's first It's the first It has to occur in December. >> Okay. >> And it's the first week within December that a reorganization meeting has to occur. >> Okay.

089>> Can I offer one additional tidbit? When you have new when you have newly elected board members, their term begins the first Monday of December. for when you have an election year, >> we we try to make that meeting Monday so that you have a full sitting board >> when it's when it's not a school board election year. It is the first week of December that the organization meeting has to take place. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Thank you for that clarification. >> Anything else? >> That's it. >> Okay. Questions or comments? >> Okay. Uh Mrs. Flanigan, please. >> Mr. Allen, >> I. Mrs. Brown >> I >> Miss Eisenhart >> I >> Mr. Muhammad >> I >> Miss Balding >> I >> Miss Frasier >> I >> Miss Fletcher >> I >>

090Dr. Mauy >> I the eyes have it. The motion passes. Mrs. Brown, can you please read the recommendation for the adoption of the 2026 2027 preliminary general fund budget? Yes, Madame President, that the board of school directors adopts a 2026 2022 preliminary general fund budget in the amount of 216,4,564 as reflected in addendum 12.1, which includes a real estate tax millage of 42.7169 mills, real estate transfer tax of 1 half of a percent, and earn income tax of 1/ half of a percent. >> Second. We have a second, Dr. Fetcher. Thank you, Dr. Mauy. Uh, this evening, uh, Miss Duncola presented the recommended preliminary general fund budget during our orientation portion of the meeting. Uh, we can answer any further questions that you may have. I would also like to remind you that the budget

091will continue uh, to be reviewed and we welcome your recommendations as we move forward toward adopt adopting of the final budget in June. >> Okay. Questions or comments from the board? No. Um, but I know that I am grateful for the ongoing attention and care that you bring to looking at these numbers as we move towards our final budget. So, thank you. All right. Mrs. Flanigan, please. >> Mr. Allen, >> I. >> Mrs. Brown, >> I. >> Miss Eisenhart, >> I. >> Mr. Muhammad, >> I. >> Miss Balding, >> I. >> Miss Frasier, >> I. >> Miss Fletcher, >> I >> Dr. Maui >> I the eyes have it. The motion passes. Uh Mrs. Brown, can you please read um the recommendation for the preliminary general fund budget referendum exception advertisement? Yes, Madame President, that

092the board of school directors authorizes the administration to advertise its intent to request approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the use of referendum exception and for the administration to submit the request to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. >> Second, >> Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Mary. Uh, this approval allow the district to apply for a referendum exception related to the debt required for the new Abington Middle School. Okay. Questions or comments from the board? >> Um, just because if this is approved tonight, this does not mean that we will take the um the exception. This just means you have the ability to request it. Correct. >> Is that correct? >> That is correct. >> Thank you. Okay. Other questions or comments? No. Okay. Mrs. Flanigan. >> Mr. Allen. >> I. >> Mrs.

093Brown. >> I. >> Miss. Eisenhart. >> I. >> Mr. Muhammad. >> I. >> Miss Balding. >> I. >> Miss Frasier. >> I. >> Miss. Fletcher. >> I. >> Dr. Mauy. >> I. The eyes have it. The motion passes. Mrs. Brown. Can you please read the recommendation for the public school facility improvement grant? >> Yes, Madam President. that the board author authorizes the administration to submit the public school facility improvement grant for Copper Beach Elementary School to the Department of Community and Economic Development as reflected in addendum number 13.1. >> Second, >> Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Mauy. Um tonight within our budget discussion, we heard about uh questions about grants and alternative fundings uh for um various projects within the district. This is um we're asking for authorization uh to apply for the public

094school facility improvement grant from Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for renovations at Copper Beach. This would this would include the replacement of unit ventilators and select rooftop units. Um these are projects that are within our you know facilities plan over the next few years. Uh so we are trying to get funding for this uh through this grant at this time uh in order to ease the bur burden on our general fund budget. >> Okay. Questions or comments? Is this the same grant program that enabled us to do the work at McKinley? >> Yes, it is. >> Okay. All right. Excellent. So, um, searching for grant opportunities is an ongoing process for the district. >> Yes, in various departments. This, uh, particular grant is within our facilities, um, focus. uh but within all of

095uh the departments uh within the uh central staff here we are continually searching for grant opportunities whether it's in teaching and learning um or whether it's in technology etc uh pupil services we have a lot of grants as well uh that fund our a lot of our pupil services programs >> okay all right great thank you Mrs. Flanigan >> Mr. Allen >> I >> Mrs. Brown >> I >> Miss Eisenhart >> I >> Mr. Mohammed >> I >> Miss Balding >> I >> Miss Frasier >> I >> Miss Fletcher >> I >> Dr. Mauy >> I the eyes have it the motion passes. Mrs. Brown, can you please read the recommendation for the confidential student matter? >> Yes. That the board of school directors approves the confidential student matter as reflected in agenda 14.1. >>

096Second. Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you Dr. Mallerie. Confidential student matter is regarding one educational services agreement. Uh keeping in mind the confidentiality of student matters. I can answer questions that you may have. >> Okay. Questions or comments from the board? >> Okay. Mrs. Flanigan. >> Mr. Allen. >> I. >> Mrs. Brown. >> I. >> Miss Eisenhart. >> I. >> Mr. Muhammad. >> I. >> Miss Balding. >> I. >> Miss Frasier. >> I. >> Miss Fletcher. >> I. >> Dr. Murray >> I. >> The eyes have it. The motion passes. Dr. Fetcher, are there any additional reports and recommendations by the administration? >> Yes, Dr. Maui. I provide for you the conf conference attendance of professional leaves and the capital improvement projects for your information. >> Great questions or comments from the board. It's exciting to

097see how many of these are not just continuing education but uh taking our students to activities and and participating in festivals for music and arts. It's it's pretty exciting to see the continuation there as well. >> Okay, thank you. All right, that brings us to our final segment of comments from citizens. So once again, comments from citizens are being conducted both in person and by phone. The phone number to participate in public comment is 2677153717 and is being displayed currently. You'll be able to join the meeting by calling in on your mobile or landline phone. And a reminder that a citizen will be recognized only once during this period of the meeting. Each citizen's comments will be limited to three minutes except at the discretion of the president. No time may not be yielded or

098otherwise transferred by one speaker to another for purposes of extending a given speaker's time aotment. If there's anyone present who would like to make a comment, please use the microphone either to the right or to the left. Go ahead. >> Uh Joe Rooney from Arsley again. Dr. Fetcher, you made a bad decision. You weren't supported at all. You have put the kids in Abington School District at risk, and I pray that nothing happens to them. It was meaningless. Uh, somebody mentioned they want to teach kids how to grow up. Well, there's a neighbor of mine lives on uh Maple Avenue. He graduated from McDevit last or McD, excuse me, from Abington last year, joined the Navy, went through boot camp. He's down in Pensacola right now learning how to fix Navy airplanes. special to my

099heart since I flew them and I have a son that's doing the same thing. Nobody's celebrating him. Nobody's talking about him. You want to teach kids how to grow up Dr. Mallalerie? Take them down to that war memorial. Have every one of them learn the biography of one of those unbelievable Abington heroes that's on that memorial. Get them to look at somebody their age and go, "Okay, I see what he did in 1940, 41,42, whatever it was." They're unbelievable stories. That's what you do. This is the opportunity that you all missed. First, it's not authorized. Dr. O'Donnu here, he could tell you about uh limited public forums and the Supreme Court decisions as far as school property, but you can learn that. You can teach it to the kids. It's an outstanding opportunity to teach

100about rights and responsibility to talk about the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, our incredible founding fathers, despite one of these people who threw barbs at one of our as the first president of the United States. It's the 250th anniversary of the United States, the greatest country that has ever existed in the history of the world. And we're all blessed every day to be here and live in it. That's what we want to teach kids. You could invite ICE here. You can invite DHS, Customs Border Patrol. You could have a forum here. You could have an open forum. You could have discussions. You could actually talk about what's going on. You could memorialize all the victims of illegal aliens who have been killed in car accidents, been raped, murdered. There's all kinds of things we could

101teach our kids that they don't know about, but you whiffed on every one of them. Okay? So, we are a country of laws and we would teach them that justice moves slowly. It involves investigations. It involves hearings. It might involve court cases, but eventually we get there. But it's patient and it's impartial. Now, I got to move on. Everybody got their tax bills. Okay? $13 million tax increase from all these people right up here. But don't worry, our township taxes are going up, our county taxes are going up, and our refuge fees are going up. They're all going up this year. 13 million adds up to over $500. There's 22,000 tax accounts for everybody in here. We need to have a serious discussion about that. And for those I can't believe the school director doesn't

102understand what Pasers is. Maybe I'm wrong. For the person who asked about controlling peasers, you control our peaser costs by controlling our employment numbers. You can start out by taking A's and B's right up here and get rid of one of all these people and then see what happens. That's how we control our pasers cost is lower the number of employees, figure out who that's my time. Okay, thank you for your voice. actually perform a seat and see what we can do without them. >> Take a seat much. >> Joe O'Brien Glenn side again. Um, one thing, could you possibly put captions under the pictures on the calendars? I look at those pictures and I have no clue who anybody is in them or where they are or what they're doing. In one case, they're

103standing in front of a sewage plant. I don't know if they threw a body in to get rid of it or what. How about a caption under the pictures? Number two, one of the things Dr. King pushed was the Civil Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act was repassed by Republicans. Not a single Democrat voted for the Civil Rights Act. You can look it up. Republicans are the only people who push the Civil Rights Act through. Thank you for your voice. Anyone else? >> I'd just like to say that >> sorry. >> That's okay. You all right? I just like to say that uh I appreciate everything you guys are doing in the school district and that you know growing up in Abington have been went to Roslin the middle school high school you know all

104the new things that you guys have added for the kids to have access to I'm very appreciative of it and you know I can't wait to see my son you know grow up and uh be able to experience everything you guys are implementing. Thank you. >> Thank you for your voice. >> Hi, uh Jen Patell and Glennside. Um I uh as far as the kids um protest, uh my understanding is it's one class that they're going to walk out for. It's not an entire day. It's not a half the day. It's one class. And I think that um I'm curious the people that are um opposed to them doing this, what they think that the administration or the board should have done. Should they have denied the kids their first amendment right? Should they have

105um cancelled them or silenced them? Um, I think that it's actually uh it's just showing that you respect the kids the same way the kids said that they showed respect to the administration by approaching them and trying to do this in a cooperative and a um organized way. Um but you know these are kids that are going to be voting. They can see what's going on and uh you know as far as saying that this should have been stopped. I mean, um, okay. Well, if this gets stopped, then what else gets stopped? So, thank you. >> Thank you for your voice, >> Mr. Cargus. Do we have callers on the line? >> We do. The next citizen for public comment, phone number ending in 0131. Please state your full name and full address. >> Hello,

106Meredith Bar, Oliver Road, Headington Valley. >> Go ahead. Um, I would like to applaud the district for making sure that tomorrow's walk out is a safe process. Um, my two children both are in the high school and plan on attending the walk out and I thoroughly support them and um, applaud them for wanting to use their voice um, in a appropriate way. Um, as far as the budget's concerned, I understand nobody likes to pay more money, but if you don't invest in our children and their education, our schools will not succeed and our whole district as well as our properties will diminish. We will not have our um the wonderful talents that we have right now. And I I understand the the difficulty of wanting to pay more or having to pay more, but it's

107a necessary um task for us as citizens of Abington. Thank you. >> Thank you for your voice. >> We don't have any more callers. >> Okay. Thank you very much. All right. That brings us to closing comments of school directors. Oh, I'm sorry, Dr. Fetcher. >> Yeah, I just wanted to address uh one of the comments um that uh I that the that I made a bad decision. Um I would love to know what that decision was. Um, and knowing that this is a studentled and nond district approved event and to say that I made a bad decision. um to enforce our consequences and board policy appropriately and consistently regardless of what the students are walking out of class for, regardless of whatever political party the students are a part of, regardless of what they

108feel, um I think is a mischaracterization of what I do in my position and I am proud to say that I consistently have uh applied our board policies, our school code and I did not make a decision for the students to do this. They are making a decision to exercise this right and face whatever they need to face because it's something they believe in. So regardless of what they believe in, regardless of whether this group is for one particular thing and another group of students want to demonstrate for something else, we will be consistent in application of our policies. And that is the only way to create a safe environment, create a consistent environment for all of our students and a fair environment uh that allows our students to express who they are and what

109their rights are. Uh so that's number one. And I felt that it was important because I've heard a lot uh not just tonight about the decision I made and I would love to know uh what that decision is. Um so moving on uh in terms of looking at our staffing I think it is um something that are we have been working uh through attrition to look at every single position that um has come across u of retirements or or people leaving um and we also look at performance as well and whether positions are necessary. Uh I can give an example right at this table sitting in front of you. Um last year Dr. Buts was here. Dr. Buts retired and we have consolidated the positions and did not fill that position as director of teaching

110and learning. Our two assistant directors of teaching and learning are now um director of secondary and director of elementary. And that's just one example. um and there are many others as well. So that is something that um when asked what are we doing to reduce the personnel costs uh we are actively looking at every single position and trying to um do that as well. Uh so we can u move forward and reduce those costs as as we know they are the largest costs within our budget. uh and staffing and benefits are the largest portion of our budget. Um and I think >> without compromising instructional quality and integrity, >> right? Correct. >> Right. >> Mhm. >> That's all I have. >> Okay. Um thank you for that clarification. I think that that's an important one.

111um we in large measure because it speaks to the students um autonomy and their ability to make choices and decisions um about their own actions. Um this as far as I'm concerned the district and the administration has been very consistent in applying the policies um and they've been diligent about making possible consequences clear to students and so I thank them for that because it enables our students to make um informed decisions about what they want to do. Um, okay. We'll move to closing comments then, Mr. Allen. >> I I totally agree with what you just said, uh, Dr. Mauy. And so, Dr. Fetcher, to be very clear, uh, from my perspective, every communication that I've seen come out from the administration has been very consistent in the application of policy and procedure and attendance law

112and everything. There's been no decision or choice of yours or the high school team or anybody. the choice is of the students and it's their agency and um I the choice that I guess that you are making is to honor their agency and provide a safe space and an organized space for them to exercise that agency. Um so the choice that you did make was to listen to the students and um honor what they want. And if you didn't do that, I would have a problem. the fact that, you know, if you were trying to sweep this under the rug like nothing to see here, it would be much different from my seat. Um, so I really respect and and appreciate that that you are applying the rules and procedures consistently and fairly. Um we

113the nine of us can have very much different opinions, you know, and um and that's we're elected and we're not bound like you are to uh rules and policies and procedures. We set the rules and policies and procedures and we can have opinions about it. We're not voting to change any opinions or any rules or um temporary suspending um consequences for tomorrow. I think what I heard in Dr. from our your initial opening and and which I agree with is that we support we I I support the students right to have and exercise their agency and I'm I'm appreciative and in awe that they are in tune and um did so in such a way that they approached the administration and said we're doing this um just so you know we're doing this and and

114we're going to do it in an organized way. So, I I really I could go on forever with how proud I am as an individual, but um in terms of a choice, I can hear it in your voice, Dr. Fetcher. Just rest assured as me as, you know, elected on this school board for the next three years, you are doing exactly what I would expect. >> You're here, Mrs. Brown. >> Uh thank you. Um, I am I appreciate that our community has such a high regard for Dr. King and his legacy. I would like to add to your remembrance or add to it the letters that he wrote from Birmingham jail where his uh fellow clergymen suggested that he needed to wait, that he was moving too soon and what he wanted was too progressive

115and his response was that the time is now. So, please do continue to lift up Dr. Martin Luther King and what he stood for in his legacy. And please make sure you read through um all of his speeches and not just some of them or part. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Mrs. Brown. Miss Eisenhart. >> Um yes, thank you as always to all the members of the community took the time to come out and um use this platform and our meetings to discuss and um comment on things that are important to you. Um, I'll say broadly and then also specific to the walk out tomorrow that civic engagement is something that is not only necessary to support on a regular basis but something worth celebrating and um I celebrate that every time I

116enter this room uh to hear the voices of our community members and I certainly will be celebrating the students tomorrow as they engage in that engagement. Thank you and good night to everyone. Mr. Muhammad. >> Thank you, Mrs. Brown, for summarizing one of my favorite Dr. King writings. Um, a question was asked, should he have denied those students first amendment rights? And I saw at least one head nod uh in the affirmative to that question. First amendment protects every person's freedom of religion, speech, petition, speech, uh, petition, um, assembly and >> religion, >> press, press. And what we see now is many of those first amendment rights being trampled upon. Um, and there's someone in this room who would like to see students first amendment rights be trampled upon by their district. Um, that sounds

117a little fascist to me. Um, also Republicans, some Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 73 voted yes, 27 voted no. Of the 73, 44 Democrats, 27 Republicans. In the House, 150 Democrats voted yes, 137 Republicans voted in the negative. The Democrats who did not support this act were southern Democrats who have become Republicans today. >> Yes. >> Um >> if you're looking at the this is I'm talking so if you're if you look at the Civil Rights Act of 1866 >> yes a majority primarily Republicans voted. Those were Lincoln Republicans. Um, and those Lincoln Republicans were in favor of, well, some of them, especially the radical Republicans, were in favor of equal rights for all Americans. Um, and those same people travel through through our throughout our history and you you end

118up at a point where the opposition to Civil Rights Act of 1866 become the opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and they become the people who are saying no to students having their First Amendment rights today. Happy Black History Month to everyone. Have a good night. >> Is that true? >> Thank you, >> Miss Falding. Um, this is supposed to be a non-political forum. I thought, um, all I can say is that I'm here because I care about the students and the community of Abington Township, and I just like to see it get better. And I'm doing a small part, but I'm doing something to to reach that goal. and that's what I hope to achieve. Good night everybody and happy Valentine's Day. >> Thank you, Miss Fraser. >> I appreciate the discourse.

119Have a good evening, guys. >> Thank you, Miss Fletcher. Not much additional to add. I am in agreement with my colleagues here. I do want to just take a moment. If you're looking for something fun to do this week, come support our middle school music makers in their Valentunes event. It's going to be super fun. Thank you, Ms. Lee. >> Um, I just wanted to say I'm really proud to be part of a like such a vocal student body and I hope that no student feels discouraged from uh exercising the first amendment rights and I think that all the students walking out tomorrow are not only um extremely brave, but these students are educated on their topics. um they've done all their research and they understand the consequences and the risk and the fact that

120they're willing to go through with this and the fact that they're they feel compelled enough to make that sacrifice is also something extremely significant sign significant um and it's honestly really inspiring inspiring to see people my age actively making a difference and I hope it encourages others to do to to not be afraid in speaking up too and every voice matters and I'm glad we're not silenced here. I can't think of a better way to end this meeting. >> Thank you for your voice. This meeting is adjourned.