001Good evening everyone and welcome to the January 27th, 2026 meeting of the Abington Board of School Directors on this chilly night. I note the attendance of all board members uh with the exception of Mr. Muhammad who will be joining us shortly. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The Abington Board of School Directors has convened this evening's meeting virtually. This meeting is also being broadcast live on the Abington School District YouTube channel. For those members of the public who cannot participate this evening, the meeting is also being recorded and will be available on the district's website and cable channel no later than Friday, February
002or sorry, Friday, January 30th, 2026. Uh Dr. Fetcher, do I need to note um the executive session? >> Yes. >> Here. Okay. This evening, the board met in executive session to uh review >> Personnel matters. Thank you, Mr. O'Donn. >> Certainly. >> Um, comments from citizens will be conducted 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 place. Uh Dr. Feser, do we have any additional announcements or agenda items? >> Yes, Dr. Malerie. Um before we begin tonight, I would like to acknowledge that today, January 27th, is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. A
003day the United Nations has designated to recognize the anniversary of liberation of the Osteritz concentration camp and remember the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust as well as the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution. I ask that we start with a moment of silence. Thank you. Uh, next I would like to take a moment to acknowledge that January is school director recognition month which aims to honor schoolboard members for the time and commitment they bring to leading our schools throughout the year. I want to thank all nine of you for volunteering to provide this important service to our community and supporting the students of Abington Township and the Burrow of Rock. We would like to acknowledge not just your time commitment but also your dedication to public service in this capacity. First, Miss
004Fletcher, one month to two months, almost two months of service so far. So, we're glad to have you and look forward to many years ahead. Miss Eisenhart, two years of service. Miss Hartman, two years of service. Miss Spalding, two years of service. Mr. Muhammad, four years of service. Miss Frasier, four years of service. Dr. Mauy, six years of service. Mrs. Brown, six years of service. And finally, Mr. Allen with your eight years of service. Um we will have we have certificates for you of appreciation that we will present to you next time we are in person. Uh whether you've dedicated years or months to this community, I thank you for all that you do and the time that you put our children first and and care about our education within our community. Thank you. It
005is a pleasure to serve. Um, okay. With that, we will move on to opening comments of board members. Mr. Allen, >> good evening everyone. >> Mrs. Brown, >> good evening everyone. >> Miss Eisenhart, >> good evening and welcome. >> Uh, Dr. Fetcher, has Mr. Muhammad joined us yet? I I do not see him yet. >> Okay. All right. Uh so we will move on then, Miss Spalding. >> And I hope everybody is nice and warm and safe. >> Miss Fraser. >> Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Sorry. My my fault. Miss Hartman. >> Good evening everyone. >> And now Miss Fraser. Sorry. >> Hi everyone. And thank you Dr. Fetcher for your acknowledgements. >> And Miss Fletcher. >> Evening everyone. >> Is Ms. Lee with us this evening? >> She will not be with us this evening.
006>> Okay. All right. Uh welcome to the meeting everyone. Um, thank you for joining us on this cold January. Uh, Dr. Fetcher, I see that we are postponing the uh, Abington Senior High School fall sports and athletes honors. Correct. >> Correct. We wanted to um, honor the athletes in person. >> Okay. Would you then please proceed with our orientation this evening? >> Yes. Before I begin with that, um I did not mention during the announcements, but I wanted to take a moment um to t thank our transportation and facilities crews for their tireless hard work over the last few days um in order to work with a uh storm that was quite difficult um to manage uh from the storms that we've had and they spent a lot of time um doing that and a
007lot of effort and I want to thank them for that and um we are excited that we will be able to open on time tomorrow and uh we thank them for those efforts. I don't know if the students will thank them for the efforts as well. Uh but here we are. And also like to say that um the collaboration with uh Abington Township was wonderful as always and we appreciate um working together one to ensure that our streets are clean and clear and safe for our students but also our our district properties as well. So, I just wanted to take a moment to do that before I moved on to our orientation. >> Thank you for doing that. And I will um add my personal thanks to that as well. When I was out shoveling
008my driveway, I saw a lot of lot of uh our staff up at Highland working hard to clear the parking lot and the sidewalks to make things safe for our teachers and students and staff. So, thank you. Okay. Uh that being said, uh we'll move on to our first orientation for this evening. And at this time, I'm going to ask ICS to provide an orientation regarding the middle school project update. >> Excellent. Well, thank you. Thank you for inviting us this evening. I'm Phil Solomon. I have Doug Taylor and Ryan Murphy with me from ICS as well as David Schrader and Dan Demo from Shrader Group. Um Ryan, were you gonna pull that up or did you want me to pull that up? I am pulling that up right now. >> Great. >> Let me
009know when you guys can see the screen here. >> It seems to be coming up. >> All right. >> Good. Go to the next slide. So, we're excited to give the public kind of an update of where we are with the middle school project. Um, many of the community members followed along uh along the process, but uh not everybody. So, we did want to give just a quick project background to start out. Then, we're going to have Doug give us a quick design process update. Uh Dan, do we will go over where we are in the actual design and then Doug will close us out with next steps. Always, you know, interrupt with questions if you have them and uh we'll answer them along the way. Go to the next slide, please. Well, this this
010process did start back in November of 2022. I mean, if you think about that, that's quite a while ago with a a bunch of assessments. So, a condition assessment, space needs, demographic studies, capacity needs, educational goals, just a lot of information to actually start the process. Then the district went through what I would consider a long range facility improvement process made made up of kind of these four buckets. So, you can see there was a big piece of community engagement in the first bucket. The second bucket was really kind of developing solutions. The third was the decision-making process and then the fourth is the implementation process. Along the bottom, you can kind of see the timelines that go with this and I'm going to kind of dig into this a little bit more uh in
011the next slide. So, the district definitely used what I would consider a deliberate, transparent, collaborative process kind of from beginning to end. And this is this is a kind of a an interesting slide, but it's it's it's all the pieces of input that were taken along the way to help uncover kind of the best plan for the middle school. And if you follow these steps, you can see this kind of overlays with uh the bigger chart that I showed before. But you can see it starts with a lot of stakeholder engagement. So administration uh I have I have it act input meetings act as the advant community task force teacher input parent input those are the first couple steps so we were gathering a lot of input at the very beginning of this thing we
012then launched a website one future and I know a lot of people uh have seen this website but if they haven't we house all the data all the information all the decision-m is housed there and will continue to be uh so as we move forward in this process You then can see um you know various uh various other input processes, scientific surveys, online surveys, open houses, town halls, feedback um along this way and then in the key elements you can see the first half is kind of understanding the needs. The second half is evaluating options. So options were developed, those options were kind of tested with the public and then uh the preferred plan was arrived at using all of that information to help. You can go to the next slide, Ryan. So there was
013really four key um kind of solutions if you will uh that were evaluated towards the end. So the first ones are basically renovating the existing building. That's 1 A and 1B. The second one is replacing the current building with a new middle school. The third one was taking the middle school and dividing it into two smaller middle schools. And then the fourth one was a grade reconfiguration. So it was essentially taking the middle school divi dividing it into two but doing it in a five six seven eight program. So all of these were valid options and they all had pros and cons. So what happened is we took all of the information that was gathered from the community, from the public, from everything else. We did one more scientific survey, which is a demographically statistically
014accurate cross-section of Abington School District. And we kind of tested all of these to see which one uh did the community support the most and think was the best value. When we did that, we got a lot of feedback about all the different options. But but what really came to light is that option two, replacing the existing middle school with a new middle school on the existing site was the best value for the community and that was uh shown loud and clear in a lot of the data that was gathered. So that was taken uh as the board's direction. The board voted on that and then brought that through what's called a referendum process that essentially makes a ballot question that went on the ballot and all the community members voted on that. it was
015passed and that's how we got to where we are today, building a new middle school on the existing property of the school district. So with that, I'm going to hand it over to Doug to kind of give us the update of where we are in the design process. Thank you, Phil. So continuing with the with that timeline, um back in July of 25, we did start the uh design process with the schematic design. Uh we've been having regularly scheduled uh design team meetings with the owner uh with the district with uh staff um every two weeks since that point. Um we reviewed the initial program uh with the administration. We're developing floor plans and site plans and Dan is going to share a little bit of that with you shortly. Uh we perform site utility
016surveys including uh ground penetrating radar to locate existing utilities and um ex existing condition surveys to again identify the contours and the features of the site. We have performed our geotechnical investigations and they continue. Um that included um infiltration testing for storm water design uh probes, cores and test pits uh to understand the soil types and the geology. um trying to identify where rock may live, where the best places to uh put the building are and how to change the floor elevations to avoid uh costly rock uh removal and working to balance the site from a cut fill perspective. Um in addition, we have a traffic study that's ongoing. We have stakeholder input meetings. We've uh had our first round of end user meetings with the team to further define the program. And of course
017we have uh community surveys and an initial meeting with immediate neighbors that are contiguous to the site uh to talk about how this project uh will affect uh that can change to to the next. So uh culminating with all that information we shared the design principles um over the past two years with the community members and the most recent survey uh was about 21 questions relating to the design principles. We received nearly uh 1,800 responses from community members and the feedback helped confirm or redirect our team uh alignment with uh creating the building for the community. So, we remain in alignment uh with the feedback from those that participated in the survey. Uh with that, I'm going to turn it over to Dan. He's going to share a little bit about the design schematic design
018approach. >> Thank you, Doug. Um again, I'm Dan De Mo with Schrader Group project manager. Uh the first thing I I want to go through is um how we kind of determined the the buildable uh area for the uh the new building. And um it's might might be a little hard to see on the screen here, but to kind of orient everyone, um up in the top right corner of that aerial image, you see Susuana Road. Um and then running down kind of diagonally from that would be uh Highland uh Avenue. There is a small kind of black T uh shape. That would be the district admin building. And further uh down from that would be the high school area. And kind of in gray on the north side, you can see the existing middle
019school building. So just looking at this from a high level, you can see we have a really uh tight site. Um there's already a lot of uh built uh obstacles that we need to kind of dance around. Along with that, um along the whole kind of lightly shaded green area, there's a dashed line. Um and that signifies our property line. Uh inside of that, there's another dash line. And Ryan, I don't know if you can use your mouse to kind of outline that, but this would be the setbacks that we have to stay within. So, behind all of the neighbors uh along Arbuda and Susuana and Highlands, we have a 300 foot setback from the property. And then other um setbacks would be about 75 ft from um within the the lot lines. So, taking
020all this into account, we end up with that red shaded area kind of directly center of the site where we have enough room to build the the new middle school building. And that's what we deemed as our buildable zone. So, right, if you go to the next slide, this kind of shows turning that uh aerial and now to a site plan a little bit. So, Highland A is running uh up and down u or sorry uh along the bottom and Suscoan is running up and down on the right side. The uh red kind of blob shape right there in the middle. That would be the existing middle school. Um so again, our buildable zone would be to the left of that where you see the uh yellow shape there that represents the new middle school
021building. A couple things um that we really wanted to take into consideration is uh being nice neighbors um and keeping uh all of the property along the backyards of the uh properties, adjacent properties that are currently uh playfields uh keeping them playfields um and different ball fields for the different sports. Um some of them are going to be relocated. So you can see there's some baseball fields, soccer fields, relocating the tennis courts. Um for those that are trying to picture where this building might go um on the site, it would be over top of the existing tennis courts and that track on top of the hill. So trying to keep the periphery um with uh all the playing fields um and utilizing the access points that are already existing uh coming off of Highland um
022and Saskuana. So again, the yellow shape would be the new building. Um, in front of the building as we're coming up from Suscoana going from right to left kind of down the middle would be the boulevard that takes you right up to the front door. We have parking uh flanking that that road. Um, and then the adj adjoining roads around the building provide uh loops for uh the traffic flow. Um before you go to the next slide, Ryan, a few other things to point out um would be the uh underground and above ground um storm water facilities. So again, from a a high level, just trying to identify areas where we can make sure that all the storm water um stays on our site uh and we allow that to infiltrate back into the ground.
023and um also trying to create uh pockets within the building design to allow for outdoor learning areas. Um and we'll see that uh in a few slides from now. But sticking with traffic flow, Ryan, if you want to go to the next slide. One of the important concepts um that we've been trying to uh tackle was separating parent and bus drop off. Uh and again uh Doug had mentioned earlier that there's going to be a traffic study that's uh currently taking place which is going to help us uh help inform the the plan. So uh from a high level what we're looking at is the blue line would be the parent drop off. The important thing with setting the building deep into the site is now it allows for a nice long um stack length
024of cars for parent drop off, trying to alleviate some of the congestion uh on Highland and Susuana um by bringing these uh cars into the site um and not backing up onto the roads. Um, and then again providing a separate loop for the bus, which would be that red line that brings them around the back of the building. Um, and along the the north side there. Um so as we get into the site go from the site analysis into the building design um we've really started with the programmatic elements is almost like Lego blocks uh representing the different uh areas of the building that we uh work through with the admin staff. Uh a few of the main concepts uh again were creating outdoor courtyard spaces um making sure athletics was close to the playing
025fields but really for the students creating small uh learning houses and learning communities with so many students. Uh kids can easily get lost in such a large building. So we're trying to do is create clusters for the teams for the students so they can easily um have like their place in the building. So what you see on the screen here um in those kind of dark teal, dark blue uh yep, those blocks you kind of see there's four kind of clusters. Um those would be the the learning houses. Um, we're thinking a three-story building that you'd have six, seventh, and eighth grade on each floor and uh four teams. So, four kind of learning communities breaking down that building into a smaller uh smaller scale for the students. All of those uh classroom clusters would
026be organized around the cafeteria. So, in that green lower Yep, right there. Thank you, Ryan. that represents uh the cafeteria that is centralized, has a centralized kitchen, is a lot more efficient than what um is in use today and would be able to serve uh a whole grade level, so four teams at a time. Also trying to centralize the uh STEM and specials within the academic classroom wing. Uh what you also see is orange blocks. Those orange blocks would uh represent the athletics. again trying to keep them as close to the athletic fields as possible. And also you see the uh purple blocks there that uh represent the performing arts and music ways. And all of those uh uh different programmatic pieces are organized through a main street. So what we're trying to do is
027make sure we think of how students can enter and walk through the building, especially what uh during arrival and departure. uh you're going to have 2,000 students uh come into this building. So, we're trying to make sure we provide uh multiple entrances and exits um and areas that can accommodate these students to be able to filter through the building. So, it's a lot of this uh is setting up where all of these programmatic elements are sitting in relation to each other. >> Yeah, if you could also point out the uh the library space. >> Sure. Yeah, I I think I kind of skipped that along with the the STEM and the specials. Um, also having a library uh centralized uh between all of those classroom clusters. Thank you, Doug. >> Thank you. >> Okay, so
028um earlier we showed you some of the due diligence work that we're performing uh as we go through the schematic design phase. And again, another example of the homework that we're performing uh as we move into land development. This is a code review sheet and it's used to identify some of the uh zoning issues that we may encounter. We do have a few that we have to resolve uh with the township. We also had a preliminary uh sketch review of the project with the township in advance of our formal submission. But again, just an example of how we're preparing to move into this 9 to 10th month 9 to 10 month process for uh the approvals. you can change it. Thank you. So, uh the project milestone schedule, of course, we have a very detailed
029line item uh schedule that we use and update uh regularly, but this is a Gant chart just to show show you uh where we are with the project um as of today. And you can see we've been talking about the schematic design uh which is about 30% of the design phase. And um Dan shared with you those building blocks. And in that phase is when we just confirm that all those building blocks of the programs fit within that red area of the site that Dan mentioned, that that square footage is in alignment with the square footage um that we allocated for a a budget and um and that we're on track with the budget. So this is a was an opportunity for us to do that and of course we do remain on budget with
030this project. We then move to the design development phase and again we had the enduser meetings the first round. Now we take that information and we we plug it into each one of those cubes or boxes to make sure that uh those programs fit within those cubes. And at this phase when we near the end of the design devel design development phase around April again we'll confirm square footage we'll confirm uh the budget and uh continue to move forward with the process. Then we have a construction document phase. So the design phase is is wrapped up. We've had an uh two rounds uh or more of enduser meetings with the owner to confirm that we're meeting uh the program requirements. We move into the documentation phase where we put together the drawings that will ultimately
031go out to bid and that's a process that'll happen around May and go through November, December of 26. We then move into the permitting and approval phase and uh looking to finalize those approvals around December or January of 2027 working closely with the township with the conservation district and all the governing authorities to get the approvals that we need uh to move this project forward. uh the we then go into the bidding uh mobilization which takes us from January into March when we want to uh March of 27 when we'd like to get started on this project and then ultimately the bottom line the construction and project closeout phase uh wrapping that new middle school project up in June of 2029. That allows us to then vacate the existing middle school and perform the demolition
032of that building, which then allows us to complete the site work, the remainder of the parking, those athletic fields that Dan uh showed earlier, and the rest of the site work, um, which will probably continue into the early fall of 2030. And uh lastly, just a little bit of uh what activities are coming through April of 2026. Um the Abington Township Planning Commission sketch review, which uh we plan to meet with them around February of 2026. Submission of the preliminary plan to Abington Township, starting that very formal land development process in March, uh the zoning hearing board application for those variances from the list that I shared with you. again in March, the NPDES package which uh is for the conservation district to get that process started and that is the most lengthy approval process
033of this entire project. That's around a 9 or 10 monthth uh duration for us to do so. So, it's imperative we get that in in March. Uh modifying those plans based on end user feedback as we sit and we had round one and Dan and his team uh put those changes on the drawings. will revisit all of those uh plans with the owner uh with the end users, the uh department heads and respective staff and make sure that we're on track to meet the programming and then develop the mechanical plumbing and electrical systems. Of course, we've already started looking at that, looking at the uh the boiler plant and the major components to make sure they fit within the new site plan and continuing with design development drawings uh into April of 2026. So, we
034have a a lot of uh good work ahead of us and it's been a very collaborative process with the district. We're very excited and pleased with the way this project's going and of course our continued communication uh with community um and that continues with uh surveys um also with uh future meetings as needed uh with community and staying up to date. Visit the 1Ad1Future.org And uh that site will continue to be updated uh with the progress of our project. That's uh what we have for tonight. Phil uh Ryan, anything that I missed? >> No, I I would just put an emphasis on the uh the website that Doug shared. I know uh with like for example that survey that recently we got back that was posted on the website. This presentation will also be there.
035So, that's just your best way as a community member to stay informed. Uh, and any uh communication we have will be posted on that website. >> Thank you, Ryan. >> Any questions uh from the board? >> I had a just a question about the survey response. I'm kind of curious. Um, was that consistent with the response rate in earlier surveys? >> I believe No, I believe so. We we would have around 2,000. Uh, some we have had upwards of 3,000. We actually had more people start the survey than finish. So, there was actually a little bit more. >> Um, we didn't ask that many questions, but sometimes it tails off a little bit when you ask 20 20 questions like we did. Okay. >> But it is consistent and that's a that's a pretty good
036for us who do surveys quite a bit. That's that's a pretty good response rate for a voluntary survey. >> Okay. Great. I'm glad to see the community staying engaged. >> Yeah, I believe that this time it would uh this survey particular survey had more results um you know and feedback than our previous surveys. Um Miss Artur, I know that you know the numbers on that. Can you can you speak to whether my statement is accurate? Uh, sure. Um, I believe it is um slightly higher than all of our previous surveys. I I don't have the numbers um in front of me right now. Um, but I do believe it's it's still close to um I think it was our last survey that we conducted um just prior to settling on the um one middle school
037plan, but I think just slightly higher. >> Thank you. >> Thanks. And I appreciate that immediate timeline. Uh looking ahead a little bit, what's the groundbreaking uh date or you know month, year? >> Uh that would be that would be around uh March of 2027. You have to wear a parka. But uh that is that is the plan. But you'll see some fences start to go up before um just as you if you look here, you'll notice this a little before March. So you might see some fencing, protective fencing in anticipation for that ground fence coming up before, but March would be the the groundbreaking >> March. Okay, great. Thank you. >> And it looks like we'll move to bidding late this year. Yes. So we'll start with advertisement which is why you see it
038earlier and then would take place towards the end of the year. >> Okay. >> Yeah. Dr. Mory, we'll work closely with the approval process. We need to make sure that uh we don't receive bids before we have all those approvals in place. So, as we kind of parallel that process, the tail end of approvals with bidding, we'll make sure that we extend that bidding far enough that should we have any comments, we can incorporate those in an agenda and get those included in competitive bidding so we're not um dealing with approval issues after the fact. >> Great. That seems important. >> Very Yes. So, a question that I'm asked often when uh in the Abington community is at this point, are we still on time for our original plan? And uh my answer to that
039is yes. Can you confirm that? >> Yes, sir. >> All right. Thank you. A lot of people are excited. So, I just want to make sure that we stay on time as best as possible. Okay. Any other questions for the ICS group? >> Thank you, gentlemen. >> Thank you for having us. Appreciate it. >> We appreciate the opportunity. >> Okay. Um Dr. Mauy, may I move on to the second orientation for this evening? >> If you would, please. >> All right. Um I'd like to ask Dr. Alice Swift, principal of Abington Senior High School, and Miss Laura Nama, director of secondary teaching and learning to share the proposed grades 9 through 12 additions and modifications to the Abington School District academic program. Uh, Abington Middle School is proposing no changes to the six through 8
040academic program at this time. >> Hey, good evening. Dr. Mallerie, Dr. Fetcher, and the board of school directors. Tonight, along with Dr. Swift. I will be providing a proposed um update to the academic program. Uh we'll cover three things this evening. We'll start with some background information and then provide an update on our portrait of a graduate work districtwide and then um Dr. Swift will share the senior high school recommendations. So each year Abington School District updates our academic program and proposes additions, modifications, andor deletions of courses. Um over recent years we've made some relatively large shifts. Um particularly with the reconfiguration that occurred. Um so you all probably remember four years ago we created the college and career pathways. We have 10 pathways at the senior high school. Um they range from a humanities
041pathway to a business pathway. And our students learn all about college and career options throughout 9th and tth grade. And then actually right around this time in 10th grade, they will make a selection. They do have the ability to change pathways, but we do ask every student to choose a pathway. For students who are still quite undecided, we do have a general studies pathway, which kind of allows them to explore all kinds of options. And um students will work with their counselors to select that pathway actually in our Skyward um system. And again, they can change that at any time, but it helps them um make elective choices um as they go into their junior and senior year. Um we've also expanded our dual enrollment partners. Uh we currently have eight partners that we work
042with to provide opportunities for students to earn both high school and college credit. Um we have 178 students who are currently um taking advantage of those opportunities. And then we do have students who also engage with some of these partners on their own to take uh classes um and not actually and not also get the dual enrollment credit through Abington. Um but we've really seen those programs expand in the last few years. We're currently um working with Penn State to see if we can expand some of the offerings that we're providing to students on the campus at Abington and um we're looking to see if we can form some partnerships with some of the historically black college and universities um like Lincoln University or Cheney College. Um and then we most recently last year um
043introduced foundational reading courses. We have almost 500 students participating in those courses in grades 6 through 10. Um, and those courses focus on making sure students um have foundational skills that they need in order to tackle um the rigor of our middle school and high school programs. This year for 2026 27, we're going to be adding our portrait of a graduate to our middle school and high school program of studies. So, I'll go over that in a moment. And then, as I mentioned, Dr. Swift is going to propose some changes to the high school program. So for the portrait of a graduate in 202425, so last school year, there was a superintendence committee for the portrait of a graduate and that committee met several times with um community stakeholders and identified five attributes that define
044an Abington graduate. Um as you can see on the screen, we have a problem solver. We want our graduates to be skilled communicator and collaborators, resilient learner and achiever, creative and innovative thinker, and informed and engaged citizen. And the graphic you see on the screen was helped um it was made in collaboration with some of our district personnel, but also um an Abington student who was at the Eastern Center for Arts and Technology who helped create that center graphic there. Um, and so it's wonderful that this not only represents what the committee believes our graduates should possess, but also that the graphics itself was created by one of our students. Um, you can go to the next slide. Um, so as I mentioned, this is going to be included in the program of studies and
045the the page you see is essentially what the page would look like in that program of studies. So in addition to the graphic, we've expanded on each descriptor um so that as people look at it, they can get a better idea of what we mean by each of those attributes. And those descriptors um have emerged from continuing work that the committee is doing. So this year, the middle school and the high school have been working um we've been working with the staff to define what it looks like to work towards those um attributes at graduation. So while we want everyone to have something by the end of their senior year, what that looks like at the end of your 10th grade year or your seventh grade year or your sixth grade year might vary. And
046so we've been working on those progressions throughout the secondary program um with the idea that then next school year, our elementary um group will take over and they will continue that continuation all the way down to grade K. So, we have a nice seamless transition from K all the way to 12 of what we're how we're working with students and what our expectations are by grade level to see our students advance towards those attributes so that they're ready for graduation to represent Abington. And so, that's an exciting piece of our program of study that's going to be new this year and we're really looking forward to continuing to update the public and the board on that work. And at this point, I'm going to um pass things over to Dr. Swift to share the updates
047that we're proposing for the Abington Senior High School. >> Good evening. Uh Dr. Marie, Dr. Frederan, board of directors. Uh Abington Senior High School would like to propose the uh following uh recommendations starting with the newest course, leadership in business, five credit course that will focus on management skills, projects, real world experiences and challenges. um modifications to the business classes. Foundation of innovation uh will be uh named college and career exploration. The credit values will remain the same. The introduction to information technology will be renamed to introduction to networking and cyber security. The credit values will remain the same and money and investing will be a five credit course but change to principle principles of investing uh five credit uh values will remain the same. these electives. I want to uh also add that these
048uh changes uh speak to student voice. Um the students that are in the business pathway um that the district's looking to rebrand to align our language and our course um names with the uh industry and of course higher ed and also um a lot of the uh shifts will focus on investment in addition to money management and um scholars will also develop college and career interests hopefully through these new uh courses and changes. uh to the um actual uh names of those classes in the curriculum. Uh we're moving to mathematics. Um we are introducing algebra and statistics, a 10 uh credit course. Um this course does count towards high school credit. Um it is a class that comprises of the foundation of algebra skills, practical applications, statistical reasoning, uh linear equations and inequalities, functioning, data
049analysis, probability, and basic statistical modeling. Um it is a course designed to support uh students that are not there yet. Um but we definitely want um to provide an additional class to support um the students who may be struggling in areas that they need extra help with. We can advance the slide. Thank you. Uh music uh we're looking for modifications here. This is just a renaming of classes and some of the credit values do change. uh music theory and composition will change to music theory workshop uh with a decrease of uh 10 to five credits. Uh honors in music theory and composition too. Uh the credit values will remain the same but it will be an honors uh music theory and composition course. Uh the next elective music technology one uh will go from 10
050to five credits. Music tech workshop is the term um that or the course name that will be used. uh music tech 2 10 credits to 10 credits will be music industry and music technology 3 for 10 credits will remain the same 10 credits but will also change to honors music industry against the slide >> we can answer any questions that you may have at this time >> good evening um uh two things. Uh, one, I absolutely love the student contribution of the graphic um for the portrait of a of a graduate. Uh, Miss Anama, I saw your face light up when you spoke about that. So, that definitely brings joy to my heart. Whenever we can have students um take part in it and take ownership, it helps with their sense of efficacy, which is
051very important. So, thank you for that. I do have a question about the additional math. um my uh now that all students are taking algebra 1 in their eighth grade year that this um provides an opportunity for students to get a firmer foundation before moving to algebra 2. Um can you just speak to the success rate with that change of algebra 1 for all in 8th grade? Um I just want to make sure that it was the right move because to my understanding it was the right move and this is just providing additional support um who need it. >> Sure. So the the transition to move from so just for historical context for those of you who aren't aware at in Abington prior to a switch to having all students take algebra in eighth grade
052we had um probably about half of our students taking algebra in eighth grade and the other half taking algebra in 9th grade. So, um, one of our goals, um, with the reconfiguration was to really think about how to open as many doors as possible for students as they move into the high school so they would have access to higher level classes. And so, we looked at how we were programming in six, seven, and eight. And we developed um basically a a a plan for students to get the skills that were necessary for algebra in sixth and seven by actually accelerating all of our students and then creating that eighth grade algebra year. And the first year we implemented that, we actually saw our Keystone algebra scores go up by 20% as a district. Um and
053we've continued to see them go up, although I will say it's plateauing. Um and so we see our success rate in in and that's just one metric, the Keystone exam, but it's it's one that we're often measured by. Um across, you know, the state. Um we we definitely saw that increase and we are higher or equal to where we were pre- pandemic. Um it is hard when you look back over like the last 10 years because we did have a dip as a district um during uh you know 2020 2021 and so forth. So it's a little uneven to look at but we are at least consistent with if not higher to where we were prior to the pandemic. Um and um again when we made that change 3 years ago, we saw an immediate
05420% increase in the district scores by moving algebra to 8th grade. But the reason we're suggesting this course is because even though we are seeing that we have had great success, there are still some students that we don't feel have the skills necessary to move into algebra 2 in 9th grade. And so by layering in this year of additional algebra skills will hopefully put them in a better place to move into algebra 2. Um and because of the way that our district does this, the algebra in 8th grade um does not show up on high school transcripts. So it doesn't negatively impact students in any way. It counts as an a math class and so it still puts students on a great path towards graduation, towards college and career, whatever their goals are. um so
055that they're able to transition, you know, through the high school and beyond um successfully. >> Fantastic. Thank you so much. >> I have a comment. >> Can you hear me? >> Yes. Um the graphic also resonated with me. The portrait of a graduate. I'm hoping we could uh one day have a conversation around the possibility of having each graduate um receive a t-shirt with that in the center. Okay. Thank you. >> Can you speak to the accessibility of the um dual enrollment courses students? >> Sure. Um so we offer a variety of dual enrollment. Uh most of our dual enrollment partners will allow students um many times they do have to be a junior or senior or 16 years of age. That's that's quite common. It's not for all of our partners, but most of
056them they do have to be older students. Um they'll allow students to take any of their kind of introlevel courses and we will allow that for dual credit as long as it's not a course that Abington's already offering. So like students do have to take, you know, senior year English with us. they cannot take it at a university for dual credit. Um we also offer quite a few of the courses on our campus and so um we offer a calculus class that's very popular. We offer a Holocaust class that's very popular for dual credit. Um an accounting class that's very popular and um depending on the class it has different prerequisites. So, for instance, to take calculus, you do have to have the prerequisite math skills, but there are no prerequisites for the Holocaust dual
057enrollment course or for the accounting dual enrollment course. And so, all you know, all students basically have access to those. Um, so for the most part, they're really open to anyone. again, unless it's one of like the higher level math classes that had, you know, you have to have that prerequisite math skills, but math is one of the only things in Abington that I would say does have prerequisites for the most part. We do have, you know, complete open enrollment for our students so that all of our courses are accessible. Did that answer your question fully? Yeah, I was also referring to the costs of oh >> the courses as well for um students where that might be a challenge. >> Sure. So we do negotiate um with each partner to try to bring down
058the cost of tuition. Um so some of our partners actually will provide um students with free tuition if they qualify for free and reduced meals. Um and so that case it's fully accessible. Um other partners um will just simply provide tuition reduction. So in some cases it's 50% of the the fee for what they would call a non-mmetriculating student. So they have different price structures, but that's just like a partner time student who's just taking some credits on campus. Um in most cases they're paying maybe what one credit would cost for a three to four credit class. So, a third or a fourth of the price, sometimes half the price. Um, in some cases, we have a flat fee where it's, you know, um, $100 for the class or something like that. Um, each one
059is different and any student who's interested in participating in dual enrollment can speak with their counselor and their counselor can outline exactly, you know, what the cost is for those classes and what the process is for enrolling because the students do have to apply to the university or college, you know, and go through a little bit of an application process. But we provide support through all of that for them to help them through that. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> Okay. >> Just one comment. >> Just one just one comment. Dr. Thank I just wanted to recognize uh staff and um the district on their recent um recognition for their AP programs and receiving the honor role. I think that's a great testament to the way that the programs are working to reach
060diverse populations within our district. I appreciate that and a lot of the commentary tonight. So congratulations on that um recognition and um you know it's provides great outcomes for our students. >> Thank you. >> Okay, Dr. Fetcher, does that conclude our orientations for this evening? >> Yes, it does, Dr. Mary. >> Okay. Uh with that, we will move on to our first uh section of comments from citizens. Comments from citizens are being conducted by phone. The phone number to participate in public comments is and is being displayed on the screen at this time. You'll be able to join the meeting by calling in on your mobile or landline phone. A citizen will be recognized once during this period of the meeting and each citizen's comments will be limited to a total of three minutes accept
061at 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 aotment. Mr. Cargus, you'll let me know if we have any uh callers. >> Yes, I will. >> Okay. We have a caller. >> Okay. >> The first caller for public comment is phone number ending in 4437. Please state your full name and address. Hi, this is Connie Briggs. Um, 2953 Suscoana Road, Abington. >> Go ahead. We can hear you. >> Okay. Thanks. >> Sure. >> Um, as a resident for over 30 years, I um have a comment about the debt and debt service. Um, I would like to request I've been reviewing your annual financial reports from recent years. I'd like to ask for greater clarity around district debt
062because the the kind of convoluted trying to understand it as a resident might have trouble. So for residents who may not be familiar with the term debt service refers to the required annual payments of principal and interest on construction bonds. Essentially the district's mortgage payments on past building projects. These are fixed obligations that come off the top of the budget each year before other priorities are funded. With new bonds now beginning to roll out this year, I'm aware that information about capital projects is available on the one use one future site. However, I haven't seen a single consolidated plain language report that pulls together the total district debt annual debt service payments and how those obligations affect future budgets and tax decisions ac across the district as a whole. Given the size and long-term nature
063of these obligations, I'd like to ask whether the board would consider providing a clear residentfriendly debt and debt service report that summarizes outstanding bonded debt, annual payments, recent debt issued, and the impact on future financial flexibility. I think this will help residents better understand the district's long-term financial picture. Thank you. >> Thank you for your voice. Mr. Cargus, do we have anyone else on the line? >> Yes, we have another caller. >> Okay, >> the next caller for public comment is phone number ending in 5584. Please state your full name and address. >> Hey, good evening, Joe Rooney and Arsley. >> And I can hear you, I'm assuming. Oops. >> We can hear you. Go ahead. >> Great. Uh just FYI, I I dialed when you displayed that. That's interesting how long it took to
064get through. Um first, uh sorry I missed the last couple meetings, a lot of traveling and uh wish you all a happy new year and good luck to the newest school board member. Um I think the meeting should have been held in person. I think one of the members at the meeting is actually in the school district right now. I'm sure y'all have been driving around all day long and our schools and a budget is too important and uh in place inerson meetings is always better. I have some uh questions about the uh middle school project. I see there's still three and a half years in the current middle school and we looked through or we all participated in the uh the uh information leading up to the election and there was a lot of
065talk about how the inadequacies of the middle school was affecting the education of our kids. So, what are we doing as a school district to address those inadequacies for basically the next three to four years of students in the middle school and specifically stuff like uh what are we doing about the bathrooms? They are horrible. The roof needs to be replaced right now. Had multiple problems with the HVAC. The gyms had no AC and they were talking about that. And also, there was accessibility issues for handicapped kids, uh the elevator. So, that hasn't been addressed at all, but that stuff's got to be taken care of, unless we're just going to ignore it and uh suffer the poor kids that are going through that school right now. Um, thank you very much. >> Thank you
066for your voice, >> Mr. Cargus. >> We have no more callers on the line. >> Okay. Do we need to wait at all? >> I do not believe so. >> Okay. All right. Uh Dr. Fetcher was >> uh first uh for the first caller uh in regard to debt service and questions about that, I would just ask that uh that caller contact Miss Danakola, our CFO, um who can provide information um for for the resident as well as point to where we have um some of our uh reports like our annual uh final report, a financial report is well published um and accessible. So uh I would just ask that um that individual uh reach out to Miss Dennakola and to provide that information. Um and also so we can have a a clear understanding
067of exactly what it is uh that you're requesting. >> Okay. Um, and second to that, um, as far as our ongoing maintenance, um, and, uh, compliance with the current middle school building, uh, we are ensuring that our program, uh, can meet the needs of our students and make sure that we do have provisions in place for some of the accessibility uh, concerns that we have. Although it is not ideal and um, you know, although learning environment will also benefit uh from our restructure and new middle school building. We will maintain uh our building as we have said we know that in a building project that takes four years. We have students who need to be educated within those four years in that building. And so we will continue to make every effort to make that
068the best it possibly can be within that structure. Okay. All right. Uh so since we have no additional agenda items, we will move on to item six. Mr. Allen, can you please read the recommendation to approve person the personnel agenda? >> Yes, madame president. is the recommended action of the board of school directors approves the changes in personnel as reflected in personnel agenda number 6.1 and 6.1A and the confidential addendum number 6.1B >> second Dr. Fry we have a second >> thank you Dr. Mauy. Uh, the personnel addendum begins with the appointment of two professional employees, changes of status for four professional staff members and compensation for curriculum projects, parent meetings, professional development, interpreter, and translation services. Uh, I'd like to bring your attention to the retirement of Miss Beth Newman, an elementary teacher at
069Ryal Elementary School who has served the district for 39 years. and we and um those 39 years we thank Miss Newman for all that she has contributed uh to the students and the many lives that that she has touched. Thank you. >> Very good. 39 I think last meeting we had a retirement at 34 years if I remember correctly. So 39 is is equally impressive for sure and we thank her for her service and her dedication to our students. >> Dr. Mauy, just to add to that as well, um Mrs. Newman was our first experience at Ryel. She was my daughter's second grade teacher and I got the privilege of being her home room parent. So it was wonderful to get to work with her so closely and her her dedication to the students is
070is is fantastic. We she will she will be greatly missed and I wish you the best of luck in your next endeavor. Excellent. Um Dr. Fetcher, I had a question about um a new school psychologist. I forget which page it's on. Excuse me. um who I gather is the replacement for let's see if we can yeah uh Alexandra Mran Mastangelo um is a replacement for a school psychologist who left Roslin. Is that correct? >> That is correct. And >> okay >> um it does say itinerant there but that person is solely assigned uh to Roslin. >> Okay. replacement in the same capacity as the previous person. >> Great. That was my question. And then um I know last meeting we were we had or I had a question about a special ed teacher replacement at
071Highland. Is that has that hire been completed? We are still in the process of searching for Highland, but we do have a very capable long-term substitute in place who is doing a nice job while the search continues. >> Okay. I I thought the replacement was coming from um an app an already identified applicant pool. So, does that mean that you're just working through the applicant pool? We are working with a particular candidate who is finishing up some requirements towards certification. >> Okay. All right. Great. Thanks for that clarification. Other questions from the board? >> No. Okay. Mrs. Flanigan, this is a roll call vote. Please. >> Mr. Allen. I. >> Mrs. Brown. Did we lose her? >> Mrs. Brown, >> there she is. We're We're voting. Oh, you said I Okay. All right. Thank you,
072>> Miss Eisenhart. I, >> Mr. Muhammad. I >> Miss Balding. >> I >> Miss Hartman. >> I >> Miss Frasier. >> I >> Miss Fletcher. >> I. >> And Dr. Murray. >> I. The eyes have it and the motion passes. Mr. Allen, can you please read the recommendation for approval of the financial report? Yes, Madame President, it is a recommended action that the board of school directors approves the financial reports for the period ended November 30th, 2025 as reflected in addendum number 7.1. >> Second, Dr. Fedrick. >> Thank you, Dr. Maui. The I'm going to ask that Miss Dakola please summarize the November 2025 financial report. >> Good evening, everyone. As of November 30th, 2025, the district has received fiscal year-to-ate revenues totaling $144,194,433. That's compared to 141,911,637 during that same period last year. This
073represents an increase of approximately $2.2 million. And this is in large part due to our local revenue collections. As of November 31st, November 30th, 2025, district expenditures totaled $69,355,483 compared to 67,585,385 for the same period last year. This represents an increase of approximately 1.77 million or 2.62% primarily due to contractually obligated expenditures. That concludes my report. questions or comment from comments from the board. >> Okay. Mrs. Flanigan, this is also a roll call vote. >> Mr. Allen, >> I. >> Mrs. Brown, >> I. >> Miss Eisenhart, >> I. >> Mr. Mohammed >> I >> Miss Balding >> I >> Miss Hartman >> I >> Miss Frasier >> I >> Miss Fletcher >> I >> Dr. Mauy >> I the eyes have it and the motion passes. Mr. Allen, can you please read the recommendation to
074approve the payment of bills? Yes, Madame President, it is the recommended action that the board of school directors approves the payment of bills for the period ending December 31st, 2025 as reflected in addendum number 8.1. >> Second, >> Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Mauy. Uh, I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have regarding the payment of bills. >> Questions or comments from the board? Okay, Mrs. Flanigan, if you would please. >> Mr. Allen, >> I. >> Mrs. Brown, >> I >> Miss Eisenhart. >> I >> Mr. Muhammad. >> I >> Miss Balding. >> I >> Miss Hartman. I >> Miss Frasier I >> Miss Fletcher >> I >> Dr. Maui >> I the eyes have it and the motion passes. Mr. Allen, can you please read the recommendation for permissive use
075of buildings and grounds? >> Yes, Madame President. Is it recommended action that the board of school directors approves the applications for permits uh for use of buildings and grounds as reflected in addendum number 9.1? >> Second. Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Murray. The permanent addendum continues to reflect what the board requests for buildings and grounds for meetings and other school events and activities for this time of year. >> Okay. Questions or comments from the board? >> Just to continue. Thank you. Can you hear me? I want to make sure >> you're good. >> You um the staff and community members who continue to create these spaces for students. It really does make a difference. I was not able to attend the um royal breakfast that occurred not too long ago at the high school,
076but it's it's things like that um that are really special. So, thank you so much. Very good. This is I would note too that this is uh we are entering play and musical season. So, there going to be a lot of performances going on around the district at both grade schools and then the middle school play and the senior high school uh musical, right? Musicals in the spring, >> correct? >> Um, so lots of good stuff going on. Any other questions or comments? Okay, Mrs. Flanigan, >> Mr. Mr. Allen >> I >> Mrs. Brown >> I >> Miss Eisenhart >> I >> Mr. Muhammad. >> Hi, >> Miss Balding. >> I >> Miss Hartman. >> I >> Miss Frasier. >> I >> Miss Fletcher. >> I >> Dr. Mauy. >> I The eyes have it
077and the motion passes. Mr. Mr. Allen, can you please read the recommendation for advertisement for bids? >> Uh, yes, Madame President. It is the recommended action that the board of school directors approves the advertisements for bids as reflected in addendum number 10.1. >> Miss Fletcher second. >> Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Mauy. Uh, this evening we have one request for permission to advertise and it's for our supply bids and this will be from the 202627 general fund budget. >> Okay. Questions or comments from the board? >> I have a question. Dr. Peter, is this something we do every year? Put out for bids for these materials? >> Yes. >> We don't have vendors that we use yeartoear. We put out bids for the materials um annually. >> So, usually around this time, >> sometimes
078earlier, sometimes later, but around this time. I'm trying to remember when it was last year. So, >> okay. >> Dr. Fetcher, does that process um help to secure the best price for the district on these supplies? >> Yes, it does. Um, we also have uh requirements in in terms of when things have to go out for bid as well. Uh, so Miss Dakola, could you uh speak to that in terms of our bids and when it is necessary for us to go out for a bid? >> Yes. >> Anytime we're purchasing supplies, whether it be classroom supplies, art supplies, first aid, general supplies, um we need to go out to bid under school code or purchase off a state um approved contract. Um, generally speaking, when you go out to bid, you get the most
079competitive pricing, which is why we do that annually. Um, we also participate for other items through um, some consortium bids through the intermediate unit. Um, but you will see routinely um, bids come about for the purchase of those materials um, such as first aid, art, music, athletics, all of those things were required to go out to bid for. >> Great. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay. Mrs. Flan again if you would please. >> Mr. Allen. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Brown. >> I >> Miss Eisenhart. >> I >> Mr. Muhammad. >> I >> Miss Balding. >> I >> Miss Hartman. I >> Miss Frasier >> I >> Miss Fletcher >> I >> Dr. Maui >> I the eyes have it and the motion passes. >> Uh Mr. Allen, can you please read the recommendation for awards of
080contracts? >> Yes, Madame President is the recommended action that the board of school directors approves the awards of contracts as reflected in addendum number 11.1. >> Second Dr. Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Mauy. Uh, tonight for your consideration, we have one award of contract and that's for asbestous remediation and boiler removal at McKinley Elementary School. Um, you may recall that at the May uh 13, 2025 meeting of the board of school directors, you approved an award for HVAC upgrades uh for McKinley Elementary School, which was made through funding from a public school facility improvement grant as well as the series for general obligations bonds. Uh, in order for this work to be completed in the removal, it requires this remediation uh so that we can continue uh to replace those points. >> Okay. Questions
081or comments from the board? >> Dr. Fcher, I believe this was discussed last board meeting, but the time frame um specifically for the asbestous removal and abatement was uh summer of 2026. Is that correct? >> Yes, the work would be completed this summer. >> Okay. Thank you. And is this um comparable to the to the bid process where oh I guess we're going to use for the middle school where we're required to accept the lowest um bid. >> Makola, can you Yes, that is required. we must accept the lowest bid unless there's >> lowest responsible bid unless there's clear clear indication that the vendor would not be able to complete the work but that those instances um you would have to you know go through your solicitor and they're few and far between >> in
082actually occurring that you could preclude somebody >> great thanks so much okay anyone else right Mrs. Flanigan Mr. Allen >> I Mrs. Brown >> I >> Eisenhart >> Mr. Muhammad >> I >> Miss Balding >> I >> Miss Hartman >> I >> Miss Frasier >> I >> Miss Fletcher >> I >> Dr. Bowie >> I uh Mrs. Flanigan, do we need to go back to Miss Eisenhart? >> I think it was delayed. I did see her say it and >> Oh, okay. All right. Just I just wanted to be sure. Okay. Thank you. So, the eyes have it and the motion passes. Mr. Allen, can you please read the recommendation for proposed academic changes for 2026 2027? >> Yes, Madame President. Uh, it is the recommended action that the board of school directors approves the
083academic program changes proposed for grades 6 through 12 as reflected in addendum number 12.1 and authorizes the publishing of the Abington Middle School program of studies 2026 2027 for grades 6 through 8 and the Abington Senior High School Program of Studies 2026 2027 for grades 9 through 12 as the official statements of the program of studies for grades 6 through 12. The board approves the courses listed with the understanding that scheduling of courses is subject to sufficient enrollment and adequate budgetary provisions. >> Second, >> Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Mauy. Tonight during the orientation portion of the evening, um we had a program academic program changes presented to you. We can answer any additional questions that you may have from that orientation. Okay. Questions or comments from the board? All right. Mrs. Flanigan, one
084more time. >> Mr. Allen, >> I. >> Mrs. Brown, >> I. >> Miss Eisenhart. >> I, >> Mr. Muhammad. I >> Miss Spalding. >> I >> Miss Hartman. >> I >> Miss Frasier. >> I >> Miss Fletcher. >> I. >> Dr. Mauy. >> I The eyes have it and the motion passes. Mr. Mr. Alen, can you please read the recommendation for the 2026 2027 operating budget for Eastern Center for Arts and Technology? >> Yes. Uh, Madame President, it is the recommended action of the board of school directors approves the 2026 2027 operating budget for the Eastern Center for Arts and Technology in the amount of 13,344,054 and a capital assessment of a million dollars as reflected in addendum number 13.1. >> Second, Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Malerie. Uh this this um item this
085evening is for the uh our approval of the Eastern budget for Eastern Center for Arts and Technology. Uh we are one of eight sending school districts. All school districts uh boards must uh approve the budget for Eastern. There are um for the articles of jointure there are uh a joint operating committee where each each school board is represented by one individual. Um and what I'd like to do is ask Miss Dennapola um to ple to please go through this. But um first I'd like to also thank Miss Eisenhart for being the board representative on um the Eastern Joint Operating Committee. Uh so Miss Dakola, could you please review this item? >> Sure. >> The Eastern Center for Arts and Technologies 8 ascending school superintendents are recommending approval of a 14.34 million budget for the 202627
086school year. This budget consists of an operating budget of 13.34 million and a capital budget of 1 million. 10.4 4 million of the 13.34 million operating budget is for secondary programs that are supported in part by eight 8.39 million of tuition payments from the eight member school districts. The tuition reflects an increase of 355,498 which is a 4.42% increase. Abington's contribution to the operating budget is increasing next year by $125,427 or 6.3%. And this is a function of our increased average number of students that we have enrolled over the prior two and current school years. Abington's contribution to operating expenses increases to 2,100,667, up from $1,975,240 in the prior year. Abington's three-year prior average enrollment is 166 students enrolled and rep that represents 25.01% 01% of Eastern's enrollment. This is an increase from 24.56% of
087the secondary program enrollment one year ago when our three-year average enrollment was 157 students. Abington contributes the highest portion of the budget as we enroll the greatest number of students at Eastern. Eastern's budget also includes a contribution from the sending school districts for capital improvements to the facilities. The 202627 school year is year seven of a 10-year 122.5 million building renovation project. A pay as you go concept was adopted by the joint operating committee in lie of debt refinancing and each school district's contribution is determined by its relative market value as determined by the state tax equalization board. Abington has the largest state tax equalization board market value. Therefore, we pay the largest portion of the annual capital expenditure, which is 241,666 or 24.2%. Last year, Abington's contribution was 244,817 or 23.9%. Abington's combined tuition
088and capital projects 202627 contribution of 2,342,333 is an increase of 122,272 276 over last year's contribution. This amount will be included in the 202627 general fund budget. That concludes my report. >> Thank you, Missola. We can answer any questions that you may have. Dr. Fletcher, I just wanted to um comment first of all, it's an absolute pleasure to represent Abington um on the joint operating committee um over at Eastern. Um I'm proud of the work that they do there and to witness it is a is nothing more than a pleasure. the students who attend Eastern um receive quality career and technical um education, mentoringship opportunities. Um it sparks curiosity and creativity. I believe it is a great investment for Abington community and uh I look forward to voting yes for our students to continue to
089provide this um you know for the kids here at Abington and our community as a whole. Thank you for representing the board uh over at Eastern. Um Dr. Fetcher, so Abington said Abington students comprise roughly a quarter of the total students educated or attending Eastern. Yes, >> that's correct. And we are I assume by population the biggest sending district. Is that also correct? >> That is correct. >> Okay. By significant number. >> Um I'm trying to think of trying to think of the numbers of my of the other districts. Um upper >> well we're the third largest in Montgomery County. So, >> but these are out of the eight probably Cheltonham and Upper Dublin. >> Okay. >> Behind us. >> Okay. Um and our contribution to the budget is roughly the same percentage as the
090number of students we we send. Right. >> Correct. Um the the seats that are from each school district, there are a set number of seats. As you may, you know, may know that um not every student who would like to go to Eastern can go to Eastern because quite frankly, and this is a problem across um the Commonwealth, our career and technical education schools uh don't have enough spaces or seats. And so, uh, this has been an ongoing just, you know, uh, kind of debate throughout the Commonwealth of how, um, career and technical schools can increase and to accept more volume of students. With that being said, Eastern provides based on our u relative size uh, of enrollment a set number of seats that we can utilize as a district. Um so for each program
091there are so many seats allotted per district and um we have you know maintained whatever is allotted to us and and filled those positions. >> Okay. And there are other points of access to for instance the trades right it's eastern is not the only way to enter um one of the building trades for example. Correct. Yes. Um so Eastern would be essentially it's an extension of our of our high school. So >> um in the in the past before Eastern you know 30 40 years ago uh there we had um some of those courses like the trades uh for example wood shop all that within our high schools. Um, having this group of districts work together and work with Eastern uh has allowed us um to be able to provide state-of-the-art equipment, those types of
092things u because it's contribution from each school district, >> right? I just don't want because there are limited number of C's. I don't want students to despair that if for some reason they don't get a seat at Eastern that they're therefore shut out of other professions that there are other points of access is is my only point. >> Right. And you know some of our students who may not have gone to Eastern um have entered trades and and apprenticeship programs locally as well um without going to Eastern. >> Okay, great. Um, I'm happy to support this. I think they do a great job over there. Um, so with that, Mrs. Flanigan, unless there are other questions or comments from the board. No. Okay. All right. Mrs. Flanigan, if we you would please. >> Mr. Allen.
093>> Hi. >> Mrs. Brown. >> Hi. >> Miss Eisenhart. I >> Mr. Muhammad. I >> Miss Balding. >> Hi, >> Miss Hartman. >> I >> Miss Frasier. >> I >> Miss Fletcher. >> I >> Dr. Mauy. >> I The eyes have it and the motion passes. >> Uh Mr. Allen, can you please read the re recommendation for First Student, Inc.? >> Yes, Madame President. It is the recommended action that the board of school directors authorizes the administration to enter into an agreement with First Student, Inc. for the provision of alternative transportation services as requested by the district through June 30th, 2028. >> Second, >> Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Mallerie. Uh over the ca course of the last two years, the district has explored the potential to enter agreements with uh additional transportation providers
094for provision of alternative transportation services to meet the increasing needs in in our school district specifically related to transportation of our homeless youth who temporarily reside at locations outside of the school district's boundaries. Uh so this is um a service that would help us accomplish that task um while also um that we have our regular transportation uh services intact uh with the district um with our buses etc. >> Okay, questions or comments from the board? All right. Mrs. Flanigan, >> Mr. Allen, >> hi. >> Mrs. Brown, >> I >> Miss Eisenhart, >> I >> Mr. Muhammad, >> I >> Miss Balding, >> I >> Miss Hartman, >> I >> Miss Frasier, >> I >> Miss Fletcher, >> I >> Dr. I the eyes have it and the motion passes. Mr. Allen, can you please read
095the recommendation for the Abington School District emergency operations plan? >> Yes, Madam President is recommended action that the board of school directors approves the revisions to the school emergency plan. >> Second. >> Dr. Fetcher. >> Thank you, Dr. Maui. Uh the policy regarding school emergency operations plan is being presented due to recommended revisions. I'm going to ask Dr. Melor to speak to that item. >> Thank you, Dr. Fetcher. The board most recently approved u recommended revisions to the district emergency operations plan last June. Uh the proposed recommendations before you for this evening's approval are uh updates with regard to contact information for district personnel as well as uh improved clarity regarding procedures for unauthorized access to students on school property in school buildings at school events and on school vehicles. Um with your approval uh
096of the recommended revisions, we will communicate uh the updated plan and procedures to the school administrative teams as well as our safety and security personnel in the district. >> Questions or comments from the board? Mari only that I'm really pleased with the district's taking this serious and uh taking action to keep this updated. This is really uh it's impressive for for our position here. So, thank you. Anyone else? Um Dr. Fetcher, I know that Dr. Melor mentioned um administrator security personnel and transportation staff. Did I was that right? Okay. Will um teachers also be updated? >> Yes, absolutely. >> Okay. Um and that the process of updating people will take place shortly. Yes, in uh most likely in our next faculty meetings that we have with our staff. >> Okay. All right. Great. Anyone else?
097>> Okay. Mrs. Flanigan. >> Mr. Allen. >> I. >> Mrs. Brown. >> I. >> Miss Eisenhart. >> I. >> Mr. Muhammad. I >> Miss Balding >> Miss Hartman. >> I >> Miss Frasier. >> I >> Miss Fletcher. >> I >> Dr. Bowie. >> The eyes have it and the motion passes. Uh Dr. Fetcher, are there any additional reports or recommendations from the administration? >> Yes, Dr. Mauy. I provide conference attendance and professional leaves reports for your information. >> Okay. Questions or comments from the board? No. Um, I just want to thank our faculty and staff for representing our district at various professional conferences. That's an important important thing. >> Agreed, Dr. Maui. And I guess the only other thing I did notice that we have some of our staff taking students to the district and
098regional festivals for music. So, it's quite quite an accomplishment for those students to have uh made it to those levels. So, congratulations to the students and thanks to the staff for being willing to accompany those. I know it's a a weekend activity, so I'm grateful for them to to support that. >> Absolutely. Anyone else? >> Okay. Um, if there's no other business that may that appropriately may be brought before the to the attention of the board of school directors, we will move on to our final segment of comments from citizens. Uh, comments from citizens are being conducted by phone. The phone number to participate in public comments is and is being displayed on the screen at this time. You'll be able to join the meeting by calling in on your mobile or landline phone. A
099citizen will be recognized once during this period of the meeting and each citizen's comments will be limited to a total of 3 minutes accepted to 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. Mr. Cargus, has anyone phoned in to be recognized for public comment? >> Not yet. >> Okay, we'll give it a give it a bit. >> We have a caller on the line. >> Okay, great. The first caller for public comment is phone number ending in 6790. Please state your full name and address. >> Uh Jen Patell, Glenside. >> Go ahead. We can hear you. >> Oh, >> hi. Uh this is Jen Patell in Glenside. Um I wanted to thank um you all for
100the update for the middle school design. Um, um, it's exciting to see the early stages of it and to sort of see the what the layout and the design are going to be and I didn't think about it, but I I love the fact that it's going to uh also help alleviate the traffic on Highland and Sescuana. So, that's sort of a nice silver lining there. Um, and I also wanted to um congratulate the administration and the staff for the the changes to the curriculum. Um, specifically the um algebra and statistics adding that in ninth grade. Um, the fact that they have algebra in eighth grade and that there was a 20% increase in Keystone test scores is amazing. Um, but that it also gives kids a chance to, if needed, take more algebra in
101ninth grade and not have it impact their grades, their GPA, and their um, you know, what they're sending off to schools if they choose to go to college after high school. So, I thought those were, you know, great adjustments. So, thank you for that. Thanks. Take care. Bye. >> Thank you for your voice. Mr. Carus, do we have anyone else on the line? >> We have no more callers on the line. Okay. Do we need to wait a minute or are we good? >> We are good. >> Okay. All right. Um, that brings us to closing comments of school directors. Mr. Allen, >> have a good evening everyone. >> Mrs. Brown. >> Thank you everyone. have a good evening and a a special thank you again to the facilities and transportation who work so hard
102to make sure that our kids are safe and the staff is safe going back into school tomorrow. >> Thank you uh Miss Eisenhart. >> Thank you. Good night >> Mr. Muhammad. >> Stay warm. Travel safely. Good night >> Miss Spalding. Good night everybody. >> Miss Hartman. >> Have a good night everyone. >> Miss Fraser. >> Hi guys. Uh Miss Hartman. Um no Miss Eisenhard, I'm sorry. Your kids did a great job with your backdrop. I assume they uh decorated it. Looks lovely. Good night everyone. >> Miss Fletcher. >> Good night everyone. Stay safe. >> All right. Uh thanks for attending this meeting. Thank you for to my board colleagues and uh to district staff for our orientations. Uh to ICS for the update on the middle school project. This is starting to get exciting as
103it all comes into view. Um and uh have a good night. Stay warm. It's cold out there.