April 8, 2025 Meeting of the Abington Board of School Directors

001Good evening and welcome to the April 28th, 2025 Abington Board of School Directors. I note the attendance of all board members who 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 being broadcast live on the Abington School District YouTube channel. This meeting is being recorded and will be accessible to the district's website and cable channel no later than Friday, April 11, 2025 to allow those members of the public who cannot participate to view the meeting at a later time. Comments from citizens will be

002conducted in person and by phone. Information regarding participating remotely in public comment will be displayed on the screen at the time of public comment. The board thanks the public in advance for its cooperation. This is a place where we hold dignity and high regard and everyone's voice is respected and welcomed in this space. Dr. Fetcher, do we have any additional announcements or agenda items? Not this evening. Okay. With that, we will move on to opening comments of the board members. Mr. Mr. Allen, nothing. Thank you. Mrs. Brown, good evening everyone. Miss Eisenhart, good evening and welcome. Mr. Muhammad, good evening. Miss Spalding, good evening everybody. Miss Hartman, good evening. Miss Fraser, welcome. Miss Fazy, good evening everyone. And Miss Woo, good evening everyone. Thank you. Welcome to the meeting everyone. Uh Dr. Dr. Fetcher, can

003you please proceed with our student council representatives? Thank you, Dr. Mauy. Uh, first from Abington Senior High School, I would ask that Bryson Edmonds please come up. Good evening, Dr. Mauy, Dr. Fetcher, and the members of the school of board directors. My name is Bryson Edmonds and I am the student council president of Abington Senior High School. The student council held their annual spring bud spring blood drive this past Friday. We exceeded our goal of 73 pints and raised 77 pints of blood that were donated to the Red Cross. Okay, this is around 230 lives saved. The Abington Senior High School girls basketball team qualified for the PIAAA state championship over the 13th ranked Spring Forward High School. Michelle Yakapova, a wrestler, qualified for states and will be attending her CPA to compete for a

004straight state championship. Abenton Senior High School lacrosse player Jaden Bagby had eight saves against North Penn. This put her over 400 saves in her high school career. Abington Senior High School students attended the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, PMEA, Region 6 Band Festival. Students included Adam Silverman, Alexander, Jacob, and Rean were all accepted in the PMEA All State Orchestra. Brandon Hyriak was accepted into the PMEA All State Concert Band. David Clinger, 11th grader, and Brandon Hyriak, 10th grader, will represent Abington Senior High School in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Region 6 Band Festival at North Penn High School. It's a long one. Abton Senior High School students student artists work was juried in the Pennsylvania State Education Association's Touch the Future exhibit at the Fine Arts Gallery at Montgomery County Community College Bluebell campus. Alexandria Thomas'

005painting Self Soulless was a awarded first place best in show and Desmond Pharaoh's sculpture out of order was awarded the Selma Burk Sculpture Award. This is in addition to numerous other students across all grade levels who were recognized for their outstanding artwork. Abent senior high school reading Olympics teams both brought home blue ribbons, the highest award from the Montgomery County competition. 20 schools participated and the students read 25 books including works like All American Boys, One of Us is Lying, and Salt to the Sea. It is important to acknowledge these feats in a time where reading is such a major issue. The Abington Senior High School robotics team performed at the first robotics competition at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and won the judges award for rookie team. Abn Senior High School Eastern scholars continue to

006demonstrate their excellence in the District 2 Eastern Skills USA competitions. We had nine first place gold medal winners, three second place silver medal winners, and three third place bronze medal winners. May we Hong was selected as a winner of the National Merit 2 or $2500 scholarship. The Abington Senior High School Key Club was represented at the second annual closing ceremony of Makea-Wish Rising Stars at Dave and Busters in Plymouth Ming. Almost done. The Abington Senior High School engineer scholars swept the Sea Perch and Seaglide events hosted by the Navy and Temple University. This team included Irwin Quinland, Kareem, Jim Brown, Selene Hammed, Daria, not going to butcher your last name, Terza Kak, Shane McCaulay, Brian Um, Amy Wang, and Eufang Yang. Abingtonthon, an event at the high school centered around raising money for childhood cancer,

007raised a total of $76,321.96 this year. This set a school record for the most money ever raised. The final total will be split between numerous charities including Chop, Kisses for Kyle, and others. As you can see, activities have been picking up as spring has officially begun. Seniors are in the home stretch this of this year, and all grades are approaching the finish line. It is important to continue with full momentum and end just as strongly as we started. Thank you and have a nice evening. Respectfully submitted, Bryson Edmonds. Thank you very much, Bryson. A lot going on. Thank you, Bryson. And from Abington Middle School, Jessica Jagwell. Can I just say, Bryson, that a long list of accomplishments is a great problem to have. Good evening, Dr. Mauer, Dr. Fletcher and members of the board

008of student director. I am Jessica Jaglaw. I am on the executive board of the student council for Abington Middle School. The gender and sexuality alliance GSA participated in a day of no silence on April 4th. Approximately 50 students participated by vowing to stay silent to draw attention to the erasure and silencing of LGBTQ plus people. In a deviation from past years, students were encouraged to speak up the week before of the day of silence. actions included writing letters to elected officials, contacting student council, and researching companies that support the LGBTQ plus community. The AMS math Olympiad season is now over. The final contest was in March and the students gave it their best effort. The final result standings will be arriving before the end of the school year, indicating the numbers of students earning patches

009and if there are any silver or gold pin winners. The AMS chess club is winding down. There are some talented chess players who played really well and even beat the sponsors. 8th grade Eagles team Matt teacher, Mrs. Daly, and Mr. Karuse collaborated and held a Pi Day activity for their students in the Little Theater on March 14th, trying in various data displays and proving the ratio of pi. Students even enjoyed a Pi Day treat at the conclusion of the activity. Students in the going green club prepared the AMS garden for spring by adding mulch and putting in newly painted rocks in the school spirit. Abington Middle School rocks garden. In other meetings, students learned how to germinate seeds and started some herbs that if all goes well, they'll be able to take herbs for their

010family in May. During March, TATA took 120 7th and eighth grade students to Bolera for an event evening of bowling arcade games and pizza. In April, we are looking forward to hosting the unique board game event and our annual extravaganza. On April 2nd, five teams from Abington Middle School participated in a virtual reading Olympics competition with five other schools in Montgomery County. Each team reads the required novel on the list and had a fabulous and fun evening. It was an amazing way to celebrate the of reading. My bad. The students the school's beautifification club has designed a beautiful mural this year. The mural consists of a tranquil n nature scene. The students are excited to complete the final stage of painting this month. The builder's club has been collecting donations to fill duffel bags to

011give to youth in foster care. Donations are accepted until Wednesday, April 9th, and the bags will be bagged at their next meeting. Many students are participating in our spring sports program. We are looking forward to the continuation of the season throughout the rest of this month with many upcoming practices and games. Thank you, Jessica. You did a great job. Did you want to make any other remarks? No. Okay. Uh Dr. Dr. Fetcher, please proceed with this evening's honors. Thank you, Dr. Mauy. Uh, at this time, I'd like uh Dr. Alice Swift, principal of Abington Senior High School, um, to come forward to introduce Miss Nissa Jerger, our physics, engineering, robotics teacher, and the Abington Senior High School robotics team. Thank you, Dr. Fetcher, and good evening. Uh, Dr. Marie, board of directors, thank you so

012much. And Mrs. Jagger, if the team wants to come up. Um, pretty much Bryson said it and there are other things that we're getting ready to demonstrate. They are our robotics team performed at the first robotics competition at Springdale Chestnut Hill Academy and won the judges award for the rookie team. So, while they're entering, I would like to introduce our scholars. Aton Bogatin, Eric Zang, Eric Ginsburg, Kareem Tricky, Cleave Bell, Jim Brown, Quinnland Irwin, Ryan, Ryan Kawas, Alina McMenan, Arvin Mishva, Sheamus Morris, Theodore Poli, Matteo Vialz, Amy Wang, Selene Hamid, Daria Clyic, and Theresa Kiac. These are ghost spots and M under the direction of Mrs. [Applause] Jagger. So in terms of demonstration is that or are they going to do the videos first? [Music] Okay. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Thank you. [Music] Hey, feel

013it. [Music] [Applause] score. [Applause] You want to talk it through? Tell them what we're getting ready to see. Um, hello. So, you guys bringing it out? So, this is the robot we made for our competition. Um, in this competition, as you saw on the um the board, our primary goal being a rookie team was to um kind of facilitate the more advanced teams by scoring on the bottom level. But our skill and our specialty in this competition was the speed at with which we could score. So we could get while we couldn't score on higher levels and um reach the higher points that other teams were scoring because of our coding and our um autonomous code which allowed us to um consistently score Coral on the bottom level and at very quick rates we were

014able to do very well in the competition and overall place top we were the top one or top two rookie teams at the event. Um, we were top one at FE and top two at Happro Horseshock. All right. Oh, Selene, you want to come speak? The awards they have, those are the trophies. Yeah. All right. And our future feminist captain is going to speak on our behalf. Excuse me. Hello, my name is Selen Hamid and I'm one of the co-presidents of the future steminist alongside Amy Wang. Um I I'm here to talk about um the need for more girls to be enrolled in engineering and robotics classes in our school. Our school has so many opportunities. Our school has so many opportunities, but we don't take advantage of it. Um, female representation in our school's

015engineering and robotics classes are currently low. Nationally, less than 20% of robotics degrees are earned by women. A key reason is lack of early exposure. Many girls aren't encouraged to explore engineering until it's too late. High school classes like AB physics courses, engineering classes, and hands-on robotics labs are crucial entry points. If girls aren't enrolled in these early on, they miss on skill building, confidence, and discovering interests in the field. We need stronger outreach from counseling from the counseling department to recommend these courses to female students. We're proposing two things. a stronger push from the counseling department to actively recommend these classes to girls during scheduling and a middle school outreach program to introduce younger students to engineering early on and build interest before high school. Thank you. [Music] [Applause] Okay. So, I'd like to

016talk a little bit about the purpose um of the engineering team and what um having this robotics program brings to the school. Um, and so what this program does is it allows opportunities for students with many different types of skills, more than you would just think looking at the robot, to find a spot where they can use their skills collaboratively with other people to solve innovative problems and to work together towards a goal uh to compete. And this builds um teamwork. This cultivates leadership um among our student body. and it helps um our students uh find a place to put their skills to use. Y and so one thing that our school really does need for our robotics program is we're very limited in access to a proper workshop at our school. In fact, we're

017limited to three or four power tools, whereas we're competing against schools and other organizations that have access to multi,000 workshops and other things that Abington is lacking um in the present. Yeah, they're good photo. I want to take your picture with the robot in the middle. Come on. The ghost. We should call it. That's awesome. Okay. Thank you. [Applause] Guys, I'm sure the board has some words of encouragement before you leave. Guys, hang on a second. I think some members of the board they have questions say something. I I'll start. Uh I just want to congratulate you on a job well done. Uh from what I'm hearing this sea perch and what was the other competition that you took place in FRC? FRC. This is the first time. Let's make sure it's not the last.

018I am so excited. Thank you for your voice. Uh I share those same statistics with my students to promote more inclusivity, more representation in places and spaces like this. So you have set the stage, continue to invite people to uh to do this work because it's it's important. Computer science is one of the areas that is growing as far as the job market, not the ones that are um that are being taken away or that we're going to lose. So continue to do this work. And for our teacher leaders, thank you for your sacrifice. I know this takes more than the hours that you may get paid for. Ask me how I know, right? So, thank you for the work that you're doing because the smiles on their faces, the culture that you are creating

019through this, it's it's amazing. So, thank you so much. I really appreciate you. Um, if I may, uh, congratulations on all of your accomplishments this season. Um, as an educator, I know that authentic application is at the heart of true learning. And I can see how much you've learned and how excited you are to show what you've learned. um because you've had opportunities to apply your coding knowledge, your problem solving, your collaboration skills, your construction uh ability to construct this robot and other other robots um over the course of these past months. And so continue authentically applying the learning that you receive in your STEM courses as well as in all of your other classes um because it it makes for deeper learning. And so congratulations again and we look forward to celebrating you for

020years to come. And also before you guys go, as a former science teacher, I'm always thrilled yearly when you guys have science fairs, but this takes it a step, you know, a notch up. I'm I'm glad that you guys are engaged in engineering design challenges. Keep up the good work. I want to say congratulations and um it's super exciting to see this like happening that this is the first year and I'm excited to see what you guys do in the future and to see how this grows um continue on with this. Um I see this in my profession as a medical professional um impacting patients every day and you guys have the ability to go ahead and do those things in the future and really make a difference in people's lives and how we go

021about doing things. So, it's very very exciting to see you guys here. Congrats. I just want to take a moment um as a non-board member uh as a superintendent to say that I am extremely proud of what you bring to Abington School District and how you represent us um in the community and community beyond. Um, it is it is an essential skill set that our future needs and to see it in action is pretty amazing and I know it takes a lot of hard work and we've come a very long way. Um, I'm looking at Miss Jagger from our first Sea Perch experiences many years ago to now and it is I'm really proud to see the work that you you did and the work and effort that is put into that. So keep keep

022it up and um keep learning and making uh this team and this program stronger. Yes. [Applause] Be safe. Yeah. Can you imagine? Dr. Mallerie, at this time I would ask that we could continue with our honors this evening. Um, thank you, Dr. Federer. I have my sheet with me, so I appreciate that. Thank you. Um, tonight I'm going to ask Dr. Alice Swift to remain, and Mr. Charles Gra, the athletic director, to share highlights from the 2024 2025 winter sports season at Abington Senior High School. like to introduce Mr. Grassi, uh, our athletic director. Good evening. Good evening. Yeah, everyone. Plenty of room for everyone. How are you? Yeah, everyone's coming in and the parents are going fill in. Mr. Get you back here. Come on. Yeah, exactly. Thank you. How you doing? Good to

023see you. Good evening, Dr. Fetcher, Dr. Mallerie, and members of the board of school of dire school directors. Tonight, I am very excited and proud to share the outstanding accomplishments of our student athletes, teams, coaches for the winter of 2024 2025. First, I would like to introduce the Abington boys and girls swimming team who is led by coach Joe Linen. The Abington boys and girls swim team had an outstanding season. First, the Abington girls swim team. They had a very successful outing at the PIAA District 1 Championship as they set four new school records. Wow. These records include the 200 medley relay which consisted of Ruby Tucker, Julie Chong, Tyranny Hill, and Autumn Jessup with a time of 1 minute and 49 seconds. The girls swim team also set a school record in the 200

024free relay. ran swam by Ruby Tucker, Olivia Craft, Olivia Caps, and Autumn Jessup. Ruby Tucker set a new school record in the in the 100 backstroke with a time of 57.63. The fourth record was set in the 400 free relay with a time of 3 minutes and 42 seconds. Autumn Jessup, Olivia Caps, Tyranny Hill, and Ruby Tucker are our new record holders in this event. The girls swim team also received honorable mention all league recognition in the 200 medley relay swam by Autumn Jessup, Julie Chong, Tyranny Hill, and Ruby Tucker. The district 1 qualifiers and the PIAA state qualifiers were Olivia Caps, Julie Chong, Tyranny Hill, and Ruby Tucker. Congratulations to our girls swim team as well as coach Joe Linen for an outstanding, fun, and exciting season. The boys records, they were set in

025the 200 medley relay which consisted of Brendan Mo, Mike Filimonov, Jack Campbell, and Colin Nash. This placed him 16th in the state of Pennsylvania. The 100 backstroke by Colin Nash also placed him 19th in the state of Pennsylvania. The boys had several athletes receive all league honors. Colin Nash received second team all liberty division in the 100meter backstroke. Jack Campbell, Mike Filamanov, Brendan Mo, and Colin Nash received honorable mentions in the 200 free relay. Jack Campbell, Mike Filimonov, Nicholas Arena, and Colin Nash also received honorable mention in the 200 medley relay. District 1 qualifiers were Jack Campbell, Mike Filimonov, Nicholas Arena, Colin Nash, Brendan Mo, and Jier Leva. Also, Andrew Suit, Jack Campbell, Mike Filaminov, Brendan Mo, and Colin Nash were also PIAA state championship qualifiers. Congratulations to our boys swim team for an exciting

026season. Next, I would like to introduce two members of our boys basketball team. The Abington boys basketball team finished their season with an impressive 14-9 record and finished third in the very challenging Suburban One Liberty Division. The team made their 14th straight District 1 playoff appearance. Three members of the boys basketball team were recognized for their accomplishments. Paul Glance was honorable mention all league while leading the team in rebounds. Faison Garland, who we have here tonight, was second team all league and was recognized for his tenacity on defense and his leadership skills. And Xander Grai was nominated first team by the opposing coaches in the Liberty Division while leading the team in scoring, averaging 14.8 points as a sophomore. We would like to congratulate everyone on the basketball team as well as coach Marsh for

027an outstanding [Applause] season. Next is our girls basketball team coached by Allison Lawson and assistant Santana Huff. The girls basketball team finished the season with an overall record of 15 and 13 and an impressive 6-2 in the Liberty Division. Led by secondyear head coach at Abington, Allison Lawson, the team she led the team to district 1 playoffs and won a firstround game with an impressive score of 50 to 35 over Namin. The girls then made an outstanding run to the state playoffs as the lowest seed out of district 1. Three players received all league honors this season for their stellar play. Tonight we also have junior Shia Craftton and manager William Rivera. Micaia Durm receives second team all league. Maya Johnson and Annayiah Williams were both selected to the first team all league liberty division.

028Maya Johnson also received our excellence in athletics award for the month of December. On December 20th, Maya became the all-time leader in assists at Abington girls basketball history. She dished out 341 assists and counting. Maya contributes positively to the team success by complimenting her teammates about their work habits, attitudes, and contributions off the court. From Maya about her outstanding accomplishment, that's exactly what I wanted to do. I did not want to change my game. I knew that I had people around me that as long as I got the ball to them in the right places, they would make a basket. Coach Allison Lawson also complimented Maya on her historic accomplishment. She's the floor general. She's the leader. Mia's leadership on and off the court is paramount and will continue to make one of well for

029now the best to ever assist. Congratulations to our girls basketball. Next we have boys and girls wrestling. The wrestling team had a successful season led by coaches David Oay, Keshan Gilmo, and Dom Collin. They finished their season with a record of eight and nine and had a number of impressive wins this season. Nathan Sanders and Ryan Solomon were first team all liberty division and John Kaplan and Anthony Marzulli were selected to the second team all liberty division. Bradley Bennett, Elijah Brown, Cash Ferrante, John Kaplan, Anthony Marzulli, Esach Pantano, Nathan Sanders, Jacob Seville, Ryan Solomon, and Nathan Stab were all District 1 qualifiers. In our inaugural season for the girls wrestling program, they finished very successful. There were several top 10 finishes and had an impressive win at the Upper Dublin Invitational. Senior Gracie Clif, junior

030Julia Keller, sophomore Michelle Yakapova, and freshman Chelsea Cam Gang worked extremely hard to make this a successful and exciting season. Each one of the wrestlers were District 1 qualifiers in our first season. Very impressive. Michelle Yakapova qualified for the Pennsylvania PIAA state championship and made it to the coveted Giant Arena in Hershey, PA. Congratulations to our wrestling team for an outstanding season. Next we have our boys and girls track led by coach William Neely and Brian Schaefer. The boys and girls indoor track team had a very successful season and continues to achieve as an outstanding program. The boys and girls had several athletes qualify for the meet of champs. These athletes include in the 4 by 200 Braden Davis, Jamir McClinton, Kaden Humphre, and Anthony D'Angelo. They qualified with an outstanding run of 133.42. That

031time earned them a top 18 spot in the entire state. In the 4x400, Anthony D'Angelo, Braden Davis, James Stewart, and Joseph Raggy had a time of 1328, which placed him 15th in the state. James Stewart finished 12th in the state with a time of 159 in the 800 meter run. Jonathan Long had a top 10 finish in the long jump at 21 feet and 3/4 in. Our girls had several personal bests starting with the distance medley relay. Mercedes Sandival, an Anna Tetsoff, Audrey Flitter, and Malaya Reed placed 14th in the state with a time of 1416. Kalia Wridge, Leila Brown, Asia Proser, and Ella Swan Young finished 20th in the 4x200 meter relay. Hannah Winters finished 13th with a time of 810 in the 60 meter dash and Ella Swan Young 19th with a time

032of 819. Ella Swan Young also had an impressive 200 meter dash time of 26.29. 29, which placed her 16th in the state. Congratulations to our boys and girls indoor track team. [Applause] I have one more. Last but not least, we have boys and girls bowling. Abington boys bowling finished the season with an overall record of eight and six in the Liberty Division. The girls finished nine and five overall. Dion Hunter received first team all league honors. Grace Elliot received second team all league. And Olivia Renzy received honorable mention all league for the Liberty division. Dion Hunter finished the season with a 206 average. That is up seven pins from last year. He had the highest game in the league at 279 and the second highest series at 733. Dion competed in the Eastern Region Eastern

033Regional Championships for the second time. Grace Elliot finished the year with a 146 average, which is a 20 pin increase over the last year. She was seventh in the league in average. She had the eighth highest game with a 203 and the fifth highest series at 565. Grace had an outstanding season as did Dion and Olivia. Congratulations to our 2024 25 boys and girls bowling team. I would also like to thank you for your continued support of our athletes. [Applause] Thank you very much. A lot of excitement in our athletics. I want to first um compliment our students not only for their talents but the effort it takes um to perfect those talents and have these accomplishments. Um I would be remiss also um to thank our parents and guardians for your support. I know

034as a parent of high school athletes, the time and dedication that it takes for an entire family to support that. um that pursuit and uh we appreciate that and appreciate the efforts of our students um on a seven day a week commitment to these athletics. Thank you. Absolutely. Now that um I have my mic back. Um I want to personally thank our student athletes. I see now why Bryson's list was so long. Um and also thank Dr. Dr. Fetcher for acknowledging the contributions that our parents and guardians make. As a former parent of student athletes, I it's it's a big lift. Um so we thank them for for their time as well as commend our athletes for their accomplishments. Um I also I don't know if he's still in the room or not. I wanted

035to uh acknowledge a special guest at the board meeting tonight. Wyatt the Great. Is he still here? Did he leave? Oh, there he is. Okay. Um, I occasionally get emails from Wyatt and um, they're delightful. So, welcome to the meeting, Wyatt. [Applause] Thank you, Dr. Maui. It is my honor to be here here with everybody. Feels good to be here with all the athletes. I've been an athlete for a couple four straight years with coach Neilie and it's my honor to to thank all his support what we did for him. Now for our future we are going to do now for our future I want to do what's right for everybody. I want to just you know when something even though something may get hard just keep pushing it keep fighting for it fighting for

036your lives like do this for you do it for your family inspire yourself this that's why I came I came here today to inspire everyone really miss some people here but I'm finally glad and I want to thank Dr. for everything she done she's did for us with Alex Rosa and uh yeah, Alex Rosa and me and Dr. Smith and for the quotes. Thank you, Wyatt, for your greatest inspiration and more. The greatest moment of the in the history of Edmonton starts now and we'll keep inspiring Dr. Mar, Dr. Fetcher. I do appreciate all the time he's done and and thank you everybody. This is my pleasure to be here. Congratulate to coach Neely owner of sports athletic and thank you to Mr. Grassy. Really appreciate what you did. Thank you for honoring us. It

037is my honor. Thank you everybody. Thank you Wyatt. [Applause] That's going to be a hard act to follow. Um with that we will move on to the next section of our meeting which includes Comments from citizens are being conducted both in person and by phone. The phone number to participate in public comments is 2677152717 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. Uh citizens comments are limited to three minutes a piece and time may not be seated by one citizen to another. If there's anyone present who would like to make a comment, please use the microphone either to the right or to the left. Hello. Go ahead. Go ahead. Good evening everyone. Thank you so much. Um,

038please state your name and address. Sure. My name is Tammy Scverki and I live at 1502 Hilltop Terrace in Huntington Valley. Thank you. I am here to help advocate on behalf of the robotics team. You actually met my son earlier. He's the one who introduced the robot. And um I'm here because I really didn't know what that experience would be like when he first suggested he wants to join this team. And in fact, I listened to him talk about the robot, the robot, the robot. And I really didn't know where this was going. And um until the first competition and I must say I walked into something unexpected. This was ESPN level stuff. I mean this was televised. They had cheerleaders and they had cameras and there was so much activity and the kids were

039so engaged and so excited about this and I was just thrilled that oh sorry of course someone is calling me um so sorry but um I just think I want to speak a little about what it takes to be part of this competition. Oh I'm so sorry of course um and what um it actually is. So first robotics competition is a international event and I want to want to note that there is um in 2024 there was 3,468 teams from 28 countries and 86,000 students were involved in this and the fact that our team participated and they actually got an award. I mean there were a lot of teams there and they managed to do this on a very scrappy barebones budget. So for this to continue at Abington we have to invest in this

040program. Now, I know that resources are scared and there has to be a return on investment for something like this. I'm not advocating for specific dollars right now. I just want to talk about what this program provides. It provides hands-on STEM learning. Obviously, we you all mentioned this that this is transferable skills directly from what they're doing into actual jobs in STEM in in the fields that are in high demands, robotics, coding, etc. It is college and career prep. I want to note that this program first specifically there's over 80 million in scholarships that are allocated for different colleges and STEM programs that folks can get um that participate and there's also mentorship available. It is obviously 21st century skills. We all know AI is coming but this helps with leadership critical thinking and everything

041else is STEM related. There is um as the ladies that were up here before mentioned, there's proven engagement and equity. Um robotics programs increase engagement from girls and women in STEM and other underrepresented groups. And obviously there's pride in recognition. I think you know they were literally the same way my sons also participate in sports the same way we are proud of our soccer program or our swim program. This is that kind of competition and I don't want our kids to miss out because this you know the school the school board you know there are competing priorities but there are some investments that need to be made as you can see they require tools they require workshop these robots um you should have seen some of the other robots they were like elevating and hovering.

042Thank you for your voice. Please take a seat. Sorry. Sorry it's okay. Thank you. I appreciate that very much. Anyone else? Hi, my name is Ellie Dennis and I am a seventh grader at the Abbington Middle School. Now, there are many problems at the middle school, but um such as um the ceilings are cracked and crumbling. They f the tiles fall consistently during classes and that's distracting for our learning. Um some of the rooms are extremely hot, some of the rooms are extremely cold. Um, overall the school is in not great shape, but my main concern is the active shooter problem. When this school was built, it was a time when shooters were not an issue. But now times have changed and they are and we need to have a school that um has the

043right design to help this because in our hallways, not only are they extremely cramped, the walls to the outside are entirely made of glass. Yeah. If someone were to shoot from the outside, we would be extremely vulnerable and susceptible, and we would not have anywhere to go because the hallways are so crowded. Um, this if we were to get a new school, it wouldn't just benefit me, but I also have a little sister and I want her to not have to face the anxiety and fear that I do every day going to school. And it won't just be my sister benefit benefiting from this. It will be all the children in our community because they are our future. Please vote yes for the new middle school on May 20th. [Applause] If if members in the

044audience could hold their applause, that would be helpful. Ellie, thank you for your voice and also for speaking up on behalf of your little sister. Our next Go ahead. Hi, I'm I'm Tara Ing. I'm Gregory Road. Um I'm here to second everything um that Tammy said about the robotics program. I had the opportunity to go watch the first competition and I was absolutely amazed by how well our team performed, especially considering the relatively small budget they had to work with. Um, what stood out to me the most was how the competition is structured to foster teamwork. Each round involves teams from three different schools collaborating to earn the most points um, competing against other three team alliances. This format teaches our students how to strategize, problem solve, and adapt quickly in a fast-paced environment. It's

045incredible to see how this hands-on experience is shaping their skills and confidence. Um, I was also impressed by the positive atmosphere of the event. Students from schools all over the region were friendly, eager to offer advice, share tips, and even lend equipment to our Abington rookie team. They didn't even have a cart to pull their robot on, and I think someone from Horscham gave them a cart, which was so nice. It really reinforced how collaboration and support are essential to success. And I know with um robust support from the district, our robotics team can excel even further in competitions. This is not just about winning, it's about providing our students with invaluable real life experiences that will benefit them both personally and professionally. Um also I would like to ask I don't know if he's

046here, but if Mr. file. I would consider allowing our dedicated robotics team lead teacher, Miss Joerger. She's she's fabulous. To sponsor a middle school robotics club, so that Abington can build continuity and better prepare our students, especially the girls, we need to get them involved to excel in future competitions, ultimately bringing Abington international recognition. If there are any barriers to making this happen, I'd welcome the opportunity to have a conversation with Mr. File to discuss how we can overcome them. And I forgot in the beginning to say congratulations to the robotics team, all the athletes, and to thank the students for speaking up tonight. Thank you. Thank you for your voice. Anyone else? Joseph O'Brien, 221 Rosland Avenue in Glenside. I had to talk to the robotics team for a minute because I'm in middle

047of a project of automating my snowblower because I don't like the cold. So, I want to train it to do it by itself. So, I told them, they want to come over and see what I'm doing. They're more than welcome. But I have a question for the school board. Um, under your referendum, the cost per square foot of a new school is $844 per square foot. Yet, adjusted for inflation, you rebuilt 93% of the high school and added over 127,000 square ft for $311 a square foot. Can anybody explain to me the difference why it's over two times the cost? Is that Does that conclude your comment for this evening? Well, I'd like an answer. Does that conclude your comment for this evening? No, I'd like an answer. This is not an exchange. This is

048an opportunity for you to share your thoughts with the board. Does that conclude your comment for this evening? Okay. Thank you for your voice. Anyone else? Hello, my name is Eileen Denton. Um, sorry. Um, and I live on Morland Road in Abington. Um, I wanted to come to speak in support of the um, new middle school proposal. Um, there's been a lot of conversation online, which um, you know, while that's accessible to everybody and this forum may not be, um, it's just not a great place to have meaningful conversation. Um, but a couple of things that have come up with the conversations online is one, people are saying, "Well, can we see the plans for this building?" Um, and obviously I'm not privy to what happens on that side, but I will say, you know,

049architectural plans, especially for a building as complicated as a middle school, are not free. So, it's not sort of something that like an architect will be like, "Here you go. I'll just give you these to check out." That's a big cost that um, you know, is part of the entire process. Um, I can explain the difference between adding on to something versus a new building. It's definitely going to be way more expensive per square foot to build a new building versus adding on to something that's already there. Um, however, the one expense a lot of people don't mention when they say we should just renovate, um, is that there's things that can be found when you're renovating that you have no idea exist. We talk about the problems that we can see. There's a lot

050of problems that cannot be seen. Um, I have not lived in Abington my whole life. So, I did look up and I noticed that Overlook, Highland, and Roslin were all rebuilt when they were around 70s something years old. Um, as we know, the middle school um is over 60 is 60 years old. Um, by the time the new middle school is built, we'll be very close to that 70 years old. Um, and like I said, I haven't lived here, so I don't know the timeline. Um, but basically, that puts this in perspective historically in my research. Um, what has been done in the past? Um, the other thing is schools need spaces for things that couldn't even have been imagined back in 1964. When you talk about the robotics team, wiring a building, for Wi-Fi,

051the electricity, all of those things. I mean, back then, I don't they were using like punch I don't even think punch code thingies were right were available at that time for computers. Sorry. Um, so those those were things that that building is not handled is equipped to handle. Um, being able to build things like having STEM labs for robotics and things like that. um that's going to increase the ability to have that in the high school because you've got kids coming up that had the opportunity to do that in the middle school and now they can continue to do it into the um high school. Um again, so I'm saying yes, I will vote for 100% for the new middle school and I encourage more middle school students and high school students to come to

052the meeting um and share their experiences which I think that's probably more meaningful than anything us adults could say. Thank you. Thank you for your voice. Anyone else in the room? Hi, I'm um I'm Michelle Cooper. Can you hear me? Thank you. I'm Michelle Cooper Kingsley Road and I'm a proud parent and community member here in Abington. The district is engaged in a transparent, inclusive, thorough process beginning as early as November 2023 to determine the best path forward for our middle school. After years of study public meetings, community input, and careful financial planning, the answer is clear. Our kids need a new building. And yet, despite the facts, we're now seeing misinformation cloud the conversation. The truth is, if this referendum fails, there is no backup plan. The district will be forced to redirect funds

053away from academic programs and into costly temporary repairs of a 60-year-old structure that no longer meets today's standards. The students and ultimately our community will pay the price. Voting no doesn't just delay construction. It compromises student safety. It undermines educational opportunity. And it sends a harmful message about what we value in public education. As the Learning Policy Institute numerous studies have shown, a student's physical environment significantly affects their academic achievement, health, and emotional well-being. When we fail to invest in safe, modern, and equitable facilities, we are failing our students and their potential. The vote is more about than just bricks and taxes. It's about believing in the promise of our children and in the power of public education. Supporting this referendum isn't just about today. It's about keeping Abington strong tomorrow. When we invest now,

054we prevent bigger costs later. We preserve our property values, our schools, and the kind of community we want to be. This isn't just a vote for a school. It's a vote for the future of Abington. Vote yes on May 20th. Thank you. Thank you for your voice. Is there anyone else in the room? Sorry. Carol Godfrey, 1021 Devon Road, Jenin Town. That's Addington Township. Once again, I would like to encourage the community to vote yes to build a new middle school. Over the past two weeks, I went to the township building, actually three different times, to pay my taxes. I forgot something. Had to go back. Two of the times, I was confronted by two people who wanted to tell me why I should vote no for the new middle school. Both times I asked

055these people if they had taken a tour of the middle school and they all said no. I suggested that they take the tour of the building so that they could see for themselves just what the condition of the building is. Even on the tour last week, one of the people the tour at the middle school last week, one of the people that was handing out vote no literature, they told me they had not even taken the tour and he was standing right there in the middle of the lobby of the middle school. So, I know there's even a virtual tour that can be taken. So, that's a good thing. The building was not built for middle school students. It was built in 1964 for 9th and tth graders, which is a big difference from the

056fifth, sixth, and seventh graders that are there now. The air flow and ventilation needs to be improved, which would be healthier for the kids. New heating and air conditioning systems would greatly um reduce energy costs and maintenance costs. And there's one large gym and two smaller gyms that have no air conditioning. And have you ever been in a gym without air conditioning when it's 80 degrees outside? Uh the inside temperature in these gyms is horrible for the students during their PE classes and after school um games. Also, I am sure that we can all agree that state-of-the-art safety features that's already been mentioned tonight is a huge concern and greatly needed in this day and age. Only the construction of a new building can achieve what is needed for our Abington children and grandchildren. I

057have recently visited Colonial Middle School in Plymouth Meeting, Sandy Run Middle School in Upper Dublin, and Elkins Park Middle School in Cheltonham. I was at basketball games for my grandchildren. And talk about beautiful state-of-the-art buildings. Um, if residents have the opportunity to go see these buildings buildings, just drive by them. In closing, as a realtor, I would encourage the residents to keep in mind that better schools will make Abington an even more desirable place to live and in turn raise our property values. Let's all vote yes for the middle school referendum for the wonderful children and grandchildren in Abington Township. Thank you. Thank you for your voice. Anyone else in the room? Of course. [Music] Hey, good evening ladies and gentlemen. Joe Rooney. I live in Arsley. Uh, thanks for having me tonight. Thank you

058for everybody coming. And please, you're always allowed to clap. These guys can't make you not clap. So, if you like something that one of these girls or guys say, you're welcome to do it. They can't stop you. All right. So, uh, I'm here for all of the people who are watching who may be in the audience. And I want to say right now that um we're here to represent vote no and vote no is a caution to say we need a better plan and we need a better idea where a quarter billion dollars is going to be spent. So we had a great opportunity to look at the high school on Saturday. They had the Wizards there. It was a wonderful afternoon. They did a beautiful job renovating that safe high school. You can't walk

059through it and not say, "Wow, this is bright and new looking." And it was built, I think, in 1956. My parents helped build that thing. And you can look at what's in the gym and what's everywhere and go, "Wow, there's something there." The other thing that I want to say is I'm not sure that the district, and certainly not the school directors, learned anything from that $121 million project. Okay? Because there is much to learn about what went right and what went wrong. And we didn't seem to have any discussions of that during this whole planning process. In fact, in 2022, somebody mentioned it before. There was actually a complete renovation plan hired uh professional engineers to go in and modify the middle school. That was just thrown out. There are alternatives. Don't worry about

060that. So, I want to highlight one thing. It's on uh item 13 of the agenda today and that is the um the maintenance section where you the construction repairs and uh costs. The last three items on there talk about roof repairs on the high school. There was an initial one. It was a $465,000 contract to MUN roofing and that was done in 21 and 22. Then in 21-22 there was another $866,000 contract. The 465 was completed for $465,000 bucks. The $866,000 contract cost $2,316,000. Have we made that plan? Here's the third one. It's really curious though because um in August of of 2024, there was a $69,000 contract and it was made to T Schifer Construction Company and they're in uh Doylesstown. The crazy thing is Schifer Construction Company is a paving and concrete and

061excavating company. They did a roof job. Well, I don't think that's actually true. That was put in in January. It's been carried through. I know you all have looked it because you prepare carefully for these meetings. So, I don't really understand that. Either that's a mistake, that isn't a roofing job, or it needs further explanation. Somebody should say it. The reason that I bring that up is we have $285 million. Here's three different roofings. There's multiple questions about why' we start at 866,000 end up at 200 $2.3 million. Where's a 69? Thank you for your voice. Your time is up. Please take a seat. Construction company actually. Why did we lose? Please take a seat. Cut his mic. Take our time and make the right decision. I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. Louder. Sit down.

062Sit down. You shut up. Well, let's not take it too far in here because All right, folks. Settle down. Stay positive. We all live in the same community. Anyone else in the room care to make a comment? Hi. Hi. Hello. Um, my name is Megan Zambborski. Um, and I live on Homerest Road. I have three students in the district, two currently at the middle school and one in elementary school. Um, my kids will be well past their middle school years by the time the proposed school would be built, but I wholeheartedly support the district's plan. Um, I teach my children that we all do better when we all do better. Um, and I can't think of a better example of that than the middle school building that would benefit the whole community. The current building

063is far past its lifespan and is no longer a space that can support effective learning. Future students and their teachers deserve a building that is modern, safe, compliant, and designed for today's educational models. I want my tax dollars to show our current and future Abington students, teachers, staff, and families that we invest in public education. To anyone who is unsure of how they will vote or any families who may not be, excuse me, as involved in what happens in the school district, especially those with young children, I ask that you please do your research on the referendum and how we got here. The district has taken years to research and present their facilities plan. They enlisted experts in the field to help determine the best course of action and how best to serve our students.

064They gave the community multiple chances to voice input. If you haven't been able to follow along every step of the way, and I know it's tedious, but all of the research and data is available for you to view at any time on the district's website. If you want to get your information elsewhere, please consider your sources of information. Ask yourself, is this coming from those who send or sent their children through Abington schools? those who have taught or worked in Abington schools, especially the middle school, who volunteer or spend time inside the building during the day, as Carol mentioned, have they even been in the building? Um, if you don't have any of these people to talk to or don't know any current um families or or students, um I volunteer myself and my family,

065surprise to my family. Um a a strong community doesn't happen by accident. It is made up by a collection of choices. On May 20th, please make the choice to vote yes on the referendum to invest in our community's future. Thank you. Thank you for your voice. Um I'm we do have a couple of callers on the line. I'm going to go to those calls and then I'll return to the room if that's okay. Mr. Carass. Yes, this is Dr. Mallalerie. Um the next citizen for public comment is phone number ending in 1637. Please state your full name and address. Hello. Hi. Hi. Can you state your name and address, please? Oh, Kira Meyers, 1060 Maple Avenue, Glenn Side. Thank you, Kira. Go ahead. We can hear you. Okay. Hello. I'm Kira Myers. I'm a sixth

066grader at the Abington Middle School. So, I was in seventh period, which is my math class. I walk in and it feels like a sauna. And no, I'm not being dramatic or exaggerating. I checked the thermostat and it was 88° F. We had to move to a science classroom, which wasn't much better, but it wasn't 88° either. I also want to talk about lockdown drills. I feel extremely unsafe during these drills. If you think we should vote no, you should try a lockdown drill yourself. It's very unsafe with the halls open with windows peering into the classrooms. I've seen the posts and stuff. I saw that you guys put simple repair about a lot of stuff. But no, not everything is a simple repair. The cockroach infestation isn't a simple repair. The nasty bathrooms aren't

067a simple repair. The unsafe classrooms aren't a simple repair. My point is, we need a new middle school. It will provide a safer, cleaner, and better education for future middle schoolers. Is that it? Thank you, Carara. All right, folks. Uh, Mr. Carass, the next citizen for public comment is phone number ending in 1 1965. Please state your full name and address. Yes. Hi. Um, hold on one second. Okay, go ahead. Hi, I'm Henrik. I'm sorry. Can you say your name again? Henrik V. And V. Did you get it? Okay. All right. Go ahead. Sorry. Vote yes for my future. This is Henrik V. He goes to Overlook. He's a kindergartener and he's asking you to vote yes for his future. Thank you, Henrik. You're welcome. Have a good night. All right, with that, we'll return

068to comments in the room. Hi, Go ahead. I'm Jen Patell. I live in Glennside. I actually wanted to sort of circle back to the beginning of the meeting and just say I I'm so proud of all those kids, the the robotics team, the athletes, the the teachers that uh helped them, the parents that supported them, and the um planning that went into making all of their achievements possible. It's a credit to them all, and um pretty impressive to see. So, thank you. Thank you. Hello. Hi. I'll just bend down. Um, hi. My name is uh Tim Myers. I live on Maple Avenue in Glenside. Um, I came here tonight to uh try and encourage everyone to vote yes on May 20th for the new middle school. Um, last spring, um, the the district offered a

069tour of the middle school with uh the facilities director and the uh the engineer. Um and uh my wife and I went on the tour and quite frankly it was incredibly eye opening. Um yeah, going around the facility, seeing the HVAC system, seeing the bathrooms, seeing the tiles, the doors, the radiators, everything is in need of repair in this building. Um it's not ADA compliant. any repairs or any renovations have to thus be brought up to ADA compliance code before everything is completed which costs additional time, money, expenses, resources, etc. Um, I I don't see how you can go on a tour of this middle school, look at all the facilities, talk to facilities manager, see their challenges, and come up with anything besides that that building needs to be torn down and, you know,

070a new building built. Um, I don't see any other conclusion here. Um, to me, it's a very logical next step. Um, they have a lot of challenges. um some of the um some of the materials that they use are no longer manufactured anymore. Um for example, uh I believe some of the radiators um if they have to replace they they don't have replacement parts. Some of those companies don't exist anymore. They have to manufacture and kind of you know jerryrig their own parts. Um to me that that's crazy. and we're putting our kids in this this dump of a building and asking them to learn and asking teachers to try and teach these kids in this this facility that is not built for the amount of kids that are in there. Um it's overcrowded. It's

071not safe. Um and um I I just I just don't think that there's any uh sane person, any logical person that could come up with any sort of conclusion besides that we need a new new facility. Thank you. Thank you for your voice. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Lisa Edmonds. Address 808 Cedar Glenn Road. Affectionately known as Bryson's mom. I am just here to go on record to encourage uh my neighbors to invest in our community and vote yes for a new middle school simply because it is absolutely necessary and needed. And I trust and know that our school board has done a phenomenal job of giving us the best options. We have the options in front of us. We have the information that we need and all we need now is to do

072is to vote yes to invest in our community and invest in our children. Thank you. Thank you for your voice. Also, nice job, Mom. All right, me next. Um, I just want to remind everyone here that everyone who's sitting in this room cares about our community and the future of our community. Even though it might seem like you're not agreeing at all times, everyone here who's taking the time out of their day, the time out of their night out of a Tuesday night to come and spend their time at this schoolboard meeting cares about this community and cares cares about everyone living in it, cares about the kids at the middle school. And I know it's a big issue right now like polarization of different views and it just causing people to fight and get

073angry with each other which is not the reaction that should be coming from this. We all are looking we all are looking to achieve a common goal. Even if it's not the same approach we're all here for the same thing. So, I just feel like all of our all of our communication should be, you know, rooted in love because we all it's all through love for this community and love for each other. So, I just wanted to remind people about that. Thank you for reminding us that we're all neighbors, Bryson. Go ahead, Wyatt. And I believe in everything that that we're going through right now. So I say that yes, let's vote vote no May 20th. So as a positivity quote, I want to share if no one has been going through it, I will

074be the first certain and Dr. Swift will be the first certain too to help me out. The only if you if you're good at something, the only way to do great work is to love what you do. And also if you believe it, believe you can. And you have and you're halfway there and your heads tilted down. I'll say this. Keep your face always toward the sunshine and shadows will fa fall behind you and the and our future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams and the beliemonton future. Our greatest glory is not in never fail falling but in rising every time we f we fail. So now let let's get out and vote for Arington and we will make our district the we will show the state that we're doing

075something. Let's make this great district and vote. Thank you. Thank you Wyatt the great the great. I beg your pardon. Thank you Wyatt the Great. Wyatt the Great. and I approve this message. All right. Is there anyone else in the room? Okay. Hi, I'm Jess Meyers and I live in Arsley. I'm here to encourage my neighbors, my friends, um, please vote yes to invest in a new middle school for these children. Um, as a mom of a middle schooler, uh, it's pretty frightening how unsafe the building feels when you walk through it. Not just in an active shooter drill, but god forbid if there were a fire. These kids have no way to get to the outside of the building from these interior classrooms. It's really scary. Um, so I would just like to reiterate

076how unsafe I feel that these classrooms are and I appreciate the fact that the board is working um to make that better for our kids. Uh, safety should be paramount always. Thank you. Thank you for your voice. I think we'll we'll conclude this round of public comments. There is another session at the end of uh the agenda items. So if you didn't get a chance to talk this time, you can certainly um offer your thoughts then. Um Dr. Fedric, could I just ask you to clarify something about the cost per square foot for the proposed middle school, the the construction cost per square foot. So what I would um invite anyone to do on the one one future.org, or there's a button on the first page that says get the facts project cost breakdown. Okay?

077And as you go on to that breakdown, it explains uh what percentages of the project are for what components. Okay? So construction square footage prices versus the entire project. Okay? So, in other words, if I understand you correctly, the the cost of the bond covers more than the construction cost. Correct. And that's everything's listed on this page. And it and it also explains that um 87.4% of the total project cost is for construction and demolition. Okay. um demolition as well. It is important to note that we did not have to uh do any um demolition at the during the Abington Senior High School project. Right. Right. Okay. Um I just want to offer my board members a chance if they have any thoughts or responses to public comment. First session of section of public comment.

078No. Okay. Miss Woo. Okay. All right. With that, we will uh move on to Mr. Cargus. Am I correct? There there are no callers on the line. Yes, you are correct. Okay, thank you. Um okay, so we will move on to the approval of minutes. M Brown. Yes, Madame President. that the board of school directors approve the minutes of the board meeting on March 11th, 2025 and the board meeting on March 25th, 2025. Second, Dr. Fetcher, we have a second. Oh, this is a voice vote. I'm sorry. Uh, all in favor say I. I. I. I. The motion passes. Mrs. Brown, can you please read the recommendation for approval of the personnel agenda? Yes. that the board of school directors approves the changes in personnel as reflected in personnel agenda numbers 7.1 and 7.1A and

079the confidential addendum number 7.1AB. Second. We have a second. Dr. Fetcher. Thank you, Dr. Mauy. The personnel addendum begins with the request for leaves of absence for four professional employees, change of status for one professional staff member, and compensation for IEP meetings, interpreter and translation services, board presentations, and parent meetings. I bring your attention to the retirements of Miss Donna Zar, an elementary art teacher at McKinley School, who has served the district for years. Also, I bring your attention to Miss Linda Aayuchi, a paraprofessional at Abington Middle School, who has served the district for 34 years. Miss Amy Lewig, a paraprofessional at Abington Senior High School, who has served the district for 25 years. and Miss Barbara Terrone, a staff nurse at Abington Senior High School, who has served the district for 17 years. I

080also bring your attention uh to the resignation of uh Dr. Dr. Matthew Harris, our supervisor of fine arts, who has accepted a leadership position with the Delaware County Intermediate Unit. Uh we thank him for his service to the arts and ASD. Thank you. Indeed. Thank you to Mr. Mr. Harris uh for his service for the district to the district. It's been exemplary and um congratulations to our retirees. There's a lot of institutional knowledge there. Um we wish them well in their next chapter. Any other comments from my fellow board members? Um I just wanted to add for Miss Zar McKinley. She's been an art teacher for all three of my children. And thanks to her, each one of them had the opportunity to shine artistically, whether it be at um one of our district um

081art exhibits um in the hallways at school um getting the Westy award, which was after her dog um that my kids always loved, the Westy Art Award, and then um also for showcasing and utilizing Abington Library to showcase more of our students and put them on the community uh Right. So, um, wishing her and the rest of the well-earned retirees a wonderful time and thank you for your service to the district and to our children. Anyone else? No. Miss Woo. Um, I just want to say thank you to Miss Zar because she was my art teacher in elementary school and she was probably like the biggest reason why I continue to do art until now. That's lovely. All right, with that, Mrs. Flanigan. This is a roll call vote. Mr. Allen, I. Mrs. Brown, I.

082Miss Eisenhart, I. Mr. Muhammad, I. Miss Balding, I. Miss Hartman, I. Miss Frasier, I. Miss Fazy, I. Dr. Mauy, I. The eyes have it and the motion passes. Mrs. Brown, can you please read the recommendation for payment of bills? Yes. that the board of school directors approve the payment of bills for the period ending February 28th, 2025 as reflected in the addendum number 8.1. Second. Dr. Fetcher, we have a second. Thank you, Dr. Mauy. I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have uh regarding the payment of bills. Okay, questions. No, Miss Woop. Okay, I'm trying not to leave you out. All right, Mrs. Flanigan, this also is a roll call vote. Mr. Allen, I. Mrs. Brown, I. Miss Eisenhart, I. Mr. Muhammad, I. Miss Balding, I. Miss Hartman, I. Miss Frasier, I.

083Miss Fazy, I. Dr. Mauy, I. The eyes have it and the motion passes. Mrs. Brown, would you please read the recommendation for permits for use of buildings and grounds? Yes. that the board of school directors approves the application for permits for use of buildings and grounds as reflected in addendum number 9.1. Second. We have a second. Dr. Fetcher. Thank you, Dr. Mauy. The permit addendum continues to reflect requests for buildings and grounds for meetings and other school events um for this time of year. Okay. Questions or comments from the board? No. Okay. Mrs. Flanigan. Also a roll call vote. Mr. Allen I. Mrs. Brown I. Miss Eisenhart I. Mr. Muhammad I. Miss Balding. I. Miss Hartman. I. Miss Frasier. I. Miss Fazy. I. Dr. Mauy. I. The eyes have it and the motion passes. Mrs.

084Brown, can you please read the recommendation for awards of contracts? Yes, Madam President. that the board of school directors approves the awards of contracts as reflected in addendum number 10.1. Second. Dr. Fetcher. Thank you, Dr. Mauy. Tonight, for your consideration, we have two awards of contracts. One rejection of bid and one Montgomery County School Entities joint purchasing agreement. Uh first is for floor replacement at McKinley Elementary School. And the this the funds for this project are available through our um series 2024 general obligation bonds as well as the public school facilities improvement grant. Um next is rejection and of bid and contract for two replacement 72 passenger student transportation buses. Uh essentially the uh first uh contract that we entered into um we were not pleased with the product and rejected that contract and uh

085today are replacing that with two different uh 72 passenger student buses. Okay. And finally is our Montgomery County school entities joint purchasing and that is um for unleted gasoline and diesel fuels for 2025 2026. Okay. Um I just want to thank the district for its work in securing grants to help us with some of these projects. I know that makes a difference to the budget. Questions or comments from the board? Nothing. It's another roll call vote. Mrs. Fanigan. Mr. Allen. I. Mrs. Brown. I. Miss Eisenhart. I. Mr. Muhammad. I. Miss. Balding. I. Miss. Hartman. I. Miss. Frasier. I. Miss. Fasy. I. Dr. Mauy. I. The eyes have it in the motion passes. Mrs. Brown, would you please read the recommendation for election of the MCIU board representative? Yes. That the board of school directors nominate

086Mr. Brian Allen as its representative to the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit Board of Directors for a three-year term beginning July 1st, 2025. Second, are you sure? I had to think about legal questionable questions or comments from the board. Uh thank you for your service. I get to get go to the MCIU a lot and I see your face and Dr. Fetcher's face posted on the wall. So, thank you for uh representing the school district and continuing that partnership. Thanks. I shared that picture was taken a few pounds ago and a few years ago, but uh thanks for acknowledging it. I'll second that gratitude. Anyone else? All right, 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. Hi. I

087I Miss Fazy I. Dr. Mauy. I The eyes have it. Mr. Allen, you're in for another year. Can I keep the same picture? Oh, it's a three-year term. Okay. All right. Um, okay. Mrs. Brown, would you please read the recommendation for settling the assessment appeal? Yes, Madam President, that the board of school directors authorizes the settlement stipulation agreement regarding the assessment appeal of the property located at 801 O York Road, Abington, Montgomery County as submitted to the board. Second, Dr. Fetcher, keeping in mind the confidentiality of litigation matters, uh, Mr. Donny who is here this evening and can answer any questions that you may have. Questions or comments from the board? No. Okay. You're off the hook, Mr. O'Donikue. Mrs. Flanigan, if you would please. Mr. Allen, I. Mrs. Brown, I. Miss Eisenhart, I. Mr.

088Muhammad, I. Miss Balding, I. Miss Hartman, I. Miss Frasier, I. Miss Fazy, I. Dr. Mauy, I. The eyes have it and the motion passes. Dr. Dr. Fetcher, are there any additional reports and recommendations by the administration and yourself? Yes, Dr. Mallerie. Uh, I provide the conference attendance of professional leaves and the capital improvement projects report for your information. Okay. Any questions or comments from my fellow board members? I just love to see all the opportunities that are afforded to our students through this. Yeah. Yeah, really great opening students to all kinds of opportunities. Absolutely. And we are always uh grateful to our teachers for representing the district so able. All right. Um that brings us to any other business that may be brought to the attention of the board of school directors. Anyone? No. Okay.

089That takes us to our second and final uh session of comments from citizens. So once again, comments from citizens are being conducted both in person and by phone. The phone number to participate is being displayed on the screen and it is 2677153717. You'll be able to join the meeting by calling in on your mobile or landline phone. And once again, a reminder that each citizen is restricted to 3 minutes per session of comments. Um, and time may not be seated by one citizen to another. So with that, we will open the floor again for anyone wishing to make a comment. Hello, my name is Joe Dunn. I live in Jenin Town on Zayn Avenue. Uh, I didn't intend on saying a darn thing tonight, but I was very impressed by the robotic stuff and I

090and this whole thing about voting for the school and I thought that it seems like they could really use a lot more money to do what they want to do and I think the best way to do it would be to save probably a guess millions of dollars and redo the school which I did go around and see. So I was just asked to by numerous people home who have who are watching and after saw seeing Mr. Rooney shout it down and the expert opinion that followed to give him my time. You you may not seed your time to another citizen. Okay. Well then I say vote no to invest in the kids so the budget can have a lot more money to put towards things that really will help educate them. And thank you.

091Have a good night. Thank you for your voice. Good evening everyone. Uh my name is Aaron Palmer and I live on Carmet Road. Uh first I would just like to congratulate all of the students who were celebrated this evening and acknowledge the bravery of every student who stood up and spoke tonight. Um, I would also like to acknowledge the bravery of the 50 middle school students who participated in the day of silence on Friday and to thank the district for allowing these students to express themselves freely in their school. Um, I was happy to see some updated information on the one ASD website regarding the plans for the new middle school. Uh the percentage breakdown of the project costs and explanations as to the next steps should the referendum pass reinforce my intention to vote

092yes on May 20th. Um we heard from an award-winning robotics team this evening and we also heard about the needs they have to keep excelling as a team. And I just want to point out that if the middle school referendum does not pass on May 20th, funds that could be going towards these types of educational programs may instead be diverted to the constant upkeep of a building that is failing because that will be the only option remaining. Yeah. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your voice. You're so right. Is there anyone else in the room? Um, hi. My name is Eileen Denton. I live on Morland Road in Abington. I'll keep this very brief. Does not have to do with the the middle school. It has to do with the high school. Um

093I just wanted to just speak out again um in support of not cutting the budget for the high school library any further. I know that that has been cut and I just want to speak as a youth services librarian. Um that the high school library media center, they need to serve two purposes. One is to support the teachers with the curriculum, have materials that support the curriculum, have databases available for, you know, students to use, teach kids how to do research, all of those things. But another equally important part that they serve is they serve the students interests. And we've had conversation at this meeting when we talked about the reading scores about how important it is to foster a level of learning. Um, and the way that you do that, um, speaking as a

094professional here, is that you find books that really hook students interests. And that requires, unfortunately, money. I will say, uh, the library I work at, we have to weed books a couple times a year because I don't have enough room for all of them. And because we are a nonprofit, we're not affiliated with the township, I was able to donate 10 boxes of young adult books to the library today. But that shouldn't be necessary. I'm happy to do that that I can give it to someplace where I see where it benefits. Um and then the second part of that is having all those great resources there requires um trained staff and I know we have great paraprofessionals there that support the librarian but there is just no substitute for a professional teacher librarian to provide

095um guidance and encouragement to young people as they're trying to figure out what they like to read and all of those things that we have talked about being so so important to reading scores and lifelong readers. Um, so please just consider that moving forward that you keep that budget. Please don't cut it any further. And please consider returning that second fulltime uh teacher librarian to the high school library. Thank you. Thank you for your voice. I'll take one more one more comment um in the room and then we'll go to people who are calling in. Go ahead. Hi uh Jen Patell. I live in Glenside. Um, I wanted to speak in support of the referendum to build a new middle school. Um, I wanted to clarify that we do not have a choice between spending

096money on the middle school or not spending money. That is not the situation and the options that we are facing. We have to invest a significant significant amount of money in the middle school in the near future. The question is what do we want to get out of that investment? It has been mentioned several times tonight and it is clear to anyone who's been in the middle school that the current building is old, obsolete, unsafe, undersized for the number of students enrolled and in need of many and in many cases expensive repairs and system replacements. These facts will not be changed by our decision on May 20th. What will be decided is how we utilize the big investment will we will be making either way. So, do we want our money spent on patching up

097the current inadequate building, leaving the students and teachers to deal with the results of an expensive patch job, which would be a school that has had repairs, but that does not address many of the real and practical issues and limitations of the current building. And the teachers, students, and staff will be left to deal with the chaos and disruption of going to school during construction and going to class in modular classrooms. And the construction which could take up almost two years. Or we invest approximately 8% more. For my family, that would be about $10 to $11 more a month to invest in a brand new school designed for and sized for the Abington School District of today. the best practices of education for today and for the future. And in addition to the new building,

098we would end up with new improved sports facilities and fields that would be affected by the construction and improved roads and parking lots in the school. And I don't know if anybody beyond being in the building, if you've ever dropped off or picked up a kid at the middle school, that almost alone is worth it. Um, we have a great plan. I encourage everyone to look at the one ASD1 future website and because I believe in our kids, our teachers, our staff and our community are worth investing in, I will be a yes to invest on May 20th. Thank you. Thank you for your voice. Uh Mr. Cargus, we will go to callers on the line now. The next citizen for public comment is phone number ending in 3984. Please state your full name and

099address. Hi. Um, this is Mike Swagenhoffer. I'm on Rosemont Lane. Uh, just a couple of things I wanted to to say. Uh, first, uh, Madame President, your microphone works very well. You're a little close to it though for the viewing audience. Sorry. Um, that's okay. Uh, second, I just want to address the idea of uh, public comment. This is public comment. It's not public question and answer. So when you make a comment, you don't expect you shouldn't expect the board to respond to you. This is public comment. Um second, uh or finally, I I just want to address the the uh proposal for the new school. Um uh first I want to thank the the young lady that stood up um and talked about pushing for a new school for not even for her but

100for her sister not not just for some of the reasons that she said was cold in some rooms, hot in some rooms, but the uh active shooter um the fact that it's not active shooter ready as sad as that is um that is I I appreciate and I thank her for for standing up and that's you know a terrible reality of of of what she has to deal with, but it is a reality. Um, I'd also like to point out, I think it's great that I think it was Ellen or or possibly Eileen who put it up by by the time the school is built, it will be 70 years old. Um, 70. And so I think that's something to take into consideration is is what at that point we should start thinking about building

101a new school or should we do it now so that by the time it would have reached 70 years old our kids in the neighborhood in the township have a place uh you know a better place top-of-the-line place to go. Um finally just to address the square footage uh price per square footage that I've been hearing constantly. I see it online. I see it in these meetings. um and the discrepancy between I don't know 300 or 800 square foot between Hapo and Abington. If you want to do it right, you can go to one ASD one future and you can look at um this involves building a new school, tearing down an old school, repositioning the sports fields, building a parking lot. Take all of those square footage of demolishing the old school, building a

102new school, whatever the length or the the the area of the football fields and parking lots, and see if that changes your math a little bit. It's more than just building a new school. And the website that Dr. Fetcher pointed everybody to is very good. It has the plan. You can go there and look, but I just wanted to point it put it out quite simply and point it quite simply that I it's more than just building a building. It's a huge project. I'm asking you, my neighbors, you my friends, everybody paying attention, please just vote yes. And again, I'm like many of the people who have stood up here tonight and in other meetings. My kid currently is in in the middle school. He will not be in that middle school by the time

103the new one is built. I have nothing to gain here but the benefit of my township from this new building and providing for the next generation of kids who need it. So, thank Thank you for your voice. Your time is up. Mr. Cargus, the next citizen for public comment is phone number ending and 5902. Please state your full name and address. Go ahead. We can hear you if you can hear us. Hi, good evening. My name is Beth Kerr. I'm on Chester Avenue in Abington. Uh, first I want to thank the four students that were brave enough to come and talk at tonight's meeting with all these adults. We heard a sixth grader and a seventh grader tell us that they are afraid of an active shooter being in their building. And I think that

104should carry a whole lot of weight with the adults that are going to be voting on our new middle school referendum. That's right. Um, in addition to that, I wanted to enter a comment as an actual physical disabled person, physically disabled person. I have mobility challenges and I use a wheelchair sometimes to get around, but I was not always disabled. Um, when my son was in seventh grade at the middle school, I became disabled and I was no longer able to go to any of the back to school nights or meet with any of his teachers beyond that first year there because I could not make it through the building in my wheelchair. Anyone who has been to a back to school night knows just how rushed and chaotic and crowded those nights are. And

105it is physically impossible to make it in a wheelchair from the ground floor to the top floor through the hallway to the room you're supposed to be in in the amount of time allotted. I I couldn't do it when I had two good legs that worked. I certainly can't do it on the wheels that I have now. And for anyone who doubts that, I I would invite you to meet me at the middle school and I will bring my spare wheel spare wheelchair for you and we can go through it together and see how it goes. I don't think we'll both sit in the elevator together, though. The middle school building is not appropriate. It is not safe for people who who have any kind of physical disability. And Abington is better than that. Our

106kids deserve better than that. And so do our parents. and so do our teachers. Please vote yes for the new middle school. Thank you. Thank you for your voice. Uh with that, we'll return to the room if there are any other comments that people would like to offer. Good evening again, members of the school board, superintendent, and community members. Michelle Cooper, Kingsley Avenue. Um, I come to you tonight as both a concerned resident and advocate for the children and families of our district. In recent weeks, proposed policies and budget decisions at the federal level have moved from a possibility to a real and present threat. Most notably, the proposed closure of the US Department of Education and deep cuts to Medicaid. While these developments may feel far from our district, their impact will be immediate

107and profound, especially for our most vulnerable students. The elimination of the Department of Education would mean no federal oversight or enforcement of laws that protect students civil rights and access to special education, including IDA, IDA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This could create a vacuum in accountability, leaving families without clear avenues for support when their children are not receiving the services they are legally entitled to. Simultaneously, proposed Medicaid cuts could directly harm students who rely on inschool services like speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavioral supports, and nursing care. Across Pennsylvania, nearly one in two children receive health care through Medicaid, and schools depend on Medicaid reimbursements to fund critical special education services. The loss of this funding would not only limit access to care, it could increase pressure on school budgets and staff, ultimately impacting

108all students. These changes are not abstract, they are legislative efforts that are already underway, and they are targeting the very systems designed to ensure equity and opportunity for every child. I urge the school board to be vigilant in this moment and to consider the following actions. Issue a public statement affirming the district's commitment to protecting the rights of students with disabilities and all vulnerable learners regardless of what happens at the federal level. Something along the lines of what Dr. Fetcher stated at a previous schoolboard meeting. request a report from district administration detailing how much the district currently relies on Medicaid reimbursements for special education and health services and how cuts would impact staffing and student support. As I'm sure most of you already plugged in, you're already plugged in and continued monitoring legislative developments closely

109and consider forming a board level working group or liaison to track education and healthc care policy changes that affect our students. engage with local and state policy makers, most of which in this area already support, but it never hurts, urging them to oppose the defunding of public education and essential health programs for children. Our children deserve our children deserve more, not less. And as leaders in education, your vigilance and voice in this moment matter deeply. Thank you for your time and for your continued commitment to the students and families of our community. Thank you for your voice. Anyone else? Good evening again, Joe Rooney. Uh, first for to get uh straight information that you're not going to hear from the board, uh, commonsenseabington.com. So, if you're watching or you're listening or you're here, commonsenseabington.com and

110uh I actually have gone on extensive tours through the building and I've been very impressed actually. Uh the first thing that everybody ought ought to ask is why has this building been so woefully neglected maintenance-wise probably for about the last 10 years? And that's a direct def. So, what is there? There's probably $50 million of value. That's my estimate in the building as it stands right now. It's incredibly well-built, solid structure, poured concrete, reinforced with steel with a steel roof. I mean, excuse me, a concrete poured roof that's on it. You can't build a building like that and it wouldn't be replaced with anything that was near as safe as that building is. It has already settled. There are no cracks. The next thing is it's a modular construction which is really wonderful for renovating

111because you have five separate basically pieces of it and you can figure out through renovation of one how to best do the other four. The other thing people have talked about HVAC and talked about the uh um the air filtering whatever the building has two to three feet above every ceiling level. When kids have ceiling tiles falling down that's neglect by the school district not the building. You can open a floor up and you can completely remove the plumbing, the electrical, the HVAC, and anything else. And it's easy as pie to get in there and renovate it, hang new wiring trays in there, put new HVAC in there. It can be done one floor at a time, it's awesome how good it is. So, like I said, if you stand on the third and the

112fourth floor and you look out over those fields and look down towards the church, there's a phenomenal view. You could sell that building to a developer and he could probably put 70 or 80 600 200 $300,000 condominiums in that thing. We should not tear that down. People have talked about the price of demolition. They've talked about the price of um the fields. If you renovate this building and add to it if needed, you don't have demolition. You don't have site work. You already have a solid building. The savings there are calculable, but like everything else about this, you know, the devil's in the details. There are no plans right now, folks. There's a stick diagram and there's some numbers. That's all there are. They can't tell you how many classrooms are in it. There are

113things that need to be done in that building. All the bathrooms need to be renovated, updated, HVAC, electrical, heating, but that's got to be done in the new building also. We're going to build that new. And for those of you, I actually am old enough to I don't remember it, but I was here. That building was actually built for more kids that are in it right now. The school district probably had a thousand more students when I was a kid growing up than they do right now. So, there's a lot of value in there. The other thing is the last thing is the little theater is valuable. Thank you. Your time is up. Okay. Sorry about that. I have more common sense advocate. Take a seat. Thank you. I'm gonna Go ahead. Hi. Sorry. Tara

114Ing again on um Greg Gregory Road. Um I just wanted to address one thing that was mentioned about the walls being poured concrete. When I toured the middle school last year, I spoke to the facilities directory and he said that actually makes it very difficult to renovate because he basically said you can't move walls when it's poured concrete. So I trust the facility director's um assessment. I hope everyone else does. Also, I wanted to address another comment that um voting no means more money for the robotics team. That's just not true because essentially if the referendum loses, you will be taking money away from the general fund budget um when you have to pay for these surprise repairs and it's basically throw it's like renting versus buying. You're throwing money into something that's not going

115to serve you in the future. So, it's just essentially a waste of money. So, I'll get to my planned comments. Um, even though my kids have moved on from the middle school, I know that building a new middle school will improve the quality of life for everyone in Abington. It's not just about our immediate families. You've heard from a lot of people tonight that, you know, their kids aren't even going to benefit from a new middle school, but it's about creating a community that prioritizes the safety and well-being for all of us. I appreciate our school lead leaders, the board, the administration, um, who are making decisions with long-term care and consideration, not just for today, but for the future. If Abington voters choose to limp along with ad hoc repairs, um, we wish we

116risk, excuse me, we risk turning necessary fixes into costly emergencies. This will drain resources and disrupt the education of our students. We've seen this happen in a neighboring school district where children were forced to learn in trailers for years because their district failed to properly address deteriorating facilities. Sure, it would be nice if our facility was perfect and everything was fine. That's just that's wishful thinking. It's not. Um the reality is our current building is simply not safe. I've heard countless stories of students injured in overcrowded stairwells and many classrooms like S102 and S106. Everyone who knows me knows um ventilation is a key issue for me. They lack proper ventilation and by that I mean those literally have zero fresh air coming into them. Um this creates an unhealthy learning environment and these issues

117are not just inconveniences inconvenience conveniences. They are real dangers to our children's health and well-being. This covers just a couple of the many reasons I'm voting in support of the referendum on May 20th. A new middle school will ensure a better, safer, and more vibrant Abington for generations to come. Thanks for your time. Thank you for your voice. Um, is there anyone else in the room who has not spoken previously but would like to speak? Okay. All right. Go ahead. I just wanted to make sure that we didn't have any wall flowers. Hi. Uh, Tim Myers, um, Maple A Glennside. Um, I I'll keep this short and sweet. I I think um the comparison I can I can make is um I currently drive a 2006 Toyota Sienna. Has 155,000 miles on it. You know,

118it's paid off. You know, I'm just trying to ride it basically until the wheels fall off, right? So, if I needed a new transmission, if I needed some major repair, I wouldn't be dumping money into this almost 20-year-old car with 155,000 miles on it. That would make no sense. The middle school is the exact same thing. Why would we be dumping money into a failing almost 70-year-old building for no reason? That makes zero sense. It's the same thing as dumping money into an old failing car. Why would you do that when you can get a new car with new technology um for you know a new building, new new technology, better facilities, better education, better for children, better for the community, better for taxpayers, better for everybody. Thank you. Thank you for your voice. Anyone

119else? Okay. Oh, Dr. Fetcher, I was I was getting to you. I was gonna I was not gonna leave you pulling up to the microphone. So, all right. I'll I'll push my No. No. No. Okay. We are closing public comments now. I just wanted to address um the federal funding. I've received a lot of questions from parents. Uh last night I was at had the opportunity to address uh our um CPAC or special ed parents advisory council and uh I wanted to point people in the direction. One of the big questions is how much is federal funding and how does that impact our current op general operating budget? Um in the most recent highlights and happenings that's my newsletter. it's not widely read and uh according to the statistics on it, people spend a very

120brief time on there. However, uh within that document and also on our website is a federal funding in Abington School District, what you need to know. It breaks down all of our federal funding and where that's appropriated. So, I just wanted to point that out uh to everyone and also encourage highlights and happenings is riveting and to spend more than um 30 seconds to a minute on average on it. I'd appreciate it. Thank you. And eloquently written. Thank you. All right. Um, I wanted to before we move on to closing comments, um, I wanted to note if you're not aware, there is a new slide up on the 1A one future website that has a pie chart breakdown of what portion of the bond, what percentage of the bond is going to be spent on

121which portion of the project. So, if that interests you, that information is there. Um, with that, we will move on to closing comments, unless there's anything you want to add, Dr. Fetcher. No, I just want to thank everyone for uh coming out this evening and uh the spirit in which at the at the end of the day, this is about our our students. This is about the future of our students. and I appreciate the spirit um regardless of how people uh will vote that there's an interest in the education of our students in a public education of our students here at Abington School District. So, um regardless of your position, I appreciate you coming out and voicing uh your thoughts and concerns. Agreed, Mr. Allen. Um, a lot was shared tonight. I definitely appreciate the

122uh voices from the community particularly uh well obviously for the middle school but also around robotics in my day job. I'm very connected to robotics and education and the first robotics and first tech challenge in the middle school and first Lego League in the elementary. Um I love the idea of the student that said building a feeder program. That's remarkable uh insight in year one recognizing that they need a feeder program. Um, so I would hope that and the one teacher that does it and maybe she has some help. I don't know. Uh, but that like I see it happen in my day job and it's like a whole community um undertaking for First Robotics. However, it gives space to kids like competition space that aren't the jocks and the athletes um to be competitive

123and um collaborative and innovative. It is remarkable. Uh and the one person that said it's like an ESPN event. Um, in my day job, we hosted a um I'm connected to it, the the first uh regional competition, and it really is like an ESPN event. Um, it's absolutely incredible. So for parents listening, if you're you want to get your kids involved in something, especially if First Robotics grows into the middle and junior into the elementary school with Lego League, get them involved because it's remarkable and the stuff that they learn um is like aces. And um I know that our I'm I'm an administrator in a neighboring school district. we would love to have Abington come over and see, you know, our robotics labs and stuff. Um, that's like a passion. So, I got really

124excited when I saw it. I mean, the middle school is really the hot thing, but um, robotics is just phenomenal. Thank you, Mrs. Brown. I share in your in your passion for for things like robotics and making sure that students get an early start whether it's first Lego League or um Apex uh for our high school students. Um, I I wanted to say thank you for your voices today. And if any way, if there's anyone who feels as though I'm going to use a eye statement, that I have been silent about the things that are happening in our nation today, then I apologize for that. I am an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. I am an advocate for making sure that our students not only feel that they belong, but they know that they

125belong. and the things that we need to do to make that happen. I will continue to vote yes for. So again, I apologize if there was a sense of silence on my part, but I will continue to do the work. I will continue to show up. I am uh the board's liaison to the Montgomery County Intermediate Legislative Committee uh who meets monthly uh who um are in the midst of creating um uh written pieces to that that will be presented to the public. So again, I apologize if I have not been vocal enough, but I stand with you. I stand for every student who supported with act one, act two, act three. Um, and I believe there's also an act four and act four which which are those federally funded uh programs. So, thank you

126for your voices and again I apologize if you have not heard me say it publicly, but I stand with you and I'm here for this work. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Eisenhart. Um, uh, I too would just like to thank everybody who took the time to prepare statements and have conversation on such, um, an important topic that is affecting all of us who live in this community. Um, I could comment on tons of them. I write them all down. It matters to hear your voices. is it matters what you're saying. And to hear the engagement that's happening in this room tonight, it's clear um that everyone here cares about our community. They care about our kids and they care about what the future is going to look like. Um, you know, we have a couple

127more weeks until the actual vote will take place, and I would encourage all members of the community to continue talking to your neighbors. This is a long-term decision. This is a big investment for Abington and I'm proud to live in a place where this dialogue continues and people are energized and excited uh to support public education to support our children. Um, other notes, um, I just wanted to add a little bit about, uh, some of the other topics that came, uh, across the comment section tonight with CPAC and, um, the concerns that we're seeing on federal levels and how it affects the board. And I appreciate um, the feedback from families and that they're engaging with the district as they present. That's very important as well. So, thank you all for your engagement this evening

128and I look forward to hearing it in the future. Mr. Muhammad, uh yeah, I want to echo uh the gratitude that I have for everyone who came out and brought their voices to tonight's meeting. Um this process has been going on for nearly two years. Um and from the very beginning, it has been transparent. it has been democratic. Uh the most important one of the most important aspect of today's comments were around the availability of information. Uh there's the information has been made readily available to community members every step along the way and it has been meant to ensure that every citizen can make an informed decision on May 20th. Um, I want to thank the administration for being consistent in seeking out public input, uh, for hosting a wide range of events and opportunities

129for the public to see the problem firsthand, to share their concerns, to give their input, to share the direction they'd like to see the district go. Um, and and all of that input has gotten us to this point. We heard everything that the community shared and we made that a huge part of how we decided to move forward. It's it's the reason we're going forward with the option on May 20th. Um so I want you all to continue going to the one future website which has relevant, accurate, and important information for all of you to access and use as you go forward. We're at a critical juncture as a community. A need has been clearly laid out. We know how much a new facility will uh support the development of our students, the growth of

130our community. Um, and the alternative, the if we end up not going forward with this uh referendum, we we we could find ourselves in a tough position. And so, it's it's very important for community members to continue being informed and it's very important for everyone to have these conversations with their neighbors and their family members. Um and absolutely vote yes on May 20th. Uh as the future of Abington Rock Ledge and every student that walks through our halls um is is in the violence. Thank you, Miss Faldi. Um I don't I'm not a parent. I don't have any children. So um but I care about this community. I've lived here almost three decades. I started working in this township first right over Noble Plaza and uh and I saw the area, the neighborhood, and I

131decided to buy a home. And obviously, I'm happy otherwise I wouldn't still be here. It's important to me. I care about the neighborhood. I care about the community. I want to see it do better. Uh, when I first lived here, Abington's records were higher than what they are now. So, I think we have some work to do. We need to bring it back up. I want to see us be in the top three in Montgomery County. We're not there, but we will get there. And the middle school is a big part of that. So, um, I I liked hearing the comments that the actual students had to make. They're the ones that is going through it and what their words mean way more than anything I or any other adult could say. So, I hope

132people take that to mind when they go vote May 20th. Thank you, Miss Hartman. Um, I also want to thank everyone who came out today to speak tonight, the children, parents. I think we heard about a lot of very relevant topics. Um, in addition to the middle school, um, we heard about federal funding, we heard about Medicaid, we heard about the robotics team. And I think when we sit up here, I I think I know that my favorite part of of these meetings is watching our kids and how they flourish in our school district through the programs that we offer them. um athletics, robotics, arts, music, all of the programs that we that we offer as a school district. We watch our kids find a place where they belong and become who they are, and

133we give them so many opportunities to do that. Um I worry about the future of those programs if we we don't um vote yes for the referendum. I worry about um our kids not having the opportunities that we give them now. And um I I just hope that we continue to have the really meaningful conversations around this and listen to each other because at the end this is all about the kids. This is all about giving them the best opportunity to be successful in the world. And um I think we we really need to keep them at the center of um the conversation. Um I know that this impacts us all financially. We are all part of this community. Um but I think we just really need to stay focused on the endgame and that's

134giving our students the best opportunity to be as great as they possibly can. Um and again, it was great to hear everyone's perspectives. It's great to hear all of your voices. Um, and thank you all for coming out and being part of the conversation with us. Thank you, Miss Fraser. Um, when I started public education about 37 years ago, I think about what was trending then as it relates to CTE, careers and technical education. Um, at many schools there were there were uh opportunities for welding, woodworking, carpentry, etc. And then over the past, don't quote me, but maybe about 10 years or so, a little over 10, there was the pendulum for STEM education, 21st century skills, engineering, design challenges involving collaboration, critical thinking, communication, so on and so forth. And so here lately we

135hear about investments again in CTE, career technical education, um bringing back shop and some of those um nostalgic uh but yet meaningful trades. And so I'm just hoping that there's uh there will be a place for both to coexist STEM education, science, technology, engineering, math uh endeavors and incentives and budgets along with CTE training. And I'd like to thank all of you who express your support for the referendum, but I also like to thank those of you for your overall participation. And have a good evening. Thank you, Miss Vasy. Um, I also want to echo all my fellow board members and thanking everyone for coming out and for their voices and for their participation, especially um, our students that we heard from. Um, I have three students in the district and a middle schooler and

136I often have conversations with her and she'll, you know, she's a middle schooler, she has she has things to say. Um, and so often ask her, I'm like, "Well, what what do you suggest?" you know, kind of trying to bring her out of the um the comments and getting her thinking a little bit more creatively. And um you know, she we talk you she tells me about crowded hallways and this and that and she's like, "I don't know. I I don't I don't I don't I don't I don't know." And so, um, you know, as a as a grown-up in the room, as um, you know, as a board member, I'm like, well, you know, new building, you know, and, um, and in in this whole process, this was a long process. It was years

137and we listened to input from the community this whole way. Um, there were multiple plans put forward and we talked to people about what do they suggest, what what do they think about this, what do they think about that, what is what about cost, you know, all these things. And um one of the options was renovation and that was not one that the community found to be as favorable as this option. And so we're trusting on the information that we received from the community during this process in putting this forward. Um this is a democratic process where we're listening. Um we've been asking questions. We've been looking at the information for years. Um, and in doing this referendum, we're trusting that the information that the community has given us is what they're going to go

138ahead and vote on. Um, and I appreciate everybody's input of voting yes or voting no to this. Um, but as a board and as a district, we're putting this forward to you and saying, "Yeah, this is what you this is what you wanted, yes or no." Now, um, and I believe that, you know, yeah, I mean, a no vote for us would not necessarily mean more for students. It would mean an impact on our budget year to year. Um, in going ahead and doing, you mean repairs, replacements. Um, it would be difficult. We would be do we do it, but it would be very, very difficult. Um and so thank you everyone for you know coming out um for voicing um your support, your thoughts. Um and take care and have a good night. Thank

139you, Ms. Woo. Um this just about the robotics team and the other clubs, but when I was in middle school, the only exposure I had to robotics was STEM class. And I don't know if that's like still a class, but the idea of the middle school robotics club would like could be a potentially like good idea for um exposure to the club and especially to young girls. And I think that the biggest part of our school is the clubs and there's like many academic based clubs that have limited resources and the robot robotics team is still winning with these limited resources. And I didn't have much knowledge about the robotics team and how much they do. But I believe that money allocated to the academic clubs could improve these clubs. And I know like many

140of the people on the team and they're some of the smartest students at our school. And I know that like they along with Miss Aer are the reason why the club is still succeeding. And while like school athletics are really important, there should be more funds like for success for academic competition opportunities like robotics and science olympiad. Thank you for that Dr. Fetch your final remarks. I have nothing further this evening. Just thanks. Please read highlights and happenings. Thank you. [Laughter] I think you should print out some copies and have them by the door. Um I you know uh my board members do such a great job um articulating their thoughts and and uh their responses to everything we heard tonight. I'm not sure that there's much more for me to say um except to

141reiterate some points that I've made before. Um, one of the one of the themes among all of our speakers this evening was community and the way that our schools really are the heart of our community. Um, involving students at the center but also parents and guardians. um we all work together to give our students the best chance we can they can have. Um so I would I would to that I would also add that public education is the single greatest driver of opportunity and public education is the single greatest driver of innovation. But public education is not a thing. It's a verb. And it requires us to invest in it. Um it requires us to innovate both at the level of curriculum and at the level of facilities. Um and this community faces a choice

142on May 20th. I've said multiple times that um I will be voting yes. For anyone who's still on the fence though, I want to encourage them to go to the one future website. Um the district has been really diligent and really transparent about putting reliable factual information out to the community. If you have questions, start there. Um, I know that that Dr. Fetcher and his team is open to questions from the community as well if you're not finding the answers you seek there. Um, so continue to engage in those conversations with your neighbors, your friends, your family. It's important. We'll still be a community at the end of this, however the vote comes out, but the conversations are important. With that, I want to wish everyone a good night and thank everyone for coming out

143to the meeting.