001is Thursday, March 19th, 2026. I call to order the meeting of the Council Rock School District Board of School Directors. Welcome to all of those in the audience and viewing at home. Uh apologies for the delay. We were in executive session prior to this meeting. Dr. Scolnick, would you please? Thank you, Ms. Khan. Would you please stand for the pledges our friend Elena Khan leads us in the pledge? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic of which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> [music] [music] [applause] [music] [applause] >> Thank you, Ms. Stratton, and thank you to our wonderful musicians this evening. Thanks for being here. >> [clears throat] >> All right. Um we'll move on with the agenda.
002Can we have roll call, please? Board Secretary. Ms. Khan? Yeah. Mr. Tate? Present. Mr. Hidalgo? Here. Mr. Roosevelt? Here. Ms. Osacky? Present. Ms. Stone? Here. Ms. Horner? Here. Ms. Rickert? Present. Mr. Green? Here. All set. Thank you. Up next, we have um the visual arts recognition with Ms. Lynch. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for taking the time to recognize and celebrate Youth Art Month, a time dedicated to honoring the creativity, expression, and hard work of all our students. Art education is not just about creating beautiful work. It's about developing critical thinking, problem solving, and the confidence to share one's voice with the world. Through art, students learn to see differently, to take risks, and to tell their unique stories. Tonight, we're specially proud to recognize an outstanding group of students from around our district.
003Two students from each school have been selected from among their peers to have their artwork included in both the Chancellor Center collection and displayed in the gallery at the Rock. This is a remarkable achievement, and it reflects not only their talent, but their dedication and perseverance. Shortly, each of these students will be called forward by their own art teachers to receive a recognition. Their success is part of a much larger story. Across our district, art is alive and thriving. We have celebrated our students winning prestigious awards in both county and state art shows. We have given our students opportunities to create art that enhances our community, and we're looking forward to the upcoming district art show, which showcases the incredible range of student creativity from drawing to painting to sculpture to ceramics and beyond. As
004we move into May, we're looking forward to Arts Major for a Day at the Bucks County Community College, which will provide students with a glimpse into future opportunities, allowing them to explore careers and higher education in the arts. We are also excited to unveil an exclusive art and library collaborative event that will continue to highlight and elevate our students' work in new and meaningful ways. These opportunities matter. They remind our students that their ideas have value, that their voices deserve to be seen and heard, and that creativity is an essential part of a very well-rounded education. Thank you for continued support of art education in our schools, and congratulations to all of our student artists. We are incredibly proud of you. Please join us in celebrating each student's accomplishment as they are called forward by
005their art teachers. Um Dr. Sanko and Mrs. Kahn, do you want to come down to help us with the awards? We're going to start with elementary school and then go middle and high school. So, I'm going to start as soon as we get down. From Churchville, we have Miles Yanchak. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> We also have Alina Askalosky. >> [applause] >> And Danny Weiss. >> [applause] >> From Goodno Elementary, we have Cora Curtain. >> [applause] >> And Fiona Story. >> [applause] >> And she couldn't be with us this evening, but I will accept on her behalf. Um Heidi Archer. >> [applause] >> From Hillcrest Elementary, Zoe Wenn. >> [applause] >> And also from Hillcrest, we have Diana Kiss and Milana Kiss, who also could not be here tonight. >> [applause] >> From Holland Elementary, we
006have Jackson Wingert. >> [applause] >> We also have Scarlet Earsley. >> [applause] >> From Maureen Malseed Elementary, we have Gabe Gannon. >> [applause] >> And Dalini uh Kladik. >> [applause] >> Almost right. From Newtown Elementary, we have Miss Mia Boland. >> [applause] >> AND MISS ELISE KNAPP. >> [applause] >> ALL RIGHT. From Richboro Elementary, we have Gianna Schlaegel. >> [applause] >> And Claudia Cain. >> [applause] >> From Rolling Hills Elementary, we have Lily Butchin. >> [applause] >> And we also have Murat Komurkov, who could not be here tonight. Sorry. >> [applause] >> From Sol Feinstone, I'm proud to recognize Bernadette Garrels. >> [applause] >> And I'd also like to recognize Addy Dunn. Come on up, Addy. >> [applause] >> From Wrightstown Elementary School, I'd like to say congratulations to Nozima Kamalova. >> [applause] >> And
007I'd also like to congratulate Katherine Mitchell. >> [applause] >> From Holland Middle School, I would like to congratulate Raina Samuel. >> [applause] >> And I would also like to congratulate Katherine Azayev. >> [applause] >> Cannot be here right now. From Newtown Middle School, I'd like to recognize Allison Bender. >> [applause] >> And I would also like to recognize Liliana Jordan. >> [applause] >> From the earth, I'd like to recognize Riley Haig. >> [applause] >> And also Alice Zang, who I think is not here, so I'll give this to her Monday. >> [applause] >> From Council Rock South, we'd like to recognize Shane Weigel. >> [applause] >> And last but not least, from Council Rock South, we'd like to congratulate Ava Joby. >> [applause] >> All right, parents. May we ask board members to come up
008and get into a photo with our students? >> [applause] [cheering] >> Thanks, friends. Thank you all. You guys are awesome. Thank you, guys. >> All right. Well, congratulations to all our artists out there that were recognized. And thank you for Ms. Lynch for coming this evening. Uh we have the Council Rock South [snorts] Student Advisory Board with Mr. Venziale. Good evening, members of the Board of School Directors, Dr. Sanko, fellow district level administrators, and to the CRSD community. Thank you again for this opportunity to share all of the wonderful things that are happening at Council Rock High School South. And on behalf of the entire CR South community, we are extremely grateful for this opportunity and also for your constant support of our students and staff. It's my pleasure again to introduce to you our
009SAB board members, class of 2026 senior Arthur Kiss, class of 2027 junior Daniel Thomas, class of 2028 sophomore Mia Lafredo, class of 2029 freshman Ellie Chao, and then our MBIT representative junior Olivia Mitzis. Arthur, take it away. Good evening, school board members. My name is Arthur Kiss, and I'm the 12th grade representative for the Student Advisory Board. Two weeks ago, Good to Wings Theater Company put on their rendition of the hit Disney stage musical, The Little Mermaid. It was a resounding success for the entire district. We were thrilled to welcome elementary age students to be a part of our performances, as well as having a 100% student run pit orchestra, cast, and stage crew. Currently, preparations are being made for our spring show, Murder in Murder in Monte Carlo. More details to follow soon. Of
010course, we can't forget about the senior trip coming up soon. Uh as of this evening, there are 19 days left before we leave for Disney. To ensure a safe and organized trip, there will be a mandatory parent meeting on March 23rd at 7:00 p.m. and a mandatory student meeting on March 24th at 8:45 a.m. All payments and room assignments should have already been completed. For any additional questions, please consult the Disney trip Canvas page for more information. Additionally, senior prom will take place on Friday, May 29th at 6:30 p.m. at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Tickets are $125 per person and will be sold throughout all of next week from March 23rd to the 27th. Students must turn in envelopes containing all checks and forms for their table directly to the 12th grade office.
011Additionally, all students attending must also fill out a Google form with their table assignments located on their class of 2026 Canvas page. And last but not least, we are only 89 days left from today to left to graduation. Graduation will be held on June 16th at 6:00 p.m. in the CR South gymnasium. More details will get will follow as we get closer to the date. That is it for me for today. May you all have a wonderful evening, and we'll be back soon for another round of updates and events. Good evening, school board. I'm Daniel Thomas, the junior representative, and I will inform you about some recent events from this current school year. Firstly, I would like to start off by talking about our sports at South. The boys basketball team won the SOL Patriot
012division with an 8-2 league record, while girls basketball finished 13-10 overall. Boys wrestling dominated with their 13th straight league title, plus District 1 and Southeast Regional Championships, and multiple state medalists. In girls wrestling, Gracie Murphy became the first female state medalist in program history, while McKenzie O'Donnell qualified for states as well. Boys bowling reached the District 1 Championships. Boys swimming won both SOL and District 1 titles, and girls swimming went 3-3 and 1 in league competition. Next, I'd like to talk about some recent developments from the 2027 class officers. Starting, our junior officers are planning a Top Golf fundraiser on May 6th and a Bomba Taco fundraiser on May 19th. Our class will also be hosting our common home room this April 23rd, where information from our student officers will be informing our junior class
013about events, and we'll show a slideshow of pictures from this past marking period. Soon, there will be another class officer election to determine the students who will represent our grade in our senior year. Also, South hosted the March SAT on March 14th, where lots of South's own students signed up. Additionally, the junior prom is set to be on April 24th at the Sheraton Hotel in Valley Forge, where the theme will be masquerade. Lastly, we have a clothing drive on April 18th. Finally, I want to thank you for your consideration of the new stadium. The students are very excited for this new milestone and excited for the future of sports here at South. Thank you for your time and have a good rest of your night. Good evening, everyone. My name is Mia Lafredo, and I'm
014the 10th grade SAB representative for Council Rock South. In 10th grade, we had two main events completed in the past month. One being a very successful Valentine's Day bake sales with cake pops, cookies, and brownies. The other being our third common home room, where the whole 10th grade got to participate in bingo, which was very exciting. We have our fourth and final common home room the week of April 21st, where we plan to recap all the successes in our year and what we have to look forward to as we enter the home stretch. Also, coming up in 10th grade is an egg your own yard fundraiser, which has had record-breaking sign-ups. Moving on to school-wide events, last Thursday, we had a college panel visit with representatives from a wide variety of PA schools, including Drexel,
015Rutgers, Rider, and Gwynedd Mercy. Many of the students took advantage of this opportunity, and the event was a rousing success. Coming up, we have spring break, March 30th to April 3rd, which everyone is looking forward to. Additionally, FBLA has had a very successful season, and states are on the horizon, occurring at Hershey April 13th to 15th. Finally, to end our school year, we have class elections June 3rd to 4th. Thank you very much for your attention and have a wonderful evening. Good evening. I'm Ellie Chao, the ninth grade representative. So far this late winter, the ninth grade student government had common home room along with the Shamrock Shake fundraiser on March 17th. Both events were very successful for the class of 2029. We do not have any upcoming events planned other than preparing for our
016next common home room, which is on April 21st. In our musical department, the CR South Choir trip to Germany and Austria is right around the corner. They will be be leaving March 25th and returning April 2nd. This trip is a performance tour, where these students get to sing at many famous locations. The CRS Winter Guard has hosted three competitions this season, and they won their first competition at South Brunswick High School last month, where they broke the 80-point mark. Thank you for your time and have a good evening. Hello. My name is Olivia Mitzis, and I'm the level 200 student at the Dental Occupations program at MBIT and a junior at Council Rock South. First up tonight, March is a significant month for celebrating women's achievements and contributions throughout history. It marks Women's History Month,
017a time to honor the vital role women have played in shaping society. The first week of March is particularly dedicated to recognizing women in construction, highlighting the accomplishments they've made in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Next, Middle Bucks competed at the National Association of Home Builders Student Competition. In MBIT's first year competing in the Construction Management category, the team earned the Distinguished Rookie of the Year award. Students completed real-world construction management projects that got evaluated by industry professionals currently working in the field. This experience highlighted both our technical knowledge and professionalism. Next, congratulations to our senior Automotive Technology students who have officially earned their Pennsylvania State Emissions Inspector's license. This achievement shows their hard work, dedication, and commitment to mastering the skills necessary for success in the automotive industry. By obtaining the certification, these students have
018demonstrated their expertise in vehicle emissions testing and compliance, making them valuable assets to the employers in the field. Next, the Medical and Health Professions program hosted a successful blood drive on February 20th, demonstrating the dedication and compassion to our students and staff. Through their efforts, a record-breaking of 29 units of blood were collected, directly benefiting patients in need and supporting our community's health care system. This success of this initiative reflects the commitment of our program to fostering skills and service-oriented health care professionals. Lastly, our work-based education has over 80 student students gaining hands-on experience in the industry. This partnership with local businesses not only provides our students with practical experience, but also strengthens our community connections that ensures our graduates are job ready. We are proud of the opportunities provided to these students and look
019forward to the continued success of our co-op program. Thank you for taking the time to stay updated on all the exciting happenings at Middle Bucks Institute of Technology. Thank you again for this opportunity. Have a great evening, everyone. All right, great. Thank you, Council Rock South. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Mr. Venzio. I We won't see you until your Disney trip, so wishing all of the Council Rock seniors a great and safe trip. Thank you very much. Thank you. All right, we have the superintendent report next. Dr. Sanko? Thank you, Ms. Khan. Welcome and good evening to the Board of School Directors, to the staff and communities member community members joining us here tonight, and to those tuning in on the Council Rock YouTube channel. I would like to also thank and welcome Leslie Daily
020on who is serving as our solicitor this evening. Thank you to Alana Khan for leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance into the Council Rock High School North Chamber Orchestra, led by Ms. Abigail Stratton, for their performance. To Ms. Beth Lynch for her recognition recognition of the talented visual arts students and for their creativity, and Principal Anthony Venzio and the student advisory the student advisory board for their monthly report. With the first day of spring just 2 days away, we're entering a meaningful and energetic time in the school year. Spring break for students begins on Monday, March 30th, with students returning to the classroom on Monday, April 6th. The break offers students and staff a valuable opportunity to rest, recharge, and return refreshed as we begin the final stretch of the academic school year. Later
021in April, PSSA and Keystone testing will take place, an important milestone that signals our transition into the fourth marking period. These assessments provide one measure of student progress and help provide and guide our continued efforts to support learning at all levels. They also serve as a clear indication that the school year is moving quickly toward conclusion. The weeks ahead are among the most rewarding of the year. Classrooms remain active and focused while schools begin to prepare for the end-of-year events, celebrations, and recognitions that highlight student growth and achievement. From daily learning to milestone moments, this is a time that reflects both the hard work and accomplishment. As always, we are grateful for the continued partnership of our families, our staff, and the broader Council Rock community. Your support, commitment, and shared focus on students makes
022a lasting difference and ensure that we remain grounded in our belief, students first, always. This is a reminder that student registration for the 2026-2027 school year is now open. All required information, instructions, and forms are available on the district website at www.crsd.org. Families in need of translation support are invited to attend a special registration session on Wednesday, April 29th at the Chancellor Center. Language interpretation and assistance will be available to support the registration process. If your child will be new to Council Rock or entering kindergarten in September, we encourage you to register as soon as possible to help ensure a smooth start to the new school year. On July 1st, 2026, Council Rock will transition to a new website platform, Apptegy. This change represents an important step forward in how we communicate with our community.
023The overall user experience has been thoughtfully developed to be more intuitive, accessible, and aligned with current expectations for school district websites. The design and structure of the new website have been informed in part by feedback gathered through staff and community surveys conducted last year. That input has helped shape decisions around layout, content priorities, and functionality, ensuring the site reflects the needs and preferences of our district users. In addition to the website, Council Rock will introduce a mobile app that provides another convenient way to stay connected. The The app will allow users to access important information, updates, and notifications directly from their mobile devices. More details about the app, including how to download and use it, will be shared in the weeks ahead. Tonight, we are asking the board to consider the approval of Council Rock's
0242026-2029 comprehensive comprehensive plan. This plan fulfills a Pennsylvania Department of Education requirement for all districts to develop a forward-looking 3-year roadmap. The comprehensive planning process is extensive and grounded in stakeholder input. Principals identified parents and students willing to participate in a multi-month effort resulting in a planning team of 28 individuals representing parents, students, community members, teachers, staff, and administrators. >> [clears throat and cough] >> Working groups collaborated around the district's core pillars, classroom, community, and culture to guide the development of this comprehensive plan. Grounded in the pillars of classroom, culture, and community, each priority is designed to ensure that all efforts remain focused on student success academically, socially, and emotionally. By strengthening instructional systems, fostering a sense of belonging, and deepening engagement with families in the broader community, the district reinforces its core commitment to
025placing students first, always. These priorities are intended to be actionable and measurable, serving as a bridge between vision and implementation. They guide the development of goals and action steps, ensuring that the district's work remains focused, aligned, and responsive to the evolving needs of students and the community. Ultimately, they define what success looks like and establish a clear path forward in achieving it. The draft has been public publicly available since February 20th with a dedicated mailbox established to receive feedback. While the required public review period is 28 days prior to approval, Council Rock's plan will have been available for a total of 39 days. The full plan and all supporting materials are posted on the district website homepage through March 30th, with a formal submission scheduled for March 31st, 2026. At this time, I would like
026to introduce Mr. Chad Evans from the Bucks County Intermediate Unit. Chad is a recognized expert as a comprehensive plan the comprehensive plan expert across Bucks County because, like the work he does with Council Rock, he supports and is the liaison between all 13 school districts in Bucks County and the Pennsylvania Department [snorts] of Education. We appreciate Chad's work, like all of our other interactions with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, we appreciate it. And Chad is going to provide a brief overview of the comprehensive plan's purpose and intent, as well as as its importance in shaping the future of Council Rock. Chad, welcome to Council Rock, and thank you for your guidance. Thank you for the opportunity to come and share this evening. Thank you to the board. It's very difficult to follow students who do
027an amazing job sharing, so hopefully I can make them proud. As Dr. Sanko said, the Pennsylvania Department of Education requires every school district to engage in a comprehensive planning process every 3 years. And we always talk about the fact that by the time you've gotten into that middle implementation of that plan, it's time to start that planning process all over again. And so, there are multiple parts to comprehensive planning in Pennsylvania. You think of the steering committee work that oftentimes feels the most present or it's the most publicly available part of it, but there's actually quite a bit of work that happens behind the scenes. So, there are three phases to comprehensive planning. The ready phase, which asks you to look at your mission, your vision, your values, and to determine whether or not those
028pieces still are present. You have a very strong one here in students first, always, and the mission and vision here aligning towards that. The second part is known as the needs assessment, and that asks us to look at all kinds of publicly available data. So, the state requires us to look at our Keystone data, requires us to look at our PSSA data, requires to look at subgroup data, and it asks us to make some decisions about how we're achieving as a school district. In a high-performing district like this, there is still opportunity for continuous improvement. In fact, the way the state likes to frame comprehensive planning is a cycle of continuous improvement. Um beyond that needs assessment, then the district will make some decisions about what those priorities might look like um through strategic intentions,
029through pillars, through classroom community and culture here as your priority statements. And then the work of determining action steps and driving down through those action steps into ways that you might measure those outcomes. One of my favorite framings with comprehensive planning is that it's an opportunity for you to tell new stories, and that stories are both data and the literal stories that we tell. And I think believe the comprehensive plan that your administration and the steering committee have developed provide you opportunities both to have metrics at the action planning level, as well as to tell new stories of success here in Council Rock. I also like to remind um the board and the public that along with the comprehensive plan itself, there are five other reports that are required for a school district to review
030and create. A professional development plan, which highlights the professional development practices over that same three-year window, but also, and I say this with with love to the state and our lawmakers, the many additional uh professional development requirements that are falling on school districts. And so, it requires us to look at all those pieces and ensure that they are being met. We also have to provide an induction plan, which helps to ensure that as teachers come into your district, they are not only being welcomed, but they are meeting expectations for induction so they can move to a level two certification. Third plan is the student services plan, um and it's a a variety of things, things like do you currently have certain policies which are your responsibility as a board? Also, do you have MOUs with
031local law enforcement, some of the safety and security checks. Fourth plan is your gifted assurances, which is ensuring that you have processes in alignment with the laws um to identify and support students identified as gifted. And the fifth plan is the academic assurances, uh as well as your assessment assurances as well, to ensure that you have curriculum aligned to the standards in Pennsylvania. Most of that work goes completely unnoticed because it's typically not public-facing. There are some requirements for some committee work there as well, but I always when I get a chance to talk to school boards, let you know that you often think about comprehensive planning as what happens at the steering committee level, and there's a tremendous amount of work that happens prior and after that work as well. So, I don't want
032to take up too much time. I'm happy to answer questions about the process, but um again, essentially it's a it's required process. We are required to look at certain data. Um the last thing I'll mention here is that while it is at one level, it can be about compliance, there are opportunities to go beyond that compliance, and a school district like Council Rock does look beyond the compliance pieces as well. Thanks, Chad. Um before we allow Chad and Tammy to scoot out of here tonight, to do we have any questions from the board? Chad, as always, thanks so much for being here. You're very welcome. >> Appreciate it. I know that people don't often do this, but thank you for your service. I know that as board members, you don't often get thanks. So, thank
033you very much. Thanks, doctors. Thanks, Chad. Um some important dates, Tammy, thank you as well. You both should get on the road and get home. Um some important dates, Friday, March 20th, which is tomorrow, Eid is observed, all schools will be closed, offices will be opened. Thursday, March 26th is the education committee at 7:00 p.m. here at the Chancellor. Monday, March 30th 30th through Thursday, April 2nd, all schools are closed, offices are opened. There will be spring break time in there for students and professional development. Friday, April 3rd, Easter is observed, all schools and offices will be closed. Monday, April 6th, all students return from spring break, and there is a policy committee meeting scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Ronnie, you're shaking your head. We've canceled that. Thank you. Let me rephrase. Friday, April 3rd, there
034will be no policy meeting. Um um I'm sorry. Thank you. Friday, April 3rd, Easter is observed, all schools and offices are closed. Monday, April 6th, there will be no policy committee meeting, but students will return from spring break. Thursday, April 9th is a facilities committee meeting at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 14th is the start of the fourth marking period. Thursday, April 16th is a finance committee meeting at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 22nd, the third marking period report cards will be available through the Home Access Center. Thursday, April 23rd is a school board meeting at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, April 30th is an education committee meeting at 7:00 p.m. My apologies for messing up your policy, Mr. Spring and board liaisons. Finally, this is a reminder to our community to use only Council Rock School District resources,
035websites, and official social media platforms for the most reliable, up-to-date information about the district. We urge the public to verify information on social media and be discerning in where they obtain information relating to Council Rock. If you question what you're seeing, need clarification, or want to reliable fact check, please contact the district directly. Our contact information is available on our website at www.crsd.org. That concludes the superintendent's report. Ms. Khan? Thank you, Dr. Sanco. Uh we'll move on to the solicitor's report, and here this evening we have Ms. um De Leon in place of Mr. Peter Armeso, who is unavailable this evening. Thank you. Good evening. The board met for executive session on March 12th, 2026 to discuss personnel matters and possible litigation. The board also met today, March 19th, 2026 to discuss safety and security.
036There is nothing public to report, but the board has our written solicitor's report of the month. Thank you, Ms. De Leon. We are going to move to public comment. Public comment is an opportunity for members of the public to address the board. We would ask that you limit your comments to no longer than 3 minutes. Please consider the fact that there may be young children in the audience or watching this broadcast live on CRTV when speaking. It is our goal to maintain a respectful environment so that all members of our community have an equal opportunity to address the board without interruption. While the board welcomes your ideas and will consider them in deliberating an issue, we may not respond to your comments or questions at this time. I don't have anyone signed up for not
037um agenda items. Is there anyone that wishes to speak on agenda items at this time? Okay, thank you. Um moving on, we have the approval of the minutes of the meeting of the board on February 19th, 2026. Um Mr. Tate, would you make the motion, please? Thank you, Ms. Khan. I move to approve the minutes of the meeting of the board of school directors held on February 19th, 2026. Second. Uh thank you, Mr. Tate, and seconded by Mr. Hidalgo. Any other questions or comments regarding the minutes from February 26th uh February 19th, 2026? Okay. We're going to move on to the education committee. Um we are I believe Ms. Osecky will be reporting out for education committee. Yes, thank you. Okay, the education committee met on February 26th. We heard an update on full-day kindergarten
038from Churchville Elementary School teacher, Ms. Kimberly Bender. Ms. Bender reports that she has seen at least five major positive changes since the adoption of full-day kindergarten. One, the ability to fully utilize the reading Reading Horizons curriculum with fidelity. Two, the increase of the the increase of the math Bridges program, previously offered only 3 days per week, now increased to 5 days per week. Three, the introduction of the Play Lab, combining science and social studies, providing hands-on learning and play for our kindergarten students. Four, the ability for kindergarteners to participate in all elementary specials, music, art, library, gym, and STEAM. >> [cough] >> Five, the ability of teachers to promote a more inclusive learning environment for all students. We appreciate the hard work of our kindergarten team and Ms. Crawford in executing the full-day kindergarten program
039so successfully. We also had Dr. Tom Barnes, the district's data analyst, present on the DIBELS Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills and Acadience screener scores, comparing the beginning of the year with the middle of the year scores. He shared our first meaningful data point on the execution of full-day kindergarten when viewing the DIBELS scores. Last year, with half-day kindergarten, reading scores had improved by 10% from the beginning of the year until the middle of the year. This year with full-day kindergarten, scores had improved 22% since the start of the school year. Kudos to the kindergarten team for this achievement. Though kindergarteners do not participate in the Acadience math screeners, we'd expect a similar jump now that kindergarteners are able to spend so much more time on their math skills. Dr. Barnes shared a lot
040of meaningful data with us, and I'd encourage you to watch the meeting for full context. I think of particular note, we are seeing an average of 7.5% increase in the DIBELS scores, with most of that gain concentrated in the younger grades, where they are focused on reading skills and strategies daily in their classroom. As you'd expect, at the upper grades, they are reading to learn, and their gains in reading scores are not as dramatic. The Acadience math screener also showed an average gain across all across of our our elementary schools of 7.1% with these These increases also varied by grade, which we suspect is related to how the grade level content matches to the screener's test. Dr. Barnes noted a lift over the last 3 years of about 2%, which he views as meaningful and
041enduring improvement of our average student scores. In our special education discussion, we heard from Bernell and Will Holmes of Trey's Way's, who recently worked with the district open sensory rooms at Richboro and Sol Feinstone Elementary. These spaces provide multi-sensory environments for our students to support regulation, support learning, and support connection. We discussed a potential upcoming audit of our special education program, most likely beginning with an audit of our IEP process, how our IEPs are written, informed, and shared with families, and followed through. The board instructed the administration proceed with a request for proposal. We heard from Ms. Tammy Garry about curriculum changes in our accelerated personal finance and science programs, and about the results of pilot programs undertaken at many of our schools in math and science. Mr. Funk presented about the efforts of the
042high school schedule committee, which is continuing to review potential changes to the secondary schedule. While there is no clear indication that any one schedule is superior for improved academics, there is a reasonable belief that an overall decrease in unstructured time may lead to uh fewer behaviors student behavior issues. As a reminder for the community, we are looking at the high school schedule, which hasn't been updated in decades, with the goals of potentially providing more credit opportunities, more time for student intervention, staff collaboration, and a reduction in student stress. I want to emphasize for anyone listening at home that this is a long undertaking, and any potential changes would not happen in the 2026 2026-27 school year. Finally, we heard from Mrs. Mangold, as as you have heard tonight, about the district's comprehensive plan, which was
043publicly available for community feedback beginning on February 20th. This document will be voted on tonight and must be submitted to the state by March 31st. Our next education committee meeting is on March 26th at 7:00 p.m. That concludes my report. With that, I move to approve consent agenda items B through F as contained in the attachments to this agenda. I get a second. I second. Thank you, Ms. Sosaki and Ms. Stone. Uh questions or comments from the board? None? All right. Um Ms. Secretary, if you would mark that as unanimous. Um I just wanted to quickly comment um that >> [snorts] >> wanted to thank board members, I believe uh Ms. Ms. Horner and Ms. Stone, who were part of the committee on the comprehensive plan for their for their time and efforts on behalf
044of the board. Um as well as, you know, the administration that was spent working on it since the beginning of the school year. Um and also just a shout-out and kudos to the full-day kindergarten. I know when we were presented that information with the DIBELS and the data, I thought that was fantastic news, and no um you know, couldn't be a greater testament than the successful implementation of full-day kindergarten, and thanks to this team and all of our teachers in the district. So, thank you. All right. We will move on to the Bucks County Intermediate Unit 22 representative. I will present. Um the Bucks County Intermediate Unit met this past Tuesday, March 17th evening at the IU in Doylestown. The Pennsylvania IU Day on the Hill is coming up on March 24th in Harrisburg. Um
045myself and a few of the other board members of the IU are planning to attend. Um the IU also had a presentation at both the finance committee and board meeting of the audit finance findings, which were found to be in order and no issues identified. Uh there are many things going on at the IU, and I would I would like to highlight um just a couple. Uh one being Sequel, um S E Q U E L, a program designed to help adults with disabilities build uh purposeful lives beyond the classroom. It supports helping these adults pursue employment, volunteer service, and meaningful activities to strengthen their independence and community connections. This program, which I think is a great extension of uh actually reminded me of our own um graduates of Council Rock that are currently at
046the Achieve program at Star. It reminded me as an extension of of our program as they continue on into adulthood. And I would like to congratulate um the IU Sequel on celebrating its fifth year this year. Um for those that are interested, more information can be found on the IU website under adult programs. Um the second item I would like to acknowledge is an IU apprenticeship pro- apprenticeship program that received a state recognition. The award was given to a special education teacher apprentice working at the newly opened IU um at Pearl S. Buck. Um again, if any family is interested and still looking for summer camps, the Fab Lab summer camp enrollment is still open. Um the weekly sessions are little over 50% full at the time, but still many um opportunities to register. If
047your child needs a break and are interested in hands-on activities in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math, from robotics to 3D design and coding, and more, um there is there is something for everyone. And all of that is available available on the Bucks County Intermediate website at bucks iu.org. Um thank you, and this concludes my report. The next IU meeting will be on February 21st at 7:00 p.m. at the Intermediate Building in Doylestown. Thank you. All right. Moving on to the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology representative. I believe that's Ms. Ricker. >> Yes, thank you. Um so, an MBIT update. Um Ms. Horner and I met with the board um on Tuesday, March 3rd, and I want to reiterate some of the points that the student representative, Olivia, shared. So, February was CTE month, and
048this was a really wonderful opportunity to shine a spotlight on career and technical education and all that it offers students. The MBIT team truly made um the most of this. They promoted their programs, spotlighted student achievements, and shared a lot of exciting updates across all of their departments. They really saw the efforts of this payoff with their social media engagement, where they saw 180% increase during the month um from everything that they shared. And I think it's wonderful to see that so many people are learning more about CTE and seeing the wonderful work that the team is doing at MBIT. Um in addition, as Olivia mentioned, in March 1st through 7th was Women in Construction Week, and that is a wonderful time to celebrate women's valuable contributions to the construction industry. Representation matters, and it
049is important that we recognize these women, that they are trailblazers, and that we continue to support the diversity and inclusion in this field. So, MBIT has done a wonderful job of recognizing the women in construction in their programs. Additionally, the MBIT students recently participated in the National Association of Home Builders student competition in Orlando, and I would say this is another great example of how the team at MBIT is showcasing the wonderful work and also raising awareness around what they are doing and what is happening in the CTE world. So, this event brings 84 secondary and post-secondary schools from across the country to compete in four different categories, and this was the first time the team competed, and they finished fifth overall and earned the title of Rookie of the Year in the category of
050secondary construction management category. So, it is a tremendous accomplishment. We are very proud of the work that they're doing um and to the effort they put in to really represent MBIT in Orlando. Lastly, registration for the 26-27 school year has closed, and MBIT received more than 600 applications. So, this reflects the growing interest in the opportunities there, and the team is currently reviewing that and looking at the submissions and developing plans to accommodate as many students as possible. Finally, we are in the process of budgeting, and the team is preparing the budget for the board to review in April and approve by June. And the next executive session will be Monday, March 30th. Thank you very much. Thank you, Ms. Ricker. Well, moving on to the Council Rock Education Foundation Liaison, Mr. Tate. Thank you,
051Ms. Kahn. Um the Council Rock Education Foundation sincerely appreciates the support that so many people provided at our recent Monte Carlo Night Gala. Thank you for all who participated. Uh it was a fantastic evening. It brought together families, staff, community members, and local businesses in support of our schools. And more than just a fun night out, it was an important fundraiser that will enable CREF to continue enhancing educational opportunities for students throughout the district. We thank everybody who attended, sponsored, donated, or volunteered to make the evening a success. One recent grant in action visit showcased the children's government books, a creative civil learning project that united high school and elementary students in a meaningful way. Through this grant, North students wrote and published a children's book about the US government and the Constitution and shared
052it with younger students at Goodnoe Elementary. The project strengthened students' understanding of government, supported literacy and writing skills, and built confidence through presentations and book sharing. It served as a powerful example of students learning through students, from other students, and and engaging high-impact opportunities that CREF is proud to support. CREF is working to uh finalize this year's grant recipients closely in concert with the district administration, um excited about the opportunities these grants will create and the value the partnership that helps these ideas go from application to implementation. This collaboration is key to ensuring that CREF-funded programs continue to provide meaningful student experiences across Council Rock. And, of course, we are excited to talk about this year's seventh annual golf classic. It's uh set for Monday, June 15 at Jericho National Golf Club. You can participate
053uh even if you're not a golfer by volunteering or even just coming for dinner. It's a neat event. It's become a cherished tradition for the foundation, and we moved it back into the district several years ago to Jericho, which is a terrific place. It's always a fun day, a meaningful purpose. Please visit cr-education-foundation.org to register today. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Tate. Uh we look forward to the future CREF grant winners in the spring. Thank you. Uh moving on to policy committee, we have Mr. Green. Thank you, Ms. Kahn. The policy committee met on March 2nd. The meeting was uh a full second review of the 300-level policies. Those policies deal with the employees of the Council Rock school district. And the meeting was very effective, very efficient, and um thank you to Mr. Spring
054for his deft guidance through these policy updates. At this meeting, we reviewed 42 policies. 29 of them had no substantial changes. 10 had changes, one was retired, one was new, and one was a 200-level uh policy that needed to be updated because of a a uh legislative change, and I think um we've already been through this once. This will be the second time. Um we're going to proceed through that second reading tonight. Just a reminder that there will not be a meeting in April, a policy committee meeting in April. Um we're going to be moving to the zero-level policies, which um are local board procedures. Um and so we'll the next policy meeting will be in May. So, um let me go ahead and read these out um one by one, and then um I'll
055make a motion. So, policy number 218.1, weapons. Um this is the uh student-level policy that um was introduced because of a legislative change. Policy number 318, attendance and tardiness. This is a new policy. Policy 348, unlawful harassment. This policy was retired not because we don't believe in uh prosecuting unlawful harassment in any way or persecuting it, but because it is thoroughly captured in another one of our policies. Policy number 301, creating a position. Policy number 302, employment of superintendent. Policy number 306, employment of summer school extended year staff. Policy number 307, student teachers interns. Policy 309, assignment and transfer. Policy 311, reduction of staff. Policy 312, performance assessment of superintendent. Policy 313, evaluation of employees. Policy 314.1, HIV infection. Policy 319, outside activities. Policy 321, political activities. Policy 322, gifts. Policy 323, tobacco and vaping
056products. Policy 324, personnel files. Policy 325, dress and grooming. Policy 328, compensation plans salary schedules. Policy 330, overtime. Policy 331, job-related expenses. Policy 332, working periods. Policy 334, sick leave. Policy 335, family medical leave. Policy 336, personal necessity leave. Policy Policy 337, vacation. Policy 338, sabbatical leave. Policy 338.1, compensated professional leave. Policy 341, benefit for part-time employees. Policy 342, jury duty. Policy 343, paid holidays. Policy 347, workers' compensation transitional return to work programs. Policy 304 um uh begins the changes. Um employment of district staff. Policy 308, employment contract board resolution. Policy 314, physical examination. Policy 317, conduct to disciplinary procedures. Policy 317.1, educator misconduct. Policy 320, freedom of speech by employees. Policy 333, professional development. Policy 339, uncompensated [snorts] leave. Policy 340, responsibility for student welfare. Policy 351, controlled substance abuse. And that concludes my
057report on the policy committee meeting. So, I move to approve consent agenda uh it agenda items B through QQ for second read as contained in the attachment to this agenda. Second. Thank you, Mr. Green and Ms. Osecky. Uh questions, comments from the board. Believe I mean this we discussed thoroughly at policy. This is our second read. So, if none um if I would ask that board secretary please Mark this as unanimous, items B through QQ. Thank you. All right, moving right along, we have facilities committee, and that will be Mr. Tate. Thank you, Ms. Kahn. I was going to say I I congratulate Ms. Osecky and Mr. Green and Mr. Spring and and everybody who put on a lot of effort into all of those policies. That was a lot. So, good work. Uh facilities
058committee um we met and discussed the three items on the agenda before you. They're fairly routine with one exception, that the Walt Snyder Stadium lighting replacement bid is more than just lighting replacements. It's a permanent upgrade from standard lighting, I guess it's incandescent, to LED and rewiring the system. Um so that'll reduce the amount of maintenance needed, save cost, and save energy. Uh so that's a badly needed project that'll um be a substantial permanent improvement. And if you're interested, you can always listen to the discussion on our YouTube channel. So, for the facilities committee, I move to approve consent agenda items B through D as contained in the attachment to this agenda. Second. Thank you, um Mr. Tate and Mr. Ricker. Board questions and comments for facilities. The next meeting of the facilities committee is
059April 9. All right, thank you. If we would mark B through D, uh board secretary also has uh consent. Finance committee, uh I believe that's going to be Ms. Osecky this evening. >> Yes, it will be. Um the finance committee met on March 12th. Uh Carl Hogan from CliftonLarsonAllen presented our audit results. He said that the district is in a strong financial position to respond to any unforeseen expenditure and to pursue the upcoming capital expenses we've been discussed discussing. The final audit report is expected by March 27th. We heard from Council Rock South students about their desire to move the 2027 senior prom from the Philadelphia Convention Center to the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village. The associated contracts will be voted on tonight. We are pursuing grants for the upcoming projects at Newtown Elementary School
060and Holland Middle School. The administration is embarking on a plan to move all high school students from Chromebooks to laptops within 2 years. Tonight we will vote vote on the purchase of Chromebooks and laptops. That will not complete the project. It's just phase one. We heard an update on our 25-26 financial results, which because of conservative budgeting plan for a deficit, they currently show a $4.7 million deficit, but we expect that as tax revenue continues to come in from the earned income tax, this will decrease. We had budgeted for a $6.4 million deficit, so we are already in better shape than we had originally projected. If you'd like to understand more about the conservative budgeting approach or why we budgeted for a deficit, I encourage you to watch the finance meetings from last May or
061June, which are available on YouTube. Mr. Rapp stressed that the numbers at this time are subject to change, but we appreciate the mid-year update. Thank you, Mr. Rapp. Um we have a $285 million budget this year, and coming in this close each year is really an accomplishment. So, kudos to Mr. Rapp and his team. Finally, tonight we will vote on the 2020 on a 2026 general obligation bond resolution, which will allow bidding on a bond issue of no more than $10 million at a time when the market is advantageous for us to go out for bid. I understand that Kevin Reed from King Spry Law is he law firm is here to answer here in the audience. Thank you for being here, and thank you for staying. I I appreciate it. I know there was
062a lot. Um so, he he can answer any questions if the board has any questions on going out um for that bond resolution. So, that concludes my report. And I guess with that, I I move to approve consent agenda items B through M as contained in the attachments to this agenda. I could a second. Second. Thank you, Mr. uh Hidalgo. So, Mr. Hidalgo and Mr. Hidalgo. Mr. Hidalgo, uh questions, comments regarding finance items. I did want to just to have make a quick um I know we've alluded to and we had that conversation at the committee, but in terms of the board resolution, um correct me if I'm incorrect, Dr. Sanko, but regarding the bond resolution, it's much like the Act 1 index. It's a resolution that it does not mean that we're going to
063borrow to the max. It's just the ability to go out and bid as we as as needed. That is correct, and I'll ask Tony um to to just expand on that a bit. Yeah, so state law requires us to um put in a certain parameters for the for the bond resolution as you know, the basically the worst case scenarios as far as like a high interest rate rate much higher than um uh we we would normally have to pay, and amounts that are out of the ballpark of what we would pay. And this is just a state requirement for this resolution. Um a lot of there's a lot of reporting through the Pennsylvania office of department of the department of community uh community and economic development. So, we're just following those rules, and um from
064from there uh we we do have for you know, we have the right to if the bids come in and we don't like them, we do have the right to to turn it down. So, um and we we will not be exceeding the $10 million that we're planning to borrow. And we will if we don't get the interest rates we want, then we'll also reconsider. And uh thank you. Also, I'd like to thank Mr. Reed for being here tonight to answer any questions. Great. Thank you. Um and then I just wanted to note the item F um E and F regarding the cancellation and the new agreement with the 2027 Council Rock South High School senior prom. Um at our last finance meeting, we had a couple of current juniors who will be seniors in
0652027. Um they, along with their um grade principal, came and followed the process and came to the board to um request a change from the current National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Um it was through a student-led, and we just wanted to I just wanted to make that announcement. So, appreciate them, and they're in the audience this evening. So, thank you. All right. So, do we mark that as unanimous? I believe we did that B through M. Um we have the second portion of public comment. Um this is non-agenda items. Again, there's no one signed up for public comment this evening, but if there's anyone in the audience that wishes to speak, Okay, and new business. New business, board comments. Any new business comments from board members? None. Thank you. Uh old business from board members?
066Comments? Questions? Concerns? Okay. Well, um I believe I will be adjourning this meeting. I want to wish everyone in Council Rock a safe, happy, and um wonderful spring break upcoming. Um thank you all those that stayed and listening at home. Um and I would like to adjourn this meeting.