School Board Meeting: October 23, 2025

001Thank you for coming. And Dr. Senko will get us started with the pledge of allegiance. >> Thank you, Mr. Tate. Marcus Ornstein, would you lead us in the pledge, please? >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Marcus. Mr. Tuskegee, you want to get Mr. Batty? Whatever. Hallelujah. Halleluah. Hallelujah. [Music] Hallelujah. Glory. [Music] [Applause] Heat. [Music] Hey, Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Daddy, if I may take a quick moment and give um just one last thing we have. Our season is very very close to the end. So you have just a couple more chances to see the award-winning Council Rock North Marching Band. Um the first being tomorrow night of the

002North South game. We'll be playing pregame and then we have a competition on Saturday at Abington High School. Thank you very much everybody. >> Thank you Mr. Baku and thank you Council Rock North Marching Band. Delightful way to start the meeting. Madam Secretary, would you call the role, please? >> Mr. Tate, >> present. >> Mr. Hidalgo, >> present. >> Mr. Roosevelt >> here. >> Mr. Hickey >> here. >> Miss Paulie >> present. >> Miss Osaki >> here. >> Miss Khan >> here. >> Miss Stone >> here. >> Miss her >> here. >> Thank you. And now we have a presentation from the CR North Student Advisory Board. Mr. Truscavage, please. >> Good evening everyone. Thank you for having us again. Board of School Directors, Dr. Senko, and fellow administrators. Again, it's always our pleasure to

003come out here every couple months to share the great things that are happening at Council Rock High School North. And it's my pleasure to introduce this year's members for the student advisory board. We got some girl power going on here for the five. But for 12th grade, we have Olivia Espazito who will be talking about the senior class and athletics. 11th grader Lily Albuger will be talking about the junior class and student executive board. 10th grader, Mia Burstein will be talking about the sophomores and academics. Ninth grader Cameron McCormack will be talking about the freshman class and other clubs and activities at school. And 10th grader Payton Douly will be the MBIT representative for the next three years. So at this time, I'd like to pass it over to Olivia. >> Good evening, school board

004members. I'm Olivia Espazito, the 12th grade student advisory board representative. I'm so excited to be back for my last first meeting of the school year. Senior year has already been filled with so much excitement, including a fourth consecutive blue and white night win, a successful fall festival, senior auction, our panoramic class photo, and officially 166 days until Disney. As far as athletics go, the first ever North South Legacy Cup Day also took place this year and was a great success. Though the rivalry was the center of this athletic event, the day allowed for a community to come together and cheer on their family and friends. For golf, 12th grader Chase Gilly won boys so ninth grader Nora was a co- champion Suburban one tournament and the team qualified for districts after winning the Patriot Division.

005Football has faced a tough season but look forward to facing Council Rock South this Friday in the Walt Snider Stadium. North Cheer will also wrap up their season this Friday night and are transitioning into their winter competition season. Field hockey concluded their season last Tuesday. Girls tennis ALS has also wrapped up their season with doubles making it to district quarterfinals. Boys soccer unfortunately after a great season lost in their first round of playoffs this past Tuesday night. Currently, girls are hosting Konosoga for the second round of playoffs after beating up Upper Dublin in the first round. Girls volleyball will also continue their season tonight against Garnet Valley for the second round of playoffs. Cross country districts won championships at Lehigh are at Lehigh University this Friday. Thank you so much for your time and I

006look forward to our next meeting. >> Good evening board. My name is Lilia Albuker and I am the student advisory board representative for the class of 2027. I am so excited to be here to share with you some of the outstanding things that the student exe executive board and the class of 2027 have achieved during these first few weeks of school. To begin, the student executive board has brought tons of school spirit to North so far through a variety of events. The club welcomed new members Addison Marryman, Sophia Shake, and Cameron McCormack as representatives of the class of 2029. Leading into homecoming weekend, SEB organized many activities to get the student body excited. Spirit week occurred from October 6th to 10th, including themes like Country verse Country Club, PJ Day, and White Out. On Wednesday,

007October 8th, SEB held Blue and White Night, the annual field day event. Students showed up to support their class and participate in fun games. The newly introduced dumpster dive was a fan favorite. Seniors beat juniors and sophomores beat freshmen. Next, the fall pep rally was on Friday, October 10th. Students and teachers participated in games like soccer, musical chairs, pizza box knockout, and capture the flag. Fall sports teams and achievements by other students throughout the school were also recognized. On an exciting note, after years of student initiated research and planning, North introduced a physical representation of the Council Rock Indians. Rocky, a grey wolf, serves as a symbol of the Lape Wolf Clan, and will make appearances at future sports games and events. In the coming weeks, SCB will hold the trunk or treat, which is

008on October 28th, and Powderpuff, which is in November. Now, for the class of 2027. To recap, Owen Crown, Gia Longo, Daniel Law, Andrew Fulk, and Andrew Kemp were elected as grade level officers in May. Apart from participating in blue and white night, having a table at fall festival and fostering gradewide spirit at the pep rally, the officers worked diligently throughout the summer and first few weeks of school to plan the homecoming dance. The theme was tropic like it's hot, and the dance had an amazing turnout with around 1,200 students attending. Members of the student government and NHS did a wonderful job of working together to set up for the dance, which was on Saturday, October 11th. The class of 2027 is set to have a trunk at SCB's trunk or treat and will also start

009beginning preparations for junior prom in the near future. Thank you for your time. >> Good evening, school board. I'm Mia Burie in the class of 2028 rep. And tonight I will update you on the sophomore class at North as well as affairs in regard to the school's academics. Firstly, last year North had 11 national merit semi-finalists and 16 commended students who will also be recognized here shortly. AP test registration was last week. Students enrolled in one or more advanced placement classes were able to sign up for the spring exams from October 9th to October 17th. Additionally, fall PSATs took place on Saturday, October 11th in the digital format. also known as the MSQT. The test contains skills essential for college in reading, writing, language, and math. Test scores will be released for students in the

010beginning of November. Recently, the US News and Oral Report announced their top recognized high schools. Council Rock North ranks 717th in US News and Report in the country. Over the past couple of weeks, college representatives have been visiting North. Students can sign up for visits with them through their NViance account, and the meeting will take place in the counseling office. These visits are allowing upper classmen to learn more about both specific colleges and what they're looking for in their post-secary education. As for the class of 2028, we had a successful win at blue and white night against the freshmen. Our officers who were elected in May are Michael Teligan, Kellum Roditz, Capricorno, Leaf Peterson, and Luke Deo. They ran a table at Fallfest where participants were able to pie a class officer if they could

011beat them at a game. Finally, the sophomore class is excited to again set up a car with a surprise theme for SCB's trunk or treat event on Tuesday, October 28th. That's all for tonight. Thank you for your time. Good evening everyone. My name is Cameron McCormick and I am Council Rock North's freshman SAB representative. Transitioning into high school with the rest of the class of 2029 has been an exciting experience filled with great activities and many opportunities to get involved and explore the school. So far, our class has participated in some awesome events such as blue and white night. Leading up to that, we gathered in the gym for freshman feud, which got us prepped and excited for the fun-filled night of games and competitions ahead of us. Even though we lost to the sophomores,

012we had a great turnout and came out of the event feeling even more unified as a class. Earlier in the school year, the activities fair was set up during all lunches. It gave everyone the opportunity to sign up for some popular clubs like ski and board, star club, minithon, and so much more. In our short time so far here at North, we've gotten to recognize many students for their accomplishments in various areas. Students that placed in the national conference include Shreji, Gavin Brewer, and Justin Pang. Our very own marching band has come in first place with their field show titled Caged at several competitions which are the following. 10 Central Regional High School, Pensbury High School, and William Tennant. Our theater program, Stocken Buskin, is almost ready for their upcoming performances of Shrek Jr. It

013will take place on November 6th, 7th, and 8th. You will see some leading roles being performed by Mason AMS, Christopher Woods, Liam Mccernin, and Izzy Hoskins. In order to get into spooky season spirit, coming up soon is our Minithon's first ever spooky movie night. It will take place on the Walts Tonight turf at October 30th. From these first action-packed weeks, we can already tell that this school year is going to be a good one. Thank you. Hello everyone. Good evening. My name is Payton Douly and I'm a sophomore at Council Rock High School North. I'm also a proud level 100 student in the medical and health occupations program at medical at Middle Bucks Institute of Technology. This month, MBIT is proud to announce the launch of the fall dual enrollment program, Intro to Business, in

014partnership with Bucks County Community College, which provides students with the opportunity to earn college credits while completing high school. Next, our adult education programs also continue to grow, serving community members who are looking to develop new skills and event and advance their careers. We are preparing for our annual open house on Thursday, November 20th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. where families can tour our programs, meet instructors, and connect with current students. Next, on October 30th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., MBIT will host host its occupational advisory committee meeting, bringing together industry professionals and teachers to ensure our programs stay aligned with workforce needs. In addition, October is a month filled with recognition. Dental Hygiene Month, Careers and Construction Month, Physical Therapy Month, and National First Responders Day, all honoring vital fields that directly connect to

015the skills and training offered at MBIT. We are also excited to share that the MBIT hosted the MBIT Alumni Association kickoff event on Wednesday, October 8th. This very successful event marks the beginning of a new tradition to connect past graduates with our current students, teachers, and programs. Alumni will have the chance to share their career journeys, network with each other, and give back by supporting the next generation of MBIT students. Building a strong alumni community will not only celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates, but also inspire current students with real world world success stories. Thank you for taking the time to stay updated on all the exciting happenings at Middle Bucks Institute of Technology. Be sure to follow us on all social media to keep up with the latest news, achievements, and events at NBIT.

016Thank you. Thank you all. Nicely done, Mr. Travich. >> Thank you all for having us. I hope you got to see a good idea of things that are happening at North each and every day. And it's been a very busy start of the school year, but the kids are transitioning well. It's been great so far. So, excellent. Well, we look forward to >> Hope it hope it continues to go well. Thank you. >> Thank you. [Applause] We'll move on to the superintendent's report. Dr. Senko, if you would please. >> Thank you, Mr. Tate. Uh, good evening, everyone. Welcome to the welcome to the board of directors, to the staff and communities uh, joining us tonight, and those tuning in on our Council Rock YouTube channel. Thank you to the Council Rock North Marching Band led

017by Mr. Greg Bakuy, for their musical performances tonight. and to the student advisory board for their reports representing the Council Rock North student body. As we move further into the fall season, the hallmarks of a strong school year are visible across Council Rock. Our full day kindergarten program continues to thrive with classrooms filled with energy, curiosity, and the joy of learning. In classrooms across the district, teaching and learning are in full stride. Teachers are deepening their instructional practice through letters, language essentials for teachers of reading and spelling, a professional learning program grounded in the science of reading. This structured literacy approach equips educators with evidence-based strategies to strengthen the teaching of reading and writing. By investing in this training, we are reinforcing our commitment to high quality instruction and ensuring that every student builds a

018strong literacy foundation needed for lifelong learning. Beyond the classroom, annual traditions such such as the fall festivals, trunk or treat events, homecoming, and pep rallies mark this special time of year and showcase the spirit that defines our schools. To the parents, to the volunteers, and to the community organizations whose support make these moments possible. Thank you. Your partnership strengthens our shared commitment to classroom, community, and culture, and it upholds our mission to keep students first always. Each year, the National Merit Scholarship Organization recognizes talented students across the nation. These students demonstrate exemplary academic achievement and the highest level of scholarship. Tonight we are proud to celebrate the achievement of 27 mil 27 merit scholars from Council Rock High School North. 11 of whom are National Merit Scholar semifinalists and 16 who have earned a National

019Merit Scholar commendation. At this time, I'd like to ask Council Rock North Principal, Mr. Truskevich, he's already at the podium, so stay where you are, >> to join Mr. Tate and myself at the podium as we recognize these student scholars for their extraordinary accomplishments. >> Again, it is with great pleasure to present to you our National Merit Scholars this evening. Each year, approximately 1.5 million students enter the National Merit Scholarship Program, a nationwide competition for recognition and award conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation through taking the PSAT qualifying test. The students being recognized this evening have been identified as a member of the highest 50,000 scores, which is approximately the top 3%. Those being named commended students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success, representing valuable natural resource, and play a key role in

020the school's academic development. I present to you Council Rock High School North's commended students in alphabetical order. I want to introduce those who are with us this evening, and I'll go through those who are not with us. With us this evening is Maline Bradic. [Applause] Marcus Hornstein. [Applause] >> He's had big nights tonight. Samuel Kelmer, Jack McGrath, [Applause] Arjun Shandmuff, Christopher Woods, >> I've got yours, Chris. >> They got messed up. >> Who we miss? We're good. >> All right. >> That's right. >> And then he's the last one. >> He's the last one. >> Yes. >> Also, the other students not with us this evening, our commended students are Emily, Asha Honawir, Ajan Kim, Jason Lowe, Anthony Zaprieno, Vincent Tang, Aaron Tmer, Arv Upier, and Amber Yuan. [Applause] and also Amy Young who's not

021with us this even. All right, the following students have been recognized as National Merit semi-finalist. Those scores of the individuals fall in the top 16,000 of all test takers, which equates to the top 1% of all students who took the exam. Again, we're proud to have 11 recognized students. And with us this evening is Isabelle Myrovich. Trey Seranji, [Applause] >> Evie, Tetro, Zay Tippy, and Rihanna Jang. Those not with us are Mark Kai, Kathan Desai, Benjamin Heir, Darren Lee, Ion Matu, and Craig Panchel. So, congratulations to them as well. [Applause] I would ask, would the board mind coming up and taking a picture with the group of students that are being recognized this evening? >> Sorry. >> That's all right. Take Congratulations. [Applause] very proud of all of you. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate

022>> Thank you again for having us. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Thank you. Appreciate >> it. See you tomorrow night. >> Yes. Forward to Thank you for that and congratulations to those scholars. Tonight, we are recommending that the board of school directors approve an agreement with Smart Social, an online platform that helps parents, educators, and students navigate social media safely and responsibly. Smart Social provides a wide range of resourc including articles, videos, and live webinars. Uh it things that are included include digital citizenship, online reputation, and app safety. The plat the platform offers tiered levels of guidance to help Council Rock parents and their families take a more proactive role in protecting their children in today's digital world. In the coming weeks, we will share more about Smart Social and provide opportunities for parents

023to access and make full use of these valuable resources. Council Rock continues its support of American Red Cross as this year's district charity. To date, we have exceeded our donation targets with a total of 154 pints of blood donated. Since each pint saves three lives, Council Rock's donation as of today could potentially save 462 lives. Blood drives have been held across multiple schools with staff, students, and community members rolling up their sleeves to give the gift of life. Each donation serves as a selfless act of generosity that can make a life-saving difference for someone in need. If you can donate, please visit the Red CROS website at www.redcrossblood.com. Additionally, information on upcoming drives can also be found in the rock report. Just as Council Rock schools and staff participate in blood drives and other charitable

024efforts throughout the year, students at Goodno Elementary exemplify how giving back can make a lasting difference. Since 1998, students at Goodno Elementary School have supported the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen by preparing and donating homemade lunches each year. The Trenton Area Soup Kitchen is the only weekday soup kitchen in the region and has never turned down anyone who is in need of a meal. Each year, Goodnose students and staff set a goal to surpass the previous year's total, and this year was no exception. In 2025, students prepared an impressive 1,977 lunches to help feed individuals and families in need. This long-standing tradition represents teaching and learning beyond the classroom where students put compassion and empathy into action. The Council Rock community applauds Goodno Elementary School students and parents for their generosity and for demonstrating what it

025means to care for and serve our neighbors. Some important dates for your calendar. Thursday, October 30th, is an education committee meeting, 7 pm at the Chancellor Center. Monday, November 3rd is a policy committee meeting, 700 p.m. at the Chancellor Center. Tuesday, November 4th is an is election day. There is no school for students. It will be an inservice day for teachers. Schools will be closed. Offices will be opened. Thursday, November 6th, we will have a combined finance and facilities meeting. That'll be here at the chancellor. And please note the start time will be 6 pm. Once again, November 6th will be a combined finance and facilities meeting here at the chancellor center starting at 6:00 p.m. Thursday, November 13th is a board of school directors meeting at 700 p.m. right here in this room. Monday,

026November 24th is early dismissal for grades K through 8 and parent teacher conferences will take place in the PM. Tuesday, November 25th, early dismissal for students in grades K through 8, and parent teacher conferences will take place in the PM. Wednesday, November 26th, all schools will be closed and parent teacher conferences will be held. Thursday, November 27th and Friday, November 28th, all schools and offices will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. As we're looking at dates, if we look ahead about eight months, and contrary to what some in the community are reporting, there have been no changes to the location of our high school graduations. As tradition, our 2026 graduations will take place at Walt Snider Stadium for Council Rock High School North students and in the Council Rock South gymnasium for the Council Rock

027High School South students. This is a good example of why we suggest that the community use only Council Rock District resources, websites, and official social media platforms for the most reliable, up-to-date information about our district. We urge the public to verify the information on social media and be discerning and where they obtain information relating to Council Rock. If you question what you're seeing, need clarification, or would like a reliable flat fact check, please contact the district directly. Our contact information is available on our website at www.crsd.org. This concludes the superintendence report. Thank you. >> Thank you very much, Dr. Senko. Solicitor's report, please. Mr. Muso. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Uh the board of school directors met twice in executive session since our last meeting. Met on October 16th to discuss matters of real estate

028and tonight just before this meeting to talk about matters of safety and security. Have no public report but of course the board has our written report we submitted yesterday. Thank you Mr. Muso. Public comment is next. This is an opportunity for members of the public to address the board. We would ask that you limit your comments to no longer than three minutes. We have 10 people signed up and walk-ins are welcome. So all the more reason why we ask that you limit your comments to three minutes and we'll try a new timer we have here. Please consider the fact that there may be young children in the audience or watching this broadcast live on CRTV when you're speaking. It's our goal to maintain a respectful environment so that members of our community have an equal

029opportunity to address the board without interruption. While the board welcomes your ideas and will consider them in deliberating an issue, we typically do not respond to your comments or questions at the moment. This first session of public comment is limited to agenda items. commenting about items on this current agenda. The second session of public comment later in the meeting is open to whatever you wish to discuss. So, we'll move forward with public comment and uh please wish me luck with our new timer. Um the first person signed up is Carrie Bowerley. I hope I pronounced it correctly. >> All right. Thank you. And moving on, uh, Lisa Danelloo >> and your township of residence, please. >> I'm a resident of Washington Crossing. >> Thank you. >> Good evening, everyone. Thank you for allowing me to

030speak tonight. Um, as I said, my name is Lisa Danella and I'm a parent of two children that are part of Council Rock. One that recently graduated. I hope my time's not up already. Got it. >> Okay. Um, two children, one that recently graduated and one that is uh, currently a senior at uh, North. Um, I hold a master's degree in family therapy and a doctoral degree in child development and I teach at the college level in psychology. But while my background informs my perspective, tonight I want to speak not as a parent and a researcher, but rather as someone who sees every single day what happens when we wait too long to be able to teach children the social and emotional skills that they need to thrive. In my college classroom, the biggest barrier

031to student success is not academic preparation. It's emotional readiness. I see bright, capable students who fail, not because they can't understand the material, but because they can't manage the emotional challenges of being away from home, navigating friendships, or finding their place in a new community. They struggle to ask for help. They struggle to form study groups, to work effectively in teams. And that's a real problem because teamwork and collaboration are skills that employers say that they want most in graduates. But even more troubling, I see students coping with anxiety and depression through self-medication and substance use and abuse, vaping, alcohol, and other substances that they use to be able to numb the emotions that they can't um appropriately manage. and we see the devastating effects of cyber bullying, which we know happen uh to begin

032much earlier than college age. That's why I'm here tonight to be able to urge the board to approve the evidence-based social emotional learning program that's before you. Our district prides itself on preparing students for college and for life. But we can't just say that. We actually have to mean it. I often hear the kids these days criticism that's about not having grit or resilience. But grit and resilience isn't just about academics. It's about social and emotional preparedness. And this pil uh program would build both. Every semester I see what happens when students don't learn these skills early enough. But we have the opportunity right now to make sure that our students don't end up in that position. that we can prepare them not only to get into college, but to stay in college, to thrive

033in their relationships, and to enter the workforce as confident, emotionally intelligent young adults. Please don't delay this decision any longer. Our students deserve to graduate not just academically prepared, but emotionally prepared for life. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. The next person signed up for public comment on an agenda item is Cheryl Karns. >> Yes. >> Got it. The next person is Barbara Simmons. This is for agenda item, correct? Thank you. So, I'm also here to comment on the important wellness program that you are proposing to use. I live in the burrow. I raised my daughters in the Council Rock School District and I'm the executive director of the Peace Center, an educational organization with a 42-year history. My work has taken me to over 300 schools. And what I've encountered is that too

034many students do not feel safe. They might lack safety due to a chaotic home life. And often they lack safety um because of bullying at school that goes unnoticed and therefore not dealt with or it might be dismissed as a misunderstanding, but honestly it's rarely handled well. My mentor, Dr. Sandra Bloom, author of Creating Sanctuary and she's an expert in trauma, believes we need to create sanctuary in the home as well as in the classroom. And what that means is you need physical safety. Well, that's obvious. We need physical safety. But she talks about having emotional safety, which provides students with the ability to establish trusting relationships with other students and adults. Harassment, malicious teasing, put downs, name calling, and bullying have no place here. Social safety, which refers to the creation and maintenance of

035an environment that provides the social support and structure so that all members of a system feel safe, respected, and nurtured. Diversity is understood and celebrated. Racism, oppression, and injustices have no place here. And conflict resolution is the preferred method of solving problems. And then the last one Dr. Bloom addresses is moral safety that exists in an environment free from hypocrisy and has a system of values that everyone is expected to uphold. Adults walk their talk and serve as good role models for children and students. And I know social and emotional support for students is at the heart of the Council Rock mission statement which says, "We embrace each unique learner and empower students to reach their highest potential by providing academic, social, and emotional support in order to lead, serve, and thrive in a diverse

036global society. Many parents are concerned about the increase in bullying in our schools. Unchecked bullying harms both the students who are targeted and those who witness it. Students who witness bullying actually suffer the same type of trauma as first responders do. If we're putting students first always, we need to put social and emotional wellness first. Now it's time to implement this where many schools have implemented it many years ago. So um it is time and I appreciate your attention to this matter. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Simmons. [Applause] marvelous. Um, Lynn Goldman, you're signed up for an agenda item. Wonderful. And you reside in Writestown. Thank you. >> Um, I'm also here to comment on the social and emotional learning. Um, I come at it from kind of a different angle. Um, I'm an

037organizational psychologist and for 30 years I have taught managers and employees in businesses and organizations throughout this country. Um, skills they absolutely need to succeed, including teamwork, communication, and problem solving. Interestingly, there's been a number of studies that have found social and emotional skills are increasingly important to employers. LinkedIn did a study in 2019 of global talent trends and the report found that 80% of employers said these skills are becoming more important to company's success. The World Bank Group reported that nearly 80% of employers consider social and emotional skills the most important qualities for job success. And a 2017 poll found that 88% of business leaders agreed there will be a growing need for strong social emotional skills among employees in the future and I would say in the present as well. Schools have always

038taught students the skills they need. In today's complex and diverse world, students need strong collaboration and conflict resolution skills in the workplace. It's no surprise that eight of the top 10 school districts in Pennsylvania already have programs because research shows that boosts academic achievement and allows teachers to focus more on teaching rather than managing emotional disruptions. I'm also the daughter of a high school history and social studies teacher, so I speak from that experience as well. Implementing the SEAL program and council rock has been discussed for four years with extensive presentations and committee work. We're not rushing into anything. This has been carefully considered. I think it's time for us to do it. We owe our students the very best education Pennsylvania can offer, one that equips them to succeed in life. So, I urge

039the board to vote tonight to implement a social emotional learning program in Council Rock. Thank you for your time and all the work that you do. You >> Thank you for your comments. [Applause] There's anyone else who wishes to speak about agenda items, you're welcome to walk up now. Uh and we'll have the second session of public comment later in the meeting. Thank you. The next item on the agenda, approval of minutes of the meeting of the board on September 18. Miss Pi, would you make the motion, please? >> I move to approve the minutes of the meeting of the school board directors held on September 18, 2025. >> Second. >> Thank you. Any questions, comments, concerns, or objections? Hearing none, Madam Secretary, please record that as passing unanimously. Education Committee. Um, Miss Khan, if

040you would. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Tate. Good evening. The Education Committee met on September 24th, 25th. We had a very full agenda since our last meeting in May. Um, so please bear with me uh as I try to summarize an almost three-hour meeting. Um, the Council Rock Summer Academy for grades K through 12 had another successful year headed by Miss Kathleen Manning and Mr. Michael Catalano. There were 537 students registered with 93 staff members. A a few of the new additions this summer included the Ready Set Grow uh program welcoming 100 kindergarteners to help them prepare for this year's full day kindergarten, a new study skills and executive functioning class for seventh seventh and eighth graders, as well as a new Keystone biology review class with test taking strategies. Summer Academy is a

041three-w weekek, four half-day program. The program in 2024 costs 227,000. This year, the cost was 330,000. Um, but that is with over 200 more enrolled students. In previous years, summer academy was paid for by funds, um, which was funds from the pandemic and that ran out last school year. The district, um, paid for the program to continue this year. Uh I'd love to see the program continue and even there was some discussion at the education committee about improvements or growing it. Um but as we you know consider the future budgets we will have to plan for that. Uh this evening the board will be approving a full day kindergarten curriculum. Miss Tammy Gary went into detailed explanation of the plan course documents for kindergarten. If you wish to go back to that um committee meeting

042to review um please do so. There is a lot of information there. Um, just to be clear, the district has always had a full curriculum and materials for full subject courses. Um, but teachers were previously using modified versions to fit into the 2 and 1 half hour instructional day. Um, there was also a requirement um to be in compliance with the state and chapter 4 guidelines to have a board approved curriculum. The board received full documents of the additional uh specialist curriculum. Uh, once approved, these documents will be available to the public on the district website. Last spring, Dr. Casey Black and a committee of uh teachers, parents, administrators, and student services staff began to explore a student wellness program based upon a survey provided to our families and staff. Um during this time last

043year, it ran for about two weeks from October 25th to no to November 10th of last last school year. The survey results came in um they were analyzed and gathered and shared at an education committee meeting last spring. The results from the K to22 indicated that all grade levels saw the greatest needs in two areas. Uh one being to reduce emotional distress and two to improve social behavior. The committee reviewed programs narrowed down the search to three had them come and present and is recommending second step digital um option for board approval this evening. This program for elementary schools includes 20 scripted um approximately one a week digital lessons for teachers to use that take about 15 to 20 minutes in length. Each lesson is grade level and age appropriate. Uh sixth graders will receive

044uh actually 26 lessons. The board and those who tuned in on September 25th saw an example of one of these lessons. Um it's at approximately minute 53 in our education committee v uh video. Um it set up a scenario of two a video of two second grade students playing with chalk at recess. It kind of gave an a scenario of you know what could happen and oftentimes happen that recess um time and then did a retake of that same scenario of what uh modeling different behaviors. Um the program also comes with a dashboard where a principal or administration um can review progress monitoring goal setting and implementation of planning tools. Dr. Black had asked uh Mr. Forest Walter from Second Step who called in to answer any of the questions from our board members. The

045cost of the program for one year is $26,760 for the digital prim programming at all 10 elementary schools. for the secondary schools. Due to the schedules and course conflicts, the committee was not able to find a specific program um but have additional but have added additional assemblies based upon previous um pay survey data. Uh the student which also includes um student wellness morning announcements and they will continue to find ways to incorporate um student wellness into their schedules as they allow. Um, on a side note, the cyber bullying presentations will continue this year uh with Secret Service presentations at all, um, schools in Council Rock. Last year, um, I know we had the privilege of having the Bucks County Detectives Office along with the assistant DA and FBI present. Um, and this year we'll continue

046with the Secret Service. The board will approve to continue dual enrollment. There are items D, D, and E with the Bucks County Community College, Red Mercy University, and the University of Ohio. These are high school courses with the potential for college credit taught by our coun our council rock teachers at school. This does not cost the district any additional funds. The courses are paid for by the students and families who wish to enroll. Interested students should contact their counselors at either of the high schools. Um, this is not to be confused with AP courses, which are completely different. The high school schedule update. Um the committee met in end of July. They reviewed current high school schedules in both Bucks and Montgomery uh counties. They compiled a list of 11 um schools to visit over

047the course of this fall um in 11 districts. I believe uh I know Mr. Funk and members of the committee have taken turns to visit some of these um schools already and it's well underway. Um some of the committee findings in their um initial meetings they were looking for in their visits and looking at schools um were intervention intervention periods, lunch and learn block periods, advis advisory periods, career pathways um and senior internships to name a few. Uh the later start time will possibly be a subcommittee once um the visits are complete. I know two of the districts they um have or will visit um uh include a later start time. There's more to come possibly in December and January um in the education committee meetings after all the visitations and the committee has had

048time to meet. Um under special education, Dr. Alberman presented updates from the extended school year for special education. Classes were held at Richboro Elementary Council Rock North High School North and the Star Center with 254 students from all 10 elementary schools and 156 students from grades K to 12 plus in attendance. Dr. Ober Oberman gave a full detail with all the items he had planned to work on over the summer. Um he delivered updates on every item he met with the education committee in May and told us about his plans for the summer and he came back in September and um went into detail about his his outcome from the summer um which include um working continued work on building equity with programs across all 10 elementary schools. um all teachers have been trained or

049will be trained in the programs that they are using and in whenever um possible case the training was provided by um trainers from the program company itself. Um Dr. Oberman and his team continued uh worked on creating an inventory of programs interventions and compile compiled them into accessible documents um for for everyone to access. And this also includes a 44page family student service guide of current and future goals. Um all of these are living documents that will be updated as needed. Um he will also begin a library of information for parents and families to access the parent compass along with a new webinar series uh which Dr. Oelman will begin at the end of this month. Um some of the plans for this school year uh include more professional or continued uh professional development trainings

050um specifically with the autistic and emotional support pro programs. They are partnering with Patton and the Bucks County Intermediate Union unit. Um continuing work equity across the district, aligning programs to address deficits, uh continuation and redefining of the CPAC parent group, and a new upcoming newsletter for our community. um he's very busy with his team and I thank him and look forward to the future updates as we move along into the school year. Uh finally, the board administration have discussed both not only in finance and education committees um back last school year and into this school year. We c talked about the newly created um AI guidelines that's a teacher focused but also available as a resource for for students and parents that was um a collaboration with uh MIT. Um we've also heard about

051Magic School that the board approved. It's a program last month. Uh Magic School is the only district approved and accessible tool for AI in Council Rock for those teachers and classes who wish to use it as um a safe resource. Um I know Dr. Dr. Senko already addressed in his superintendent report, Smart Social. Uh the board is being asked to vote on that this uh this evening. It's a one-year contract for $30,680. Um I know uh Dr. Senko already addressed that. It's a platform. It's a resource for parents and and schools and community members um to it's and the platform is to provide information regarding internet and social media safety. Um, I know Miss Bangold has been hard at work with that and presented at the last education committee meeting. It provides videos and resources

052for families in response to two hot trends and topics um that their children or a child or children may face. Some of these include slaying um video games, dangerous challenges, apps, cell phone monitoring, um on and offline activities, uh etc. There's a ton more. Um, I would actually sum personally summarize it as a tool for what parents and guardians need to know about social media safety and education, not only for themselves, but also for their families. Uh, thank you for your time. The next education committee meeting will be held on October 30th at 7 p.m. here at the Chancellor Center. Um, I move now to approve consent agenda items B through K as contained in the attachments to this agenda. >> Second. Are there any comments, questions, objections, concerns? None. Um, Mr. Roosevelt, thank you.

053I do have some questions that that uh fit into this education section. Um, number one, regarding data, items F, G, H, and I all have some indication in the paperwork of data collection on students. I'm of course concerned about data breaches as a community. We hear about them all the time from various different companies and sources around the country. I'm also concerned um about how this data will be used and how it's going to be kept safe and how the companies uh are going to use the data. Is it to help analyze our students or is it for other other purposes? So, I don't know who is best to address that, but that is um that's one of my concerns regarding SEAL. I'm also interested to know which district of the 500 districts in Pennsylvania

054has the highest educational sto scores and which one has the most emotionally prepared students because I think we should be starting to look at what the best are doing to see if it's a good fit for Council Rock. Are we thinking about using these products or are we thinking about using others? Why and why not? So, those are just some general questions that I've got about this section that's that we're looking at. >> Those are big broad questions and and I appreciate hearing them. Um I wonder if the best approach to answering those questions is to um follow up Dr. Senko with your team and and Mr. Roosevelt and pursue them. your your your option, please. >> Yeah, sure. We could follow up with that. I know we've spoken about the um the data with

055the magic school and everything we've learned through that. Um and and I would need to get some clarity around the best school districts with regard to SEAL. So, we can follow up with you on that. >> Thank you. I have a couple other questions, but they can wait a little bit later in the section. I want to give other people an opportunity to speak. Okay. Anyone else have any questions or comments on these consent agenda items? >> Yes, Miss Khan, >> I just wanted to clarify that it was items B through K. So, that did not include um the second step agreement which is item L, >> right? B through K. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Any other questions other than Mr. Roosevelt. Go ahead, please, if you would. Okay. Uh, my next set of questions

056is a little bit more broad. We're touching back on a couple things. I believe I spoke to Mr. Funk and Mr. Oberman about this prior to the meeting. Uh, not intending to ambush or or anything like that. It's more just followup and curiosity questions. In some respects, these are from concerned parents. In other cases, they're sort of concerns that I've got. Just wanted to follow up. So, these are effectively for all of you. Just gonna have a dialogue, I guess, is probably the best way. So, when does Council Rock provide assessments of children for potential learning disabilities or other IEPs? What grade does that occur in? >> We're gonna um we're gonna >> That's why I was saying Dr. Senko, >> that's great. >> Handle this discussion. Um would you repeat the question please to

057Dr. Senko? >> Sure. What grade level when does Council Rock conduct uh evaluations for learning disabilities or other IEPs? What grade? >> There is a uh Alan, why don't you take that? Do you want to take it or you want me to take it? I'll take it. We have a universal screener for all first graders. Um, and so typically it could happen at a variety of ages because we have children coming into the district who go through early intervention. Some students come in already uh with IEPs and some children may not get tested or qualified till later in their educational journey. But uh under uh typical conditions all first graders take participate in universal screeners. That is one indicator whether to test a child um for either the humanities program or for some help as

058it relates to a learning disability. Thank you. Um is there any reason that Council Rock would delay or deny an IEP if a transferring student is coming in from another district or perhaps they have it from the IEP? >> The answer is no, but I'll pass that off to Dr. Oberman. So any if a student transfers within the state, obviously we would accept the IEP um and provide comparable services. It's a little tricky when they're coming from out of state because Pennsylvania still has to um evaluate and find the student eligible. But you know, in all cases, regardless if you're coming, even if you're coming from out of state, we implement or to the best practice try to implement this out of state IEP because we want students to get whatever services they need while

059we complete our evaluation. Thank you. Uh, previously the board approved Wilson training. Uh, I think this was a great idea in effort to get the most amount of teachers trained in this in the fastest period of time. So, this is sort of a followup for that. I'm interested to know how this is going. Has it started yet? You want to wait till later? >> I want to have a vote on the consent agenda items on the motion. We have a motion on the floor. That's why I suggested this may fit better in the meeting, but >> Okay. Well, you can Sorry, you could I was confused by your >> I I I got it. >> Got it. All right. We have a motion on the floor and and seconded for the consent agenda items. Are

060there any objections, concerns? None. Then please, Madam Secretary, record is passing unanimously. Um, we're going to move on with item L. And um, >> do you want to pursue your questions under old business if we're going to talk about Wilson Learning? Is that all right? >> That's fine. We can >> Yeah, >> good deal. Thanks. >> Um, we're to L. Um, Miss Khan, would you make the motion, please? I move to approve the agreement with second step in the amount of $26,760. >> Second. >> Are there comments, questions? >> Oh, Mr. Roosevelt. >> Thank you. Unlike several other items, this one didn't have a lot of information. So, uh, I'll chalk this up to my fault. not recalling when we discussed this in a committee meeting. Is could somebody provide a refresher about what this

061is about? >> Did we discuss it at the at education committee? That's a we did discuss it. Correct. All right. >> This just looks like an estimate, >> Dr. Senko. >> It looks like an estimate. Is that what I heard you say? >> Yes. We're talking about item L. Correct. >> Second step. >> Correct. >> Tony, um, correct me if I'm wrong. That's the number we received for Second Step. The the cost of it, $26,760. >> Yes. This is what this is the quote which we normally acquire for services like this. And we'll hold them to the quote when we use the service. Have we used this program before in the past? We have not. Okay. And this is for K through eight. >> K through six. >> Says >> it says K through eight

062on the estimate. Is this for all students or is this just for a certain percentage of students? This was the wellness program that Dr. Black reviewed at the um ED committee meeting. So, it's a K through six program. This is the 20 digital lessons regarding empathy or time management for the students, >> right? And >> it is it is K through six. >> Okay. Um I imagine that can be corrected, but it perhaps falls in our benefit. And this is all electronic training where a student would go online or would use a computer to go through the steps. >> That's that's a piece of it. There's also direct direct instruction provided by the teacher. >> Okay. >> Lessons are roughly 20 to 25 minutes. >> And this is a one-year license. >> Yes, it is.

063Thank you, >> Misser. And then Mr. We did talk about it in the education because I remember specifically talking about 6th through 8th and what was going to happen, excuse me, 7th and 8th because of the morning meetings um and the different things that are going to activities that would be happening in the middle school and getting uh clarification on that to make sure when it would happen throughout the school. So it is K through we did say K through six. >> Good. Thank you, Mr. Hickey. Just a question that I know the answer is this is more for the public. Uh do these lessons or whatever you'd like to call them, these interventions, do they in any way, shape or form impact the actual learning time that our students are in school for? >>

064That's a question. Um Dr. Seno, >> Nicole, would you please? >> Sure. So the the lessons would be done. We've already uh scheduled when they would be that would take place during a morning meeting time and principles and myself discussed that of course pending board approval this evening. Then we'll have those discussions with teachers as well but that time is very much allotted for in the elementary schedule. >> Thank you. Yeah. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't taking time away from some of the other sub, you know, language arts or anything like that. Appreciate it. >> We actually think it aligns perfectly for that time of the day. >> Good. Thank you, Miss Stone. Yeah, my notes indicate that it's uh 15 to 30 minutes a week for 20 weeks was the

065design of the program. So that's about the time >> there's 20 >> through morning meetings. >> So there's 20 lessons and yes, you're correct. 15 to 30 minutes somewhere in that range. >> Good. Thank you. That helps. Yeah, Miss Py, >> thank you. Um, I happen to have the slides from the education committee meeting. There were about 10 slides of this specific program. So, I'll be happy to share them with you if you don't have them. >> No, this this helped refresh my memory. I was just because connecting the name from a invoice or an estimate is different from reading a contract that has more information similar to the presentation. So I this is a one-year thing. It says K through eight. I understand it's K through six and perhaps >> Yeah, it's K. Sixth

066grade has 26 lessons. Y >> the other grades have 20 lessons. And for the secondary, if you just to refresh the memory is that the there will be additions to the assembly for things like vaping sensation and cyber bullying. And then there will be student wellness morning announcements uh based on themes such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making. So these are all developed in house and they are not going to cost anything. The 26,000 was just for the um um guess or one through six. And um we also had examples of daily morning announcements and I'll be happy to read one saying start your day by checking in with yourself. How are you feeling right now? Being aware of your emotions helps you manage them better and sets the tone

067for your day. So these are very nice, very safe things that we all need to be reminded to do during the day. Thank you. Just a refresher. Thank you, Miss Polly. Um, yeah, Miss Oeki. >> Um, I appreciated Mr. Roosevelt's comment because I think it's important that we look to the whole state and compare ourselves to the best in the state, frankly, the best in the country. I I sometimes have a problem that we focus a lot on the school districts in Bucks County. So, I appreciated that you asked. Um, are the best districts in the state doing this? Now, the best districts in the state are of course relevant, but I did just, you know, play a little on Google right now. And uh as the first search I did for the best school

068districts in Pennsylvania had Springfield, New Hope, Silbury, Hford, Wallingford, Colonial, Rose Media, and Whisten. And it just listed seven. I don't know why it listed seven, but anyway. Then I then I went and looked up each one of those. And each one of those has a social and emotional learning program. So obviously like you know who knows what it really >> does. Does it have this one? Hold on. >> Okay. Uh >> it's a quick Google. >> All right, Miss Stone. >> Yeah, just also importantly is that the there will be assessments of this program three times a year to see if the propane the uh program is actually helping. So, um, we're always looking to make sure that what we spend our money on and the programs we're doing are actually working. And I

069would imagine that if you needed details on how the assessment would be uh performed, you would either speak with uh Dr. Oberman or or Dr. Black who's worked extensively on this. >> Mr. Dargo, >> uh, thank you. As I said at the uh education committee meeting, this came from the administration. So I feel comfortable with their recommendation with this. The only question I have looking at this is when would it start? Because it looks like it's going to be for this year, but is it going to bleed into next year since we're starting already in October, November? >> Nicole, >> we had a conversation about that this week that again pending board approval this evening. then our team will come together and talk about the the roll out of the the program, but we don't

070see it being a problem being able to fit in these lessons for the remainder of the year. >> Will it be available for next year since it's is it a 12 month type of uh uh agreement we have here? I know it says one year. So, that's You don't have to answer right now, but I'd like to figure that out later. Thank you. >> Good questions. >> All right. Um, Miss Khan, >> thank you. I just wanted to follow up because I know in previous conversations, you know, that went back to um this time last year. I know some of the school districts in our in our neighboring schools that have this um that include um sorry for a seconded here. Um, I know Central Bucks, Penridge, um, Pensbury, Bristol Township, um, are just a

071few of the school districts and I believe Central Bucks actually has the Second Step program. I don't know if it's the new digital version, but just to name um, some of the nearby school districts that do use it. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you. So, we have the motion and a second for the second step agreement. If there's any other If there are no other comments or questions, are there any objections? Hearing none, please record this as passing unanimously. Madam Secretary, and the next agenda item, smart social agreement. Miss Khan, please. Uh, I move to approve the agreement with Smart Social in the amount of $30,680 for the community program on internet safety. >> Second. >> All right, I'll give that to Mr. Hickey this time. Uh, are there any comments, questions, concerns? No.

072Mr. Roosevelt, >> you can always count on me for a comment. >> Yes, sir. >> Um, so regarding this, I think this is very interesting. I'm glad Council Rock is doing this. I know that oftent times parents don't understand some of the things that their kids may be doing on social media. We have kids utilizing electronics and social media earlier and earlier and earlier in their life and their gradeband. So I think this makes it more relevant as some of us are from other generations. Do we have any way to uh capture its use as I want to make sure that this gets gets utilized especially as and it it maintains getting updated as it moves forward. >> We do there are analytics and Mrs. Mangled would you expand on that a bit please? features

073of this, much like Magic School, is that it does give you the analytics on how often it's used and specifically which um features parents are using. It's up to us to advertise it and make sure the parents are led to the source, but once it's out there, parents then can use it as frequently as they need. And then they're also introduced to the portal where they can choose and select from about 500 different uh videos or uh educational pieces depending on their need. So they do provide data analytics on users. >> That's great. Quantifiable information is very important as well as qualifiable. Thank you. >> Thank you both. Any other comments, questions, concerns? None. All right. Please record as passing unanimously, Madam Secretary. Full day kindergarten curriculum, Miss Khan, please. The motion. >> Thank you.

074I move to approve the full day kindergarten curriculum. >> Second, >> Mr. Key. Thank you. Are there comments, questions, concerns? None. Passed unanimously. Thank you very much. Bucks County Intermediate Unit number 22, Representative Oeki, please. >> Okay. Good evening. The BucksaiU met on this past Tuesday, October 21st. We learned about their ongoing apprentice apprenticeship program and their ongoing grow your own program to help employees further their careers with the IU. We also heard an update on their facilities, including the acquisition and fit out of the former Pearl S. Buck Elementary School, which is now Pearl, which is now the Bucks IU at Pearl Sbuck, a program that added 27 classrooms and 63,000 square feet to the IU and their services. So, um, great things happening at the IU as always. Thank you. >> Thank you

075very much. Uh, report please from the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology, Miss Warner. Thank you. >> Good evening. MBIT met back on 107. On October 8th, MBIT held the launch kickoff for the Alumni and Education Foundation. Myself and Bob Hickeyi were in attendance and there were over 70 attendees who enjoyed a tour of MBIT, an introduction to the goals of the foundation. Dr. Gavell had a great kickoff message to start the collaboration of the Alumni and Education Foundation to grow the network of MBIT across the country. If you wish to be a part of these foundations, please go to mbitedfoundation.org. Middle in Institute of Technology officer sh offers shadowing opportunities in all 21 of the programs. Spend a day exploring a program that sparks your interest and see what the MBIT experience is all about.

076Shadowing is open to students who have completed 8th grade and live in one of our four participating districts. Central Centennial, Central Bucks, Council Rock, and New Hope. To get started, just be be sure to submit a permission form. Once that's in, they'll help you schedule your shadow day. There will be an open house on November 20th from 6:00 to 8. Come explore the facility, connect with the instructors and staff, and engage with current students about their experience at MBIT. The next MBIT meeting will be Monday, October 27th. That's the rest of my report. Thank you. >> Thank you very much, Miss Council Rock Education Foundation. Uh just four quick items. One is the EITC program is now open and you may recall that it is a it is a system in which you can channel

077some of your state income tax payment directly to the Council Rock Education Foundation or another uh participating organization. EITC is an excellent program and it costs you no money uh in addition to what you're paying to the state for your taxes. So, um, please consider it, look it up online, and if you're interested and have questions, uh, contact the, um, executive director of the Council Rock Education Foundation, Bethanne Dobos, and she can explain it to you far better than I can. Um, Council Rock Education Foundation Innovation Grants portal is now open and the applications are available online. These are for our teachers and staff. Um, a recent grants and action presentation celebration was held. Uh, one book, one grade at the middle schools last week. And very importantly, Mr. Hickey, the date for the golf

078outing this coming year is June 15 again at Jericho National Golf Club in the district. And the date for the gala is at the Northampton Valley Country Club on February 27. And of course, those are on the Council Rock Education Foundation website. So, please do support our foundation policy committee is next. >> Mr. Tate, if I may interrupt just for one minute before we get too far away from it, if we could just go back to one question that we had about the invoice for the Second Step program, if you don't mind. >> Sure. Uh Alberman, >> the reason it says K through8 is because it's a K through8 program, but we're only using K through six. So the invoice isn't incorrect. That's how the program is named K through 8. [Music] >> Good logical

079explanation. Thank you both. All right. Policy committee. >> Yes, >> that would be Miss Stone. >> Hi. Uh the policy committee met on Monday, October 6th to discuss several student related policies for first and second read. Some of the language in policy 223 which is titled use of bicycles and motor vehicles is being reddrafted to clarify uh what fits into electric vehicles. Uh and then the policies for second read were 228 student government, 229 student fundraising, 230 public performances, 231 social events and class trips, and 232 student involvement in decisionmaking. So, uh we never get to really thank Mr. spring for researching, updating, and drafting these policies to make sure they meet legal requirements as well as uh council rock guidelines. Um there was also a review of the administrative regulation 109 which is the

080library selection procedure and AR 109 addresses the criteria for selection of books, the sources that support the selection and the process for making inquiries or accommodations. And I want to thank all the parents who came to this meeting. And uh of course we encourage attendance at all our committee meetings where a lot of these issu issues get discussed in great detail more so than we would discuss here at uh board meetings. Our next policy meeting will be Monday, November 3rd. >> Thank you. And >> and >> could I have the motion, please? So I move to approve consent agenda items B through I as contained in the attachment to this agenda. >> Second. >> Okay. Questions? Mr. Hickey. >> Uh it's more of a comment. I can either do it now or wait until your

081choice. You have the floor. >> All right, we'll vote. Mr. Roosevelt, thank you very much. And thank you, Mr. Spring, for for what you do. Um, regarding 226 and 227 during the discussion that Miss Stone was talking about. Uh this is regarding searches um as well as um substance paraphernalia that I thought we discussed having parental notice not necessarily parental consent it's different but in 227 controlled substances there is a parental notice but in 226 I don't see the same parental notice for searching students under their clothes or their undergarments. >> So for the second for the next meeting, I do have a draft that indicates um parental notice were appropriate in that section, but I felt that it would be appropriate for discussion first, make sure the wording was correct because we were going

082back and forth on that. that was discussed and that is something that is going to be in that draft for the second um for the next for the second read committee meeting. >> Wonderful. And regarding performances and uh some trips, we had a discussion when we discussed these items about while they're amazing and we want to continue to have them. um that we wanted to have it clear that students aren't required to do this if they've signed up in order to graduate. And oftent times there aren't conflicts between performances whether it's uh inside an auditorium or if it's an athletic performance. So I just wanted to reiterate that here for community edification that these overlaps do not impact their graduation ability. Is that correct? Did I get that right? >> Yes, that is correct. And

083it's specifically stated in here that um no student is compelled to participate in a public performance or penalized in any way for failure to do so. And that is to address those um competing interests where kids may have multiple um activities and so on. >> Thank you. Okay. Other comments, questions, concerns? Just uh a matter of uh clarification. When it says first read, it means it'll be reviewed tonight by the board and then go back to the policy committee for further consideration at the policy committee. So first read does not mean we are adopting that policy. Second read means we are adopting the policy. So that's a significant difference. Um, if there are no further comments or questions about the consent agenda items, are there any objections? None. Please record. Madam Secretary, is passing unanimously.

084Mr. Hickey. Thank you. Uh Miss Stone mentioned that we had a conversation about the uh administrative regulations on our library materials and also the reconsideration the objection to materials. Um unfortunately I was not at the meeting uh but I was the one who had made the request that we have the discussion at policy because as Mrs. Seki alluded to at the meeting. Maybe it's because my name is first on the list or whatever, but I seem to be the one who gets more questions from the public about some of the materials that we present to our students and some of the materials in our library and how do we handle them. And there's a misconception out there that somehow this board is the one that chooses the books and also I'll just to use the

085phrase that's out there that we ban the books. Um, so I just want to try to set the record straight on what we do and what we don't do and who has the authority to do what we do in our in our materials. Um, the first one is policy 109 R5 where we talk about how we select our books. Nowhere in that administrative regulation. And keep in mind it's an administrative regulation. It is not a policy. We do not have a policy on library books nor the reconsider and banning of such. But under policy 109-R5, the school board is not mentioned once in that administrative regulation. There's a process to be followed if someone finds the materials in our library objectionable and I have it here and it's various steps. Step one, the community member

086shall contact the principal and share the concern about the book. Step two, the library provides information to the community member that can be found in the handbook. I'm not reading the whole thing. I'm just short. Step three, it goes to district level consideration, which is the building principal and/or librarian shall relate the information regarding reconsideration to the student. Step four, where it really gets interesting, is the reconsideration committee. These committee members consist of the assistant superintendent, the district library coordinator, district level literacy coordinator, the elementary or secondary high school librarian depending on the level, the district level subject area coordinator, the building principal, a classroom teacher, one member of the student executive board at the high school member, and a community member. Nowhere in this committee does it say the school board is involved. It

087says the committee then shares their recommendation to the superintendent and the superintendent and their design reviews the recommendation and makes the final decision. So, like I said, there's been a lot of, like I said, misconception out there that comes from the community and some of it comes from organizations. I, like I said, I get questions about it. I see it on social media and some of these media sites actually have the word Council Rock associated with their names that says this district, this board I should say, bans books. And I just want to try to put this issue to rest that the board has nothing to do with banning books in the district. And I'm going to ask the committee chair, Miss Stone, if she'll agree with that sentiment or anyone else if they would

088care to join in. But you know, like I said, we get accused of banning books and >> something. >> It's never happened. At least not in the time that I've sat on the board. I know Mr. Halgo and Mr. have been here longer than I have. Uh so maybe they could add some more historical perspective to it. But like I said, this is a misconception. It's out there and hopefully we don't have to ever talk about this again. >> Thank you, Mr. Hickey. Um I just want to say that yeah the AR 109 does relate to library books and then the committee members um do make the decision on what is age appropriate or not. And uh it this is not discussing curriculum material because then the board is involved because it it is an

089it also involves purchasing and and expenditures. So this is separate from books for curriculum versus the library. >> Okay. Anyone else? Miss Py, >> um I'm glad you clarified that curriculum versus the library, but hypothetically speaking, and I'm glad this is not happening uh in Council Rock, a board majority could change that. If a board majority wanted to create a policy that the school board members have a different handling of books then that situation could happen. So we don't have it right now and we have not experienced it because we did not have that kind of board majority so far but it is possible. possible. Has it ever happened? >> Not that I know of. >> Do we currently have Mr. >> But we are not going back and forth. >> Mr. Hago. >> Yeah,

090I do remember that there was a public outcry with uh um policy 109 at one point um when the majority was different than it is. If you want to go Republican and Democrat seems the new things for the last five or six years, even before. Um but to my knowledge, yep, we never we never banned any books when when the majority when we had the opportunity we could we didn't. So never and and Mr. Table reaffirm that. >> Can't reaffirm 100% but that's my recollection as well. Miss Oeki. >> Uh at the education Oh, no. At the policy meeting, we did talk about a book that was removed from the library. uh under previous leadership >> which was it miss her >> I believe the book you're talking about was removed by the acting superintendent

091at the time not the board not one member of a board member I have the email >> I will make it public if I need to >> All right thank you >> previous leadership I didn't >> All right um anyone else wish to comment All right. Thank you all. Mr. Roosevelt, thanks very much. Just recollecting here, I recall uh it may have been four years ago, it may have been three years ago, but this came up before the concept of of book banning. And I recall Dr. Thorart indicating that book banning has negative connotations and it's usually done by bad guys. And then he went around and looked at every board member from the seat where I'm sitting in actually everybody in the face and said, "Does anybody have a problem? Does anybody want to

092ban books here?" And nobody said yes. So those of us that are still here um from that, which would be Mr. Hickeyi, myself, Mr. Tate, Mr. Hadalgo, and Miss Pali all all answered and are on the record of saying that they're not in favor of book bans. So that was just another thought that I was thinking about as this conversation was going. Thank you very much. You're welcome. All right. I believe that covers policy. Thank you very much, Miss Stone. Facilities Committee. Uh very briefly, uh we had a good meeting on October 9. We discussed all three of the items on a on the consent agenda. I think two of the three are positive change orders where the district is regaining money. All three are. Thank you, Mr. Rap. Thank you, Dr. Senko. Uh so

093those are the um consent agenda items. We had the most discussion about the chancellor center renovation question and we discussed the fact that the administration is going to be recommending a new architecture firm for the project and a new sir. >> Uh yes, that is correct. A new architecture firm and a new construction management firm. >> Yes. And and um they're on the job now currently. >> They're they're doing work on the building currently. not not um you know to to to prepare to um to prepare to uh be begin design work and also to um present to the board next month at facilities committee meeting on their thoughts on the building. >> Yes, thank you. Um thanks Mr. Rep. uh and then the board will be uh voting on the appointment of those firms

094and uh we'll have a lot more to say um at the November 6 facilities committee meeting uh and then of course it'll come to the full board meeting. So there's there's a lot of discussion ahead about chancellor center um next meeting to uh address the issue will be November 6 as I said and then we'll address it at the full board meeting. Um, so >> just remember it's at 6 PM. >> 6 PM. Yes. November 6, 6 PM. Easy to remember. Um, we have three agenda. Uh, consent agenda items. I move to approve consent agenda item B through D is contained in the attachment to this agenda. >> Second. >> U. Thank you, Miss her. Are there any questions? Mr. Odago? >> Yeah. Uh could you just because maybe people didn't see the committee meeting

095uh facilities committee meeting regarding the chancellor center the three options uh was a major discussion. Do you just can you just give a round number for the public what the three option costs were for warm, safe, and dry, something in the middle, and then the full >> because we did do it at the committee meeting. Just so people understand what we're what we're what we're looking at next month. There's there's three options regarding this building um as far as warm, safe, and dry, which is just taking care of the issues that um we know of that are um uh potentially damage potent that are going to that that are going to develop into big problems if we don't fix them. Um to take care of those issues, namely the um the foundation issues and the

096HVAC issues. Uh that's about $6 million. There's a second um plan. There's uh we have the building evalu all of our buildings evaluated annually for um what needs to be done. We call that the CIP list. Um that would be the second option where we um uh would fix all the CIP items in this building. Um I believe that's around 10 to 12 million. That number I'm not too sure of off the top of my head. And then the third option is to do both of those do and that by the way that second option would include the warm, safe and dry items. And then a third the third option would be to um to uh perform all the things under items options one and two. and then also to uh perform um non structural

097renovations inside the building to um better suit the needs of the um of the administration as uh as the years go on. Um, so that would that would be by non-structural I mean we're not going to be tearing out doing anything to a loadbearing wall or a load, you know, loadbearing beams or anything like that. It would only it would only um uh we would only be touching walls that are are um basically barriers from one room to to another. >> Yeah, I think that's a good summary. Thank you very much, Mr. Right. >> That's about $18 million, >> right? Yeah. And and these are rough estimates that are uh subject to adjustment by the the two new firms that are >> that's the that's the budget that um that that we put together when

098we went out to bid. Uh the firms have both agreed that those appear to be doable. Obviously, if there's other problems that get found, that could change, but um we we um myself and and and Jess Binda have very uh very uh much told them we want to stay within those budgets and and you know, in our discussions have have made sure that we're that it's they they realize how important it is to this district that they that uh especially since this is not a student space that that we stick to what what we What is in that? What is in that budget? >> Very good. Thank you. That help? >> Yeah. Yeah. But I was expecting to get a little more clear, but only because I have the numbers in front of me. So,

099I'm just going to read it real quick. So, >> well, no, if I could, please. This is my time if you don't mind. >> It is object somehow. >> Pardon me. >> Unless you're objecting somehow. >> I'm not objecting. >> Okay. >> I'm explaining that this is not an agenda item that we're going to take it on at the November 6. >> Agree. facilities committee meeting and you're >> I'll bring it up under old business. >> We can discuss it now. >> Okay. I think you're >> I'll just be almost get done. I'll be real done. It'll be over with since it's going to be continuity if it's okay. >> That's fine. >> Thank you. Two more seconds. Because if we're talking about facility, but you are right. We we we we are in facility

100committee. It's not on the agenda, but we did speak about it in the report. Somebody did speak about it. >> That was me, >> right? Um, so if you want me to wait, I'll wait, >> but I will bring it up. Floor is yours. Thank you. >> Um, so basically, yeah, so it's the 6.2 million was the hard costs, but then once you do the permits and uh the the allowances and stuff like that, the budgets between 8.5 and 8 almost $7 million for the warm, safe, and dry. I won't burden with the other two but it goes up to about the 10 million range all in with the budget and the top one when you said the 18.1 18.4 million would be to do the whole building and try to bring it up to

101up to date for the administration to continue. Uh but what I wanted to say because it's important that I say it now um is that when I looked at the basement which is the most important thing to me the structure and the doing the draining it's it's a beautiful beautiful beautiful building and it's has much history so we want to make sure we take care of it. The foundation is where the issue is. Um, I'd like to see in their planning if they're going to look and just make sure we get the base if we just did the the foundation shoring it up on the inside and the outside. You know, I don't want to see the walls the way that they are now and preferably have the the floors on the on the basement

102floor coated uh and just absolutely clean and pristine. That's what I'd like to see done at the warm, safe, and dry level as of maybe even that might be lower than actually $7 million to do that or 8 8.6 8.7 million. Do you understand what I'm saying? Are you looking confused? >> No, I'm >> Yeah, I I >> And I I'll just put it out there. So, I'll let you go. You don't have to answer that. Go ahead. >> Thanks, Mr. Rap. Uh, we have a motion on the floor and a second. Pardon me. Okay. I don't think >> Yeah. No, we did not vote on the three. >> Mr. Roosevelt, >> thank you very much. I have a comment about the three agenda items. Uh, this is consistent with other comments that I've made

103about change orders. Mr. Rap, I'm hoping that you can answer this. I know Miss Benda is also >> I'm going to ask for the second time that if you have questions, direct them please to Dr. Senko or me. Go ahead, please. That that seems new, but that's fine. I can I can ask Dr. Zenko and you the same questions. That's fine. Um, and just know that she watches these, and in the past, she's been very diligent at providing answers regarding these items. So, are these items um for unused material funds, were these funds held in contingency that we didn't need or they're part of the project budget that we didn't need? So I I can't answer whether they were held in contingency or not, but when we go to build a project, as you well

104know, you know, you you make your estimate and um you build your allowances in and this is these are monies that we didn't need to complete the project. So it's really a credit to the district rather than an expense we spend on the project. Tony, do you want to add to that at all? >> Yes. Uh once we receive the bids for uh a project, we we refine the budget to match those bids. So that's what we expect to spend. And um sometimes it's that things don't end up costing as much as we thought they were going to cost. Or it's that we said, "Okay, we're going to put $10,000 down in case we find that uh we need to replace two more windows in this project than we thought we did." Um and it

105turns out we don't need to do that. So that comes back as well. So, it's either that costs have been um reduced because we didn't do something that we thought we needed to do or because we put money aside for something that we we were concerned might occur and that didn't happen. Thank you. All of those descriptions fit into a contingency cost. So that's what I was trying to understand if these were contingency costs that we didn't need or if these are a result of materials that were substituted and therefore it was less expensive. >> Understood. Contingency based on the way you just explained it. Thanks. >> Thank you. Good deal. Any other questions, comments on the consent agenda items? Are there any objections? Hearing none, please record as passing unanimously, Madam Secretary. All righty.

106That uh covers facilities committee except I'll remind you again next meeting is a combined meeting of the facilities committee and the finance committee November 6 at 6 p.m. which brings us appropriately enough to finance committee. Miss Stone. >> Yes. So, the finance committee met on Thursday, October 16th. Um, and Mr. Rap reviewed the 2024 25 financial results. Although they still need to be finalized, uh, we're not expecting any significant adjustments. And in summary, the district saw a $3.54 million favorable variance in total revenue and a $5.9 million favorable variance in total expenditures. Uh so this $9.3 million surplus increased our general fund balance to 37.8 million. Um some of these monies are committed or restricted or assigned. However, the unassigned fund balance must be maintained below 8% of the budget and some of the monies

107also need to be transferred to capital reserve fund for major summer projects. So after the transfers, the unassigned fund balance will be at 7.1% of the budget, which is under the mandated maximum. And uh maintaining this uh $20 million balance in the general fund allows us to increase our revenue by interest earned, um which by the way was about $6.6 million last year. It also gives us peace of mind in case we have any emergencies and uh most importantly it gives us an excellent bond rating so we can get the lowest interest rates when borrowing for capital improvements which we know we will be needing very shortly. um regarding so you can review the slides from the finance committee meeting so you can see some of the other changes in the other fund balances which

108I was not going to review here and the other thing we talked about was the act one index which the maximum tax increase allowed by the state and the index for the 26 27 year has been set at 3.5%. Uh, and it's anticipated it will go down again to a about 3.1 in 27 to 20 uh 202728. And this index is based on the average percent increase in statewide wages and employment cost index. And so in order to raise taxes beyond that index, it's got to be through exception or voter referendum. And to remind you, this year's act one index was at 4%. So you can see the anticipating that going down. Um are and I will look to Mr. wrap. If if I said anything incorrect or I misqued any numbers, he can he

109can correct me. Um, our next meeting will be a joint meeting of the finance and facilities committees and will be held on Thursday, November 6th. Uh, again, starting an hour earlier at 6 PM. So, I think now we've mentioned that three or maybe four times, I think. And so I move to approve consent items B through G as contained in the attachments to this agenda. >> Are there comments? >> Anyone second? >> Second. I didn't hear >> second. Thank you, Mr. Hickeyi. Comments, Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. >> Thank you, Mr. Tate or Dr. Senko, could you please ask um Mr. Rap to explain how it was in June we had a $6.5 million deficit, but now we have a surplus. Could you ask him please to explain this accounting principle and how we arrived at

110it? >> Tony, please. [Music] Uh so as when when the year ends we we have basically a a cash basis result of operations. Um meaning what we paid out in cash and and what we received in cash uh at the end of by by June 30th. Um, we are on what's called the mod I don't want to get I I don't know how deep you want me to go with this because I can I can talk for hours but um we we use what's called the modified uh modified acrruel basis of accounting which is the standard for a government um or a school district and of those we we do acrew certain things such as uh accounts receivable, accounts payable um taxes receivable and taxes payable. Um, so we have many transactions that occur in

111the months of July and August and even some into September where we have to say this was something that we bought in we we ordered in 20 by June 30th. We received it by June 30th, but we didn't receive an invoice to pay until after June 30th. So that goes back into the current year as a as an exp back into the prior year as an expense. Um there's also many items um that we receive c we receive money that is for items that are reimbursements or for um uh or other revenues uh but that that that uh according to the principles of the the accounting principles that we use that they are accured back into the into the year. Um several of them are are rather large. Um and just sometimes there's just financial

112information that we don't have. We won't we don't know on June 30th. We don't know what interest we earned in June. So that that doesn't get added in until until June. But then one of our biggest uh revenue sources from the state is our uh is our piecers uh the retirement reimbursement. We get half of what we pay into that reimbured by the state. We do not get that money until September. So, we don't actually know what that amount is. So, there's that like that alone is is a 7 to10 million revenue that we don't have as of June 30th, but that does count for that year. There's also some basic education money um that that that is included. And uh there's a lot of uh EI and you can tell that our our revenues

113were much much better at that point. Um there there is a lot of uh earned income tax money that is collected by Keystone in May and June that we do not receive until July and August. So that that's the majority of why we go from a deficit at June 30th calendar and end up with a surplus at June 30th um on the financial statement basis. I hope that explains it. Don't we also use conservative budgeting where we overestimate our expenses and underestimate our revenue? >> Yes. And and so and and we but you know that that's and and we we do conservative budgeting in that we that that's why we end up with a difference. I mean, but when we do budget for a revenue, we do look at a certain amount for PERS reimbursement,

114social security reimbursement, basic education. The problem with a lot of those numbers and and and you if I I talked about it at at the finance committee meeting, a lot of the revenues uh besides the uh return on investment that we received, a lot of the revenues that we received were better than we expected from the state. And that's because we don't know what we're getting from the state until until after well after our budget is done. And and I can talk about the fact that that right now we budgeted for revenue for basic education based upon what we receive what we were supposed to receive last year because I have no there's no way that I can know what we're going to receive or that we can know what we're going to receive in

115this upcoming year for basic education. I don't the people in Harrisburg don't know what we're going to receive. There's a there's a pretty good estimate out there, but I would not base a budget on that. So, from a conservative standpoint, it would it would not be a good thing for us to budget say that that it's going to go up a million dollars in the budget for that million dollars. And then then four months after the budget's passed or how we're we're moving into month five now, um five months after the budget's passed, we find out that we don't get that million dollars. So that's why we we we we're more confident. It's like, you know, in levels of confidence. So we're more confident that we're going to receive our um that we're going to

116receive what we received last year in basic education. We're not nearly as confident that we're going to receive what was in the governor's original budget for basic education funding. And so that's just one example of of why we we do conservative budgeting with our revenues and and where our our big our big um uh you know one of those differences comes in. Another would be in revenues would be under the uh income tax. We have to estimate a percentage of income tax not income tax I apologize our real estate tax. We have to estimate that there is a percentage of real estate taxes that we will not collect because or we will not collect in the current year because of various reasons. So we we build into the budget a percentage of that. If that

117percent you look at the amount of income tax or real estate tax that we collect if you look at that amount there is a lot of um you know I think we base it around like 97.5% collectible which is pretty high. Um, you know, Council Rock is obviously a good place and and there's, you know, people pay their taxes. Um, but if that's off by, you know, 01% that's going to affect what we receive. So, we make that estimate. That estimate is going to be probably a little lower than we expect to collect for conservative budgeting. And then the buildings make their own budgets based on an allocation that they receive from the business office. and you know they they they base their budgets based upon what they um think they're going to need for

118the year and and and they you know and we've I I hope you know everyone's had a chance to look at the budget books and to see how much more detailed our budgets have become over the last couple years to say that we're asking them for more and more information all all year so that we're they're able to justify what they're asking for in the budget. But um sometimes they don't have a chance to purchase things that they need um or you know something might have lasted a little bit longer or you they didn't budget it. So so sometimes that ends up being lower and again we end up doing things like buying budgeting for vehicles and we go out to bid and we get told well you're not receiving any vehicles until after June.

119So at that point we can't that they've been budgeted but we can't buy them till the next year because you you can only put them in the fiscal year in which you receive them. So there's a whole lot of different things going into those those budgets. But um you know if if we have a year where we spend more than we thought which is you know always possible we have a new teachers contract. um we get end up in with a year where we spend more than we thought we were going to or you know the budget comes back from Harrisburg and they do reduce our our basic education funding compared to last year. Um those are definite hits that we're going to take on the budget and you know it still puts us in

120in a position where if those are the worst things that happen we're not going to we're prepared for it. we're prepared for those contingencies and I think I think that's very important for for for for the school district and our and our financial future. >> Thank you, Mr. Rap. I I'd also like to thank Mr. Rap. Thank you, Mr. rep for that detailed description and also thank you very much for the same level of confidence that you provide to this district to prepare for all of these unknowns and to make sure the district has enough working capital to meet its obligations. Uh I I appreciate it very much. Thank you, >> Mr. >> Oh, thank you. >> We do have we do have a motion on the floor. >> Okay, >> but go ahead. >>

121Um thank you. Uh, I'll try not to. It looks like I'm going out. No, general fund. Is this part of it? The transfer. Okay. So, I'm not going to repeat what I said at the at the um at the committee meeting regarding um you know, tax increases and how we get surpluses. I'll leave that, but we'll be starting that conversation again, I guess, in January, right? It's in a couple months. Um, and just to say the trend that I've seen is I would always advocate for something lower like 2% as a floor. As Miss Py said, it's kind of arbitrary. We don't work in a in a in an arbitrary way if I say that, but it's kind of just a concept kind of like we have a debt ceiling. I kind of try to

122put a a tax increase ceiling for the for the people because if we all look, we'll see uh when we go pay our taxes or you see your mortgage escrow remake redone, you see the the costs do do go up. So that's important to me uh from from that standpoint representing the uh the stakeholders of the taxpayer. And so again, o every year we we try to I try to, you know, keep it at that 2%, but every year I'm voting no because it's over 2% and every year we're getting surpluses and that's a good thing for the school district. Um, and I can definitely project forward that we'll need this money and say so it's okay, but what we're doing is we're bloating the coffers. And I and people aren't going to like the

123way I'm saying things. I'm just talking off my cuff, but we're bloating the coffers with what we we can spend that money, but I worry that when we uh if we don't tighten the purse strings, then in the immediate, we end up maybe feeling like maybe we can negotiate or whatever, like people can can can charge more because we are so financially uh stable. So I think another way to do the accounting would be to be a little more um so we we make projections and they end up being conservative and we end up to the good that's very safe and we're looking really good so we are transferring money into the funds I would say uh transferring money into other areas. Um, so maybe one year we will just try that and we're going

124to see this year because it's pretty much it's a six million dollar deficit. We'll see how that lines. That will probably get us closer to even for the year in my opinion depending on how you know we'll know that next June. So all I'm saying is maybe sometimes instead of thinking forward and projecting, why don't we be conservative in our tax increases, not in our projections, and then if we see that we did get a deficit, now we have a reason to increase the taxes versus increasing the taxes based on on the concept. So it's a total different way than we've done it since I've been here. and I'll advocate again for that. Uh depending on how the economy goes over the next couple months. Um that that's where I just wanted to make that

125comment about something that's important to me. Thank you. >> No, thank you, >> Miss Khan. >> Um thank you. I just wanted to kind of circle back to what we are um approving this evening. It's great conversation about the budget and funds, but um just for clarification, the transfer um from the general fund to the capital reserve fund, I know every year that transfer of money to the capital reserve funds allows us to do our summer projects. Um I know this past summer we did a number of projects that was around $6 million. So that's one reason. And also, I know we've talked about it in the past with general fund, not only for payroll, we need to have a certain, it seems like having 20 some $30 million is a lot to have in

126our in our um a fund, but not only do we need to have it for payroll, but also um for future capital for future capital projects, we need to have a certain level of money in our accounts for to keep our bond rating up. So, we have that ability to borrow when we need to for for big projects. Um, and I know that Miss Py has talked about it multiple times that, you know, we are fortunate enough in this district um to be a be to be able to invest um our tax dollars um so it's able to collect interest and money and I know that we've done really well and I definitely commend u Mr. Rap and his team and every quarter I believe we we get a report as well. So I know

127we're we're very fortunate as a district to have that. Um, and I know that is part of the reason that sometimes our budgeting seems a little off as well, but it's always better to be on the positive and conservative side so we have are able to plan for the future. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Py. >> I know we're we're a little bit off subject, so I'm going to keep it very brief since my name was mentioned a couple of times. Um, and Mr. Hidalo, I agree. there is a way of doing the budget in a non-conservative way and then maybe in that case we may have to be prepared for like surprises. >> Um that's my understanding of what you said. Okay. Please let me finish. Okay. So um when we when we

128look at how uh our tax increases were over the last few years, we were very fiscally responsible. And uh it's interesting that I've been reading different things in social media or uh different venues um accusing us of being reckless with our tax increases. So we uh we increased taxes actually since I joined this board way below the act one index. So when the act one index was like 5% our increase was like less than 3%. I don't remember the exact number. So um and that was way below the uh rate of inflation. So we you have to make decisions in order to provide the best possible education and still if you don't want to increase the tax at the less than 3% level then you have to decide what do you want to cut because

129you do have to cut educational programs and other things in order not to make these increases. So I think that um we are very fiscally responsible in the way we've handled our tax increases and I think that uh everything we do our prior our priority is to provide the best possible education while thinking very hard about not to increase taxes if we don't have to. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Py. Mr. Odago. >> Yeah, I apologize if I if I if I misspoke, but I I'm not saying change the way we're budgeting. I I I like our budgets the way they are. I'm just saying we're we're increasing the taxes too much based on those budgets because the results show um and we are good. So, but you know, so I'm not saying that

130I want to change the way we're we're budgeting at all. Uh just want to make that clarification. But then I wanted to bring up a point about one of the agenda pull pull one of the agenda items for discussion if I could or maybe we could just discuss it. >> We can discuss roll call. Yeah, we already have a motion. >> You may have to roll call the to pull then. How would you do it, Mr. Miso? Like I did before with the treasuries report. >> So we have a motion and a second to approve the consent items B through G. And you're saying you'd like to pull something out? What do you want to pull out? >> The Treasury's report for discussion, right? >> So, uh, >> can I do another motion then? >>

131Sure. >> Okay. I move to approve consent agenda items C through G as contained in the attachments to this agenda. >> Second. Okay. Yeah. We will have any comments or questions about those specific agenda consent agenda items. Are there any objections? Hearing none. Those have passed unanimously. And that leaves us is that um B. >> All right. So, let's have a motion to approve B. >> I move to approve consent agenda item B as contained in the attachments to this agenda. >> Second. >> All right. Let's have a discussion. >> Okay. >> Well, thank you. I mean, last year, I think I pulled the Treasury report every every month pretty much until the year was up, the first contract year. Um, so I'm kind of used to doing this, but I did see an email

132uh that another board member had uh concerns about the the the costs on one of the or few of the items on the on the treasuries report. So, I just wanted to open it up for to see uh Miss Her, you wrote wrote an email if you wanted to ask your questions. Let's do it. >> I'd like to uh pull their invoices out if possible. >> You What are you requesting, please? >> Uh Rudolph and Clark or Clark and Musos. >> Just because they've already approved the bills, so they've already been paid, but we can certainly discuss it if you like. Um, >> the floor is yours. >> Okay, fine. Um, I would like to know why, you know, as an oversight, we go over and there are charges on there that are in question.

133>> I've already responded in an email and they've been approved. >> There's one missing. We did not get an answer on the resolution. >> Okay. Thank you. >> So, you're not going to answer me? You're not going to ask the public? Let them know. >> I'm not really clear on your question. >> The question? >> I'm No, I am I'm just simply not clear on your question. >> You're not clear on it? >> No, I am not clear on your question. Could you repeat it, please? >> Okay. What I had asked was there was the resolution we did. There were charges over $1,000 for that resolution. We had the Pensberry one that we did as a look at look at which is almost word for word, but they're charging us over $1,200. The Pensberry one

134was already sent to the legislators a week before we put ours out. Why are we being overcharged for that? So, uh, you're not being overcharged. If you look at the descriptions of what we did, that's an accurate description. Uh, these bills are always reviewed by administration. So, they're they were appropriate charges. >> What review and research did you do that was over $1,200 on a resolution that you word almost word for word took from Penseries? >> We we talked to board members. We were asked questions. We performed the work. Okay. Are there other comments, questions? >> Mr. Lago, >> I'm sorry. Sorry. How many hours was that on the resolution of work? >> It was on four hours. Okay. Are there other questions, comments? We're voting on the treasurer's report. Are there objections? Hearing no

135objections, please, Madam Secretary, record that as passing unanimously. And I believe that concludes our business agenda. taking us to public comment. We have, let me see, four, five, six people signed up for non-aggenda items for this session of public comment. And if there's anyone who wishes to walk up who's not signed in for this session, that's fine. We'll go first with the people who are signed up. Again, to repeat, this is an opportunity for members of the public to address the board. We ask you limit your comments to no longer than 3 minutes. Please consider the fact that there may be young children in the audience, probably not at this hour, I hope, or watching this broadcast live on CRTV. Your ideas are welcome and will be considered in deliberating an issue. The board does

136not typically respond to comments or questions in real time. and we ask that you um identify yourself and the township in which you reside. And first is I believe it's Carrie Bowley. Thank you. >> You did very well with that pronunciation. >> Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Carrie Bowley and I am from Northampton Township. I am here tonight to urge the board to take meaningful action by engaging an independent expert to conduct a comprehensive and authoritative audit of the district's special special education and literacy programs and practices, including the new structured literacy program. Over the past several years, parents have come to administration and this board repeatedly, meeting after meeting, expressing deep concern about the lack of transparency, lack of accountability, and lack of decision focused data concerning how our district supports

137students with disabilities and students struggling to read. We've asked for progress monitoring monitoring reports, for evaluation of instructional practices, and for assistance and assurance that educators are being properly trained and supported. What we've consistently received are reassurances without any measurable follow-through. Our community deserves better. We deserve data. We deserve to see evidence that the systems in place are effective and equitable, not reactive and fragmented. Last a August, the Philadelphia Inquirer published a deeply troubling article which revealed that our district has paid millions in addition to the $184,000 from tonight's agend confidential settlements to families of students with disabilities. These settlements often happen behind closed doors, allowing the district to avoid public accountability for the systemic failures that led to those very arrangements. Even more concerning, the article cited minutes from Council Rock teachers unions of

138revealing that educators requested professional development but were denied the opportunity. Teachers reported being given a book and essentially being told and expected to train themselves. This is not a successful pathway for improving instruction. It is a road to more lawsuits, more inequities, and more children falling through the cracks. Our district cannot afford to keep applying band-aids in the form of payouts for lawsuits. Families should not have to hire tutors and lawyers to access the education their children are guaranteed under federal law. Educators should not be left without the training and resources they need to serve every learner. A comprehensive independent audit conducted by a credible external expert would bring transparency data and a roadmap for improvement. It would help us understand whether our programs are aligned with evidence-based best practices, whether our special education services

139are effective, and whether educators have the professional support necessary to ensure student success. This is a students first opportunity. An audit provides the possibility to rebuild trust, to restore accountability, and to ensure that every child has access to the highquality instruction they require and deserve. Thank you very much. Next on the list is Cheryl Karns. Miss Karns, please. Where do you reside? >> Lifelong resident of New Town Barrel. Cheryl Karns Hills. Again, thank you for the opportunity to speak to board administrators and community. October's facilities meeting discussion about the chancellor center became a baffling Halloween mystery for me with twists and turns. Much of the discussion dealt with issues discussed previously. I felt like I was in a spinning time warp or a ghostly rerun. So many chancellor options that are not viable were offered

140again. Don't let the Chancellor Center become a horror story. Some Edgar Allan Poe story scenarios were offered. You can't allow the center to crumble as the mansion in the fall of the house of Usher did. The Chancellor Center is in a historic zone. It also has to be maintained if vacated, so no haunted house is allowed. There are no givebacks to the burrow as the building was deed to this school district. Buying a new building is out of the question. Administration does not need another building to haunt. Fix this building to continue on to serve us well. Pose the pit and the pendulum fits as the pendulum swings closer as time continues on with rising costs that will haunt you. The community is already seeing the rise in cost due to indecisiveness. Move forward. Don't

141turn this situation into a horror story. There is definite work that the Chancellor Center needs. Guilt will be felt if you don't reach a decision. Don't let your actions haunt you. Get it done right as this building and its history deserves it. May November's facilities meeting rid us of any nightmares. Look forward to moving with those three options. Again, thank you for your time, consideration, and the work that you do for community. Appreciate it. Thanks. Thank you very much, Miss Karns. It's always good to hear from you. Next on the list is Mitchell Smmedley of Rightstown. Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Mitchell Smmedley. Uh I'm a Wrighttown resident and a proud graduate of Council Rock South, class of 2021. It's great to be back for this my second time speaking before the

142school board. The last time I uh did so, I was in elementary school and came to the chancellor center to thank the board for investing in technology that was the key to my success in Council Rock and beyond as a blind student. Tonight, I speak as a candidate seeking to continue the success that I had here as a student with a commitment to provide an educational experience for all of our students to thrive as I did. I want to be a member of the school board that has thoughtful dialogue on how to deliver on that vision of academic excellence that is within our means, working with colleagues to elevate students measurable results. I want to serve on a board who thinks creatively about reducing non-studentoriented expenditures while delivering a first rate education. I hope to

143participate in discussions on strategies to equalize the quality of education within Council Rock regardless of geographic location, facility size, or tax base. I want to work on a board that leaves behind political agendas and does what's right for kids, taxpayers, and teachers. I believe having recently graduated from college, I am in the unique position to represent the concerns, experiences, and challenges our students have today. I have firsthand experience of the consequences of COVID, of understanding our students need to be prepared when they graduate. and what social pressures exist today that did not exist 5 years ago. I hope to serve as a member of this school board. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Smmedley. Joshua Morris of Northampton. Hello, my name is Joshua Morris from Northampton. I am a junior at Council

144Rock High School South and I am a level 200 at MBIT and I'm also a Skills USA representative on MBIT as well. I am here today because I'm very concerned for the path of our school district. The school board is elected to represent students, families, teachers, and staff, not their own political agenda. Because the last two years have been nothing but constant fighting and arguing and shutting down the quote minority. Keep in mind, Ed, Linda, Nikki, Tracy, and Yoda, this is supposed to be a non-political, bipartisan position. You five made it made it the opposite. I come up here and said before that we must move forward with changes like the solicitor and stop pointing the finger. But then one of our school board members who truly cares, Miss her, discussed new information we didn't

145know about. So we have no choice choice but to get back to this subject. The five of you quote majority doesn't matter what you say having a meeting before even being sworn in and not telling the other four members is the clear definition of secret and non-transparent. Let me teach you guys now. One of the definitions of transparency is the quality of allowing light to pass through so that objects behind can be distinctly seen. My point here is the minority claims they had no idea about the solicitor change until January, the month after new members were sworn in or when everybody was sworn in. Yikes. Was the light shone through the object at the secret meeting you guys had with Rudolph and Clark? Now, it's clear that this year is an election year, and that's

146not why I'm here. I'm here because I'm concerned. The attacks coming from the pouring money scheme, the five majority members are part of the quote together for council rock have once again defrauded the public with the public with misinformation and lies so they can get whatever benefits the five members in charge of our school district. The so-called adults have been acting like nothing but teenagers up here. When I was younger, me and my siblings would come home from the school bus every day and we would fight on who gets the mail. When a nasty child opens the mailbox and sees a letter and it's and if it's about the schools claiming that people you disagree with is quote an extremist. We see that and we ask our parents questions. Remember who is the role the

147role model? It's supposed to be the nine of you guys. But the same people meaning Ed, Linda, Nikki, Tracy, and Yoda have been dividing it into their own agenda. I now think as a student who has come to these meetings and has watched from home that it's time for common sense leadership. There is much more I can say, but unfortunately my frustration cannot be torn with more issues because it seems to add on by the day here in Council Rock from this unethical, non-transparent, partisan school board. I thought the idea was to keep Central Bucks out of our school district because they are known for their chaos. That's what the five of you guys ran on and now you're bringing us here. So, it might be time for common sense leadership. >> Thank you. >>

148Michael Hoy of Writtown. Good evening. Michael Boy writes down, "Proud graduate of Council Rock, 1968." So, I predate all of you folks and I'm older than most of you, too. Anyway, I want to thank the board for um the attention that they're giving students. Uh I love the I love the sign, students first, always. Um I'm sorry. I came just to speak, but I didn't really know what I was going to speak about. I was going to wait to hear what came. before me. Um, and I'm really happy that you're teaching uh you're spending money in teaching teachers reading programs. In my opinion, having taught for 22 years in a neighboring district, um, the most important thing we can do is make sure that a child teaches at the third grade level when they lead

149the third grade. I taught high school science and when students came to me if they couldn't read I assigned them a textbook assignment at night to reinforce what we learned in the day they were lost and then since one lesson built on another it was important that we do that. Um I also want to con talk about um Goodno Elementary School. You mentioned something about compassion and empathy training there. I think that's just a fabulous thing and I think that should be districtwide. Uh as I mentioned, I taught I taught science in high school, but actually what I came to understand during my 22 years was that I was really teaching the whole child. It's not just the discipline you're teaching. I we gave credit to kids today for academic achievement. Fabulous. But it's more

150than that. They are more than just somebody who's doing academic work. That needs to be emphasized. And I thought that the first part of this program about social and emotional learning was really critical. I don't know what the program is. I'm sorry. I'm not prepared to discuss that at any in any depth, but I do know how important it is having been an educator in the classroom. It was my great honor to be uh a teacher. I had that was my fourth career. I finally figured out what I wanted to do. Um but um I just want to mention one other thing. Somebody talked about preparing for college. I graduated from from this school from the old New Town Elementary School was my high school. So, you know, before that was re reh constructed and

151uh went out to a a university and was placed in a in a dormatory with 25 other freshmen. It was the academic dorm. So, in order to get into that dorm, you had to play like a 40 average, which of course we didn't have, but we found each other and we we created a community and we were able to do that because the foundation we had at places like this. We didn't have the social media pressures that kids have today. We didn't have my mom was a stay- at-home mom, you know, we didn't have a lot of working parents, that kind of thing. I saw it. Sorry. I I just want to thank you for your time and effort. I see how dedicated you are. I know how much time it takes and just reviewing

152all the documents that you have to take care of is really credit to us, to our community, and I thank you for that. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Hoy. Nice to hear from you. Uh Glenn Beasley of New Town Burrow. >> All right. Thank you, sir. And finally on the list of those who've signed up is Priscilla Linden of Upper Makefield. Good evening. I'm Priscilla Linden from Upper Makefield. I too want to endorse your motto of students first always at Council Rock School District. This board is to be praised for successfully initiating full day kindergarten that will help to prepare all of our young children to have a more productive experience throughout their schooling years. Kudos also for your increased focus on special education and for student wellness. It is good to see your

153genuine emphasis on students first with these and many other matters. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Lyndon. Is there anyone else in the audience? Please just step up and and identify yourself and tell us the township where you live, please. >> Hi. Hi there. I'm Jennifer Flynn, Northampton Township. Um, my concern is about the perhaps impending failure of IDA for next year on the federal level and how that will impact our students. And I want to know what um safeguards Council Rock has put into place with your fiscally conservative budgeting. hopefully that you have funds put aside to cover special ed um needs moving forward. And also the oversight and regulations that that federal program uh keeps us keeps all of us um on track. How will that be implemented without federal oversight or regulation? Are

154we just going to wing it? Do you have a plan? I would like to know what that plan is. Secondly, uh at the recent swatting incident at Council Rock High School South, uh my son, who does have an autism diagnosis, was detained and questioned by police for two hours without parental consent. We did not know where he was. He didn't have a phone on him at all. His phone was broken. He couldn't call. They didn't let him call. They didn't let him go to the office and call. No one gave him a cell phone to call. Is that the policy of this district to allow police to interrogate a child for two hours without a parent present? Is that the police's policy that they can just interrogate and question a child without a parent present?

155At no time did they believe he he was responsible for it. So I don't understand it. And I don't think that the school has or the district has a policy in place for that. If you do, I couldn't find it because I did look. but is not appropriate at any time for police to detain a child, especially one with a an autism diagnosis and interrogate them for hours without a parent present. Thank you for your time. >> If you uh ma'am, if you uh give someone your name and contact information, I I assure you someone will get back to you very soon, immediately. Thank you very much. [Applause] Is there anyone else who wishes to comment, please? First of all, there's nothing warm about this building. I literally had gloves on. Um, I did not

156have anything prepared. I was not going to speak. Um I was I was uh taken that this young person feels the need to express partisanship and I applaud him for that. But I have to say unfortunately that the previous majority was also completely partisan. So I'd like to ask all of you to just stop. Like it shouldn't be five to four. It shouldn't like the Supreme Court can't always decide that six people think this is the law and three people think that's the law. just stop. It's not cool. Uh, as parents, we want what's best for our children. I applaud the kindergarten full day. Uh, unfortunately, my grandchildren are in fourth and sixth grade, so it's too late for me. I have custody of them, by the way. Um, I I applaud the all this

157stuff that's happening, but I I'm sick of the partisanship, and it absolutely was before. You got to stop pointing fingers. I don't know what's happening now, but before I was at the meeting where we were going to replace Kristen Marcel, who was my my district and the other majority put in a person who people had completely objected to and they left the building or left the room and came back and just gave him and didn't even give the other people a chance. That was completely partisan. So, just please stop. It's not even supposed to be partisan at all. It's a school board, students first. Please work together. That's what we um elect you for. So, please stop doing that. Don't have private meetings. And I know that that maybe that happened this time, but that

158absolutely happened before. Miss Marcel would sit there and second motions when the other people be like, "This is the first time I'm hearing about it." She would second it within two seconds. So, clearly the previous majority had already had conversations that the other people weren't aware of. You can't deny it because we all sat here and watched it. So, please stop. Do what's best for the students, not what's best for your R or your D. Okay? That's not what we're here for. I want you to do what's best for my grandchildren and and that woman's poor son. Okay? Can I just implore you? I don't want to see votes of 54 63 always. That's not how it should be, right? So, can we all agree on that? Can everybody shake their head? Yes. And I

159have to say that I think and I I' I've never posted anything about this, but I think the reason that people think the school board has banning books things is because when I sat here before the Moms for Liberty people were coming up reading passages, and I I think it might have been Dr. Thor or Thorart, I'm not sure, but he questioned the library person and asked her why these books were this. Can we change the age group? And she's like, "Well, it's ya. It's young adult. That's given by the national level. I have nothing to do with that." He questioned her for like 10 minutes about what she can do to get these books out. So that's why people think, not that you do, but it's because of conversations like that that people think

160the school board has banning of books or not banning of books. >> Thank you. Is there anyone else for public comment? If there's not, we'll conclude public comment before I go on to yes. No, that's under either board comment new. No, no, no. I I I'm I'm explaining to you the board agenda that I have in front of me after you are not going to let me >> I I I certainly can't stop you. >> Okay, before we do that, I I wanted to make an announcement. Um, someone suggested that we might not have emphasized that the next education committee meeting is November 20th. I think you did mention it, Miss Khan, but it is November 20, education committee at 7 p.m. here at Chancellor. And now we'll move on to board comment. I I

161believe I said November. Hold on. I believe I said November. >> Can I finish? >> He's being He's being appropriate announcement. >> Making an announcement. >> Okay. >> I'm going to move on to board comment at that point. >> Excuse me. >> I'm going to move on to board comment. Is is >> Holy smokes. You will not suppress me. You will not suppress our community. You will not. I'm speaking to tonight as a taxpayer and as a board member who believes in transparency, accountability, and the duty to tell the truth without being suppressed. Elected officials have a duty to speak up when transparency it is at risk, not stay silent out of fear. Last Wednesday, I received an email instructing us to never speak about executive sessions in public. As a reminder, Pennsylvania law limits

162executive sessions to only four purposes: personnel, labor negotiations, real estate matters, and current and potential litigation or legal advice. Discussions about new taxes or financial policies that affect the public do not fall under any of these categories. Those matters must be discussed in public. Last Friday, I submitted a right to know request for emails that I sent and I received with the subject line, executive sessions are lobbering the board. I am not asking to disclose privileged legal advice or personnel records. The public concern here is based on evidence, not speculation. For public's knowledge, I have no idea what the status of my right to know is. However, under section 902 of the right to know law, a 30-day extension can only be taken for certain reasons, such as record volume or the need for legal

163review. Not sure why I have received a response at all. And even if my request is pushed to 30 days, my point has been proven from last month. The weaponization of the government and taxpayer money. These are my emails and again they are not protected and are there is no attorney client privilege. I am an elected official and I must inform the public of actions being taken in their government. Delaying and withholding records that reveal public business is not transparency. It is suppression. I already have those emails. I sent and received them. But rather than be transparent, the district is having right to know process to withhold what is already known because it reveals conduct that should concern every taxpayer in this district. These emails are not protected and they're not under any attorney client

164privilege. I was elected to represent the public, not to protect secrets. The district has a right to full honest discussion of policies that affects their taxes and their trust. Attempts to intimidate or silence those who demand transparency are not just an attack on one board member. They're an attack on open government itself. When a solicitor moves beyond giving legal advice and begin lobbying or influencing policy decision, that is not attorney client privilege. That is public business and the public has a right to know. When a solicitor or board uses legal process to hide public information and to warn board members not to speak, that is not good governance. That is an attempt to silence oversight. I want to be clear. I will never re reveal legitimate legal advice, personnel, or student information. But I will

165always stand up for open government and ethical conduct. If the solicitor or anyone on this board uses the executive session to push attacks on residents or to silence a board member, that is not protected. It is wrong and it undermines public trust. To ensure transparency and accountability, I'm making my emails available to the public as a handout. These emails document my communication and concerns and the public deserves to see them. There's no conspiracy here, only facts documented through emails, actions, and public records. Transparency is not an attack. It is a duty. Trans taxpayers, family, and students deserve honesty and openness from every person who serves this district. Just today, I have seen public messages and campaign materials claiming to stand against censorship. Yet, ironically, the very people making these claims are the ones trying to

166silence questions, restrict oversight, and control the narrative. We must never allow government process to be used as a weapon to silence elected officials, suppress oversight, or intimidate those who speak truthfully. We need to protect public education from the weaponization of this type of government. When procedures meant for accountability are twisted to punish who who question authority, every taxpayer and every student loses. Taxpayers deserve to know what their government is doing. And they deserve leaders who respect both the law and the people they serve. Thank you. [Applause] All right, clarify. Thank you. Um, thanks Dr. Senko. The next education committee meeting is October 30th. The meeting that was not mentioned as we went down the calendar is the education committee meeting on November 20th. So there we go. Now we can move on to board comment.

167First new business from the board. Anyone do any board members have I'm sorry. >> When would it be approp Yeah. >> whichever >> old business. We are now on to old business. >> It may be a mix of both. So, entertain me for a second. And shall I just I've got a few more questions. Shall I address them to the two of you as requested and then have a dialogue or how are we doing this? Just read them out. Okay. Can the board be provided with a list of currently Wilson trained educators, where they are in the schools, and the date of their certification? Go ahead, Al. >> Yes, I can provide that. >> Thank you. MTS S, do we have any quantifiable data demonstrating progress? This program has been in place for some time.

168>> Nicole Andor Al, you want to take that, please? >> Yes, we do. We now uh have our screener data that I know we've shared at previous education committee meetings uh in past years with uh Miss Tammy Garary and we can certainly do that again. We've already collected our beginning of the year reading and math data at each building. So we can certainly take a look at that uh likely for uh November education committee meeting. That's a meeting that we're going to be discussing other data. So that's probably a good time. >> Thank you. there is uh included in MTSS is a graphic of a triangle or a pyramid and um there's been some discussion where there's an inverted MTSS triangle or pyramid. So there's a 5% area of the triangle for intensive intervention, but

169this still represents students that will be taught to read, not representative of 5% that will not. Correct. That's I I believe you're referring to tier three. So that is about as you referenced the level of intense support that students need and we base that support on the data that we collect. So it is typically about 5% of students but it's a level of intensity that we're providing. >> Thank you. Um a parent should never be told your kids are never going to be able to read. Correct. Correct. >> Thank you. Cost to educate students increase as more support is needed and/or provided. So helping these individuals with individualized teaching methods consistent with an IEP for individual education plan could save the district money. This helps all some some children, some students may need a little

170bit more or a lot more help in some areas and consistent with an individualized approach. Are we teaching them based upon their individualized needs or because a lot of other kids may not need this and do we have a general sort of educational approach for for them? We're using different methods to teach those kids that might need more help getting up to speed or developing foundations or getting through a difficult part. Is that right? Or >> Al, can you talk about the continuum of services that we provide? And Tony, can you while he's doing that um find for us the cost per student, special education student versus the cost per regular education student in the district that our spend is currently for this year. So when you're talking about tier three interventions, you're talking about

171not necessarily the curriculum, but it could be a Wilson Sunday you fly, you know, any one of those intervention programs which is meant to be delivered in a small group setting. So it's individualized based on what the students needs are because with reading you have comprehension needs, decoding, uh fluency. So each of those programs that we use concentrates on a certain area. So once we identify a student with needs in a specific area then we focus that program on those students those direct needs based on the students either MTSS data or IEP data. >> Thank you. And your recent presentation I think beginning to outline some of that of a new program that you're implementing in the district. Um, and I understand that some people may not know that occurred and uh I'm looking forward

172to measurable data that it's that it's working and I want to thank you for doing that >> that I'm sorry that that information regarding the reading interventions is on the website. So any parent if they're interested what interventions are being used and why they're being used they can access that. >> Thank you. And if I may, just because you're absolutely right, the more uh needs that a child has, there is a correlation in the expenditure too per student. And I don't know, Tony, did I give you enough time? >> Yes. Uh so our uh general education student spend is about $17,272.90 per student. Our special education spend is uh $50,32046 per student and and um my last read and it's um not recent within probably the last six or eight month months I think we're

173the eighth largest spend per per special ed student um across the Commonwealth. >> Thank you. I also want to thank this board. At the last board meeting, I had uh comments regarding an educational audit to allow Council Rock to shine more and to continue to shine. And I want to thank this board for um putting it on the agenda for the upcoming educational committee meeting to discuss. I look forward to that conversation and I also want to support the several board members during that meeting that expressed support for that. Um, I want to ask, does anybody object to having an educational audit conducted or learning more about it before we do it? Of course. >> Uh, if I may, Mr. Tate, u, Mr. Roosevelt, I think what administratively what we would like to learn from

174the board is what are you really asking us for? um because they're, you know, if if we're looking for an educational audit, we've recently done one with our EL program which was done through the um uh through the Bucks County Intermediate Unit. We've just recently done within the last year, we've had an audit done by BCIU for our technology department. So, I think we we administratively need some conversation around that to know really what target we're trying to hit here. >> Do you want to have that conversation at education committee or tonight? >> I I it's on the agenda for the upcoming education committee. We talked about it the last education committee uh to be able to put on that. We talked about it's probably best to start it in committee. So, I just want

175to thank uh the district for its previous audits and I want to thank this board for supporting another audit and having a conversation about it to improve education as well as special education. >> Good. Thanks, Mr. Roosevelt. Um, any further comments, Miss Stone? >> Yeah. Um, I'm just piggybacking on Mr. Roosevelt's comment and questions about Wilson training. And I think we talked about how um uh it's already been planned out so that we'll have a trained specialist at every school is my understanding. So if you're going to put together a list for us, will it also include uh any you where any individuals who are not just trained but are being trained or anticipate training them at what and at what school? >> Sure. That list can include this name of the school, who's being

176trained and who might be already fully trained. >> Great. Thank you. Okay, Miss Khan and then Miss Oeki. >> Uh, thank you, Mr. Tate. I just had a couple of comments. Um, one being um a comment about um I'm I'm glad to hear that the board, you know, the board does not participate any any selection of um school library books. It has not um in the past and I hope it never does in the future. Um I think some of the confusion that has happened is I know as a parent four years and beyond I sat in all the committee meetings and listened to various um board members then and now discuss several options of having a system to grade our books um our library books having options to um put them in a separate

177or restricted area um or having an option to have all of our families and students opt into books into the library. I so I think some of the the conversations and discussions in previous um education committee meetings you know dating back several years that's where some of this um you know so-called banning books or restricting books is coming from. Um I also would refer that we had discussed in the education committee previously recently that um this board does approve curriculum books and again as a parent several years ago I sat and watched um normal consent agenda items which would be curriculum books at the middle school and high school level. Um they were pulled out separately and voted on individually through um many discussions. I will just refer to one which was the giver uh

178by Lois Lowry. It was a book for the middle school level. The book had already existed. Um what the administration and teachers were looking for is a refresh of the books because after years of use they you know get worn and torn and they were looking to replace um the addition of classroom sets of books for both middle schools. Um again that was pulled out and it had to be discussed and individually um voted on. Uh most recently in our textbook approval this past spring, we also had to pull out a consent agenda um a history textbook for I believe it was 10th um and 11th grades. Um again that was pulled out uh for consent and we had to discuss that and individually um to vote on that. Um, I also just wanted to

179take a a moment to actually thank my board colleagues um for uh uni unanimously supporting the SecondStep program. Um, again, as a parent, four years ago, I watched that program never make it out of committee. Um, it actually happened to be the same program, SecondStep, that the administrators um and um staff members had brought and said was needed in our district four years ago. So, I'm very thrilled to that we were able to work together and approve that this evening. Um, and that will be it for me. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Miss Con. Miss Oeki. >> Thank you. >> I left last meeting very upset and I object to a number of claims uh and accusations said last meeting and via email over the last month. I actually had a statement prepared

180tonight, but I'm not going to read it. I'm going to follow the example, the very well said statement of the woman from Writstown who asked us to put partisanship behind us and focus on our students and the needs of this district. That's what our constituents deserve and I hope I can set an example for my colleagues. >> Thank you, Miss Oeki. Anyone else? Um motion to adjurnn. Second approved. Good night everyone. Thank you.