001They said they signed in office everybody used for a while like their cards and all. It sits on the back. [Music] What am I applying for? Yeah. [Music] probably everything. I know they're Good evening everyone. It is Thursday, April 24th. This is a meeting of the Council Rock School District board of school directors. Welcome everyone. It's great to see such a terrific turnout from the community. Dr. Senko. Thank you, Mr. Tate. May I ask my friend Grace Kai to go to the podium to lead us in the pledgece to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Grace. [Music] Say you see the daughter so [Music] proud and I [Music] s was still there.
002Say that's your strength. [Music] [Applause] [Music] I choose the [Music] I choose to live in the [Music] meoose. I choose to dance. I choose to sing. I choose to live life in the fullest. Give me wings. I choose to smile. I choose to laugh. I choose to live in a way that makes me proud. [Music] wind and I'm feeling [Music] scared to do [Music] I choose to dance. I choose to sing. I choose to live life force. I choose to I choose to act. I choose to live in a way that makes me proud. We know our way as there's a new [Music] day our faces are together. We choose to dance. We choose to sing. We choose to live life in the fullest. Come join [Music] me. I choose. I choose. [Music] I choose
003to be true to myself, be a good friend, to dream. I chose to find peace, to stand up for others, to love instead of pain. Will you choose to dance with me? [Music] [Applause] Thank you, Dr. Honor and our New Town Elementary School musicians. Thank you. a wonderful performance. Thank you very much on behalf of the board. Madam Secretary, could we have a roll call, please? Mr. Tate, present. Mr. Hidalgo, present on the phone. Mr. Roosevelt, here. Mr. Mr. Hickey here. Miss Paulie present. Miss Osaki present. Miss Khan here. Miss Stone here. Miss her here. Thank you. Thank you very much. Up on the agenda now is the CR South Council Rock High School South Student Advisory Board and Take it away. It's not Mr. Rat. I know. I was What do you think? Thank
004you though. I think you I think you'll you'll do just fine. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Senos, of directors. It's an honor to be here tonight to introduce three of our five SAV representatives here. Um, our other two are happily enjoying Florida and the warm weather. I can imagine they're somewhere in Magic Kingdom right now doing something fantastic. Um, I have Arer Kiss here for 11th grade. Daniel Thomas for 10th grade and Mia Lefredo for ninth grade. So, I'm gonna pass it over to them. Do you want to remind everybody who you are? Oh, sure. Uh, Justine McArn. I'm the 10th grade principal at South. Um, I'm very fortunate to work with awesome people over there. Not Mr. Ratic, but it's all right. Good evening, schoolboard members. My name is Arthur and I am the
00511th grade representative for the student advisory board. The class of 2026 just recently held their junior prom on Saturday, April 5th at Sherin Valley Forge. The prom was a huge success with lots of music and dancing and just overall everyone having a great time. We received with lots of positive feedback from the students. It's almost hard to believe by our senior year is already fast approaching. Golding Theater Company last month successfully performed their production of their winter show Spongebob the musical. The show drew in huge audiences with our closing night having just under 700 attendees. A big thank you goes out to all the cast, crew, and adults who dedicated their time to help put together this musical. Going Theater Company is now making preparations for their spring play, Tony and Tina's Wedding, which will
006be performed in late May. More details will follow in the near future. Our spring sports season has now officially begun with this year having the addition of our first ever flag football team. Our athletes are currently hard at work preparing for the big games up ahead. Steven's currently on the senior trip in Florida, so he'll be back next month with the full athletics report. In addition, we have some important calendar dates uh coming up. There will be a SAT exam Saturday, May 3rd, and an ACT exam on Saturday, June 14th, both at 8 a.m. And additionally, AP exams will be taking place throughout the week between May 5th and May 16th. That is it for me from today. May you all have a wonderful evening, and we'll be back soon for another round of updates
007and events. Good evening everyone. I am Daniel Thomas, the 10th grade representative, and I will be informing you about our events in our 2024 to 2025 school year. Um, Jamie Gawkman, who is usually here to give the NBIT report, is enjoying the sunny the sunny weather in Disney. But to start off, the National Technical Honor Society, which recognizes student achievements and leadership in career and technical education, is inducting a record-breaking 65 new members this Tuesday, April 29th. Congratulations to all the Skills USA competitors. These students competed in the state competition held in Hershey, PA. Seven of the MBIT students won gold medals and will be competing in the National Skills Leadership Competition held in Atlanta, Georgia in June. Congratulations to our talented senior Early Childhood Education students who have all earned their childhood development associate
008certifications. Lastly, the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute, also known as Noctai, performing testing will be held on or was held on Monday, April 7th. This exam measures the knowledge and skills of career and technical education students. Successful completion of this exam demonstrates nationally students who are career ready and equipped with the skills of employers value. NBIT would like to recommend everyone that they can see the latest happenings by following them on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tik Tok, YouTube, and X, and also by signing up for their monthly newsletter. Now, here is our 10th grade report. Firstly, our sophomore student council hosted multiple fundraisers. We had our Top Golf night where we hosted almost 100 students. Another fundraiser was the Bomba Taco fundraiser on March 11th, which was also a for great turnout. Additionally, our spring fling
009dance was hosted on March 22nd in the evening. But besides fundraisers, our Keystones will be held on May 12th through 16th. Thank you all for listening and have a good rest of your night. Good evening everyone. My name is Ma Fredo and I'm the 10th the 9th grade representative for SAB. The class of 2028 has been busy fundraising. On March 1st, we had a Chipotle Dine Out. On April 3rd, we had an Iron Hills restaurant dine out. And just this past week, we had an EggYour Your Own Yard event. During the event, student council members came out and put uh together egg hunts for all ages for families in our community. For the final few months of school, we plan to have a few more fundraising events and continue to spread school spirit. While I'm
010on the subject of fundraising, at the end of February, our annual we had our annual minithon and we successfully raised $32,166 for childhood cancer. More recently, our marching band immersed themselves in Puerto Rican culture and performed in Puerto Rico for their community. Everyone had a wonderful time and returned safely with amazing memories. Thank you for your attention and have a wonderful rest of your evening. Wonderful job. Thank you very much. See you again in a month or so. And for the superintendent report, Dr. Senko, if you would please. Thank you, Mr. Tate. Welcome and good evening to the board of school directors, to the staff and community members joining us here tonight, and to those tuning in on the Council Rock YouTube channel. Thank you to the New Town Sound from New Town Elementary under
011the direction of Dr. Lorie Orner for performing the national anthem and kicking off our meeting with their musical talent. Finally, thank you to Council Rock South Asant Principal Justine McGran and the Council Rock South student advisory board for their report tonight. I'd like to acknowledge our student leaders who report at monthly board meetings and thank them for bringing a valuable student perspective. During the May board meeting, the student advisory boards from both Council Rock High School North and Council Rock High School South will be presenting jointly, and we look forward to that presentation. As we enter the heart of spring and the final stretch of the school year, our classrooms remain vibrant and marked by meaningful growth. April is also Autism Acceptance Month, a powerful reminder of the importance of understanding and respect for all
012individuals with autism. Across Council Rock, we continued to celebrate the strengths of our students in the autistic support programs and beyond. And we remain committed to creating environments where every student can thrive. In keeping with our commitment to excellence in education, the agenda this evening includes an important item, the proposed 2025 through 2028 Council Rock special education plan for which we are seeking board approval. Pennsylvania Department of Education defines a special education plan as an outline of planning generated from district special education data, compliance monitoring, professional development activities, and training necessary to provide appropriate programs to students with disabilities. This plan submitted every three years to the Pennsylvania Department of Education is a prescribed compliance document. It outlines how Council Rock meets state and federal mandates for providing services to students with IEPs and includes
013statistics on staffing, case loads, and timelines for delivery of service. While its title suggest a forward-looking road map, the document primarily focus on focuses on demonstrating compliance rather than crafting new initiatives or policies. That said, and also is required by PDE, we convened a steering committee comprised of parents, teachers, administrators, board members, and staff. In Council Rock, we took the extra step, which was not required by PTE, of holding two public discussion meetings where community members offered feedback. The special education plan has been posted on our website for over 30 days. All feedback received from the community regarding the draft plan is posted in its entirety on our website under the special education plan tab. Although the plan is a compliance document, the input and dialogue it generates remain vital to the continued improvement of
014our special education programs. There are additional opportunities for Council Rock to plan for special ed. First, Council Rock is scheduled to undergo the mandatory cyclical monitoring of its special education services next year as pro prescribed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Additionally, Council Rock's comprehensive plan will be updated for a three-year period of 2026 to 2029, another opportunity for the district to create a true roadmap for the future. Council Rock continues to support our special education parent advisory committee, which meets regularly to share ideas and concerns. As a reminder, the next CPAC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 30th at 7 p.m. in the Chancellor Center boardroom. One of the most meaningful milestones of the school year is quickly approaching. Graduation day for the class of 2025. For our seniors, this moment marks a culmination
015of years of learning, growth, and perseverance. For families, it's the celebration of a journey and a future. And for the Council Rock community, graduation represents our shared commitment to prep to preparing students for success beyond our walls. This year, the high school graduation ceremonies will take place on Thursday, June 12th, 2025. Council Rock North will hold its ceremony at 400 pm in the Council Rock North Walt Snider Stadium. Council Rock High School South will begin their ceremony at 6 PM and it'll be held in the Council Rock South auditorium. We look forward to honoring our graduates and celebrating this momentous occasion with their families, friends, and the entire Council Rock community. As we celebrate our seniors, we also acknowledge the continued hard work of our students in grades K through 11 who are concluding another
016year of learning and personal growth. The last day of school for students in grades Kil 11 will be Wednesday, June 18th. Please note that this will be a half day for students and a am kindergarten will attend. And for those of you who are counting, that is a mere 54 days away. Tonight we mark a significant moment of transition in Council Rock, one that reflects both a deep appreciation for the past and a great optimism for the future. On the agenda are several key administrative recommendations, including the appointment of new principles at three Council Rock schools. These leadership changes follow the the coming retirements of three outstanding educators. Mr. John Ratic, Council Rock High School South. Mr. Rich Hollahan, Holland Middle School, and Mrs. Jill Kingston, Rolling Hills Elementary. These administrators have given decades of
017commitment to our students, staff, and families, and have built strong student- centered school communities grounded in care, consistency, and excellence. They along with all of our retirees will be celebrated at the May board meeting. We are equally proud to welcome the next generation of leadership. These appointees distinguish themselves through a rigorous selection process emerging as the top candidates from a broad and robust applicant pool. We are confident that these leaders will continue to build on the foundation of excellence that defines council rock and I proudly introduce the following candidates for your consideration tonight. Pending board approval, Anthony Venziel will succeed John Radic as principal of Council Rock High School South. Anthony is currently an assistant principal at Council Rock High School North, having joined the district in 2021. He holds a master's degree from the
018University of Notre Dame and a certificate in educational leadership from Gwenned Mercy College. Anthony has worked in the North Penn and lower Morland school districts bringing over 25 years of experience as a classroom teacher and secondary administrator to the job. Unfortunately, Anthony cannot be with us tonight as he is accompanying his senior class from Council Rock High School North on the Florida trip. Pending board approval, Jeffrey Hunter will succeed Rich Holahan at Holland Middle School. Jeff is a Council Rock graduate of 1994. He joins us from the Lower Marian School District where he currently serves as the principal of Balakinwood Middle School. He holds degrees from Lock Haven University and Arcadia University and has served our country as a United States Marine. Jeff has served o Jeff has over 27 years of experience in education,
019including serving as a principal at the elementary and secondary levels. Pending board approval, Matt Berley will succeed Jill Kingston as the next principal of Rolling Hills Elementary School. Matt brings more than 14 years of experience as both a general and special education teacher. He comes to the Council Rock School District from the District of Philadelphia where he currently teaches fourth grade. Matt holds a master's degree from the University of Virginia and is currently pursuing his doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction. Matt has held administrative positions in the Upper Morland School District and the Arch Dascese of Philadelphia. We also have two additions to our information technology department for board consideration pending board approval. Joe Toriieri is our selected candidate to fill the director of education systems and information technology system. Joe comes to Council Rock
020from the private sector bringing over 37 years of experience in information technology. Joe currently serves as the as the director of information technology at the Franklin Institute. He holds degrees in civil and architectural engineering from Drexel University. Joe has extensive IT experience including work with the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Dascese of Camden. And pending board approval, Oleg Nas has been selected the candidate to fill the infrastructure manager position in our IT department. Oleg joins council rock from the Hatboro Horscham School District where he has served as the assistant director of technology for the last decade. Oleg holds a bachelor's degree in science and computing technology from Arcadia University and brings 22 years of IT experience to Council Rock, specializing in areas such as infrastructure and systems administration, endpoint network, and help desk
021support. We pending board approval, we welcome these exceptional candidates to the Council Rock family. Looking ahead to next year, student registration for the 2025 2026 school year is now open. All necessary information, instructions, and required forms can be found on our district website at www.crsd.org. We are proud to remind parents and our community that the upcoming school year marks the launch of fullday kindergarten in Council Rock. The district recently emailed postcards to every residents to ensure the community is aware and we encourage families to share the news with neighbors and friends who may have a kindergarten ready child to join us this fall. Families can learn more about the program at our upcoming full day kindergarten community night on May 6, 2025 that will be held at 6 pm at the New Town Middle School.
022This night is designed for incoming kindergarten students and their families and will showcase many of the features of our new program. For more information and details, please check our website at www.crsd.org. Please mark your calendar for these important dates. Monday, April 28th, there is an education committee meeting at 7 p.m. It will be held here at the Chancellor Center. Please note the day change for this meeting to accommodate our recent spring break. Wednesday, April 30th, a special education parent advisory committee meeting will be held here at the Chancellor Center at 700 p.m. Thursday, May 1st, there is a special finance committee meeting beginning at 6 PM, followed by a facilities committee meeting at 700 p.m. That too will be held here at the Chancellor Center. Tuesday, May 6th, there is a full day kindergarten community
023night to be held at New Town Middle School and it will begin at 6 PM. Thursday, May 8th, there's a finance committee meeting that will be held here at the Chancellor Center and I would just like to note that the New Town Burrow is scheduled to have a meeting that same night. It will be conducted simultaneously and the bureau will use this boardroom and the committee meeting will take place in historic classroom 1. Thursday, May 15th, there's a board of school directors meeting at 700 p.m. Tuesday, May 20th is election day. All schools will be closed. Offices will be opened. Thursday, May 22nd, there will be an education committee meeting held at the Chancellor Center at 7 PM. And Monday, May 26th is the Memorial Day holiday, all schools and offices will be closed. This
024is a reminder that for reliable, accurate, and up-to-date information about our district, please refer to the resources, websites, and social media platforms managed by the Council Rock School District. We urge the community to be discerning in choosing where to obtain information, and to be aware that unauthorized social media accounts, use the Council Rock name to post inaccurate or misleading information regarding district matters. If you have any questions about what you see, need additional information, or require reliable fact check, please contact the district directly. Our contact information is readily available on our website at www.crs. crd.org. Mr. Tate, this concludes the superintendent report. Thank you. And thank you very much, Dr. Senko. Lots of valuable news in there. Appreciate it. Um, Mr. Muso, could we have the solicitor's report, please? Thank you. I have nothing public
025to report, although the board has our our written report that we've submitted to the board. Yes. Thank you very much. Next is public comment. 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. 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 the community have an equal opportunity to address the board without interruption. While the board welcomes your ideas and will consider them in deliberating an issue, it's likely that we will not respond to your comments or questions. I have two folks signed up. This first session is to discuss agenda items. One
026person says they have an agenda item. Um, Miss Newman. And it says here you're from New Town Burough. Welcome. So, do I need to state that again? No, thank you. It your name and Yeah. So, I'm um Mallerie Newman from New Town Burrow. I have two seventh graders in the district, one with an IEP and one with a GIP. I do work for the district, but I am only here tonight as a parent, and I will only be referencing that experience. I please implore the board, do not approve the special education plan as is it is written. I would love for you to add the public comment that I've already seen that is posted on the website to add further details. The plan on the whole is not terrible and is in full compliance, but
027it could do so much better by giving more specific and meaningful details to the plan to directly support students, especially when it comes to inclusion. Let our new director of special services have a chance to add his experience and knowledge to the plan to add measurable goals and clear details to help support our students to succeed in the least restrictive environment. The current Bristol Township special ed plan, where Dr. Oberman comes from, specifically references co-eing models, specific supports pushing into gened classes, and even the number of pair professionals available at the high school level to um there is no specific information in the CRSD's plan about how to best support children day-to-day in the least restrictive environment, just that we are hiring two new positions, including a data analyst with a wealth of detailed information
028that just distills down to the word efficiency. I understand that data is the end all beall for making decisions these days, but it is only one part of the child. For example, my autistic son, who is highly intelligent, typically does poorly on these timed um data collecting tests. For example, I was convinced to place my autistic son in the resource room for sixth grade math, claiming that he would receive specialized instruction and it would be a better environment for him to learn the new curriculum. He did he did not receive individualized instruction but was taught at too slow of pace for his brain. Thus, behavior issues became a problem. When it became apparent that he was not receiving the math education that he needed, we asked to move him back to gened in October of
029that school year. It was cited that low acadian scores and not enough taff to support him were the reasons he could not join immediately. We pushed and it was agreed that he would get extra support after school to catch him up to his gened peers. But it soon petered out and he maintained being in the resource room until March of that school year. Only after it was de demanded by his father and myself that he moved back into the gen ed room for math that he was finally placed in the least restrictive environment. He is now in seventh grade honors pre-alggebra and is thriving. His current math teacher was flabbergasted when I told her that he missed a third of his sixth grade curriculum. With correct supports like scribing by a TA TA, an accommodating
030gened teacher and a wonderfully supportive special education teacher, any student can thrive in the least restrictive environment like my son in seventh grade. Please add more details that directly impact students daily educational needs to the plan that are consistent through the district no matter which CRSD school that he is at, whether he's at elementary or middle school. Never thought I'd say I was happy he moved to middle school. Yeah. Thank you. That's three minutes. Is that three minutes? Oh, sorry. I have other ideas. I can send an email later. So, thank you for Yeah. Um, boardc crsd.org. I I guarantee we all get it. Thank you very much. Is there anyone else who wishes to comment on an agenda item? If not, then we're going to move on. And out of consideration for the guests
031that we have here this evening, we're going to move ahead to two finance committee items for personnel. Those are items R and S, I believe. Um, Miss Oeki, would you please? Okay. Um, do you want me to just do R or do you want me to do the whole finance? No, it's RNS. I do the whole report and um, just Yeah, you could you can do RNS if you would. Just RNS. Okay. All right. I move uh to approve items R and S as as uh contained in the attachments to this agenda. A second. Thank you, Miss Con. Comments, questions? Dr. Senko. Thank you, Mr. Tate. Um thank you to the board and thank you to our candidates who were just appointed tonight to your new roles. Uh, as I mentioned earlier, Anthony Venziel is
032on the trip with his senior class in Florida. And uh, at this moment, I'd like to ask Jeff Hunter to come to the Oh, we didn't vote yet. I'm getting ahead of myself, Jeff. That was my error. I We We We normally allow board comment before the vote. No, my air. Sorry. Uh, we're good. All right. Um, let's have a roll call vote, please. Madam Secretary, if you would. Miss her. Yes. Miss Stone, yes. Miss Khan, yes. Miss Osaki, yes. Miss Paulie, yes. Mr. Hickeyi, yes. Mr. Roosevelt, yes. Mr. Hidalgo, yes. Mr. Tate, yes. All right. Very good. Thank you. All right, take two. Jeff, you ready? So, as Jeff's coming to the podium before he speaks, I just want to tell a short story. As as he was going through the interview process, he
033started talking about being a Council Rock student, a former Council Rock student, and started the dots started connecting. I said, "Did your do you know David Hunter? Did your dad ever work here?" He said, "Yeah, my dad was a principal in Council Rock many years ago." I said, "Does he know you're here?" He said, 'Nope. And Mr. and Mrs. Hunter, uh, Mr. Hunter, 1989 when I was a brand new teacher, you were the principal of Richboro Elementary, I believe, and Mr. Hunter came in tonight and shared with me that it was 50 years and three weeks ago he signed his first contract as a principal in Council Rock for $20,000. So Jeff, that's what we're going to do with you tonight. All right, Mr. Hunter, it's great to see you and Mrs. Hunter. Jeff, thank
034you Dr. Sango and school board. I am honored and humbled uh to be back in Council Rock uh after a brief 32-year hiatus. Um, my experience at Council Rock, uh, led me right back full circle here, uh, where an example of excellence was created for both myself, my brother, and my sister. I look forward to paying that forward, uh, by making sure it is students first always at Holland Middle School, and I'm very excited to get started. I want to thank my family. Uh, I want to thank Miss Basta, who is the assistant principal at Holland Middle School. Uh I have my own assistant principal here from lower Marion who was kind enough to travel out here and my wife and three children uh who have always been so supportive uh through my educational journey.
035Uh the level uh of support I have and um respect I have gotten uh here through the entire interview process is a testament to the school district and I look forward to serving uh the entire community and school board. Thank you. Thank you Jeff. [Applause] Some something else I learned along the way. Jeff said his three kids are here. They're triplets. So Jeff, congratulations and welcome aboard. Earlier tonight, I also mentioned the name Matt Berley. And Matt is joined here tonight with his wife and Mia, his daughter. Tiffany, his wife, and Mia, his daughter. So Matt, if we can invite you to the podium for a minute, please. So, I just definitely want to thank everybody for this opportunity. Thank you to the school board. Uh, thank you to Dr. Senko. Thank you to Mrs.
036Crawford who had excellent communication throughout this entire process. I haven't experienced an interview process like this. Uh, thank you to everyone who who took time on the interview panels. Uh, I am beyond excited to join Council Rock School District. I know your reputation. I've wanted to be here for years. Uh I can promise that all my experiences uh up until this point will help me execute your students first always vision. I also want to give a shout out again. You kind of stole my thunder to my my wife who's here. Uh Tiffany, my daughter Mia who's in kindergarten. Uh and then my son Braden who I kept home. He's three. He's not good at this time of night, but he did insist that I brought a truck in his place. So So this is one
037of his trucks. Uh maybe he can watch the video later. Uh but he he did demand that I I brought that. Uh and definitely when I'm in Council Rock, I try to treat every student uh and family like it's my own uh own children and own family. Uh and I am beyond excited to work with the amazing staff at Rolling Hills Elementary School. Uh and I hope to maybe be here in 50 years when my own truck loving son is working here too. Uh so so I want to be here a long long time. So, thank you to all for this amazing opportunity and I can't wait to get started. Thank you, Matt. Congratulations. I also mentioned the name Joe Toriieri a few minutes ago and Joe is here tonight to join us as the
038selected candidate to fill the director of education systems and information technology. Joe, uh, thank you for just like the previous two folks going through that rigorous interview process. The difference was that yours was facilitated by the Bucks County Intermediate Unit and I would like to thank the uh, BCIU for their help and support in finding you. Thank you very much. I am um, that's a tough act to follow, by the way. Um, I'm honored and very grateful to be able to to serve the community and more than anything the children of this district. Um, I love being around uh people that are excited about education. Obviously, I'm uh in a supportive role and I couldn't be more excited um than to start working with everybody I've met. What a wonderful group of people. I'm extremely
039excited to be a part of this organization. Uh I can't wait to get started. It brings me back to um a place where I was very comfortable in in past uh experiences. Super excited to be here. I'm grateful for all the support that I got along the way. Um yes, the interview process was quite extensive. I relatively enjoyed the entire thing. Um, I want to thank uh my son and my daughter-in-law are here tonight. Um, thank you for the support. U, it's just been a wonderful experience and I cannot wait to get started. So, thank you very much for having me. Congratulations and and thank you, Joe. I think the person that's most excited about your start date is Dr. David Bolton. and and David publicly I would like to thank you for your leadership
040in that role for nearly uh the year. Thank you very much. Although Dr. Bolton keeps reminding me he's retired, he has agreed to stay on to uh to transition with uh with Joe and so we have a smooth seamless transition. So David, sincerely Thank you very much, Dr. Senko. And it's exciting to see such candidates who are so pleased to be here. This is terrific. Um, next on the agenda is approval of the minutes of the meeting of the board on March 20 of 2025. Miss Py, would you read the motion, please? I move to approve the minutes of the meeting of the school board directors held on March 20, 2025. Second. I second. We have a second. Thank you. Are there any objections, comments, questions? Hearing none, Madam Secretary, please record that as passing
041unanimously. Next is Education Committee. Miss Polly again. Yes, if you would. Thank you. Um at the last education committee on March 27th, we got an update on all the preparations for full day kindergarten. There is so much work done um preparing for that and the update was primarily for curriculum writing. We will continue using reading horizons for English and bridges for math but will be expanded to have the full day units. Um the half day only included art and library but now students will have access to all five specials including music, steam and physical education. One of the most exciting new curriculums will be the play lab uh where students will engage in purposeful play to meet the PA social studies and steel standards. I keep saying I want to go back to full day
042kindergarten. Um so at that meeting there was also a presentation for textbooks to be approved for purchase at the next month's board meeting. They are currently on public display at the chancellor center if I'm still there rights. They're still in yeah on display. Yeah. Um we after the presentation on grade bands there was a healthy discussion on it um the main point was whether it is a good idea to move sixth grade to middle school. My understanding from the discussion is that keeping sixth graders in elementary school can be better for them overall. And finally, we discussed the three-year special education plan. This is a compliance document that is required by the PA Department of Education. The draft has been posted on the website for 30 days. And the plan is on the this actually
043is on the agenda for approval tonight. Dr. Sango gave us a very good explanation of what it covers and what it doesn't cover. And um uh our new education committee meeting is on Monday, April 28th. So this coming Monday, it's a new is a different day than usual. Should I Should I move to approve? Yeah. Okay. I move to approve consent agenda items B and C as contained in the attachments to this agenda. Second. Second. Thank you. And we'll have questions and comments. Dr. Senko, welcome aboard. Dr. Oberman, this is your inaugural meeting. Can you make a comment or two on our special education plan, please? Yes. There we go. Um, first I want to thank everyone in my department, uh, supervisors, um, board members, parents, anyone who participated in any of the committee meetings
044we had. I mean they've done a lot of work and I feel like I'm coming in here uh at the end taking credit which I certainly am not. Uh there was a lot of work put into this 350 page document. Again I don't want to reiterate the same language that everyone is saying but it is you know PD this is a compliance document and there's certain boundaries of which information we can share in there. So, you know, if parents ask me, and just using my old district as an example, parents ask me, "What does a special education um program look like in your district?" I would not point them to the special education plan. It's, you know, it's very it's written for PTE to give them specific information. Uh that being said, and not to
045dismiss anyone's concerns, you know, there are areas for growth. And one of the things I want to do as I uh you know continue to get more um adjusted being in this position is kind of really look at what those areas are. Spend some time over the summer to work with people in my department to really address what those concerns are and come up with a plan going forward. Very good. Thank you. All right. Board comment. Miss Oeki. Yes. I have a comment also about the special education plan. I want to thank the administration and the special education supervisors. I know it was a lot of work to do um to do this plan. It is very comprehensive. Uh I also really appreciate that they took the time to seek parent feedback and to create
046a plan that prioritizes the three main areas of request from our special education parent advisory committee meetings. Least restrictive environment, professional development, and structured literacy. Council Rock has room for improvement in these areas. I'm glad that the parents were consulted and that these areas were prioritized. Like Mrs. Newman, I was also surprised that this plan doesn't include more detailed objectives and milestones. With Dr. Oberman joining our team, I'm expecting a detailed educa special education plan tailored to the needs specifically of Council Rock. As a Council Rock school board director, our job is to hold the administration accountable for these objectives. Without a detailed plan, objectives, and benchmarks, we don't know if we're improving, and we cannot hold anyone accountable. As Benjamin Franklin famously said, "Failing to plan is planning to fail. This is too important.
047These kids get older every day, and we must not fail them." Thank you. Thank you, um, Miss Her and then Miss Khan. Thank you, Miss Osaki, for starting in that because that's I did want to make sure that we took in consideration of Miss Newman and knowing that Dr. Berman is here that we will continue to work with our families to know what and prove what we need to do the best for our students. Thank you, Mr. Tate. Um I I wanted to also echo uh Miss Osaki's comments and along with Misser and I won't um redundantly repeat anything, but I just wanted to recognize that this requirement by the state um you know as Mr. or Dr. Dr. Senko had stated as well that it's not a document that encompasses all of our programs,
048initiatives, or accomplishments within the district. I definitely know there is more work to be done. Um I know just last week our new director of special services, Dr. Alberman, officially joined Council Rock to head this department. Um he actually came in and actually sat in on parts of the the steering committee with the special education planning meetings. uh and I definitely hope that in the upcoming months and weeks um he will join us at the education committee meetings to share his his vision, his goals and up uh update the community and his path forward for our special services department as well as to join the the CPAC meetings to continue the collaborative work with our families. Um I also wanted to give a a shout out for the interview process. I was able to participate
049in the principal um interview round two. Um, I wanted to thank the administration for inviting the board. It was definitely an honor and privilege. Um, we had some exceptional candidates uh at the round two phase. Um, and I also wanted to commend the administration. I know Miss Crawford and Mr. Funk, they did a and the rest of the cabinet that joined and were participating. Um, it was well organized, well planned, um, well executed, very comprehensive. I was extremely impressed that we're able to get through in a 4hour period um all of the candidates in a very meaningful manner. Um and I'm very excited about the principles that um were selected and have will be joining council rock. And I also wanted to welcome our other um members as well. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Khan.
050Mr. Hago is on the phone and he's indicated he'd like to comment. Joe. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Tate. I do appreciate it. Um I appreciate the comment uh comments that the board is making. It it moved me to speak. Um I have already had a personal engagement with um Mr. Overberman um regarding my own student and I'll tell you we have a big winner on our hands and I'm really thankful um that we were able to get him. Um he has the right demeanor, character, uh insight, thoughtfulness. I just can't say um how much hope I have that we were able to acquire him uh as our special services director. Um the second so thank you um Al. Um, the second thing I wanted to comment on was um a strong comment from one of
051our directors uh asking for uh accountability and benchmarks. And I can appreciate that kind of language. I don't think that we should just stop with special education if we're going to start um you know um talking about accountability and benchmarks uh when it comes to just special education. But maybe uh now that this is going to be a priority, we should expand this to across the board so that we are holding everybody accountable to uh certain benchmarks and uh so I'm looking forward to having that discussion in future educational meetings. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Hodo. Uh Mr. Roosevelt, thank you. Uh Dr. Oberman and doc Dr. Senko, what is the state imposed deadline to file this compliance document? either one of you. May 1st. Thank you. And our next board meeting to approve the
052special education meeting just to remind you uh you indicated in your superintendent report May 15th. May 15th. Thank you, Mr. Hickeyi. Yeah. And I don't want to repeat mostly what everybody said. I did want to address Mr. Newman's concern when she made the public comment about trying to delay it. Um hopefully you can understand why we have to do this this evening as opposed to waiting months and months and months. Uh it is obviously the expectation of this board uh based on a lot of the things that we have already done over the past nine months as regards to special education that we are going to see some measurable improvements and also possibly you know better communication amongst the districts and those parents and and everyone involved. Uh so hopefully like I said when we're
053here next time at this time next year that we are talking about some the improvements some actual gains that can be measured. Dr. Alberman like I said you came in highly regarded. You've been here for a week. Uh I don't expect things to happen overnight but you know like I said moving forward it is the expectation of the board that we do move forward in this regard. So good luck and uh we'll be talking. Thank you Mr. Hickey. Yeah, Miss Polly. Um, I just want to say that I have the tremendous respect for all the parents that advocate for their children especially in special education and uh we have we are very committed to improving. We know there is room for growth and improvement and this board is very committed. We are if we I
054mean the special education plan as Dr. Sano say is not the way to do it but we are hearing you we are here for you and you and I mean Dr. Aubber he just started so we have to give him the chance to dive in find out what is happening figure out what his vision is and you know there will be several occasions where he will tell us you know how what's the best way to proceed so I just want to say I'm very excited for Dr. Obedman starting and I want all the parents to know that we are here for you and do not think that we do not hear you because you are very well heard and we are doing everything we can to make things the way they should be. Um, thank
055you. Yes, Miss Warner. What is the Is there a penalty if we did delay it? Do we know if there's a penalty or what that is? I I've never heard of it delayed, so I I don't I don't I can't say. [Music] Okay. Um just a couple of quick comments. Uh one is as to accountability. Um over the years as a board member, I've had the pleasure of hearing a lot of uh explanations of the systems that are in place for accountability. Uh that extends from classroom teachers to staff to administrators and annual reviews and all sorts of metrics. So I am confident that uh accountability exists in this school district. Um as to the special education plan, I I want to thank Dr. Senko and and Dr. Oberman for their clarification that it is
056a compliance document. It is not the district's strategic plan for special ed. And um if I remember correctly, work is going to begin soon on a new strategic plan for special ed on a new comprehensive plan for the district. Yes. Thank you. Good. Um I think this is a good step forward. It's valuable in addition to being a compliance document. you know, the whole process, I'm sure, has been uh informative for everybody involved. Uh I I want to point out uh I I've long felt that we have very strong special education programs. Um and there's always room for improvement and this is yet another good step forward. We've got Dr. Oberman and I think everybody's um thrilled to have him on board and welcome again. It's good to see you again, Dr. Oberman. We also
057have within the past um half year or so hired for the special education program our first ever supervisor of curriculum. That's a very significant step forward and I'm very happy that we did that and I'm sure it'll pay great dividends. And of course, the administration has been holding regular meetings of the parent advisory committee along with continual meetings of specialed providers and administrators with parents of individual students. Uh so I I think while there's always room for improvement, I'm confident that the steps that we're that I just mentioned and everything else that's going on in special ed, our programs will only continue to improve. So, I'm I'm supportive of this plan and and I'm I'm glad to move forward with the next step. Are there other comments or questions? Hearing none. Are there objections? There
058are. Let's have a roll call, please. Madam Secretary, Mr. Tate. Yes. Mr. Hidalgo. Uh, this is to the consent agenda. for items B and C. Yes, Mr. Roosevelt. Yes, Mr. Hickey. Yes, Miss Paulie. Yes, Miss Osaki. Yes. Miss Khan, yes. Miss Stone, yes. Miss her? Yes. Very good. Thank you, Miss Pauly. Um, I'll move forward with um a report from the Bucks County Intermediate Unit. That would be Ms. Oeki. The Bucks Intermediate Unit met on April 15th. The IU recently celebrated the week of the young child at all of their Head Start programs. They are planning for their upcoming project search banquet for the IU prom and for graduation. At the same time, there is real concern at the IU about the future of their Head Start programs which currently serve 362 students in Bucks
059County. This program has been funded through five-year federal grants since 2015, and the current grant expires at the end of this May. The grant application that the Bucks filed on January 2nd for the next 5-year grant cycle has not been approved, nor has there been any communication about the status of the application. Head Start programs employ about 75 people, and without this grant, the funding will be forced to close. The IU is working with our federal legislators to get more information. Thank you. Thank you very much, Miss Oeki. Uh, report from the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology, please. Miss her. Thank you. Thanks. All right. The MBIT held a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 18th. Council Rock was well represented with Dr. Senko, Bob Hickeyi, and I in attendance. This welding program w excuse me
060with its brand new state-of-the-art facility will be supplying the local workforce with skilled welders for many years to come. Thank you to all the stakeholders who played a part in making this happen. Our student Daniel has spoken about our students that have gone on for Skills USA. The seven students who won gold medals will advance to the Skills USA Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, Georgia in June 2025. Congratulations to all Skills USA competitors and good luck to those heading to Georgia. Thanks to the support of RAB Foundation and Fred Beans Automotive Group, MBIT has been able to purchase a muchneeded vehicle, a beautiful blue Honda minivan that will be used to transport high school students to events, community service projects, work-based education tours, shadowing opportunities, field trips, and extracurricular activities. This donation is more
061than just a vehicle. It is an investment in our students education and future, allowing them to explore new opportunities, broaden their horizons, and build lasting memories outside the classroom. This generosity is truly making a difference in the lives of our young learners, and we are deeply grateful. This vehicle will serve its purpose to the fullest, fostering the growth and success of the students. Thank you again to Rab Foundation and Fred Bean for being a vital part of our school community. Today I had the wonderful opportunity to attend Aspirations restaurant at MBIT. This restaurant is run fully by the students and teachers in the culinary program. My experience was phenomenal. I was greeted at the door by a student, checked in for the reservation, and immediately ushered to my table. I was greeted by a student
062waiter who took my drink order and brought me some fresh roll rolls. The appetizer today appetizers today was stuffed pepper soup and Caesar salad. Once finished, I took the buffet. I went to the buffet with students serving the potatoes, chicken marsala, salmon, rice with vegetables and pork rolled in bacon. All these students were very engaging and ind discussed their education and aspirations as these were the 300 level students who will graduate from this program this year. To finish off handed a full list of desserts and I chose canoli trios which is waiting for me at home. All of this for $15. The students learn every aspect of a restaurant from greeting, preparing, serving, financial transactions, and cleaning up. In addition to this restaurant, the students also cater to so many different school events as well
063as one of their big jobs for the National Technical Society event which is hold next held next week for over 300 people. The restaurant is open the week of May 8th with limited availability and I highly recommending seeing the culinary students in action. That's my report tonight. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Her. I'll give a very brief report on the Council Rock Education Foundation because we're going to hear from KF's executive director uh Monday, April 28th, this coming Monday at the education committee meeting. So, we'll learn more about the great benefits that Craft provides to our students and staff. Uh, the other thing, of course, to mention, I can't resist, the golf outing, June 23rd, Jericho National Golf Club. It's a beautiful golf course, great people, lot of fun. Um, and you can find information
064on the KF website or send me a note if you're interested. Uh, it should be a great day, Monday, June the 23rd. And that moves us to the policy committee, Miss Oeki. Okay. Uh, let's see here. The policy committee met on April 7th. We have five policies for first read tonight and two policies for the second read. The policies for first read are policy 206 assignment within the district, policy 208, withdrawal from school, policy 209, health examination/screenings, policy 209.1, food allergy management, and policy 212.1 academic integrity. The policies for second read are policy 237 electronic devices, policy 254, educational opportunities for military children. All of these are um in board docs if anybody's interested. Um and again the the just the two policies are for second read tonight. If you have comments on the policies
065that are on for first read, you can attend our next policy meeting which is May 5th at 7 pm. Thank you. Oh, I apologize. With that, I move to approve consent agenda items B and C for second read and consent agenda items D through H for first read as contained in the attachment to this agenda. I second. Thank you, Miss Stone. Comments, Mr. Roosevelt. Thank you. Uh in regards to policy 206, we are talking about assignments within this district for students. This is a school district. Our product is education. Um and there this policy was discussed and the district proposed language to change the word or with the word and. after the policy uh committee last time there was discussion about this and I understand how this can put the district in a difficult position.
066However, it being a school district, a school district that has committed to students first always, I agree with the administration's proposed language of and having and or or between the minimizes the educational interest of the students. I think the educational interests of the students in a district of students first always should always be considered and therefore I concur with the proposed language of the word and. I'm not in favor of the word or or andor because does it put students first always? Thank you. Are there other comments, questions? Um, Mr. Spring, can you comment on that? Because I'm looking at the the red line. It looks like it maybe I'm misreading it, but it does look like it says andor and slash or. So, yes. So, I think I if I'm looking at um what
067Mr. Roosevelt pointed out, we we spoke about creating almost a taking the wording and understandably um putting a including but not limited to to lay out specific factors um with a colon and then really looking at district circumstances um and the way it is currently andor the educational interest of the students. Um, we did add an S because we wanted to at look at the students in the totality, which I thought was great input from from the board. So, we did make that change. Um, this is on for first read. So, we always the option to discuss it further um if we want to word smith it some more at the next board meeting. Um, you know, it will not board meeting, I apologize, next policy meeting on May 5th. will be up for second
068pre-second read at the next policy meeting that we can discuss it further as well. Thank you, Mr. Spring. I think I'll read the sentence uh just for the sake of the community. It it reads, "The superintendent or designate may assign a student to a school other than the one designated for the attendance area when such exception is justified by factors including but not limited to district circumstances and or the educational interests of the student. And as Mr. Spring indicated this is up for first read and it'll be reconsidered at policy committee and then the following board meeting. Correct. So we've got Miss Khan. It's hard to I think understand this even Thank you Mr. Tate for reading um the sentence for those listening at home and even as a parent trying to understand how to
069put this into everyday context. And I I I know we discussed it at the policy meeting. So I'm wondering if Dr. Dr. Senko would be willing to just kind of put it in everyday language where this policy would be uh applicable to to families in our district. Thanks, Miss Khan. So, sometimes um for unique situations or circumstances, parents may request their child attend another school, a partner school, and this gives us the latitude to be able to do that. That's one example. Another example that this could be used in is when the school district thinks that it would be a wise choice and a better uh program or placement for a student other than their home school. And when I say homeschool, that's the school that their home address uh receives from. Yeah. Go ahead.
070I just want to have a follow up with that Dr. Senko. So that would if there was a decision by administration or the designate would that be obviously in consultation and agreement with the families? Absolutely. We we we absolutely I figured but that would be just a question. Thank you so much. Are there other comments or questions? Okay. Objections hearing none. Madam Secretary, please record these as passing unanimously. And we'll move on to facilities committee. Miss her. That's me. Thank you. Um facilities committee met last month and considered and discussed all the items on this agenda. Um they're routine items for the most part. And I will move to approve consent agenda items B through F as contained in the attachments to this agenda. I second. Thank you. Questions, comments, Mr. Hickey. Just a quick
071comment that you kind of said that they were routine items. Um, item F is, while you might call it routine, is probably one of the most expensive things that we do with with our custodial services. So, I I just didn't want to minimize the fact that this is just hum everyday uh business. Like I said, this is a very important service that gets performed in a district as well as very expensive and I believe it's for a three-year contract. You're right. Thank you, Mr. Hickey. Are there other comments or questions? Mr. I I just want to make clear that it's a three-year contract with two two an additional two-year options at the district's discretion. And this is extending the current vendor, correct? Yes, this is the current vendor. So, so uh it would it should
072be a smooth transition. Very good. Thank you. Other comments, questions, objections hearing none, please record this. Madam Secretary, is passing unanimously. On to finance committee. And again, Miss Oeki, please. Okay. The finance committee met on April 10th and discussed in detail several items which will be voted on tonight, including a variety of software renewals, the purchase of computer monitors for supply when teachers or staff need replacement, new cameras for council rocks van fleet cameras and GPS, I should say, among other items. We also received a briefing from Mr. Rap on federal funding. The entire meeting is available on the Council Rock YouTube channel. And I want to note that we are going to have a special budget meeting on May 1st at 6 PM. And I would ask Mr. Rap if you don't mind just
073uh quickly summarizing the federal funding update for the community. [Music] Yes. Um so the the district receives about $1.8 million in federal funding from the state regarding uh educational services. Uh another 1.8 8 million from the IU, Bucks County IU for special education and uh about 856,000 for in the food service fund for uh reimbursement for free and reduced meals. Uh of of of all those fundings, the district has not heard any um has not received any notice or that we will will that any of our federal funding is at risk. Thank you, Mr. Okay, thank you. With that, I move to approve um where are we? I move to con to approve consent agenda items B through Q because we've already done RNS as contained in the attachments to this agenda. I second comments,
074questions. Yes, Mr. Roosevelt. Thank you. At the last policy uh committee meeting, sorry, not policy committee meeting, finance committee uh meeting, we did discuss item N, the contract for the Google Workspace. This is uh an annual an annual contract, correct? That we approve every year. And this uh as well as in last year we have confirmation that all of the the apps that are included in this workspace as well as the data that's contained within them is is backed up. Uh that's important that we maintain a backup for our educators and our administrators and uh everybody that uses this to make sure that we have a complete backup of everything. Um just for a final confirmation, Mr. Bolton. Correct. Thank you, Mr. Hanky. Um I'm just going to ask if I can impose upon Mr.
075wrap to just go into some detail on number I the contract for the cafeteria POSOS system because it is a change and it affects a significant number of students in the district. I'm just hoping maybe you can give a general idea of what's going to happen and what's going to happen with the transition between the old and the new system for people who were you know when they come back to school in September. Yes, thank you Mr. Hickeyi. Uh we are recommending that we move to uh a a new uh point of sale service in our uh cafeteria. Uh it is a it is a Horizon is the name of the company I believe and um that uh Heartland Mosaic I apologize. Uh and it is a new system. Uh the it it will necessitate
076a change from um uh my payments plus to my school bucks for the parents to be able to uh pay for their students lunches, put money on on an an in an account for their students lunches. Uh the plan is that the uh funding that is in um my school bucks uh my payments plus will be moved over to my my school bucks. We are in the midst of planning a significant uh uh information campaign for the parents of the district so that they know well in advance of next school year uh that that we've switched to a new system how to log into the new system, what benefits there are for the parents in this new system such as uh a higher ability to a greater ability to uh set limits on their students
077accounts. Um and uh uh and it you it's just a you our system's been um uh you know we've had it for several years. We will also be revitalizing the uh some of the equipment involved in the system. Um so but but mainly for the parents uh and the community. there will be a significant uh information campaign to let them know what's going on, what they need to do to upgrade to the new system and uh uh you know and obviously uh what to do if they have any questions. Thank you, Mr. Rap. Thank you, Mr. Hickey. Any further comments or questions? Any objections? None. Please record this, please, Madam Secretary, as passing unanimously. And that concludes our business agenda for this evening. Our final item on the agenda is a second session of public
078comment. I don't think I need to read the U preamble again. Uh we have one person signed up for public comment. And we also will be happy to have others who wish to comment come forward in a moment. Um I don't see Oh, there you are. Come, please. I didn't sneak out yet for missing the I was looking. I was looking. Thank you. Good evening. Cheryl Karns Hills, lifelong resident of New Town Barrel. I thank the board, the administration, and the CR community for your work and the opportunity to speak. And again, deeply touched to see that you've hired uh Jeff Hunter because Dave Hunter was a fifth grade teacher when I attended GoodNo. So, it's called You can start to figure out my age, Tim. But uh with that um your efforts continue to
079be appreciated. The process continues for the capital plan and I'm happy to say that at the last facilities meeting. I felt in my heart that the board was moving in the right direction when requesting estimates for New Town Elementary, Marine M. Welch and the Chancellor Center. And of course, tonight does mark the start of the NFL draft. It's time to step up and select your number one draft pick. The board has been busy studying options for the Chancellor Administration Center. General manager of the Philadelphia Eagles. Sorry, I bleed green. Howie Roseman's expertise and shrewdness should assist the CR schoolboard team with her number one draft pick for round one of this administration center. Your number one choice is easy. after listening to the board's discussions at the April facilities meeting is to make this building
080warm, safe, and dry. Renovations are necessary for safe staff, excuse me, to continue to work effectively and efficiently for cost of 7.7 million while a full renovation would cost approximately 16 million. leasing another building, selling this building, constructing another administrative center onto new construction old are not economically sound. They will put undue costs on the taxpayers. You are headed in the right direction with your requested estimate of renovations for this center. Continue onward with your progress. you will see that this is the number one draft selection for CR's Chancellor Center. Be shrewd, be fiscally responsible, and we will all truly win. Thanks. And hopefully the Eagles get good picks as they did. Thank you very much. Thank you again for your time. Thank you very much, Miss Hills. And are there others who wish to
081make public comment? Mr. Hickey, I am allowed to reply, right? Yeah, sure. because you did mention Howie Roseman. Um, and you did mention the three projects that are being looked at uh for further review to use that term. Uh, there's also a fourth project that's being looked into as well, which is the stadium at Council Rock South. That's appropriate. Um, yes, please identify yourself and tell us the municipality where you live. Yes. Um, good good evening everyone. My name is Smoke Scopeker. Um, I live like 20ish minutes from here in Ivy Land. I go to Council Rock High School South. I'm a sophomore. And uh, I'm here today to present to you guys um, this app I built. It's called the Interactive Storyteller or just IST for short. And in a nutshell, what this does
082is it's supposed to help kids with like standardized state testing. Uh, and this one I built this in particular. This is um focused on eighth graders with their PSSA. So, I'd first like to talk about why and what really got me to go about doing this. So, for some background, um, my mother, she is a learning support director in the Philly school district. Um, and she has firsthand experience of like all these cases where kids are falling behind uh, in both reading and writing. It's a big issue. Um, in addition to that, my brother, he is currently in eighth grade and he's taking the PSSAs right now. Um, and I was just curious as to like how he and his friends are finding the PSSAs. So, I was like questioning them on uh how how
083it's going and stuff. And uh what I did uh pick up from them is that the PSSA topics, a lot of them find the topics like boring and uninteresting. And then I thought to myself like how can I fix this problem? Because the truth is like if you're genuinely interested in what you're writing about then you're sure to perform better than like say for for example my brother he's uh interested in soccer. So if he were to write about soccer he would find that more interesting than like Julius Caesar or the Hamlet. So anyway, so how it works is my brother, he would type in the topic soccer and then the whole story would just go around soccer. Um then there's like a back and forth between this chatbot and my brother. Um and when
084my brother says stop, it like ends the story and then it uh gives an evaluation and there's two parts to my evaluation. One is like uh multiple choice questions and the other is um text dependent analysis. So this way it checks for comprehension and it also checks uh on your writing skills. So um I also did research myself and I found that one in every three eighth grade students um this like adds on to my mom's experience in her Philly school district but one in every three students is below basic. And so I just felt that uh if the student can choose their topic of uh interest, it can like help them get better scores. So now I'm going to talk about how I went about building this app. And there's one thing I'd like
085to point out that a lot of people when you say that you're building an app, they just imagine like lines and lines of code. But this is actually not the case because like in addition to the code, um I used this use this thing called an LLM. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it's called it's a large language model and it's the underlying technology that powers like many of today's startups which include like Khan Academy etc. Um that's three minutes but we'd be happy to give you I'm almost done. Sorry. Okay. No, go ahead. Um and this also ties into what I said before like this uh LLM and this chatbot it tailor the story to what the student is interested in. So um it can get more engagement from them. So, say if
086they're engaged, then um they're going to have better results. I already kind of went over that, but anyway, um for a future direction, um one thing I'd like to point out is that I did try this app, but only on like a few students. Um but even though I only got like a handful of students, the overall trend I got was that all these students, and I also uh by the way reached out to some teachers as well, they all thought this app was um very helpful. they would be sure to use it again in the future. Um, and some said that it's even like as good, if not better, than like an actual human at grading these um, essays and stuff. So, that's like big news. And in addition to that uh I'd like
087to point out that I took part in FBLA and science fair with the same uh entry and the judges like that like I made it to states for that and so I just thought that um if you guys are on board with it then we could pilot this app so cuz like then we can make reach this out to more kids so more kids can reap the benefits improve their writing skills and my future step would be to reach out to the primary and secondary school district director. I I I have a better idea. The Dr. Senko says he'd like to respond. Oh, yeah. Sure. Yeah. So, yeah. Thanks so much for being here. You have every reason to be proud. I know we've been in touch and you've been in touch with uh Mrs.
088Crawford and Mr. Funk. Yes, I have. We're looking We're excited to sit down and give you all the time you need so that we can get the details. So, yeah. My next step would actually be to reach out to them and see if I can like go through with this um reach out to a larger audience and yeah, thank you. Yeah, that that's sounds like really promising technology and I congratulate you, the board congratulate you on on developing it and in a happy coincidence, we have a new director of education, information and systems technology here tonight. So, I'm sure he was listening intently to what you had to say. Thank you very much. Thank you so much for listening. Y thank you. [Applause] That was terrific. Is there anyone else who wishes to comment? Yes,
089please. Again, just give us your name and tell us the municipality where you reside and 3 minutes, please. Good evening. Um I'm his brother. My name is Naman Monoy and I also live about 20 minutes from here. Um I go to I'm an eighth grade student at Holland Middle School. And today I wanted to talk to you about an app that I built. Um it's called Supernote. And Supernote helps students study for their upcoming exams based on the teacher's notes. So let me tell you about a personal experience I had. So, in class, my friends and I were taking down notes, but I'm not the fastest writer. So, I didn't have enough time to copy down all the notes, and therefore, I missed a lot of them. My friend Mark, he sits next to me.
090He doesn't understand English very well. So, he also didn't copy down all the notes. So, that's where we used my app called Supernote. So, the student uploads their notes to the app. The app will then scan the note sheet to see if there's any missing points and then it'll fill in those points and give it back to the student. From there, the student will be able to translate the notes into any preferred language and create any form of test preparation material such as flashcards or quizlets from the completed note sheet. So, for future direction, I would like to pilot this app for all the Council Rock students. Um, and I tested this out with a couple of my friends and a couple teachers that I know. And the overall trend that I found was all
091of them liked it and most of them had uh the same answers such as this app was very relevant or this or there they'd be sure to use this app in the future. Thank you. Thank you very much. And I'll say the same. U we're looking forward to seeing you and your brother. So thank you. That's pretty impressive stuff. That's a neat way to wrap up a board meeting unless there is uh additional public comment. If is there anyone else? Is there board comment? New business. Um Miss her then Miss K. Okay. The public deserves clarity on what's happening behind closed doors. Let me be very clear. This is about transparency, integrity, and standing up for the taxpayers of our district. What has taken place here, the backdoor dealings, the lack of open public discussion,
092and the potential financial impact on taxpayers is unacceptable. Mr. Muso, what was your motivation for proposing in executive session a policy to target district taxpayers for increased taxes without cause? I, if I may. Yes. Yeah. I I I believe you're referring to a policy proposal that's not going forward. So, it it it is I think it's a moot point. Um and I believe the public has the right of transparency and I will continue. Solicitor solicitors are here to advise when called upon, not to lobby the board onto actions that benefit the firm. The public deserves to know the truth. That proposal, had it gone through before I challenged it, would have enabled our business manager and the solicitor to target commercial and residential property owners for reassessment by a third-party appraiser. despite the property owners
093doing absolutely nothing wrong. It was framed as a district revenue strategy, but in reality, it opens the door to legal conflicts that financially benefit the solicitors. This is not common practice. In fact, it's only found in districts that solicitors represent. I've spoken with board members across Pennsylvania and no one would put consider adopting a proposal that targets their taxpayers in this way. Mr. wrap. I ask the district's insurance company be informed about the liabilities tied to this proposal, including the origin of the idea, as well as the instructions regarding right to know requests that administration you made you follow and the outcome of the audit and review of the February Clark Amuso invoices. The financial risk is real and the public deserves accountability. If I hadn't challenged it to everyone in an email and called
094out Mr. Muso on his wrong wrong attempt to lobby the board during an executive session, this would have passed and the taxpayers would have paid the price. We all owe it to this community to be honest about what the proposal really was and to be transparent in board district business. Emails don't lie, people do. I have the documentation. The lack of transparency, unethical practices, and lack of integrity seem to continue. This proposal doesn't help students. It didn't improve education. It served a political agenda, not the public good. Can't continue to hide from colluding and covering the solicitor. I call on this board to consider new legal representation. This community deserves a solicitor who acts in their best interest, not someone pushing personal or political motives. The people of this district are watching and they will
095remember who stood up for them and they will remember those of you who tried to take advantage of them. Miss Khan, I did have a comment, but I'm going to comment on that only in regards to the fact that this was not a policy that could have passed it. First of all, it would have been a new policy and just as we voted on the policy items this evening. It would have appeared at policy meeting. It would have gone under discussion, draft, first read and second read. So that's the only part that I will comment on that there there was no um fear or any intention of it being passed under any secrecy. Um so that that that's there. My other comment actually is completely unrelated. um which is talking about two of our educators
096in Council Rock who went above and beyond and I wanted to recognize them that they applied and they were accepted um to join the Pennsylvania um Department of Education. I know Miss Tammy Gary talks about the curriculum curriculum review cycle that happens throughout the state and then you know in Harrisburg they they do the work there and the next two topic areas are physical education health and then the art department are the new um big standards that will go under curriculum review in the upcoming years. So I wanted to just recognize Miss Liz Potach. I believe I pronounced that name correctly. If not I could correct me. and Miss Beth Lynch. Um they both head our physical education and health department and art department as well. And I'm sure many of the hundreds of families
097that saw the art show a few weeks ago um you know are amazed by our art department. So, I just wanted to recognize them for going above and beyond and I know that they will represent Council Rock in the best light and I look forward to them spending their meetings that there's going out of their summer to attend this meeting in Harrisburg and look forward to um the exciting things that they participate in and bring back to the district for our students. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Khan, Mr. Hickey. strictly a housekeeping item since Miss her brought it up an executive session. Uh I'm not sure whether or not it was before or after our last public meeting. Um but if it was in between should we have announced that we held an executive session
098and on what date that it actually was. I don't I don't know. I can't recall. I I don't think we've had executive session since our last public meeting. Okay. So the meeting that Miss her is referring to was prior previous. Yeah. That's a set of strictly a housekeeping item. Thank you, Miss Stone. Yes. Hi. Uh um I believe what Miss her was referring to in terms of policy um I did not feel like anyone was lobbying the board to create a policy. We were handling a tax assessment um open item that had been opened by a previous solicitor uh several years ago and it was not um it had not been closed. There was no closure to it and we were discussing how that came to be. Um, I don't know that I can talk
099any further about it because it was executive session, but certainly we weren't being lobbyed. We were making sure that something that we were closing that had been previously uh on the board's agenda for several years and we were trying to bring that to a close. So I don't know why um you find it necessary to continue on this on this um journey or this uh to you know to uh undermine our solicitor at every turn. Um, it seems to be a goal of of yours and I'm, you know, I I don't understand why you would make it so challenging for us to try to move forward as we have been. The board's been doing great work and these repeated unfounded accusations and this um relentless barrage of demands on the board members for personal information.
100No one is trying to keep you out of a loop. We are all trying to work in a positive manner to get things accomplished. And I don't know um what your motives are, but they're certainly not in the best interest of the students or allowing the board to work effectively. So, um I just find it, you know, it's emotionally draining on this board that you would continue to harass and to make demands like you're running the show here. And it's uh it puts great amount of pressure on us to do the best that we can for the kids as you say you want you want to do. Um, you know, I would hope that this anger and resentment that you continue to uh present at at uh board meetings and committee meetings. Um, this only
101can smother you from being your better self. and and that's kind of uh all I want to say because it's really um stressful and uh I'm looking forward to continuing. We've got three more years on the board together. I want to continue to work in a positive um environment and continue to accomplish the things that we've been accomplishing um in spite of you trying to derail it, frankly. Thank you, Mr. Mr. Roosevelt. Thank you. Um I was going to talk about something else, so I'll be brief. I was not at this meeting that has been discussed so I don't have full knowledge of the content but I appreciate the review from Miss her and uh it's intriguing. Um what I wanted to talk about was the New Town Middle School event that's put on every
102year the Holocaust Museum by Aaron Demskus. I think that this I believe it's concluded at this point unfortunately, but it's every year it's it continues to match the previous year and it's deeply emotional and I think that the kids get it most of all. Um, after I went through this this recent year, there was a seventh grader that was the first one into the room and the last one out of the room. And uh I'm not going to provide further information other than the fact that this student was very interested in attending Mrs. Demska's class for 8th grade. I believe the the word was if I don't get in, I'll crash out. So, um that means quite a bit. We don't want students crashing out. Um but uh but seriously, I think this is a
103wonderful exhibit. She does such an amazing job putting it on and the students do an amazing job year after year of dealing with emotional content and uh and putting it forward in amazing artistic elements as well as literary elements. There was a student this year that even composed the music that you listen to as you walk through. So, it's it's u it's a wonderful thing and I for one would love to see this also potentially at Holland Middle School. So, I don't know if there's a teacher that would sponsor that as well. Um it's difficult subject matter, but at the same point, understanding intolerance is uh is an important thing for all people to recognize. and uh and it's just a thought that has occurred to me after visiting this for multiple years. Thank you.
104Thank you, Mr. Roosevelt. Miss her, I would like to comment again. We do not know if it was going to come to fruition if I did not bring it up. And Miss Stone, during executive session, we do tax assessment lawsuits and we do personnel. And that's what we were there to do. We were not there to have our solicitor ask us to do something to go after the taxpayers for doing nothing wrong. I have a I have a fudiciary duty to this district, to the students, to the taxpayers to be transparent. And tonight I'm doing that. Miss Py I was not going to say anything but I I mean what you're saying is not true. So it is your perception of the events but this is not what actually happened and you being involved had
105nothing to do with whatever proposal was discussed moving forward. It did not move forward because the board did not think it was it made sense for us to proceed. So it was nothing that you did to prevent that from happening. And I also want to continue without um you challenging the integrity of the board all the time and accusing the board of not being transparent. It's not the best way to work with each other. I agree with Miss Don. We have made tremendous progress and we have to move forward and con try to concentrate on the positive. Don't make up things and start attacking and accusing people and pointing the finger when nothing wrong is happening. I'll comment. Um, my own personal feeling is that I don't think the community is interested in hearing about
106our internal differences. And uh I won't comment further other than to say that I believe we're operating in a properly transparent manner and everything that we discuss in executive session leading to an action by the board then goes to the board in a public business meeting for a vote. Um what's discussed in executive session are is constrained very tightly by state law to certain matters of uh legal consideration, real estate, um labor negotiations, and matters of um you know, student affairs that demand privacy. So um I'm confident that that we're operating properly and and um I'm proud of what the board is accomplishing. I think Mr. Hago wanted a comment. Mr. Hago. Yes. Yes. Thanks. I'm sorry. I'm kind of in down to one Bluetooth hearing here, but um I just wanted to state that
107I don't think that Miss Corner's concerns are anger or out of line. I mean, I wasn't at the meeting along with Mr. Roosevelt. But I did get information that made me think that what didn't seem like whatever whatever occurred where there was some kind of proposal that um that it wasn't really covered under shouldn't have been covered under executive session. This just not something that was particular to a case. Um, and I find it um, you know, concern. I can't say concerning, but I just find that Miss Stone comments attacking Misser and not so much, but Miss Polly attacking Miss Horner for her concerns. Um, you know, don't don't attack her, just come back with the facts. Uh, so I'm all about finding the facts. I've been on this train for a while. It kind
108of just started with the board and it's unfortunate, but this is the path that was laid out from the beginning and as more things come up, we'll continue to uh to address them. And to Mr. Tate's uh point, the public probably doesn't want to hear about this. So maybe we just need to get down uh to the brass tax and and really, you know, determine if things are not appropriate or if there are ethical issues. Um, I've been tired myself of this entire process, but I would say that to for for Miss Stone to sit there and and discredit what Miss Horner said, unless you think she's lying, that's pretty concerning that a board member would would would put it that way. Plus, I don't think all the facts are being displayed out in public,
109nor should they be. That's why I will uh agree with Miss her that we we should be looking at new legal counsel. Um this one wasn't brought in uh didn't even meet half the board before they were voted in. So that that's enough for me and that's all. This continues down this road and we'll come to a resolution soon enough. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Odago. Mr. Hickey multiple people are right here. Usually the case no I mean on both sides of it and as I said I don't want to get basically what happened at this executive session we were discussing a particular piece of property of which I cannot discuss as Miss Stone rightly points out. It morphed into a conversation, a general conversation about the district possibly having a policy going forward of
110appealing tax assessments, which as people have pointed out is not a topic for an executive session. This is something that should have been discussed at a regular policy committee meeting. That being said, the conversation did not have any legs. So, both people are right that it was it was a policy that was proposed in an executive session. It didn't have to, but it never got anywhere. So, it never even made it to policy committee to be accepted or rejected. So that's actually and you can dispute me but that's it started out with a specific property and then morphed into something general which I think to Miss her Mr. Hadalgo's point was that is something that is not covered under an executive session. It should have been covered under a regular policy committee meeting but it
111had no legs. It didn't go anywhere and if it would ever be reused again it will be done so at its proper place which is at a policy committee meeting. Thanks. That's a pretty good summary. I I don't normally like to have conversations about the subject discussed in executive session, but that's a that's a pretty good summary. Thank you, Mr. Hickeyi. Miss Oeki. Okay, I'll be brief. Uh I just want to remind the public that in our policy committee, we are reviewing all of our policies comprehensively. We are starting with the 200s, which are student centered policies. After we finish those, we will move on to the 300s which concern our staff. This policy, you know, some other districts have it. You know, maybe we'll discuss it again. It's not in the 200s. It's not
112in the 300s. So, you know, it's not really relevant. Um, and I also wanted to ask Mr. Amuso if he wanted to comment because I think um that might be or if you wish me to. I don't. Yeah. No, look, I I you know, we were talking about a specific tax assessment case, and I think it it's a a conversation that grew out of the strategy in that case. I think a couple things. These are commonplace policies. Uh the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has had a series of rulings in the last 10 years. So, when you have a tax assessment, uh you know, sometimes homeowners say, "Hey, my my house is overassessed. I'd like to appeal that with the county. Um, and then sometimes school districts say, "Hey, we think this property is underassessed. We'd
113like to appeal that with the county." Uh, and what was happening was a lot of school districts would pick simply commercial properties for that. Uh, and the Supreme Court said you can't just focus on commercial property. So, uh, a strategy that a lot of school districts use when they want to make sure they're capturing the full value of the real estate is is establish a certain, uh, financial threshold for, uh, filing tax assessment policy, uh, tax assessment appeals. So certainly if you were going to adopt a policy like that, it would go before the policy committee discussion that that, uh, we were talking about strategy in a particular case. Uh, but there's certainly nothing unourred about the policy. certainly nothing legally required. If you don't want to pursue tax assessment appeals, that's fine. Um, but
114I appreciate that. If anybody has any other questions, I'm happy to answer them. Thank you, Mr. Muso. I think we're done. All right, that covered new business, old business. If there's none, then a motion to adjurnn. Second. Very good. Thank you. unanimously for Thank you, Mr. Hago. I'm sorry. See, thank you. Have a good evening, everyone. Good evening.