Board Meeting of August 7, 2025

001call the meeting to order. Roll call, please. >> Mr. Fry. >> Mrs. Fendish, >> here. >> Mr. Campbell, >> here. >> Mr. Kronock, >> here. >> Mrs. Longwell, >> here. >> Mr. Lynch, >> here. >> Mr. Reed, >> here. >> Mr. Shaw >> here. >> Miss Sher Walter >> here. >> Eight present. >> We have a quorum. Please stand for the pledge. >> He allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. Okay. Executive session recap. We welcome Mr. Yes, good evening. So, I apologize. Um, we had a executive session mostly forformational purposes only where we also discussed some personnel actions or potential personnel actions involving uh teachers and teachers aids and

002various employees of the district. Is there any other detail that you prefer me to go into with regards to any of theformational items? >> Uh, mainly just on updates on building and grounds. No discussions or anything held with that >> and some that are on the agenda this evening. >> That is correct. >> Yep. >> Okay. Thank you. Superintendent Resort, Dr. Franc. >> Thank you, Madam Vice President and the board. Um just always like to give an update on the status of the buildings. Um so we always as we say um just because school's out doesn't mean that the the work is out. If you drive around on campus, a lot of work and activity taking place. Um tonight the administration uh with our our personnel committee um teachers also involved the hiring the recommendation

003of the kindergarten teacher. We've had several task force meetings for ELA and mathematics in the last two weeks. Um Dr. Long attended a federal programs grant compliance conference in Harrisburg. Uh I sat down reviewed very goodformational session with Mrs. Mlan and Mr. Boring regarding preliminary PSSA data. very encouraging working on the student achievement, student growth which you'll be hearing some about tonight from one of our distinguished alums there. So um just as an update on the 11th Dr. Welk, Dr. Chat Welk will start here in the middle school. On August 13th, we have our new teacher orientation. On the 14th, we have our summer staff and the summer lunchon where we give a little payback and thank you for their hard work and efforts um from the school district. On the 14th is our sixth

004grade new student teach uh orientation at the middle school. Starts at 9:00 am. August 18th, we have, believe it or not, the return of our professional staff. So, not the first day of school for our students yet, but the first day of school when our teachers return. Always an exciting day uh to welcome all staff back. The 19th, we have back to school night for grades 1, three, and five uh at Grand View. And that starts at 5:00. on the 20th, 2, four, and six. So, grades 2, four, and six have their back to school night also at 5:00 pm. August 21st, 9th grade new student orientation here uh at the high school, and that's at 9:00 a.m. And again, if some times don't work for folks, no perfect time, no one time's going to

005be perfect for everyone. Reach out, make a phone call to the principal if it doesn't work for you, and we'll be able to customize uh even a tour if if there's any anxiety about a new building, etc. And on August 21st, we have the meet your school night for Dairy Middle School, grades 6 to 8, and that starts at 6:00 p.m. And that's also our next board meeting date. Um, and the 25th is our first day of school for students. So, we look forward to that. Um, the bands here, it is live and moving band camp. Monday of next week is the first official day for uh fall sports. I have said spring sports. Fall sports back in action. um is the first official day even though I know golf uh has already um started

006their their season as well there. So, we're finalizing rosters, enrollment into our system. Our our administrators hard at work, custodians, maintenance secretaries busy getting things prepped, the floors shined. If you get a chance, check out the wraps, the brand new wraps. Um not the ones that you eat, but they're wrapped around the the musical partitions in the high school gymnasium. beautiful the updates that that are done there. New paint job in our high school um cafeteria and even into the middle school gym. So, a lot of updates that are taking place here in on the district grounds. And I just want to say thank you to the hard work and the relentless effort of the the custodians, the maintenance um and our secretaries as well as the hard work from teachers and our students, everyone

007all around. Really kudos to them. Um, and our our cafeteria employees, the high school cafeteria, again, I didn't recognize it whenever I walked in. Gone are the uh teal colored wall partitions um all white now uh in a real nice setup to something to be proud of and have some dairy pride with. So, um I could continue, Miss Vice President, but I'm going to digress um until we meet again on August 21st. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. All right. We have three presentations this evening. First up, is it Miss Lena Hannah? Hannah. >> Yep. Lena Hannah. >> Lena. >> You can take it off air if you need to. It's your choice. But >> thank you. >> Y >> can you hear me? Okay. Sit on. >> Here. >> Awesome. >> How are you?

008>> I'm great. How are you doing? >> It's nice to see you. >> Nice to see you. >> So, good evening. My name is Lena Hannah and I am a senior member in training u for the outreach team. Um it is a privilege really to join you tonight on behalf of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association as we take a moment to honor those who have dedicated many years of service to the Dair Area School District. The PSBA honoral program acknowledges schoolboard directors who have demonstrated sustained commitment through years of service. Beginning at five years of service, recognition is given at five-year intervals following their first recognition to honor their continued dedication and contributions to public education. Serving on a school board is a significant responsibility. It involves thoughtful decision-making, collaboration, a strong commitment to supporting

009students and schools. The individuals we are recognizing tonight have consistently given their time and energy to help guide their district and support educational opportunities for all. Their efforts have made meaningful differences in the lives of students, staff, and the broader school community. This evening, I am honored to present a plaque and a certificate to two individuals who have shown outstanding commitment to public education in Pennsylvania. Please join me in recognizing the following honores. Dean Reid for 10 years of service and David Krenok for 20 years of service. Congratulations and thank you so much for your commitment and dedication to the Dair Area School District. And thank you all. I know tonight I'm here to honor two, but I understand really how this um difficult this work is, but also how rewarding it is. And so

010while I'd like to extend my, you know, congratulations to both of them, I'd like to congratulate you all too for the hard work that you do do and that's our administrators, teachers, staff, and especially our students. So, thank you again for allowing me to be here. Um, I'd like to, if I can, Dave, just kind of walk over to give you a plaque and ask you not to move from that seat. Okay. >> And Mr. read. I do have a certificate for you and you look like you're kind of boxed in there. So, I'm just going to kind of shove it this way or you want to come here. Whichever you would prefer. >> Come down. >> We can that way. >> He wants to get rid of me. >> You can use the door.

011Congratulations, Mr. Reed. [Applause] >> Linda, is he permitted for another 10 or >> Congratulations Congrat. >> Congratulations, Mr. Kron. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> So good to see you. >> Thank you for what you do. I know you you know, are also a recovering school board member and now into PSBA and you know, your efforts that you didn't have to do, you know, and you do that without really any any uh publicity behind that. So, your dedication towards public education is commendable as well, and I graciously thank you. Right. And I know you're making a push for rural schools as well and the egg. So, yeah. >> Recruiting two of your staff to present. >> Good. Good. Good. Okay, thank you. >> Okay, next um teaching tiny Trojans. We have Mrs. Mlan. Do is

012anybody else here with you? >> Thank you, Lena. Safe travels. I suppose one of the favorite parts of my job is to come and share with you and the community all of the things that we're doing in our building. Um when I say that our school is the jewel of our community, I mean that in every sense of the word. Um, so it is my pleasure to share with you some information about our tiniest learners in the community and that is our tiny Trojans. Um, we have some parents here tonight that are going to join us shortly, but what we wanted to do was to share with you some information about our program. And we're first going to talk about who exactly we serve. So, the Teaching Tiny Trojans program, we serve children ages 2

013through five. Um in addition to that program, we have several other initiatives that we run. Uh one is the TTT book club. So what that means is when a child receives weekly or bi-weekly instruction, they also receive a free authentic text, a good piece of literature or non-fiction to have for keeps in the home. And that's begins to build their home library. We also have the welcome baby program. So, uh, when a child is born, when they go to that first well visit with the pediatrician about a week after birth, uh, there is a card that's filled out, uh, by the parent that is turned into the district and then they get a care package and then subsequently can receive a book um, several times a year to begin building that library even at the

014um, age of birth. And last, we have the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. This has been a partnership that we've been involved in for several years now and it's just another resource for the parents and the community to provide literature and authentic text to our students. So, one of the cliches of education, this is kind of a catchphrase, is know your why. And you've probably heard that yourself in your line of work. And it actually gets a little tiresome to hear that. But when I started to think about what we wanted to communicate to the program about the program, I thought I really do want the community and the families to know why we are making a point to focus on children birth through age five. And so what I wanted to do with you is

015to share some research that I found uh that's pretty interesting. So one of the things is uh brain development and from the ages of birth to age five there's something called the golden window and this is a time period where 90% of a child's brain is developed I want you to think about that in your whole lifetime in that golden window 90% of your brain development is done right there so that room for impact at that tender age that formative age is just absolutely powerful and that's something that our program addresses. Um, another thing that we have is the foundation for success. So, if you think about the littles when they're birth to age five, it's hard to think about what they're going to be like as um employable adults, right? Or when they're graduating

016high school or going to college or a career technical school. And really research has shown that children who are provided early intervention or early education in that birth to five window actually have a stronger foundation for success in their latter years. Uh something else of course is enhanced school readiness. So, we know that the kiddos in our community from the time they're born to the time they walk in the doors of Grand View are going to be our in incoming kindergarten students. And so, what better way to prepare our kids than to provide this program to them so that when they're coming through the doors of Grand View, they have an advantage uh by receiving that early intervention instruction and support. Another note is addressing developmental delays. So when you have a developmental delay delay,

017it's not only cognitive, it could be social and emotional, it could be behavioral. Um, and so a lot of times early intervention uh provides a path for a child to receive exactly what he or she needs so that any long-term intervention or sometimes even special education services aren't necessary. And lastly, this is probably in my opinion the most impactful and the most important. It's the parent involvement and in the family well-being. Um, so really when we have the teaching tiny Trojans program, it's not simply the teachers coming into the home environment and working with kiddos and it's not the kiddos coming to campus and campus and getting that one-hour lesson. Really the goal of the program is to also educate parents so that they act as co-teers with our teaching tiny Trojans educators. Um and

018I think this is just a testament to showing that we do believe truly in the partnership between the home and school environments. So, um, to that end, we have a couple of parents here tonight, and they're going to actually give some testimonial as to not only their experience with the program, but also their child's experience with the program. And so, uh, we have Mr. Nathan Bundy, Mr. Phil Durn, and, um, Miss Courtourtney Malloy is not present tonight, but we want to let you know we linked in a letter to the presentation that you are free to look at at the conclusion of the meeting tonight. So, Mr. Bundy, if you would like to come up. Sure. Good evening. Thanks for having me tonight. >> Uh my son is Roland who's in the program since he

019was 2 years old. He's currently three years old. Um he's not in daycare, so he spends most of his days with a caretaker, grandma, uh his mom or me. So uh getting some peer interaction with him at this early age was really you know something that this program uh offered to us that was really beneficial for us getting them in that school environment um with other kids and uh getting him introduced to the concept of school and learning uh that was developmentally appropriate and exciting and engaging for him. I want to thank the instructors, Miss Amy and Miss Molly, who were patient and encouraging of him at every way uh for both the individual and the group lessons. The as a parent, the experience was great. They meet you where you are. You know, they

020literally come to your house. So that works around our schedule and uh you know they were flexible with the times or hey you know we're running late or could you come a little bit later today and very flexible and on the fly you know when things happen as things do when you have young children. Uh personally I'm a strong believer in the power of early childhood education. As has been alluded to the research is pretty clear that quality prek leads to better long-term academic outcomes. Uh, if you follow the Barb Thompson Early Learning Center social media page and you see some of the success stories where they thank or they they they acknowledge the the successes of their graduates. You know, those results speak for themselves. Uh, and then on another personal note, I've seen

021this program come full circle as far as early childhood education. and I was a student who of Miss Castellani who brought the early childhood education kids to Derry for that class. Um, and the Barb Thompson Center was constructed while I was still a stu a student here and I actually completed uh my internship hours for my teaching certificate at the Barb Thompson Center. So, it's very good uh you know to see that legacy going strong. Um, and uh, Barb Thompson was also my principal when I was at uh, Bradenville Elementary, Bradenville Primary School at the time. So, um, this is one of those rare programs that meets real needs, changes lives early, and uplifts our district, and I thank you for your continued support of it. >> Thank you, Mr. Bundy. >> Mr. Dur, >>

022good evening. >> Hi. I uh want to touch kind of on a similar uh note. Me and my wife are uh blessed that we don't have to use daycare with our schedule and work and with that he is home. Uh he learns from us a lot. So this has been a wonderful program that you have another adult other teachers that he is learning from and interacting with besides mom, dad, grandparents. And I think that's a a big plus with a lot of people that don't have to go to daycare with their kids and and they get their kids to interact and learn from other adults. Um not only that, he started when he turned two, he's now a little over three and a half. Um what's great is bringing them into the school uh for

023the group lessons. You could tell the growth of just his confidence and uh his excitement. Um, you know, for kids it is scary and teaching them you're going to be going to school and be on your own. And for him to come to the actual school, see other kids that are in kindergarten, first grade, uh, with the school buses and and he gets excited. And, um, again, what's great is you bring him to the school and he's interacting with other students and it is interactive with parents. we help, but we can kind of sit off on the side and watch as the teachers teach and they do different activities. And it's just really neat seeing your child in that setting and learning from other adults and uh again him starting from two until now. You

024could just see the the confidence and the growth um and just him feeling more comfortable and it's just a wonderful program. Um, not only that, but they give you different resources to use, papers and books, and they give an iPad to borrow through the year and all sorts of uh different resources to continue those lessons, different things to continue to teach with your children. But I would say the big thing is just that confidence and that uh, you know, him learning from other adults. It's been it's it's a great experience. So, this is a wonderful program and um I grew up I went to Plum and we I've never heard of this. All the people who I work with and other people, none of their school districts seem to really have something that targets kids

025this young and I think it's a wonderful wonderful program. So, we're glad that we have this opportunity. >> Thank you. Thank you, Mr. D. >> I just want to say thank you both for being role models and dads in your family. um taking time out of your busy schedules to be here this evening to just attest to the successes and uh being a part of the program. So, thank you. >> Mrs. Mlan, anything to finish before >> kicking? Um so, to touch upon a little bit with funding, how do we do the work that we do? Um we are grant funded by the learning lamp and um those services again as were mentioned are provided free of charge to the students and their families. Um each year our district will slowly absorb costs associated with

026the program. Um I do want to take a moment to speak about the staff because truly and I mean this in all ways without the presence of these teachers this program could not be. Um when I think about these two women they are amazing. They are compassionate. um they are competent and um I've seen them really go above and beyond to not only do outreach and get kiddos into the program uh they have delivered books, they have co-planned lessons together, they have tried to bring the four and 5-year-olds especially into the building on campus to be acclimated to the school environment. Uh we meet by monthly. We set goals. We look at the data. We're going to talk a little bit about that. um really there's nothing that they won't do for the program and

027I just want to um give them the recognition for that. So these are some of the academic focus areas. Once again these are emergent skills. Um again uh littles around age 2 coming in at age five to enter kindergarten. So we see literacy and mathematics. But I think it's important to note that as you've heard from the parents, the um academic piece is not the only focus. We are driven to provide social and emotional skills to the kiddos. Um technology skills. You heard a parent mentioned the use of the iPad. Every kiddo gets the iPad. And also fine and gross motor skills with the activities they do because it is play-based learning a lot of the time. So what do we offer? This slide just summarizes what we offer in the program. So, of course,

028we have individual one-to-one and small groupoup learning. We provide services in home and on campus. Um, the learning and instructional materials and resources are provided to the families. We have the rich authentic text which I mentioned previously, the parent education piece, play-based learning. We also offer field trips and special events. Um, so we just had recently in the spring a Keystone day that was very well attended that we brought the kiddos to the park and they were able to participate in kind of station based play and activities. Um, instruction is based upon intentional assessment and I'll just speak briefly about that in in a moment. And also there's a monitoring of student progress. So I think it's important to note that this program we don't fly blindly. There's intention behind everything that we do. We

029assess the kiddos um to determine where they are, where they're coming in, and also what those next steps are for them. So, this is beginning of year assessment data. I'm not going to read through everything on there, but it does talk a little bit about the enrollment and how it grew between quarter 1 and quarter two with new students to the program and then students who were returning. It also talks about the AS um Q and that's the ages and stages questionnaire. So those questionnaires are given to parents. The parents fill those out and respond according to what their child's strengths are, the areas they would like to see them improve. Um, and it can be anything, the fine and gross motor, um, cognitive skills and so forth. And then the teachers use that as

030a foundation and then try to build off of that information for the students. This shows you the end of year. You can see our numbers are nice and healthy. Um, and we're always looking to grow the program as well. I think it's important to note when we're looking at that bottom portion on the last slide and this slide that the parents when they speak to things again it's not always about the academic piece. They're talking about the social skills their kiddos are learning or the behavioral things that they're learning in the program and we always set goals and we're very pleased to say that we've met them. So one thing that we wanted to do was to recruit and maintain students and families and we successfully did that this year as you can see from

031the slides. um the kindergarten transition support. So we have eight incoming from this program to our kindergarten. We were able to create time for teaching tiny Trojans to meet with kindergarten teachers at the end of the year and have some conversation about their kiddos coming from the teaching tiny Trojans program to our campus and that was invaluable information. Um the lessons were co-planned between our two teachers. So there is power in doing that with collaboration and we that was a goal that we had. We wanted them to not plan in silos but plan together and they did that and as a result we were able to bring lessons on campus as you heard one of the parents mentioned. Um an increase in small groups which at that age is very impactful. And lastly um we

032were spending a good bit of time delivering resources to families and taking them to the house and putting them on the porch and we said what can we do to build capacity in the with the teachers and so now we do some mailing with that. We do some home visits with the uh delivering of books, but the majority of the time the teachers are using is instructional time face tof face with our students. So, I just want to thank you for the opportunity to share about our program. I want to thank the parents and the families and the students for being part of the program and I want to thank the teachers for just being wonderful and being impactful in our program. >> Thank you, Mrs. Mlan. Any questions or comments from the board? All

033right, sir. >> Thank you very much and keep up that hard work. And gentlemen, thank you as well. >> I have one comment, Mr. Bundy. And I'm sorry I forgot your last name. >> It's it's so nice, you know, we've been through this game so much and we see all kind of children and parents pass through there. But it it's so refreshing and and I mean this to have parents that come in and are so involved in their children's lives because we just see so many people that are and I'm telling I got chills from both of you. I'm swear to God it's just refreshing to hear somebody's involved in their kids' life and I'm glad to hear it. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Absolutely. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. All right, >>

034up next we have a STEM access initiative by Mr. David Mresh. >> David, thank you for your patience there and welcome back. >> There you go. >> That's great. microphone is yours and cameras on and David if you would just talk to some of the board members maybe who don't know you and then the background and where you've been and where you are now and where you'd like to go. >> All right. >> Okay. So, go ahead. >> All right. Hello everybody. Good evening. Thank you for having me here and thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is David Mlefresh and I'm a proud graduate in the class of 2021 right here from Dair Area High School. Now, I'm here to talk this evening to share a proposal to make Derry a pilot

035site for a collaborative STEM partnership program. One that would expand access to hands-on science experiences and create stronger pathways for students to explore future careers in STEM. So, I want to begin with a little bit about where I've gone since Derry because that story starts right here. That's the button. All right. I've been incredibly fortunate. After I graduated in 2021, I had the opportunity to attend Yale University where I studied molecular biohysics and biochemistry. While there, I had the opportunity to conduct cutting edge research, present in national and international conferences, and even work with a cross-disciplinary team at ETHZurich in Switzerland. This fall, I will begin my PhD journey at Princeton um in molecular biology. Now, all of these things didn't just happen. I didn't arrive at Yale thinking that I was going to be

036a PhD student one day, that I was going to be a research scientist. Uh in fact, throughout much of my early education, I spent that enjoying science, but not truly believing that I was someone who could do science. But there were some programs right here at home that really helped change that for me. I'll never forget attending the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg's summer science camp in middle school. It was the first time I ever stepped into a science lab. The first time I ever got to see how science was done beyond the classroom. It was small and it was local, but it was the first time I really saw myself as someone who could belong in this field. And after that, other opportunities really began to build and to stack upon it. The Sam

037Ryan Genetics Update Conference was truly the first thing that got me interested and ignited my passion for genetics and molecular biology. The future cities competition gave me a way to think about the future in a hands-on projectoriented manner. I also had the opportunity to attend virtually a summer institute through um MIT's Beaver Works in the Lincoln Labs and I attended a conference for future physicians and medical leaders. Now, all of this happened because of Dair and the great administrators and teachers that we have here. Derry's teachers really helped me find a lot of great opportunities. They saw potential in me even when I may not have seen it myself. And that's exactly what I want to help more students find and discover through this program. Now, Derry is an absolutely amazing community with so many

038strengths, but like many rural or underresourced districts, we face challenges bigger than any one administrator or teacher can solve. Right now, Derry students score below the state average in both science and mathematics proficiency. Over half of our students are considered economically disadvantaged. Now, here's the issue. Talent is everywhere. Opportunity isn't. We have students that could thrive in science, engineering, biotechnology, but many of them don't see themselves in those futures just as I didn't see myself as a scientist in my early education. And why is that? It's because they've never had a chance to actually try it. Research shows that early hands-on exposure is one of the biggest predictors of whether students will pursue STEM. If we want more of our kids to believe that they can be scientists, engineers, doctors, and researchers, we need to

039give them opportunities to see themselves in those roles right here at Derry while they're still shaping who they are. So, that's where this um project comes into play. I'm proposing a pilot partnership which is a local initiative that positions Derry as a lead site to build out and test studentf facing hands-on highquality STEM education and partnership programs. I'm currently reaching out to colleges and universities such as Satan Hill University, Saint Vincent, and the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, all of whom have expressed interest in partnering should this continue forward. I'm also hoping to work with the Pittsburgh STEM ecosystem, which is a regional network that connects K12 schools to real resources and experiences for their students. So, this could look like many different things in practice, including hosting science field trips or campus visits so

040students can get a feel for what college labs look like, bringing in university professors or graduate students as guest lecturers, or to do classroom demonstrations. To build and improve new dual enrollment or summer programs so that students can get early experience actually working on a real research project in the lab. or even offering mentorship, shadowing, or internship pathways for students who show interest in STEM. These activities wouldn't replace traditional classroom learning or what we're already doing. The they're designed specifically to support the ongoing education that Derry is so great at. And it's to ensure that Dair students are on a level playing field with other districts that already have similar programming in place. So, what comes next? All I'm asking for tonight is that the board consider moving forward with this in concept. I'm not

041asking for funding or any large-scale commitments just yet. What I am requesting is that the board support a 2025 fall STEM roundt, which would be a meeting of key stakeholders from the district, from our higher education partners, and from the STEM ecosystem. We would begin then to co-design what this pilot would actually look like to increase and to build on the education that's already happening here. From there, we could begin building and mapping out these programs, identifying grant and funding opportunities, and working with the educators to ensure that everything we do complements the existing education. If this moves forward, we could begin building the groundwork this fall and aim to have the first student-f facing programs running by the winter or the spring. This is the chance to do something that could help more students

042not only discover a love for science, but to believe that they belong in science. My story shows that it only takes one experience, one moment, one class to change a student's entire path. Thank you so much for your time, for your for your continued leadership and for considering this proposal. I'm happy to take any questions you may have or meet with any of you after the meeting. Um, if you'd like to discuss anything further, >> I just have a few comments, David. A, it's great to see you. I'm a little bit disappointed because by age 20, I thought you would be the next Tony Stark, but this is this is very good be here. So, it's great to see you. It was a blessing to be your principal. you were a fantastic student for the

043four years I had you. >> But um what I will say is a lot of what you presented really dovetales the state's model in the in the curriculum that our board just purchased for grades K to 8 um with amplify technologies in their curriculum. So right now Grand View Elementary has implemented uh K to 5 amplify and our board just approved for this upcoming year grade six with a plan to unroll grade seven and eight in subsequent years. So science needs done and not just learned about. So um a lot of consumables. We're excited for what science looks like here, but I truly believe that your pilot and your planning your passion aligns with what our mission and vision is for science right now. That was a fantastic presentation. >> Oh, I also forgot I

044have little like one page summary. >> Surebody. David I have a question and you and I talked on the phone so just to be sure is there a particular age group that you're looking to target one building or with this initiative is it K to8 or is it high school >> so that would depend on what we discuss at the fall round table um I that's not a decision I think that I have the authority to make um it would be I want to see what we need most right now uh thinking about it right now a lot of what I had in mind was a little bit more in the high school side so bringing people into actual labs to do real research projects. So for example, when I started my undergraduate career, uh

045within the first week, I started making some friends, talking to other people from across the world, and a lot of them already had done research projects in real collegiate labs as high school interns and I never knew that was something that was like uh possible. So expanding things like that was one area of this, but I think that this is something that could expand wherever we feel like we need it the most to bridge the gaps. Sure. >> Um to help the students. >> Is it okay if it's not a round table? What if it's a square table or wreck? Is that all right? Like if we can host that, I guess I want to be sure. >> Just make it short. I want >> I I seriously I appreciate you and your time just

046like we talked earlier how it's come essentially full circle here. >> Yeah. where we start with birth to age five and here you are as a graduate going into a PhD program um that you can get there from here often times is what we it's it's it's the motto of what we say so I'm more than willing to help but I cannot speak for the board but uh the board's perfect if the board's all right with that any issues if we do not host a roundt >> well could we just move to put that to a vote now I mean I'm a yes so I move to amend the agenda to approve the round table discussion that he's referring to for a date to be determined. >> Mr. Delonsoza, are there any issues with that?

047>> It's not hitting any of the categories that's going to cause any kind of problems for me something like this. You're just literally setting up a meeting for students and programs. I have no issues with that >> for sure. >> Okay. >> All in favor? >> I would say I'm sorry. >> Yeah, you're okay. Any opposed? >> Anybody opposed? Motion carries. >> Thank you so much. Thank you. Hey, David. Well, congratulations. I knew that you were going to come back. It was just a matter of time because I know you truly care about people. I know a lot of programs with our kind drive that you started here with clothing drive donations. They're still running here. So, I knew it was a matter of time. And I know what your aim is in this project.

048And it's to help our community eliminate poverty and increase better life outcomes. So, it was great hearing that tonight. >> Thank you so much. Thank you for the time. And >> David, I just want to reiterate one thing as we talked to the parents earlier. Thank you to mom and dad there and all their efforts and support. Um because >> Amen. >> It's good to see that, right? It really is. >> Absolutely. It really is full circle. >> That's great. >> Yeah. >> And David, the word I wrote here is passion. You're very passionate about that. And that's what really would set you apart and make that difference. And anytime you're around, we can bring you back and work and speak with kids and pay that forward. Who better for them to hear from than

049our alumni, our graduates? >> Yeah. At any time, just let me know. Give me a call. >> And it hasn't all been easy. like you said, like you're doubting yourself and whatnot. And our kids feel that way and they need to hear that from those that have persevered and gotten through. It's not always going to be cupcakes and rainbows, right? And we'll persevere through it. So, anything from the board? >> I appreciate you coming and talking to us. >> Thank you. >> Very nice presentation. >> Thank you. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, David. Thank you. >> Okay. We'll be in touch. Okay. >> Absolutely. >> Okay. Hard to keep that. >> Visitor comments. Agenda items only. >> If I'm allowed to backtrack, I have one more thing that I thought about with >>

050teaching county Trojans when she brought out um iPads. >> And that was sort of one of my anxieties of the program was, "Oh my gosh, they're going to give my two-year-old an iPad. He's going to become one of these like iPad kids that you hear horror stories about." But that was not the case at all. And I think there's something to be said for introducing technology in that sort of environment as this is a tool for you and maybe there's some sort of a good psychological benefit there rather than just here's a distraction. No, no, here's a tool that you can use to not only have fun but also learn. So I think there's something to be said for introducing technology responsibly at a young age for our kids and that program does that as

051well. So thank you. >> Thank you Mr. B. >> Thank you. Okay. Any others? Being none, >> we're going to move to the approval of the minutes. Motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of June 26, 2025. >> Second, >> Mr. Kronog. >> Mr. Reed. >> Yes. >> Uh question, comments? All in favor? >> Opposed? Motion carries. Motion to approve the minutes of the special meeting of June 30th, 2025. >> So move second. >> Mr. Lynch, Mr. Kryok. Question, comments? All in favor? >> I >> opposed. Motion carries. Motion to approve the minutes of the special agenda, a special agenda prep meeting of July 24th, 2025. >> So moved. >> Second, >> Mr. or Mr. Schol and Mrs. Showaler. Questions, comments. Oh, sorry. It's It's hard sitting here trying to >> Who says

052what? >> Questions, comments. All in favor? >> I opposed. >> Motion carries. >> Motion to approve the payment of bills as written on the agenda. >> Second. >> Questions, comments? All in favor? I I >> opposed. Motion carries. Motion to approve the treasures report. >> Mrs. >> presenting it. >> Good evening. >> The beginning balance as of May 31st, 2025 is $312,29155. Total receipts 2,177,691.34 36 sorry total investments returned 4,680,000 total investments 100 I'm sorry 1,462,5510 total dispersements 5,673 $987.54. The ending balance as of June 30th, 2025 is $33,940 27. All this cool air coming in is so nice. I got distracted. >> Thanks. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you, Karen. >> Motion to approve the treasures report. >> Second. >> Questions, comments? All in favor? >> Opposed? Motion carries. Okay, we're going to

053move to personnel employment. I am going to combine motions A through K as uh reads on the agenda unless we would like to pull anything for discussion. Anything >> J on. >> You only have J. >> A through J. >> Okay, then I must have wrote it wrong. >> I just wanted to make sure. >> How about A through J? All right. >> Second. >> Questions, comments? All in favor? >> I >> opposed. Motion carries. We will move to personnel and conferences. Motion to approve employee number 174 to attend the National Association of Agricultural Educators Conference on December 8th through 12th, 2025 held in Nashville, Tennessee at an approximate >> second. >> Thank you. questions, comments? All in favor? >> I >> opposed. Motion carries. >> If I could, Mrs. Vice President, on that last

054motion, Carly Ripple was selected as a a lead presenter to one of the workshops at that national conference. So, that's a that is big news for Dairy Area that were on the National Agriculture Station. I just wanted to fill the board in on on that matter. >> Thank you. Moving to athletics. I am going to combine items A through F as written on the agenda unless we would like to pull something for discussion. >> 8 through Oh, okay. >> Second. >> All right. Questions, comments? All in favor? >> Opposed? >> Motion carries. Okay. Business affairs. We're going to read these. Motion to approve the three-year agreement in West Morland County with West Morland County Community College for the college and high school program effective 202526 school year through 2027 and 28. >> So moved >>

055second Mr. P. >> Questions comments all in favor >> opposed. Motion carries. Motion to approve substitute employee rates for the 202526 school year. Teachers daytoday will be 140 a day. Extended dayto-day 170 a day that's 20 days in the same position. Long-term uh as per the DAEA DAEA contract with 90 day 90 plus days in the same position. support staff which would include secretaries, custodians, maintenance, aids, PCAs, daytoday 1150 an hour, extended daytoday 1225 an hour and that's 20 days in the same position. >> So move second. >> Questions, comments? >> I'll just note very quickly that these rates are increased for all of those positions from the prior year. uh in particular the teachers. Uh we always look at the day-to-day and extended day-to-day rates uh for those across the county in an effort

056to remain competitive so that we can maintain our current staffing pool for substitute teachers. I'll just add in that the long-term why it says as per DAA contract is because that number varies based on the person's qualifications. So it's essentially 85% of whatever that person's qualifications are. Not a set rate. It just depends on if the person has a bachelor's, masters, etc. So, okay. >> Thank you. >> Yep. >> Okay. All in favor? >> Opposed? >> Motion carries. >> Motion to approve the volunteer list for the 2025. >> Second. >> Mr. Schlaw, Mr. Cron. >> Questions, comments. >> Sorry, >> that's okay. Questions, comments? All in favor? >> Opposed? >> Motion carries. Motion to approve field trips and after school activities pending conditions at the time of the event. >> I move >> second question.

057>> Yes. Questions, comments. >> All in favor? >> Opposed? Motion carries. Motion to authorize district district administrators or designate to accompany students to the late Tro Rotary monthly meetings for the 202526 school year. >> So moved second got it just verifying. >> Okay. Yeah. Questions, comments? All in favor? >> I >> opposed. Motion carries. Motion to approve the student activity reports as of June 30th, 2025 and authorize the consolidation of the following inactive high school accounts. Any remaining balances will be added to the high school general student activity account. SAD think tank and future fair. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Questions, comments? >> I'll just go ahead and comment on this one. So with the transition from Mrs. Gardner to Mrs. Dubich at the high school level. Uh one of the things that I

058worked closely with uh the high school secretaries and the principal uh was on some inactive accounts in an effort to make a smooth transition. Uh so we evaluated these three accounts here that have been act inactive for several years. Uh so we will be consolidating those into a general student activity account that will provide a little bit more flexibility for Mrs. Dubich uh here moving forward um and Mr. Ron as they um move forward with the high school activity funds. So there may be more in the near future, but these three are it for now. >> All right. Thank you. >> All in favor? >> I opposed. >> Motion carries. I forgot where I was at. >> Okay. Motion to authorize the liquidation of the Grand View Primary and Intermediate Student Activity Funds effective July

0591st, 2025. Remaining funds will be transferred to the Derry area school district general fund and reserved for future expenditures at the discretion of the building principal. >> So move. >> Questions, comments? >> I'll go ahead and comment on this one too. Um, student activity funds are designed for to be from studentrun organizations. Uh, these accounts have been in place for a very long time. And if you think about it and you look at the handbook from Pasbo on student activity funds, elementary students uh cannot make decisions on monetary uh decisions. So they cannot be authorizing the use of funds. So these funds have been sitting stale for a long time. U so in consultation with my auditors, Mr. boarding Miss Mlan. Um we are moving these funds into a discretionary account uh that has been

060assigned for Grand View purposes moving forward and we'll be working with the building principles to utilize those um as they see fit for different activities and initiatives that may not be funded otherwise through the general operating budget. Uh there are approximately $22,000 in funds that were sitting there uh that were essentially unused. So uh we'll be continuing to work with the principles on what those can be utilized for moving forward. >> Okay. Thank you. All in favor? I >> opposed. Motion carries. Motion to approve an agreement between the Dair Area School District and Ask Speech Therapy, Inc. for speech services for students enrolled in the St. Vincent College Bearcat Best program effective for the 202526 school year. >> Second. >> Questions, comments? >> All in favor? >> Opposed? >> Motion carries. Did you get that?

061>> Yep. Mr. Campbell, Mr. Reed. Okay. All right. Motion to renew an agreement for the 202526 school year with is it Bayata? >> Bayata >> as as needed for nursing services. >> Second. >> Mr. Lynch, Miss Show. >> Questions and comments. All in favor? >> I opposed. >> Motion carries. Motion to renew an agreement for the school year with Saring Heights School for Special Education Services. >> So move second. >> Questions, comments. >> All in favor? >> I >> opposed. Motion carries. >> Motion to approve an agreement between Dair Area School District and Outside in for counseling services effective for the 202526 school year. So move second. >> They switched to each other. >> Draw straws. >> Questions and comments. >> All in favor? >> Opposed? Motion carries. Motion to renew a three-year agreement between

062Dair Area School District and the Meadows Psychiatric Center for Educational Services effective for the 202526 school year through the 2027 28 school year. >> So moved. Second, >> Mr. Shaw, Mr. Longwell. >> Questions, comments? All in favor? >> I >> opposed. >> Motion carries. >> Motion to participate in the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania's raising readers literacy clubs and volunteer reading program for the 202526 school year. >> Move. Second, >> Mr. Mr. Reed. >> Questions, comments? >> All in favor? I >> opposed. Motion carries. >> Motion to approve the Dair Area School District's participation in the CSNPA Integrated Drones Pilot Program sponsored by PAT. PDE. Yep. >> Okay. >> You're going to PD and the Department of Agriculture effective for the 202526 school year at no cost to district. >> Second. Oh boy, that was

063close. >> We'll go Mr. Reed and Miss Longwell. >> Okay, questions, comments? >> Yes. Like I just wanted to state that this is going to be a specialized grant that Dair is one of six school districts in the state of Pennsylvania that was selected for this based largely on us being an agricultural leader. But this grant's going to hone in on drone technology. I know I just spoke to a few of the um grant managers at Patan and we're looking at close to5 to$10,000 in drone technologies, drone training for our teachers. But what's really important is our specialized drones up in our a building. Um like so we have two multisspectral drones that are equipped with artificial um like intelligent capability and we can fly them on farms and measure the health and quality of

064what's going on. irrigation, pesticides, fertilizer is we had a hard time finding training in Pennsylvania for that type of drone that we have and we have two of them. This grant is going to fly up trainers from across the nation potentially to train our a teachers and then at some point Dair area could be a training ground for other a schools across the state of Pennsylvania. So, I'm really excited for it. One of six schools in Pennsylvania. Um 16 free drones for our teachers. I know I just spoke to Dave Vinnipal today and a lot of training for our staff. So, uh, Dave, maybe like we'll be working together on this is this is a big STEM grant for our school. So, thank you. >> Anything else? All in favor? >> Opposed? >> Motion carries.

065>> Motion to approve an affiliation agreement between the Dair Area School District and St. Vincent College for one fellow for the 202526 school year at a cost of $770 a month to be paid by district funds. So moved. >> Second. >> Questions, comments. >> I'll just note, you know, this agreement is being approved. Um we do not currently have a fellow identified. Uh but in the event that we do, we wanted to go ahead and have this in place. >> Okay. Thank you. >> This would be a person in education and a master's program at St. Vincent. >> All right. Thank you. All in favor? >> Opposed? Motion carries. Motion to approve the disposal of the attached list of equipment and inventory. So moved. >> Second. >> Questions, comments? >> Same. Thank you. >> All

066in favor? >> Opposed? Motion carries. Motion to approve the 202526 PDE 363 form establishing a rate of 14,188 $18.80 80 per regular education student and $28,5156 per special education student. >> Second >> questions, comments. >> Good sir. >> Mr. Shaw, did you want to speak? I think you had something for this, but if not, I'll build on it. So, >> um Mr. Chapel um gave me the website and I have looked at last year's numbers for across Pennsylvania. The lowest cost for a student in cyber school across Pennsylvania was $7659.35 and the highest was about $28,000 for the same education. We send somebody goes to a cyber school in one district they're paying $7,600 in another district like ours we're paying $14,000 or another district's paying $28,000 for the same education. What I'm this is

067my problem. They're getting the same teacher in the cyber school but each district is paying a different price. And that makes no sense to me. Do the students do the districts who pay more get more um like a better laptop for the student or something or is it that makes no sense to me and I just found it amazing and the difference is even worse for special education students. the lowest in the state for last year because not all the not all of them are up this year, but the lowest was about $22,000 and the highest was $140,000. So that's a huge difference that one district to another district is paying. And like for example, last year we paid almost $14,000 and Lrobe School District, which is literally right beside us, paid $12,000 per student,

068regular student. And if you want to say a little bit more, Mr. chapel. It just amazed me that >> those of you that have been listening to us for several years know how passionate I am about this and how much reform is needed. Um I think every time I'm in front of a legislator, you know, this topic comes up because, you know, when cyber schools were formed, they were simply thrown under the charter school law. Uh the charter school law was in place in 1997. that really has not been modified much ever since other than in 2024-25 they did do something a little bit different just with the special education formula. Uh and so what that did is it took it from a 16% assumption for special education percentage and if your district has a

069higher rate than 16% for special education students. You are allowed to use that on the form. It doesn't provide you much relief. It saved us about $3,500 per student. Uh but as Mr. Shaw had noted, we're still paying, you know, 28 $29,000 per special education student, whereas other schools are paying considerably less or considerably more for the exact same education. So, a student with one disability in our district and a disability in another, and it might be speech, I'll just use that as the example. You're going to have over 500 different rates across the state. Um, House Bill 1500 was introduced as part of this year's budget. Um, it did pass pass the House, but it is it's going to stall most likely. But essentially what it was trying to do was establish a flat

070tuition rate for regular education students at $8,000 per student. Um, it has no chance of going through. Um, based on the rates that you had mentioned, it would negatively impact maybe one or two districts and benefit the other 490 some across the the state. Uh, for special education, they'd look at more of a tiered approach and it would be based on disability type. Uh so it would be a different value based on the needs of the the child and you know that would then set a flat tuition rate though for students and it would have an adjustment factor on it from an for an annual basis but um it's something that drastically needs to occur. All the state did last year is they provided us a reimbursement of $140ome,000 to simply kick the can down

071the road a little bit further uh because nobody wants to tackle this issue. Um it is it is a highly highly controversial topic. Um we continue to push for reform in this. Um but as you can see since you I think it was the early 2000s cyber schools come into place. You're talking almost 25 years now. You've had no considerable reform that has addressed this uh tuition rate. So um yeah I don't hold my breath on it but I still remain hopeful that at some point they will address this. >> And I just want to say that I'm not against cyber schools. I'm just against everybody paying a different rate. If we're gonna if you're going to send your kid to child a cyber school, go right ahead. That's your choice. The problem is if

072one district is paying like $7,600 and another is paying $16,000, the 16 thou the districts that's paying $16,000 is subsidizing with your tax money the district paying $7,600. >> Yeah, I think that's an important component and I'm, you know, I'm not against cyber schools either. You know, I think there's a time and place for schools for all students because public education setting might not be for everybody. However, you know, if you look at the report that was released in February by the department by the auditor general, uh you can see that these schools are primarily funded by your tax dollars. Approximately 95% of their revenues consist of local revenues. Well, that is your tax dollars. And what did you see in that auditor's report? It's sitting in bank accounts in fund balances doing essentially nothing.

073Uh they're simply hoarding cash um at your expense. So, while school districts have limitations on what they can carry in reserves and before they can raise taxes and all of that, there are no limitations on what cyber schools can do right now. And I think, you know, the same the same standards that we're held to, they're considered public schools as well. They need to be held to those um from an accountability standpoint. >> That's what I wrote down on my paper is accountability because if we do not test at least 95% of our students, then we're met with ramifications in public school. That's not the same for cyber charters. There's no ramifications if they don't test any threshold of kits. And like Mr. Chapel and everyone else has mentioned, we're for competition, but at least

074make the accountability in the playing field the same. And then put, as Mr. Mesh mentioned our staff, our administrators that are passionate that they can get there from here up against any of these other places in a in a heartbeat. Hold us to that same accountability that you're holding or give us the accountability that they have, those thresholds, one or the other. Right? Because the other thing that's starting to happen that we're seeing is now they're starting they've taken our our our students now they're taking professional staff and then all of the professional development that we've invested into these programs, they're taking the professional staff now. So, anything else you'd like to add? You're welcome. >> I could go on for days. So, I think I'll stop there. >> One little thing that I learned,

075you you to touch on the standardized tests and I've never been a proponent of them personally. However, one thing I learned at was at the the induction meeting we Mrs. finish that I were at. Um, I always knew that if students didn't test, they held the district accountable, but I learned that they also hold the teacher personally accountable, and that's not fair. The teacher has no control if their student tests or tests bad. Um, >> so, >> yeah, that comes back in the teacher's evaluation, which is also in the principal's evaluation, etc. Um the state says it's incumbent on the school entity to build the rapport and relationship with the students. >> Interesting. >> Not Mr. Forensics's roles. Those are the states, right? And we do value. We want those relationships. I just say hold

076us to the same accountability. Hold cyber charters to that same accountability, please. >> Absolutely. >> Okay. >> Anything else? >> Okay. All in favor? I >> opposed. >> Motion carries. Okay. Motion to approve the following revised policies. 006.3 attendance at meetings via electronic communications. Number 237 electronic devices. Number 317 conduct disciplinary procedures. 317.1 educator misconduct. Number 320, freedom of speech by employees and number 718 service animals in schools. >> Second lunch, Mr. Chronic. >> Questions, comments? >> Fendish. I'll just say that this uh nothing has changed in the the second reads and these would be the the third essentially as we're moving into second reads for approvals. Okay. Second or third? >> Yep. Moving forward. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. All in favor? >> I >> opposed. Motion carries. Motion to approve change order

077number one from ES is it >> esada m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m masonry on the phase three ephus project in the amount of $1,900 to be paid for by the capital project fund. >> Questions, comments? >> I'll just state there was a 260 square foot area. Um it was above the library uh that was missed in the initial valuation and walkthroughs on this project. Uh, so this $1,900 would bring that total phase three up to about $154,000 and would complete the secondary complex for this restoration project. And those of you that haven't noticed, I encourage you as you're leaving here tonight to look up at the Ephus area. That's the white area just uh below the roof line uh just

078to see the progress that has been made. It it truly does make a difference on the buildings. >> Yes, >> it does look fabulous. >> All right. Uh all in favor? >> Opposed? Motion carries. Motion to approve budgetary transfers for the 2425 school year. >> Second. >> Questions, comments? >> All in favor? >> Opposed? Motion carries. Motion to approve the superintendent and assistant superintendent evaluations based on objective performance standards and key performance indicators for the 2425 school year. and to post the statement summaries on the district website. >> Second, >> questions, comments. >> I'll just say thank you guys. We think you're awesome. >> Thank you. >> We'll continue to give it everything we have. So, promise you I thank you for your support. >> All in favor? >> Opposed? >> Motion carries. Motion to

079award the bid for the Grand View compactor to reaction distributing the lowest responsible bidder meeting or exceeding bid specifications at a cost of 35,525 to be paid for by the capital project fund. >> So move second. >> Questions, comments? >> I'll go ahead and comment on this one. So this was not a budgeted expenditure out of our capital project fund this year. Uh this was something that came unexpected. Our existing compactor was purchased in 2011. Uh it was approximately $21,000 back then. Um so 14 years old. It had some issues that arose this year. The repairs themselves would have cost us over $11,000 to this compactor. Uh so prior to us making a decision on what to do with it, we put out a bid to solicit um essentially cost for what a replacement would

080be rather than to dump money into an existing. Um so that $11,000 repair would have no warranty. This purchase for a $35,000 compactor comes with a a multi-phase warranty, but it's essentially seven years, five years, and three years. Uh, which provides us some stability moving forward. Uh, so it was a better investment for us to purchase new rather than to repair something that was already 14 years old. >> Okay. Thank you. All in favor? >> Opposed? >> Motion carries. >> We move on to committee reports. Joint Operating Committee, Mr. Reid, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Lynch. >> Our last meeting was June 25th. And at that meeting, we approved the general fund bills. Uh we had uh 580 students enrolled. That's an approximate number for 2526. We had 340 students with industry certifications who earned a grand

081total of 678 certifications. 85% of the completers answered our survey that we sent out and the overall placement rate is 95%. The scholarship uh the the scholarships we handed out at the uh senior recognition ceremony was worth over $20,000 and were distributed at that recognition ceremony. We approved the 2526 20 uh tu tuition rates. We approved the rate coverages for insurance for 2526 which is $76,234. That's an increase of $5,196 from last year. We accepted the resation of the part-time cosmetology cosmetology to instructor and we approved a resolution to cater the megatronic program at the end of the 25 26 school year due to climbing enrollment. And our next meeting is August 27th. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Is enrollment up, Mr. Reed, from last year? L last year? Seems like, huh? >> Yeah, >>

082they were projecting it to be up. Yeah, but also because the ninth graders from uh Lake Trobe and Ligonier are also attending too. So, it's important to measure the enrollment in 10 to 12. That's the true enrollment in the EWTC. >> Okay. >> Does Derry have ninth graders? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> And usually 10 per year prevocational students go on a rotation. >> All right. uh West Morland IU Board, Mr. Shaw. >> Um we had our makeup meeting from the June meeting from the canceled June meeting on July 7th. Um at that meeting, we approved the appointment of Dr. Lauren Lauren Cunningham as the curriculum and professional learning services director and we appointed Dr. Rebecca Henderson as educational enterprise services director, which is a splitting of um the previous person who had the educational

083um curriculum and director's position to two separate positions. Um we also elected officers for the coming year. Uh Dallas Leonard is going to continue being the president. He's from Penn Trafford. Jennifer Bretts will continue to be the vice president. She's from Enfield. Um the long term long-erving secretary has stepped down. So we elected Dr. Fe from South Morland as the new secretary and Tammy Good, the um business manager for the IU will remain the treasurer. Uh there was 13 people present at the meeting out of 16. And like I always do, I post a video online of the IU. And other than some housekeeping stuff, our next meeting will be August 26th at 700 p.m. in the Fort Ligonier room at the IU. And anybody and everybody is welcome to attend. >> All right. Thank

084you. Adams Memorial Library, Miss Shoaler. >> Next meeting is August 20th. >> Okay. I think Aren't Isn't Caldwell having a >> Yeah, that's in September. September 18th for The Friends of Caldwell. >> Oh, no. I meant the the the movie they're having this Aren't they having a movie next? >> I'll get to that with my foundation. >> Oh, okay. All right. All right. You got it. Okay. Policy committee. Mrs. me myself, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Lynch, and Mr. Shaw. Boy, I had to remember today. >> I was going to say I can take it for a minute if you want. >> I'll I'll let you. I'm >> So, we have not met since the middle of June, but we are meeting next week, August uh 13th at 3:30 p.m. There is one policy um that was

085up for review. There is a first read and those were some revisions. um policy 217 that is in the board's packet and also available on the district website online in the agenda. Um some of the adjustments to board policy 217 for graduation requirements details um from the committee the information that came forth was for full-time school district employees administration may award their child their dependent and their household a high school diploma. It also mentioned that a child shall not be whose completed requirements for graduation would not permanently be denied a diploma as a discipline measure, but that commencement ceremony uh could be done temporarily. Um and then it mentions about a student may temporarily be denied a diploma should conduct war action during commencement or other senior ceremonies. Um we detailed information about commencement. While

086commencement is a cherished tradition, this is all additional language. Commencement is not a requirement. So students are not obligated to attend commencement ceremony to graduate or receive diplomas. Commencement's formal and respective uh respectful event that honors hard work, perseverance, and accomplishments of all graduates, families, educators, and those who supported them. Preserve the dignity and significance of the milestone. All participants are expected to follow the guidelines established by the administration. Failure to adhere to that may detract from the experience of others and can result in discipline consequences including temporary withholding of a child's or students diploma. We further detailed information about caps and gowns. Um graduates are permitted that to decorate their caps with written approval from high school administration as a form of personal expression to wear during commencement ceremony. These expectations are communicated to

087graduates in advance of the ceremony by high school administration and then also reinforced with our staff. Students must seek approval from high school administration in order to decorate their caps. Further information about caps and gowns as the gowns are to remain focused on the students K to2 accomplishments which also includes awards from Eastern West Morland Career and Technology Center. Approved items for the gown include school sanctioned awards and recognitions received during the child's K to2 years which culminate with those that are presented at the senior awards ceremony and recognized during commencement. The board here does uh the board committee and this is the um adjustment desires to make an exception for graduates who've already enlisted in the six branches of the armed forces of the United States of America um which would be the Army,

088Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard. Proof of enlistment must be provided to the high school administration in order for graduates to wear their military sash at commencement. Um, so Miss Fendish, that would be the update to board policy 217 that's under a first read here this evening. >> All right, thank you for that. >> All right, moving on to the Dair Area School District Foundation. Miss Show Walder, Mr. Shaw. >> All right, we met yesterday, August 6th. Uh the board accepted the resignation of Roberto Mcan and expressed appreciation for her years of service uh treasures report given by Scott Chapel and approved report on the 4A's committee. Um, just a reminder that the alumni and friends weekend will be held on September 13th. And this is a different weekend than the

089homecoming, which is the weekend of September 26th. And this is due to conflicts with people needing to attend both homecoming and alumni alumni events held at the same time. Um, schedule for alumni events can be found on the website. The football game is on September 12th and will be at 700 pm with the recognition of Hall of Hall of Fame inductees at halftime. The golf outing is on September 13th. It will be at Manito in New Alexandria. And there are available spots for Forsomes if you wish to register. Um, registration is at 7:30 a.m. Shotgun at 8:30 a.m. The alumni band concert is at 2:30 p.m. in the middle school auditorium. And that will be followed by the induction ceremony. And then um after that, the blue and gold alumni and friends celebration will be

090at Rosemary's Country Kitchen at around 7:30 p.m. All of this is on the district website. The ribbon cutting ceremony for the new stadium entrance was held on June 2nd and it was really well attended. Uh greenhouse project funded by the RFK Melon Foundation is progressing. We are currently asking for two RFPs to contain costs due to prevailing wage and uh have requested an extension of the grant to provide more funding for both the small and large green houses. Barbara Thompson Early Learning Center. Out of the 60 spots available, 28 um of the 36 pre preK spots were filled and seven of the 24 preschool spots were filled. This is less than last year, but it's still early and there's um adequate funds to per um to support the school during this time of low census.

091So, you have a child and you want to uh register for this program, there are spots available. There are three opportunities to support the center by purchasing raffle tickets. They will be offered in the fall, winter, and spring. And currently, there is a need for a sub and prek lead. The 100 club banquet will be held on November 7th. There's a need for baskets to raffle off as well as for volunteers to help set up. Um the Dolly Parton Imaginary Library had 372 kiddos who have graduated and 240 are currently enrolled. The amphitheater um once again received a $500 grant from West Morland Parks and Recreation. Next year's Oldies Dance will be held at Geianelli's 2. That's Saturday, April 18th, 2026. And the reason that they had to change the venue was they really needed

092more space for to accommodate the dancing. Friends of Caldwell Memorial Library will sponsor a free movie night at the amphitheater on August 14th at 8:00 p.m. There's going to be hot dogs and popcorn, and the movie is Minecraft. And all this is free. Uh you might want to bring a blanket to sit on or a chair because um seating may be a little limited. The golf outing in May was successful with 24 forsomes and one tusome with 14 whole sponsors. The event raised $3,500. Innovative teaching grants are soon due and an email blast um is probably already sent out to teachers to encourage them to apply. recipients will be announced at the October meeting. And I just found out yesterday that Amazon is sponsoring a teacher wishlist to help with classroom setup. And I went

093to the website today and it's a real thing. And you can get more information um by just typing in Amazon teacher wish list to help create a really nice classroom and a good um I think a really good environment for our kiddos to learn. uh the kind closet. Now, this is um a program that offers free clothing and backpacks to kids that may need a little help with um dressing to go to school. It relies on donations from the community and gives high school students to work there in the closet. It gives them a chance to sort the clothes, help organize. Um, and I found out there's a special section to help kids get appropriate black and white clothing for concert band. Um, there's a section for prom gowns and suits and tuxes that can

094be donated anytime, not just prom season. And, uh, there's going to be a toy drive in November to make sure that those kiddos that may not get presents will find something under the tree. U, Mrs. Huber, she's in charge of this project. She hopes to have 300 people come to the closet during the next drive uh to pro to participate and see what a great project this is. They're going to have a coat drive, a hygiene drive, shoe drive, just a a few of the things that she's planning. And I just have to say that she was so appreciative of the dairy community and she made the comment that dairy always comes through for our kiddos. That concludes my report. >> Thank you. Okay. Building and grounds committee. Mr. Lynch, Mr. Fry, Mr. Kryoff, Mr.

095Reid. >> We met Wednesday, July 9th at 1:30 in the admin building. Um, TMR or TMCO and TMR both came in and gave us an update and a report on the Grand View roof project, which was pretty much touched on um here as well as a proposal on the Trojan Stadium, the restoration of the Grand Sands. So, we're looking into that. And they also went over the projected phase phasing of the secondary complex roofs which are will be coming up here out of warranty throughout the next couple years. We're going to look at that with Mccclure because they're also doing some work and some um for for the uh renovation. Um bids on salt spreaders for the two dump trucks, current carpet repair in several classrooms, the large middle school and group room, the middle

096school library, and this room here. Uh the salt cover for we're getting quotes currently for the salt cover uh over the pad that was just pa poured rather. The ephus has been touched on. It's it's almost complete. We touched on that. The Grand View paging system and that was about it. That sums it up in the bullet points. The egg the interior of the egg building is almost completed. It's being painted over the summer and that's almost complete. If I missed anything, Mr. Chapel, talk to Dr. No, we're going to have a meeting September 10th, 1:30 p.m. uh in the administration building and we'll have Mccor on site talk a little bit about um sort of the evaluation that they've started as far as the investment grade audit and some potential items for us to

097consider uh as we talk about renovations. >> I just would like to give a a kudos to Mr. Maine um and his hard work there with building and grounds and his leadership. Um thank you Ken and thank you to the board uh building and grounds committee. Okay. Thank you. Athletic committee, Mr. Fry, Mr. Krywalk, Mr. Krywalk, and um Mrs. Longwell is going to sit in the next meeting. So, >> yes, September 15th. >> Okay. Anything? >> They did not meet, but the next meeting is August 15. >> Okay. All right. Public relations committee, myself and Miss Sha Walder. We're gonna >> All right. We met July 14th. Um we started off with reviewing the communication system. Um discussed how the impact of our Facebook had um on communication with district parents and community members. Um

098text messages to parents, guardians have also enhanced our communication. Um we discussed the possibility of including the foundation um PR in these committee meetings um because we're missing opportunities to promote the foundation um such as we could have had a booth at the 250th and I know last year there was an opportunity to have a booth at railroad days. something we can work on. Um the mission and vision um is under our district um mission and vision for the PR committee with the main focus being on communication to parents. Um the committee was created initially to bring attention to our website as a form of communication. Um, and I think we do a really good job with that so far. Um, we discussed bringing the PR committee up at our next foundation meeting in August.

099Um, I think just for collaboration purposes. Um at the end of last year, a message was sent to parents of senior students with all the graduation and end of year information laid out um clearly and um the feedback we got that it was very helpful and organized. Um we discussed the process of sending forms to parents, guardians via their parent portal and h powers school. Um, and one of our members had a positive experience using this system and completing the necessary documentation. We discussed ways the district can communicate better. Um, uh, one of the things was that we share all of the back to school night information in one area. We talked about ideas for special fall events sponsored by the Dair area school district. um talked about how the parent student dance um at

100Grand View is such a huge success. Um talked about the potential for a talent show, maybe um having a little competition from other school districts like Lrobe and Ligonier and we could do that at the amphitheater. Um an adult prom was um discussed that could be um hosted by the foundation. uh can good drive to benefit a specific need but make it a competition between another district like maybe Ligonier. Um and then um one of the things that the kids could maybe do to um give us a kind of a feather in our cap I guess would be there's a next challenge and that involves collecting u film plastic waste and once you get a,000 pounds you're given a bench and I think that would um just be a nice thing for the kids to

101do. to promote environmental causes. Um, we reviewed the friends and alumni weekend homecoming. Um, and the schedule's currently posted on the Spear website. Uh, looked at the Dair Area School District job fair. Um, the outcome of the hiring event held on July 9th. We had over 30 interviews. Approximately 15 candidates were offered substitute positions. um concerns that just we need to capitalize on opportunities within our community um like having boosted events. Next meeting will be in November. >> Thank you. Finance Committee, Mr. Reid, myself, Mr. Campbell. I forget when our next meeting is. >> September 18th at 4 p.m. >> Okay, there you go. September 18th. uh 4A's committee, Mr. Shaw. >> Well, most of what I was going to say was brought up by Mrs. Shaw Walder about the um >> uh golf outing

102and the um Hall of Fame. And so, unless you have anything else, Dr. Forensic, >> we did announce the new class uh the of Hall of Fame inductees. It's on the website, and we next meet on August the 20th at 3:30 p.m. in the administration building. >> All right. Thank you. Agriculture Horicultural Committee, Mr. Lynch, myself, Mr. Shaw, Miss Shoaler. >> We had our first meeting yesterday at 3:30 uh in attendance with Dr. Forensic, Dr. Long, Mrs. Ripple, Mrs. Eert, Mrs. Fendish, Mr. Shaw, Mrs. Show, and myself. We had we discussed the lease agreement of uh equipment that's leased and owned and equipment needs for the future. student enrollment curriculum for future years coming up. Short-term and long-term goals from both teachers. And then one of the one idea to spark interest from younger students

103to when they're picking their high school electives was possibly install grow towers or something of that nature in the middle school and the Grand View Elementary School. That's nothing set in stone, but it was discussed. >> Okay. Thank you. All right. Visitor comments, non-aggenda items. Is there any? Okay. Being none, do we have any other concerns of the board? Nothing. Anything? Okay. Motion to adjurnn. >> Move. >> Second. >> Okay. >> All right. All in favor? >> I >> oppose. We're out. >> Mr. I just want to say thanks for getting that wheelchair. >> Thank you, Mr. Arone. >> Usually like a ton. Yeah, every now and