001I'm very excited about this. And the Girl Scouts, too. This is awesome. I love scout night. Um, welcome everybody to our April um, work session meeting. This is not a voting meeting. Um, I'm Rachel Gyos. I'm your schoolboard president. Thank you all for being here this evening. We are going to get right into it. Um, we do record these meetings, so you can watch them live right now or you can look back on our website. Um, and let's start off with our recognitions. Yep. First, we have Mr. Connor is our one of our high school assistant principles and he's going to honor Neva who many of you remember from last year as our schoolboard representative and we have a proud honor here that we want to share with you. So Mr. Connors Good evening. A
002Coca-Cola scholar not only exemplifies exemplifies superior leadership, service, and academics, they are change agents, positively affecting others in their community. The student standing standing by my side this evening embodies all of these characteristics. This year, more than 7,000 students applied for the award, which earns them a $20,000 college scholarship and a trip to Atlanta to participate in the Coca-Cola Scholars Leadership Development Institute. Less than 17th of 1% were selected for this extremely competitive award. It is my honor to introduce Neva Jagtap this evening as a member of the 38th class of Coca-Cola scholars. Congratulations. Thank you. Congratulations. Proud of you. So well have a certificate. Mom, did you get one? You're good. Okay. Congratulations. We're so proud. All right, our scouts are up next. Come on down. Okay. And I'm going to bring up some
003certificates because our board also has some certificates. I'm gonna leave those at the podium. Okay. Thank you 78 for letting us go first. These are everybody. Yeah. Okay. Oh, there you are. All right. Yeah. Now, where did I put my remarks? There. You fooled me. All right. Thank you members of the school board for inviting us today. Uh my name is Andy Cook and I am the advancement coordinator for BSA Troop 76B uh chartered by Covenant Presbyterian Church in Frraasier. On behalf of our current scoutmaster, Jeremy Rudolph, who many of you know, and our committee chair, Dr. Tammy Cook. I have the honor today to introduce you to two young men who have achieved the highest rank of Scouts BSA, the rank of Eagle Scout. As I always say, this rank is not a participation
004award, but something they have earned through an adherence to the scout oath and law. They have proven them themselves by being repeatedly tested on their scouting skills and knowledge, displaying leadership and making a commitment to community service, culminating in an extensive service project that the scout planned, organized, led, and managed. I'd like to tell you about these young men. First, Mason Jiang, class of 2026, became Troop 76B's 162nd Eagle Scout in June. And as a Is that right? Not in June. In June. November. November. I have that wrong. And is a prime example of how scouts can help a quiet little scout become a grow and become a confident leader. He has served Troop 76B as a two-time assistant patrol leader, a two-time patrol leader, and historian. He earned merit badges in 31 different disciplines,
005more than the 21 required for Eagle Scout rank, meaning he has earned bronze and gold eagle palms. Mason also earned the World Conservation Award and National Outdoor Achievement Awards for Camping Conservation and Riding. He also completed our troops annual 50-mile bike ride to Camp Horseshoe twice. His service project was to build a stone retaining wall structure for a new sign at the Beck and Hill entrance for the Great Valley Community Organization. So, next time you're driving down the road, that's Mason's sign. Uh, Mason will be attending University of Penn in the fall, studying electrical engineering. Sedartha Luri, class of 2026, became Troop 76B's 163rd Eagle Scout just this month. After a hiatus during the pandemic and a general u malaise around scouting activities, Sid decided he needed to get serious about scouting and transferred to
006our troop two years ago. He immediately uh laid out his plan of attaining star life and eagle rank in less than two years and served admirably as our troop guide planning online and in-person trainings to help our large cohort of young scouts learn the skills they required for their own advancement. Sid earned 26 merit badges and with a bronze eagle palm. He also uh as Mason did got the World Conservation Award, the National Outdoor Achievement Award for Camping and Conservation. His service project was also at GVCO, remediating a body area near the outdoor basketball courts by building a new brick pad that would help with drainage and provide more area for families watching games. Sid will be attending user University of Southern Florida in the fall on a national merit scholarship and uh plans to
007continue to serve his community with a career in the medical field. Both of these young men have logged hundreds of community service hours themselves and managed other scouts, logging hundreds more during their time and are a credit to their troop and to this district. Uh please join me in applauding their accomplishments. I had it a second ago. Congratulations. Congratulations. Yeah. We're good. One more here. Make sure we get right. Sorry. Congratulations. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of the school board. Thank you for continuing to recognize those young men and women who have achieved the Eagle rank in scouting. My name is Steve De Antonio, now assistant scoutmaster after 31 years as scoutmaster of troop 78. Tonight, I have the privilege of introducing two Great Valley students and Eagle Scouts. Both are seniors and both have
008been in scouting since elementary school. Let me tell you a little bit about them. Doug Johnson, this one right here, joined Troop 78 immediately after finishing Cub Scouts in Pack 98 and has been an active member for seven years. He has served the troop in many leadership roles, including assistant patrol leader, patrol leader, and assistant senior patrol leader. Doug has enjoyed and taken advantage of all the camping opportunities that Troop 78 has had to offer and made some great friendships along the way. His camping highlights include seven years at Horseshoe summer camp, spring breaks at Disney World, scuba diving in the Florida Keys at the Florida Seabase, skiing in Vermont, and whitewater rafting at Ohio Pile State Park. Last summer, he went on a wilderness trip canoeing and portaging in Ontario's Alangquan Provincial Park, which
009I'm sure he'll never forget. During the past spring break, he hiked and camped in the Great Smokies and Blue Ridge Mountains. And this summer, he will be joining the troop on a two-eek camping and touring trip in the Swiss Alps. For his Eagle Scout service project, Doug and his volunteers constructed five picnic tables for Church of the Savior, expanding their outdoor seating, and replacing tables that were falling apart. Outside of scouts, Doug loves tinkering with his Jeep, learning to ride motorcycles, hunting, fishing, and spending quality time with friends. He's looking forward to graduating Great Valley in June, and is still looking forward to making decisions for the next leg of his life's journey. Next is Verun Cartik, who crossed over from Cub Scouts to scouting in the spring of 2019. His first three years included
010many camping trips, and he advanced to life rank in the fall of 2022. He particularly enjoyed attending summer camp. In 2022, Verun entered high school and became heavily involved in quite a few activities, including marching band. and he had to step back from scouting in the fall for football games and Saturday band competitions and so forth. So he made sure to make up of it for it in the spring and the summer. And in the summer of 2023, Veroon spent after spending a week with the troop at Horseshoe, he decided to stay on as a counselor in training for a week and then five more after that. While there there he earned numerous merit badges as he was trained and taught everything from animation to fishing. For Room be being the overachiever that he is,
011he has over 80 merit badges and at one point was considering an attempt to earn all 140. He's wearing many of them tonight. Later that summer, Verun went on his first high adventure trip canoeing and hiking through Aangan Provincial Park. I'm told he came back with a big smile even though he was covered in mosquitoes and leech bites. In 2024, Veroon was back at Camp Horseshoe as a full-fledged staff member. His passion for plants and animals led him to the nature lodge where he served as the assistant director and he went back again last summer to help out for his Eagle Service project. Baroon chose chose to tackle a need he saw in the high school music department in cooperation with the music department faculty. He restored, cleaned, and repaired what I am told was
012a massive pile of instruments hidden throughout the storage room. In the process process of going through it all, Verun and his volunteers found over 70 instruments in need of repair of some sort. Some had to be tossed, but many others were salvaged. And after several work days, he and his volunteers cleaned, repaired, and made usable over $100,000 worth of musical instruments and equipment. Most, as a taxpayer, I like that most stayed with Great Valley High School, but 20 or more instruments were donated to other school districts. Outside of scouting, Verun Verun is very passionate about music. He sings, plays several instruments, as part of many ensembles. I can't name them all. Veroon. Um, and this year was drum major for the Great Valley Marching Patriots. That correct? Didn't change since October. He also student coordinator
013of choirs at Great Valley, um, a Tri National Music Honor Society, vice president, editor-inchief of the school's newspaper, um, co-president of Gardening Club and Speech Club, and AP Scholar with distinction. Brun is set to graduate in June and is planning to study architecture at a yettobe selected university, which will be very glad to have him, I'm sure. Thank you all and congratulations. Picture time. Oh, here we go. Very impressive. Yeah, sure. Come on. Congratulations guys, Bill Scouts. Good evening everyone. As both proud troop leader and even prouder mom, it's my honor to introduce today's gold award honorary my daughter Ara Singh. Earning the gold award is no small feat. Fewer than 5% of Girl Scout earned this highest award. It represents version uh visions, leaderships and commitments to creating lasting change. Tonight there is something
014even more special that I want to share. Ara also earned Girl Scout trifactor award which less than two person girls earn meaning she earned her bronze, silver and gold award. Her resilience, dedication and wavering spirit shine through every level of her journey and watching her grow through each step has been even my greatest privilege. For her gold award project, Ara chose to advocate for Pennsylvania native plant species. And the seed for this project germinated unknowingly in her AP environmental science class in her freshman year. She would come home and question us about native plants and to everyone she met and she observed that very few people understand what native plants do. They essent they are essential for healthy ecosystem because they have co-evolved with local wildlife providing v vital food shelter stability that non-native or
015in invasive species cannot offer. I know all this because we learned during during her journey they support biodiversity require less maintenance and not only improve soil but improve water quality as well. So she created a native flora garden at Charles Township Park. Growing more than 250 plants, 22 species from seed. The selection of plants was not easy and she made it very mindfully including milkweeds which is also the host of monarch butterflies. addressing another issue. She documented these plants, their characteristics and identification and posted them on Charlestown website and the QR code on the sign board so that the visitors can see the flowers and check them on website. She not only put the plant tags for easier identification but also built a gazebo with built-in benches for the visitors to sit and cherish pan
016native flora garden. She also restored eight picnic benches in that park, pouring her heart, her time, and her leadership in creating com uh in something that will continue to benefit and educate our community long after she graduates. I have seen firsthand the late nights, the planning, the setbacks, the break breakthroughs and determination that carried her through. As her troop leader, I have watched her lead with courage, confidence, and compassion. And as her mother, I have watched her become a young woman who doesn't just talk about making world a better place. She actually did it. Ladies and gentlemen, join hand your hands together for Gold Award Girl Scout Ara Singh. Yeah. Yeah, it is. Thank you. Yeah. Certificate one more. Well done. All right. Um, moving on to our student representative report. Justin. Yeah. So, I
017want to start by congratulating Neva for being awarded the Col Coca-Cola Scholar Award. That was a great achievement and such a low percentage to be in. So, it's a great job and congratulations as my predecessor. And uh also as an Eagle Scout myself with Troop 78, I think it's a great program that you guys have to award the uh gold award award in Girl Scouts and in Scouts BSA the Eagle Eagle Scout award. So I think it's great that that's celebrated because I know the benefits of that firsthand. So I want to thank you and congratulate the recipients of the Eagle Scout and Gold Award. So moving on to the student rep report. Um, first up we have student council. So, student council held a Hawaiian spirit day before spring break and with that they
018handed out lays to all the students and that was just a great way to get everyone in the festive mood ahead of the break on a Friday. And then another thing that student council is currently doing is the student body elections. So that's elections for the entire school. So the president who will represent the student body and be present at faculty meetings. And then in a few weeks, the class officer elections will take pl place as well. And then finally, I know I touched on this a little when I was here last time, but prom closet was a lot of work that student council put in, and there was a lot of volunteers involved in making that happen. And I'll explain what that was and how it worked. So, what Prom Closet was is it
019was a two-day affair on March 25th and March 26th. and it allowed students, juniors and seniors at the high school the option to borrow uh dresses, suits, shoes, and accessories free of charge to take away the stress of buying them yourself. Um, and it alleviated that pressure and they had a great selection and it was in partnership with a blessing hand up nonprofit which is run by a great valley alum. So, it's great that that student came back and decided to help out with this amazing event that's run. And then the final part of it was there was a raffle for juniors and seniors with many different items that they got free tickets for during lunches. So, overall a very positive and fun event for the students uh as they got ready for prom. So,
020next I want to highlight the sports marketing field trip. I know I touched on sports marketing when I was here about a month ago, but the I was talking about speakers then and now I'm talking about the field trip which was to Lincoln Financial Field. And there they got a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium. They got to tour the locker rooms, the offices, and even go on the field. And they learned about potential careers there in the sports marketing field. And it was really unique because that's not something you can go and sign up for on your own. it's got to be facilitated through an organization. So, it's great that through the class students were able to do this. And that follows up last year's trip which was to Citizens Bank Park where they did
021a very similar thing. And this is for students who want to get involved in sports and in that field when they graduate. And it's just a great career exploration type of class which I've been highlighting throughout the year. Next, the long- aaited Denmark exchange program part two. I was here in the fall talking about the first leg of that which was when the students from Helenor gymnasium came to great valley and this is the second part of that where they returned on the 27th after 10 days in Denmark and there students toured many historic sites in Denmark and they even crossed over into Sweden for a day to tour historic sites there. They toured castles like Fredericksburg and Christians which is the building that houses the parliament and the judicial and executives to all three
022branches of government there. And then in addition to learning about the history, they also enjoyed immersing themselves in Danish culture. They got to participate in a dance that the school held. They practiced that. There's a specific dance in Denmark that Helsenor gymnasium does whenever at prom and graduation. So the students were able to learn that and participate and then they also went to a handball game which was very exciting. It's a very popular sport over there and the they had enjoyed a halftime show there as well. Um so it was just a great trip and they learned a lot about the national identity of Denmark which was the goal of that program and currently they're in the process of vetting applications for next year's program. So there are some pictures from that. Uh the capital
023on the left there uh handballs in the top and then on the right another castle that they tooured. So with regards to the spring musical, I know Anna's touched on it before so I won't get into too much detail, but I just want to offer the invitation to all of you to come to the musical. It's April 17th through the 19th. That's this Friday through this Sunday. There's one showing on Friday and Sunday and two on Saturday. Tickets are $10 and they're online. And as Anna spoke about, it's The Lightning Thief, the Percy Jackson musical, which tells the story of Percy Jackson as he races across the country to stop a war between gods. So, I've seen the set every day as I walk into the high school in the auditorium, and it looks like
024they put a lot of work into that. So, if you want, you can go and support them and check it out. Finally, on a heartwarming note, since April is autism awareness month, the Great Morning Great Valley morning show had a segment on last Friday where they focused on the importance of being accepting to those who have autism. And it was really touching because they shared stories from teachers who have uh children with autism. and they shared very emotional stories about how that's impacted them and what they'd like to see from others with being accepting and being um able to work with other students with autism and supporting them um throughout their life. So, it was really positive to see that go on the morning show and the teachers that went on. It was really great
025to hear their stories. I think a lot of us in my home room were tearing up by the end of it. It was really amazing. So some upcoming events that we'll be talking about uh in the future. The as I said student council elections are happening and then the class elections are next week and the week after that. This Thursday is actually the vote and the speeches for student body. And then the athletic leadership council is something new that was started this year by our athletic director and a few teachers. So Anna will present on what that is and how that's been um impacting sports at the high school. And then finally, it's a little early now, but we've started preparations in student council for the summer sendoff, which is the pep rally we hold
026at the end of the year. So students will be experiencing that toward I think it's in June, but someone will be able to share that as that comes up. That might even be my uh predecess or my successor. So, as always, thank you for having me and thank you for celebrating the awards that came before me. It was great to hear from them and I hope you learned something about the high school. Thank you. Thank you, Justin. All right, we're going to move on to the regular board business. Everybody's welcome to say, however, if you would like to take a moment and move on with your evenings, that would be fine, too. Thank you all so much for being here. Some impressive kids. All right. I think one takeaway we can all have from the
027scouts is what are we all doing daytoday? because it certainly doesn't rival what they're accomplishing. Pretty incredible. Um so with that, um we'll move on to the superintendence update section 4. Yep. Thank you. Uh I'm going to save my update for next Monday. Uh but I do know Mrs. McGibney is prepared to give a budget update. That is correct. So back by popular demand is the budget this evening. Um, this budget was presented at the February 18th and the March 23rd finance committee meeting. Um, but I did want to bring it to the board because it is up for approval next Monday uh for a preliminary budget adoption. So, of course, we're always looking at the uh timeline that we need to follow per PTE guidelines. Um, currently anything that is grayed out has already
028been done and completed. Um, like I just mentioned, we're looking at a preliminary budget adoption for next uh Monday uh for the board's approval. Uh, following that, we have the May 4th finance committee meeting where we will go over um any changes that are made from the preliminary to uh reviewing what we're proposing as a final budget adoption. Um, from there, it will be reviewed um for public inspection um during after that May finance committee meeting. Um, and once we have uh all of the eyes reviewing it, uh, we will be looking at a final budget adoption on June 1st, and that will be a special board meeting held. I got to click and talk at the same time. Okay. So, for the act one budget timeline, um, back in December, uh, the board did
029vote to stay within the act one index of a 3.5% increase, meaning we cannot go any higher on a tax increase than that 3.5%. Um, again, it also mentions that the preliminary budget does need to be adopted by May 31st, which is a PDE date. uh we'll be adopting it next week as well as the final budget uh per PTE guidelines has to be approved and adopted by June 30th and we'll be submitting that uh for budget approval or sorry for board approval on June 1st. Looking back um with our historical data as far as act one index is con is concerned versus the millage increase. Uh the top line being the act one index and the bottom being the millage increase. Um you can see that uh Great Valley has an average tax increase
030of 2.94%. Um it's also showing what we're looking at as projected um Act One um adjustments going all the way through 2028 through the 2029 school year. Um those numbers are subject to change, but right now that's what we're looking at from a projection standpoint. real estate assessment history. I know in the past um you guys would review this as uh a full page document with numbers that were changing and adjusting. Um I felt as though this was a better depiction of what was actually happening uh with our real estate assessments. Um the blue line, which is a duplicate or a billing that occurs in June, um is shown on the left. Um and the gray is the real estate valuation or real estate estimate of um what we receive in the October time frame
031of what they believe the estimated assessed values are going to be doing for that following um July for uh the duplicate billing. So you can see beginning in the 2024 school year there is a slight decrease um as far as assessed values is concerned. Um so we are projecting a continued uh decrease in assessed value and in order to come to a conclusion of what our tax revenue increase would result in um we take a look at what the assessed values are going to be I reduce them by $5 million uh just to show an estimated decrease in assessed value. Uh so that gives us that 4 bill287,000 um number of assessed value. If we take that with the 3.5% index, that would give us a millage increase from 25.22 to 26.10 for the 2627
032school year. What does that equate to? That would be an increase or uh uh an adjustment to our tax revenue uh of 4,314,000. So, we know what that looks like as far as what the revenue would be for the district. What does that look like to the taxpayer? Uh, so as far as increasing taxes by 3.5%, uh, the average homeowner would have an increase of $237. I also included what that would look like if we increase the taxes by 3% as well. Um, and that average would be $25 to the average homeowner. So, at the February 18th finance committee meeting, um, we spent or focused the majority of our, uh, time on the key factors of revenue, um, and what the total revenue factor would be. Um, just like I've been saying, uh, the preliminary,
033uh, budget is at 3.5% with a mill increase of 26.10. 10. Um there were some changes from 202526 uh budget year that we're currently in to the 2627 school year. And the total of those three amounts is $379,431. So you can see our largest increase as far as subsidy is concerned is under that basic education line of $37,52. I will just point out really quick about the special education uh to just show that the subsidy as far as special education is concerned is increasing by $21,929. I want you to put a pin in that when I point out how much our expenditure is going to be increasing as far as uh special education is concerned. As far as total revenue, our local revenue of 118,345,000 that makes up 84% of our total revenue. Uh total
034state revenue is 15% at the 21 million and our total f federal revenue is 1.5 million making up 1% of our total revenue budget. Uh what makes up or comprises the local revenue uh is the tax revenue which is 96% of that local revenue line. um as well as interim taxes, transfer taxes, and public utility. Under state, you're going to see grants such as ready tolearn grant, um PCCD, which is the Pennsylvania Commission of Crime and Delinquency, as well as reimbursement for um our state funded retirement plan, um as well as Social Security reimbursement. And under federal, the 514,000 is for our title grants that we receive and a million is a draw down that we have access to uh medical access uh reimbursement. Um that would show up as a federal revenue line. Moving
035on to expenditures. So taking a look at some key budget factors as far as expenditures are concerned. uh which is this is the area where there's kind of more gray happening or more estimates are happening and we do have to continue to uh keep an eye on what's happening as far as the state is concerned. Um we still have some time. We're looking at estimates as far as health benefits. Um we'll be able to get some final numbers in hopefully by the end of April, beginning of May time frame. Right now uh we're estimating a 6% increase as far as uh health benefits are concerned. Um and peasers uh is actually decreasing slightly from 34% to 33.59%. Um even though it will still show an increase as far as expenditures are concerned because we'll talk
036about um salary increases and as long as they're increasing any percentage on top of that is going to show an increase. Um and then also we're still looking at um considerations around any new positions andor position changes. So increasing line items from what we currently look at at the 2526 uh school budget to uh the proposed 2627 uh school year budget. Salaries uh is a line item uh that we're looking at. The average increase is the same at the 3.5%. So that yields a little a little under 1.5 million. Uh benefits that kind of go hand inand um is the composite of the medical and prescription cost increasing by 6% as well as what I was just talking about the peasers based on the salaries increase. So that gives us about a $730,000 increase as
037far as budget change is concerned. Can you just confirm that these numbers listed here for each of those three areas are actually are they the the actual numbers or they increased the these numbers the increased the increased amount the increased amount is the difference. Um and then as far as special education is concerned that $4.8 million is the the biggest line item that we are looking at. Um this is not a great valley um isolated cost that has been increasing. um we are seeing increased costs as far as special education is concerned across the state. So other districts are um in the same boat as far as having to increase their budgets as far as special education is concerned and like I spoke to on the previous slide only receiving an additional $21,000 um from
038revenue as a subsidy a subsidy offset. Um so this 4.8 8 is aligning what is currently being spent um in our special education funds. So this is aligning it and giving it a slight cushion um for any additional special education cost about what percentage just roughly is that is that 4.8 million like what's the percent increase? quickly tell you about 6 and a half%. So, continuing on some other line items that are um being changed uh from year-over-year. Uh looking at the transportation budget, uh two factors. Uh one, we're coming up on uh a contract uh that's ending that will have to be renewed. Um so there is a possibility of some of those costs being increased by the same act one index of 3.5%. um as well as increased cost of the overall specialized
039transportation cost. So that number is changing by 1.3 1.3 million um facilities. Um we're looking at increased costs of utilities and grounds. And this is overall this is uh districtwide uh all of our buildings and grounds. Um I think I mentioned before uh PICO costs are increasing in our homes. They do the same thing um in the district. Uh so that's an increased cost for each building throughout the district. Uh technology uh I have listed up here um as zero uh because there was going to be an additional cost of $275,000. Um we were able to work with our uh technology supervisor um to be able to redistribute kind of when equipment gets released such as a clear touchboard. Um so instead of bringing a clear touch board and having it installed um at the
040beginning of the year, maybe we're installing it mid year, December, January time frame on break and or uh the great thing is in in some instances we're able to take a clear touch um that is not being used as much um and move that to where it's more needed in a classroom. Um so through some careful thinking and processing, we're able to make changes uh such as that. Um, and the final budget change, uh, is the contingency. Uh, you're familiar with the $380,000, uh, that we did have included in the 2526 budget. Um, we did remove that. So, that did reduce it or we do have a decrease um, in our expenditures of the $380,000. So that net change year-over-year from uh what we were looking at um 133 million in 2526 to uh a
041total of 141 million uh for 2627 is that $8.3 million change. Uh this is the total expenditures. Um instructional is all student related items. Support services um and instructional makes up 63% of the total expenditure line item. Uh support services are the supports that are in place for the students. Um students and staff districtwide. Um this is inclusive of your principles, your counselors, your nurses. Um and any operations or district office staff would be included in the support services. Non-instructional services are uh things such as student activities, clubs, athletics, and of course other financing uses and debt services is any bond payments that we have. Uh a transfer over to the capital projects fund. Um and a small contingency line item makes up 141,888,000 for our total expenditures. So, as a result of uh what
042we're proposing for uh the tax increase um we would be looking at total revenue of 141,70,64 um with total expenditures um exceeding that of 141,88,164 and that would result in a net loss of 817,500. Um, I know when we were at the finance committee meeting and we were looking at this deficit, um, and I know you're familiar with when I brought the first look, I think back in February, we were at about $2.5 million deficit. Um, so we've been able to go through line by line um, and kind of just reduce where we can. Um, and that's how we were able to get it down to the 817,500. Uh we are continuing to look to see through meetings changes um where we can also reduce that line. Um I'm hoping that some of the um
043items that we're anticipating coming in at a higher percentage um when we meet with the uh consultants um that that's an overestimate which most times it is. Um but uh we're hoping to still continue to bring this number down uh to get it to a net zero standpoint. Uh next steps uh we will meet again for our May 2nd uh finance committee meeting. At that committee meeting um I'm hoping to be able to have some better news as far as the uh changes are concerned. Um, we will also take a look at the 5-year forecast and uh we are continuing to monitor um any PTE updates andor changes. So with that, thank you very much and if you have any questions, I will take them. Um I Mrs. Ben, I just want to point out
044that I think it's May 4th is our finance meeting. Sorry. Yeah, that's fine. Okay. Thank you. All right, moving on to policy section five. Any reports there? No report this month. We don't meet until April 28th. So, next month we'll have an update for you. Okay, great. Um, middle school overnight trips section six. Yeah, you'll just see we have some qualifiers. Our middle school students have been really excelling. So you'll see uh we have students advancing to national competitions for both our quiz bowl and math counts. Uh and even one of our middle school math teachers was recruited to be the Pennsylvania state coach at this national competition. So uh by assuming that responsibility, they'll also cover his travel and other expenses. So kind of a win-win and uh we're going to wish our students
045the best as they continue on and compete. So, congratulations to our middle school. Amazing. All right. Um 602. Oh, no. I thought you were actually Steve. Oh, Dr. O2. All right, Steve, you've been chosen. Uh this is an update on our targeted school improvement. Right. This is our TSI plan. Last year the high school had a TSI plan and this year's TSI plan. Um part of the process for that locally is for the team to design the plan which was done over the summer but also then have the school board approve which was something that we did not have you do. But this is just more so um Dr. Capitol and her team are continuing to work on the TSI plan that was uh started last year, last school year, and continuing into this school
046year. So much of the same areas that we're working on and working toward to support our students who are identified with uh English language learning uh is is is part of that plan and working continuing to work on that plan this year. Steve, are you able to articulate for the board exactly what brought about the plan or the need for us to construct the plan just as a refresher for them? Sure. Um, I don't have uh in front of me the exact uh data, but basically uh that would have identified the high school for a uh targeted school improvement. But basically the state looks at a variety of different metrics whether it be uh PSS PSSAs if it were elementary 56 and middle school at the high school keystone. They look at uh students who
047are performing on the access assessment which is our uh proficiency for language and look at a host of all the different data that they collect on students and if students are not making particular progress and if they are in a targeted subgroup that the state is looking at it could identify the school or schools uh across the district as needing a school improvement plan. This is a local uh plan. The state does not come in and evaluate the plan, but it is something that we must have in place and then also continue to monitor. It's the the TSI designation is one of the lowest of the identified areas within the state. And so it's just something to show that we need uh to make some progress in certain areas and our students who are identified
048language learning uh need and their proficiency in the access assessment was the targeted area. A couple years ago, the middle school uh was in a TSI for one-year uh designation and then the high school subsequently for uh English lang the middle school was identified for English language learners and then now the high school subsequently. So do we have a plan in place that we're working on implementing or are we still in the process of drafting the plan? No, we have a plan that we have in place and we had one that is similar to what we worked on last year. Last school year we were also in the TSI. Okay. And this school year we were identified as also being in TSI. And so part of that work was done um over not part of
049the work was done in the fall working with the team and then having a plan in place. Uh the PTE requires that the board approve the plan and then uh submit that approval, but they don't come in and look at it. It's a formality that they require for TSI, but not something that is they do. Pennsylvania Department of Education doesn't come in and review the plan, if that makes sense. And and just to make sure I understand both for me, but anybody who might be listening, it's like basically the the the nut here is that our English language learners are performing disproportionately lower than the non-English language learners on these assessments. And that that discrepancy is what the what's that issue? No, I I'd have to get the exact uh identification for the targeted uh
050but but if our language learners have a specific assessment that they take every year, it's called the access assessment and it measures their language proficiency. And then if our students are not making the targeted percentage of students to either make growth or more so to be to demonstrate proficiency of English language then we are also identified as needing to provide support to those students. So, this isn't actually um the the keystones might be a part of it, but it's but it's more so for the fact that our English language learners and their access assessment um proficiency was not um as high as it should have been. Can I Thank you. Appreciate the clarification. I just wanted more question. I wasn't sure what TSI stands for. uh I want don't quote me because I don't have
051in front of me targeted uh school improvement and and that's what happens when there's the state comes in it's like okay this is targeted state improvement yes there's different levels there's then advanced targeted school improvement which is TS a TSI and then there's I believe a comprehensive school improvement which is CSI not to be confused with CSI Dallas or Nashville or all those TS CSI shows that are online. What TV at a high level is our plan? What are we doing? So, the high school is continuing to work to support students. Uh Dr. Beck has also been doing uh quite quite a lot working with our teacher on assignment for special or for English as a new language which is relatively new this year. Um we continue to work with students. Oftent times we have
052seen a decrease in the number of students identified for English language uh support over the last year. Uh so often we were seeing in the last year when this data was collected and then reported we had a high number of students who were either disrupted education coming into the United States for their first year needing additional supports. We had u many students who had a limited language not only of their home language but also um math deficiencies uh knowledge or very very limited education at all. And so language acquisition was still um a challenge even their home language. Uh we have seen a decrease a substantial decrease at our high school. we don't have as many students coming into the United States uh with disrupted education or having identified needs. Um but the data that
053identified us for the TSI was based off of the um 2425 school year. So um it's possible and this happened with the middle school a couple years back that we may be out of TSI next for this upcoming school or this current school year. We may not be identified, the high school may not be identified based on the data that is collected this school year and it may not necessarily 100% be due to the fact of some of the elements that we put in place um only because it could be based on the population shifts and who's being um who's administered the assessments to make up the data. is this um do we know if other districts in the area are also being designated as TSI um who are seeing the same kind of jump
054in English learners that we are? So I'm I'm trying to get it like is this a is this an US problem or is this a a challenge for any district that is is seeing students with multiple needs coming in multilingual? I don't know the number of stu uh schools in the area that are also identified TSI. I believe there are um uh high schools or other um elementary schools in particular that may even have the higher designation of ATSI or CSI. Uh but I know the English language learner population that that we've seen um at least in Great Valley uh has continued to be an area that we're working on and working toward uh strengthening. And I know uh in the last couple of years uh Dr. Beck along with some of the instructional coaches
055have worked to create learning plans and learning profiles for students so that we can have a very strong understanding of what the child is able to do and uh support with uh classroom pushin but also the regular ed classroom teacher knowing what that student's capable of doing and showing the classroom teachers providing the professional development. So over the last I would say 5 years we've identified uh English as a new language as a challenge area for us to continue to grow across the district K12 and the high school is a challenge because uh they have the different courses that students must take as well as you have content areas that are very uh steeped in in vocabulary and understanding biology and so those are those are areas that are keystone assessed. So, uh, we continue
056to work toward and strengthen, uh, that at the high school level in particular. I hate to even ask this on the heels of the budget presentation, but are we sufficiently staffed to meet these needs? And I know like the the fact there's a decline, you know, plays into that, but in general, are we staffed to meet these needs? Um I I would say at this point in time uh from you asking I would say maybe um I don't see us having uh we haven't had uh a a lot of conversation this past year of not having the supports in place and I really want to um you know a lot of the effort that KDO as our teacher on assignment has been doing to provide not only supports to our teachers but also So to
057better assess our needs K12 I think understanding and again um Dr. Beck has worked closely with all the building principles to understand how to better support our ELLL students and I think at this point uh we're we're we're not I'm not getting the sense that we're underst staffed. I'll put it that way. Um I think sometimes what needs to occur and how do we provide additional supports sometimes uh uh manifests itself through professional development and providing uh those who are charged with providing education to the students with just better tool sets or better resources or better ideas or ways in which they can approach the support of those kids. Uh so I think it's more of rather than more people, it's just more time to assess the need and then provide the supports uh to
058those staff who are working with the kids. I have a question. Um so help me understand the like what we're voting on next week. Um I reviewed the doc and this feels very much like an assessment of is it last year's plan because it just going towards the end it looks like action steps and start dates. of, you know, the fall and completion dates of say June of 2026. So, are we are we approving this or is there going to be another version of this for next year? Right. So, you're approving the 2526 school year's plan. Okay. was designed, developed, and articulated by the high school team and we did not bring it forward to you in the fall. Okay, that was an error on our part and so this is just a opportunity to
059this is the plan we are working on currently evaluating how we're doing and then this is very similar to the plan that was approved last year. Okay, got it. Thank you. All right, thank you so much. Welcome. We love putting you on the spot with no information. So, well done. Thank you. And if the board likes other information, I know I appreciate Dr. Otul talking, but also I know Dr. Beck probably works more closely um side by side. She's a direct report for our teacher on assignment. So, if you think you want additional information before your vote next week, let us know and we can certainly have um our team prepare so you're equipped. I do know in unpacking it I mean you'll see parts of the plan miss guy to go to your question
060uh we'll look at attendance for our LS you do see higher absenteeism so we're working to support there family engagement is an area communicating with bilingual families or multilingual families can be a challenge too we've made some strides with parent square Sophia Pennock one of our staff uh members you'll see the plan also tracks we're going to do a closer job monitoring local grades as well so it is comprehensive and I know Trisha Dr. Beck has worked with our our teachers with a lot of PD uh also looking at small groupoup instruction models which you're used to hearing at the elementary level. While they're very powerful and we do have the staff now to run some of those smaller groups at the secondary level. So you'll see some gains. Uh there are a lot of
061challenges when you're giving standardized tests to students who are still learning the language. Um and many uh I don't want to say many but there there could be a substantial number that have had disruptive education. So they're coming in. So uh it is a multiaceted approach looking at engagement, attendance, grades, professional development with staff and the like. So just to shed a little light on the complexities of the plan. Great. Thank you. Um, and I do want to acknowledge a lot of what we're hearing and that's part of the plan has been what we've been hearing for a long time now in terms of all the work that we're that the staff is consistently trying to do to better address all of our student needs. So, that doesn't go unnoticed. Um, and it's appreciated. Um,
062all right. The monthly enrollment report is there for everyone's review. Um, facilities. The facilities committee is meeting next week, 23rd. I believe it's scheduled for April 23rd, but we will have to reschedule that meeting. Okay. Um, and 702, the General Wayne Roof Restoration. Yes. So, the General Wayne roof res restoration proposal is attached uh for your review. Uh this is uh submitted by Weatherproofing Technologies, Inc. for the roof restoration uh for the General Wayne Elementary School building in the amount of $2,152,491. That did come in uh below what we had budgeted for, which was $2.5 million. Um and just to clarify, uh that savings cannot be uh utilized in the general fund because this is a capital project. So I just wanted to point that out. Um, and this project is scheduled to ten tenatively
063start the week of May 18th uh with a couple of blackout dates that we will work with the uh elementary school building to make sure that we accommodate that as well. Uh, but there will be no disrupting disruption to the learning um as they go through the process. 7.03 is 41 Moors Road security camera purchase. Uh, this is for four external security cameras from Triangle Communications for the 41 Moors Road property in the amount of $75,495. This does fall under our co-stars um bid approval. Uh this is to be paid with our school and safety and mental health grant funds. Uh so there's no cost to the district. Um and they will be overseeing the boring, trenching and conduit installation um from the high school to the uh 41 Moors Road property. Nothing under transportation.
064We keep going. Yes, please do. Uh there are no items under food service and I'm going to move down to technology. Let's do it. Uh 10.01 01 is the purchase of the Kajet uh wireless access. This is to purchase 23 replacement hotspots in the amount of $1,174.77. Uh these are the this is for the original smart spots um that have become obsolete due to age uh normal wear and tear and firmware issues. Um 10.02 miss something. Yeah. Uh is the instructure canvas uh CIS conversion and authentication update quote. Uh the a part of this is the infinite campus will be making updates to Canvas which is our learning management system for grades 5 through 12. uh and as well as part B is for the uh additional five hours of technical consulting uh to update
065the authentication methods for the students, teachers, staff and families in Canvas for both mobile devices and computers. 10.03 is the burrow library pilot. Uh this is a pilot for uh the kindergarten and first grade classrooms to uh introduce authentic stories from authors from India. Uh there will be 120 to 160 age appropriate books uh at the cost of $1,130 that will be housed in the classrooms and this is funded by our ready tolearn grant. 10.04 is the CESA 6 Qualric training. Uh this training will be provided for services in with cultri communication uh for our teaching and learning staff to be able to uh and communications to be able to have training to have search functionality internal workflows and our web data insights. So basically this would be a web intercept uh which will allow
066them to be able to have survey questions out on the web uh to get feedback. 10.05 05 is the curriculum associates uh elevation uh essential. This is a 14-month agreement to keep it on schedule with the other contracts at a cost of $27,480. This is for the L specialists, classroom teachers, and administrators to view student data, update notes, and coordinate student support. This system will be uh coordinated with a tracking system for all aspects of English language proficiency um rather than relying on Excel or word documents. Moving down to 11 which is finance um we have the finance committee report very quickly. um the finance committee uh we held our meeting on March 23rd. Uh we reviewed um the changes in expenditures. We uh the preliminary budget uh was presented and we had a discussion
067on district-wide technology and uh network infrastructure. And our next finance committee meeting is not May 2nd, is May 4th at 7 o'clock. Please keep going. Okay. Um 11.02 is the preliminary budget resolution. Uh this is the resolution to establish the preliminary budget which includes a 3.5% in increase in real estate tax. And under this preliminary budget, the millage rate would increase from 25.22 to 26.10 10 11.03 is the property tax rebate program which we are seeing a lot of people take advantage of which is awesome. Uh the property tax rebate program through the Pennsylvania Department of Re revenue um issues reimbursement uh back to uh for three qualifying factors. um if you have an AARP which assists with the seniors in completion of this uh tax program to have the tax rebate. Um and we've
068had seven community members be able to take advantage of this and uh in 2024 and it's actually increased to nine um taxpayers um being able to take advantage of this. Um so this is this is something great that we're seeing. Um and this is for 65 plus. There's some u guidelines around it. Uh but we are finding that it is uh helpful. Uh 10.04 is for the bid approval. Uh this is our annual bid list. Uh this will be for um supplies and items for the 202627 school year. This is done by the uh purchasing coordinator through the business office. Uh she gathers all the bids uh at all seven school buildings. Uh this uh is a sealed bid that we do receive back in February. Um and this is how we can ensure that
069we're getting the lowest price for all of the um school supplies and items that we need to purchase from a school standpoint. 11.05 is the uh 2026 2027 CCIU core and occupational budgets. This is an annual resolution for the CCIU services. uh 11.06 is validate is the validate me contract agreement. This is uh foreign transcript evaluation services for students attending in the United States. Uh val validate me will assess academic records to place students in the appropriate courses based on the classes they've already completed. 11.07 is the elementary field trip. Uh Katie Markley uh students are scheduled to uh visit the East Whitland Firehouse at no cost. 11.08 is the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design Memorandum of Understanding. Uh this is an individual agreement uh for dual enrollment uh for students or for this
070particular student. Um, but we do have other students that do have uh dual enrollment through uh Immaculata and through uh Delaware County Community as well. Uh 11.09 is the educational service contract there for uh your review. And that concludes all of the items for next week's meeting. All right. Um, any other board comments, things to add, things you want to discuss? Have you been out and about in the community? Quiet at night. That's fair. Um, I had one constituent uh comment that I uh said I would relay. There is a particular third grader who would like to form a petition and ask the board to please allow the students to wear pajamas during PSSAs to allow for maximum comfort so they can all better focus. And uh I said I would relay comment because he
071wasn't permitted to appear here on his own behalf and speak to the board. So I hope you will take it under advisement. Perhaps we can add it to the agenda PSSA uh attire going forward. But um with that, thank you all. I don't believe there's any public comment. I'll say it slowly in case anybody wants to walk forward. I missed it. Great. Thank you all for being here. We'll see you next week.