001Call to order the March 19th, 2026 regular board meeting of the school district of Haverford Township. Let's all stand, face the flag for the Pledge of 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. And now I'd like uh a couple of our fellow board members to read the district mission and goals. The mission of the School District of Haverford Township is to educate and to inspire a community of lifelong learners who become well-rounded global citizens. District goals: academic excellence in an evolving world. Prepare future-ready learners who persevere, adapt, problem-solve, think critically, and are supported by engaging learning experiences and intentional use of technology. Belonging: honor every individual's inherent dignity through equitable, inclusive, and diverse
002practices. Social emotional growth: building a learning community that prioritizes social emotional wellness as a foundation for academic success, resilience, and strong relationships. Community pride and civic engagement: empower students to be active, responsible, and contributing citizens through shared responsibility and community partnerships. Thank you. Mr. Testa, could you call the roll? Yes. Mr. Flagler. Here. Ms. Lee. Here. Mr. McKay. Here. Mr. Schwartz. Here. Ms. Snodgrass. Here. Ms. Snyder. Here. Ms. Wiedeman. Dr. Shelton. Here. Dr. King. Dr. King and Ms. Wiedeman are absent due to work-related conflict. Um Moving to the number two item on our agenda, we have student reports. And first from Haverford Middle School is Erin Grogan. Good evening, board. My name is Erin Grogan, and I'm a seventh grader here at HMS. This is an exciting week at Haverford Middle School. We are continuing
003to recognize Women's History Month and celebrating the many contributions women have made throughout history and in our community. Our spring sports teams are beginning their seasons, and students are excited to start competing and supporting one another. Sports like track, baseball, tennis, and softball have or are getting ready to try out for the teams. This week also includes our student-led conferences with an early dismissal at 10:50 a.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. These conferences give students an important opportunity to reflect on their progress and share their learning with their families. We are also supporting Bring Hope Home through our Grade Olympic Days, which are always full of full school spirit and fun. Next week, sixth graders are trying out for Seussical the musical, and they have shows at the end of April. Tomorrow, we'll be rocking
004our socks to support World Down Syndrome Day and help raise awareness and celebration and inclusion. Our choir groups, such as Seventh Heaven and Chamber Choir, are looking forward to choir to choir night this coming Tuesday at the high school at 7:00 p.m. And they are excited to perform their songs. Finally, everyone is looking forward to the upcoming spring break, and we hope our students, staff, and families enjoy quality time and friends. Thank you, board, for listening, and I hope you all filled out a March Madness bracket for this upcoming spring. Thank you, and good night. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Now I'll turn it over to the Haverford High School student representative, Beatrice Cox. Good evening, everyone. My name is Beatrice Cox, and I'm a junior at the high school. Thank you to the board
005for allowing me to share tonight about what we have been up to. In the beginning of March, the high school had their annual job fair, where students had the chance to learn about new job opportunities within the community. As summer approaches, this was a great time for all students to look ahead and maybe start considering applying for jobs over the summer break. Today was the trades fair, which allowed students to meet local employers, unions, and organizations that offer career opportunities, apprenticeships, and training programs right after high school. This past Tuesday, juniors went on a college road trip, where they had the chance to visit a local college. Some included Drexel, Westchester, Bucknell, and even Loyola in Baltimore, Maryland. I visited Princeton and had such an amazing time. The campus was beautiful, and the tour really
006helped me understand what I preferred in a college, which is beneficial as I'm getting closer to the college application process. Haverford's production of Legally Blonde has their opening night tonight and will also be performing tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $8 for students and $10 for general admission. There's been a lot of excitement surrounding this musical specifically, and I am personally very excited to see all the hard work and time our students have dedicated to this production. Moving on to our sports news and shout-outs, our bocce team had an incredible season and placed second in states. Our boys 4 by 800 relay team placed third in the nation at New Balance Nationals in Boston last week, and Haverford now holds the new state record, which is the
007first since 2011. Additionally, our boys 4 by 200 team placed third overall. Congratulations to both of these teams and their accomplishments. Our swim and dive team also took home some medals at the state tournament. A shout-out to Caroline Whitney, who broke a school record in the 500 free and finished third in the state. Our 200 girls free relay broke a school record as well and finished 10th in the state. The boys 200 medley finished sixth in the state. So, congratulations to all of them and a huge shout-out to the rest of our other spring sports teams, who are all crushing it as well. This Saturday, Haverford Science Academy is hosting Discover Day from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. It's no cost to attend, and it's going to be a very fun-filled morning of interactive STEM
008activities for the entire family. Our spring blood drive will take place on Tuesday the 24th during school. Students can sign up through a QR code hung up around the high school, as well as through the Haverford Student Senate Instagram account. Additionally, the school held the SATs on March 14th, and will have another in-school SAT on April 14th. Lastly, there will be a college planning night on Wednesday, April 8th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Students and parents can find more information about this in the weekly Smore's email. That's it for now, so thank you again to the board for allowing me to present tonight, and thank you all for your attention. I hope all the students finish strong in their last week of school as spring break approaches. Go Fords. >>
009[applause] >> Thank you. Moving on to section three, we have the superintendent's report. I'll turn it over to Dr. Hayes. Thank you, Dr. Shelton. We have a number of students and families from both Chestnut Wald and Coopertown tonight to present and I am going to first turn it over to Ms. Mastercola from Coopertown to take us through their presentation. Good evening, members of the school board, administrators, and Haverford Township residents. My name is Heather Markland and I'm a fourth grade teacher at Coopertown Elementary School. Thank you for the opportunity to share a glimpse of a meaningful activity we hold each month called our school-wide morning meeting. Morning meeting is an important part of our school community. It helps set a positive tone for the day, strengthens relationships among students and staff, and creates a welcoming
010environment where every child feels seen, heard, and valued. Through greetings and sharing activities, students build social skills, practice respectful communication, and develop a strong sense of belonging. Tonight, a wonderful group of Coopertown students, including three sets of twins, will model what a typical school-wide morning meeting looks like at Coopertown. We hope you enjoy seeing the energy, the teamwork, and community spirit that helps start our school day. How are the meetings organized? A different grade level takes responsibility for leading the morning meeting each month. The meeting center around a holiday or a seasonal theme. Students in each homeroom are assigned a number. As the students enter the gym, they sit in a circle with their number family. The students lead the morning meeting. October morning meeting photos. These are the photos from our school-wide morning meeting.
011The students are sharing about their favorite Halloween candy. November morning meeting photos. These are photos from our November morning meeting. In honor of Veterans Day, we sang patriotic songs and shared who we think is brave and why. What are the steps for a school-wide morning meeting? Number one, introduction. Number two, Pledge of Allegiance. Number three, greeting. Number four, sharing activity. Number five, morning message. All Coopertown family invites you to join us in a simple morning meeting. We will demonstrate a greeting, a sharing activity, and the morning message. Greeting. As you pass the flower, greet the person on either side of you by saying, "Happy spring." >> [clears throat] [clears throat] >> Sharing activity. Spring is a time for growth and new beginnings. Today, we will plant seeds of kindness. As you place your seed in
012the basket, share one way you can show kindness to your friends or family. >> [applause] >> Morning message. March 19th, 2026. Dear Coopertown, thank you for joining us for our spring morning meeting. We hope today's activities inspire you to plant seeds of kindness and help them grow in your everyday actions. Make it a great day, Coopertown. Love, the number 12 family. >> [applause] >> I love the hands-on. Thank you very much for letting us join your morning your morning routine. Thank you for joining us in our greetings. We're going to do the same thing next Friday if you want to come join us. Thank you so much for coming today. Yeah. Thank you so much. >> [applause] >> So, we are fortunate tonight to have two presentations, and I am going to turn it over
013as she gets ready to Ms. Leach with Chestnutwold for their presentation for us. So, Ms. Leach, whenever you guys are ready. And I'm going to turn it over to Ms. Foster. See how this works? Good evening, everyone. I'm Libby Foster. I'm the assistant principal at Chestnutwold and Cooperstown, so I'm very lucky tonight. Um I'm here today with Mrs. Leach and some students from Haverford High School and Chestnutwold to share with you an exciting activity we recently had. Each year at Chestnutwold, our one book one one Chestnutwold committee chooses a text with a theme that guides our work throughout the year. This school year, our theme is I believe I can. By um Sorry, I got a little lost. Can we go to the next slide there? There we go. >> [laughter] >> Um so, our
014activity that we had this year was the we had we collaborated with the high school math department and its students at Chestnutwold, and we encouraged our students as they worked to believe that they can as they engage with math puzzles designed by high school mathematicians. The high school students introduced their puzzles and worked alongside our students in small groups providing support as students collaborated to problem solve. I'm going to hand it off to Haverford High School students Isabel and Quinn to share more about this project. Hello, my name is Isabel McDermott, and I'm a junior at and a member of our math institute, a club that arranged the puzzle day at Chestnutwold. During the club, we often compete in events called Math Madness, a challenging math puzzle that ranges in topics. They often focus on
015geometry and algebra. It can also occasionally include statistics and calculus. Typically, after the competition has concluded, we will go over the answers we had trouble with and work as a team to find the answer. This is where our inspiration for puzzle day stemmed, a day full of challenges that required collaborative thinking and a growth mindset. I had the privilege of working with the third and fifth graders at Chatham. Me, along with the other club members, made the puzzles ourselves. We incorporated a variety of subjects that ranged from math to logic and often and even included 3D puzzles. It was such an amazing experience watching and helping these kids work through the puzzles and seeing how much they were able to accomplish. Thank you. Good evening, my name is Quinn Fitzpatrick, and I'm a sophomore at
016Haverford High School. When this opportunity was presented to my class, I immediately knew I wanted to take part because I had gone to Chestnutwold. On puzzle day, I had the chance to work with so many amazing students. I especially loved working with the fifth graders. It was such an amazing time. They were incredibly open-minded and wanted to try new things. One thing that really stood out to me was how willing they were to ask for help. It was amazing to see how they took advice and made adjustments right away. This experience was really eye-opening for me, and it was also so fun to be back at my old school and see some of my former teachers. Thank you for this opportunity to share my experience, and have a good evening. We had so much fun
017working on the puzzles with the high school students. Working together on the puzzles made us way better at math by stretching our thinking. All the puzzles made us think in ways we don't usually think. The best part that was no one got frustrated or mad at each other. We just had to keep working at it. Everyone felt included because we kept sharing and taking turns with each other to come up with different answers. That was my favorite part about the day. I really like the math puzzles, but my favorite one was the snake because it really challenged us, and we had to go into the decimals, and we had and used at least one piece of paper to figure it out. All the puzzles were fun, and they weren't all math. Some made us really
018think and work together to figure the answer. The high school students always had a smile on their faces and tried their best to help us. They were so encouraging, and it made me feel like I could do anything. Like how our theme this year is I believe I can. I'm so sad that I won't be able to do this amazing activity next year, but I think we can all agree that this would be a great activity for any other school, and we hope that Chestnutwold gets to do it again in the future. We are excited to bring the spirit of high school puzzle day down to our youngest learners by creating a developmentally appropriate version for our K to 2 students. This initiative strongly aligns with our school theme, I believe we can, as our
0193 to 5 students are going to step into meaningful leadership roles. They are going to work together and collaboratively in they will design and create puzzles specifically tailored for their younger buddies. Through this process, our intermediate students will model the problem-solving, teamwork, and perseverance that they observed from their high schoolers, while also building confidence in their own abilities to create something both challenging and accessible. In turn, our K to 2 students will engage in these puzzles and experience that same sense of accomplishment and pride in their thinking. This cross-grade collaboration not only fosters leadership and creativity, but will also build a shared belief across our school community that we can all grow, learn, and succeed together. Okay, well, we've had some wonderful photos that didn't work out. It was supposed to be playing so nicely
020in the background while everyone was talking, but that's okay. Um So, I just want to thank everyone who is here and a part of our presentation. They are up there to, you know, be recognized. And then um we do want to, if we can go to the next slide, just recognize uh all the work that went into this. Thank you to the math department, um the teachers at the high school who really wanted to make this. There's one. Look at that. There we go. Um but we do want to thank the math department at the high school for, you know, creating this opportunity for our students, um and for our three, four, and five teachers for giving their kids the opportunity to engage in this, and thank you to the high school students for all
021their hard work on their puzzles and coming over to share their work with us. And And our kids genuinely, everyone was excited, um and we do hope that the high school takes this to the other elementary schools because we had a really great experience. And thank you to the board for allowing us to share it with you. We'll just make Anna put all the pictures in the Haverford Happenings or something. >> [laughter] [applause] >> I guess we should say any questions? I don't have any questions, but I just really appreciate the opportunities for students to teach other students and how you're going to continue that on with teaching our younger students. I just think it's a really wonderful opportunity. Thank you. Yeah, we're excited about that. Thanks very much for sharing. Thank you so much.
022This was wonderful, and I really liked the student who said that she go to other schools because um that's just, you know, what a great thought that you're enjoying it so much you want others to enjoy it as well. Um and just to tie it back to our district goals, you know, um community pride and civic engagement. I mean, you high schoolers are really embodying that, and um obviously the the elementary students as well. So, thank you so much for sharing this with us. Thank you. All right, thank you. So, um continuing on with superintendent's report, I just again want to thank Chestnutwold and Cooperstown um for their presentations today and just showing what all of the teamwork together at the school is really doing to support uh student success across a a number of
023areas. Um March is a busy month, as you can tell. Um we had a lot of celebrations, a lot of activities. We kicked off the month with Read Across America Day. We celebrated uh and continue to celebrate Women's History Month um with our theme uh Leading the Change, Women Sustaining a Shaping a Sustainable Future. Uh and tomorrow we'll celebrate early um to rock our socks for World Down Syndrome Day on Saturday. Um we've also uh throughout the month hosted a number of science fairs, career fairs, trade fairs, honor society inductions, um and we are just really getting uh ready for a busy spring. Um the trades fair today was a great thing to attend. We had over 32 local employers, unions, organizations offering career opportunities, apprenticeships, and training programs for our students. This really supports
024our district's focus on academic excellence to prepare our future-ready learners because that includes all learners, all interests, all career-ready workforce pathways, and that was just an excellent example of that. I even received a number of emails afterwards from both presenters and some family members just thanking for the opportunity as they had heard about it directly afterwards. Last month we had our National Honor Society for Science which held inductions, recognized a teacher, and this month we had our inaugural induction for National Math Honor Society. And when we talk about really looking at student belonging, both were were really excellent opportunities to see the representation of so many different students, especially those who at times have been historically underrepresented. Since its launch, the chapter has already been organizing activities that bring students together through joy of mathematics.
025They've hosted Math Madness competitions, obviously the puzzle day with Chestnut Wald, and they'll have several math rooms available at Discovery Day this Saturday as well. And then as Beatrice mentioned, our Unified Bocce team placed second in states earlier today, so that was a great accomplishment. Aaron mentioned Bring Hope Home, that was a highlight of my day today being able to attend that and see all of that. And I think the proudest thing with that um that it brings is our students really civic engagement. It's not just a fundraising effort, but it's an opportunity where students are engaging with the community, engaging in acts of service, and really going above and beyond for others. So that's just a really good testament to the quality of students that we have. And then another thing I just want
026to recognize, you know, we had a number of successful winter athletic accomplishments, but another really big pride point that represents the high quality of our district was we were awarded the Cal Sportsmanship Award. And that is recognition by other school districts for the best sportsmanship amongst all of the all of the athletic teams for the winter season. Our athletic director, Mr. De Cina, coaches really emphasize the citizen student-athlete, which I think is a great thing to emphasize. And receiving that sportsmanship award and being recognized for that really amplifies exemplifies the citizen portion of that student-athlete. So just really proud of that as well. As we mentioned, a couple updates, Discover Day is March 21st, this Saturday from 10:00 to 1:00 at the high school. Looking forward to participating in my first Discover Day, so hopefully
027we see people there. We also have a play right after. We have a play tomorrow night at 7:00, I believe, as well as a showing at 2:00 right after Discover Day on Saturday and again at 7:00 Saturday night, so go out and attend. Next Tuesday I'll be hosting the March Meet and Greet at the Haverford Library at 11:00 a.m. for anyone who wants to come out and engage in conversation. And then just a couple previews for April. We do have spring break running from March 30th through April 6th, so while snow days are in the past, hopefully there are some days off coming up for students for spring break. Students will return on Tuesday, April 7th. And then our Ed Foundation has their Haverford Twilight 5K run and walk coming up on Saturday, April 18th,
028which is about a month away, so that race will start at Lynwood and registration is currently open. So really just great highlights tonight, a lot of great things from Chestnut Wald, from Coopertown, and across the district, and just some great things to report and some upcoming updates. Great, thank you, Dr. Hayes. We'll now move to section four for public comment items on the agenda. We have a policy for public comment which I'll read now. Members of the Haverford Township community are invited to speak during the public comment section listed in the on the agenda. Should a Haverford Township resident wish to speak during the public comment section on the agenda, they must sign up by 3:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. Specific sign-up details can be found on the district website. Public comment
029occurs twice during the meeting. During the first public comment section on the agenda, you may make comment about topics listed for a vote on the meeting agenda only. During the second public comment section on the agenda, you may comment about any school-related topic. Per board policy, each speaker is allowed 3 minutes for the remarks. Timer will be set at the start of your comments and an alarm will sound indicating that your allotted 3-minute time has been completed. Please end your remarks when you hear the 3-minute alarm sound. Should you have any materials for members of the board, please leave them at the end of the table with Mr. Testa for later distribution to the board. Please note that if appropriate, a member of the administration may follow up with you at a later date. When
030your name is called, please go to the podium and state your first and last name, confirm your residency in Haverford Township, and then the timer will begin for your allotted 3-minute remarks. For our first section for items on the agenda, we had no one sign up. So we will proceed to section five. May I have a motion to approve the official meet minutes from the March 5th, 2026 board work session. Okay, moved. Hearing a movement and second, are there any comment comments or discussion? Hearing none, uh please indicate approval of the official minutes by saying I. I. I. >> [clears throat] >> And if you don't approve, indicate by saying nay. Hearing only the I's, then the motion is adopted. The minutes are adopted. This takes us to section six, board reports. Uh 6A will
031be DCCC. Yep. So this semester, um we have 302 students from our community that are taking courses. Of those, we have 26 students um from HHS that are dual degree students. Um I just again encourage um all community members to look at the wide variety of opportunities that Delaware Community College offers. Um some upcoming events they have is um this coming Friday, March 27th, will be ribbon cutting for their newly remodeled South Southeast Center, so that's really exciting. Um on Saturday, March 28th, their Office of Military and Veteran Services will be hosting a veteran author and speaking event. Could be very interesting for those who are interested in attending. And then just on the calendar, um Monday, May 11th is the Educational Foundation Golf Classic that supports the DCCC. That's it. Dr. McKay, for DCIU,
032Miss Lee. No report. And Miss Wiedeman is not here for PSBA. Uh item D is for Legislative Council, which is myself and the uh legislature has been out of session uh since early February, so although we met, there's been no significant movement on any legislation to report on. Uh I will just make note that PSBA Advocacy Day in Harrisburg is May 4th. Um and then the legislative breakfast will be sponsored by the DCIU on their Morton campus Friday, May 15th at 7:30 a.m. Okay. For item 6E, the board president's report, um Dr. King is uh not here in attendance, and then if a member would like to comment on events that they attended as a board as a board member. >> Yeah, I would like to. Um I actually had the opportunity to do um
033a couple different things. First of all, um back in January, I attended the Wellness Committee and then just scheduling in my memory to have not have not brought it back um here. I just want to say I really appreciate all the efforts to center wellness in our schools. I think we got a really good example of that from Coopertown today. Um I appreciate their coming and demonstrating for us one of the many things they do for wellness. Um given that I'm delayed in um mentioning, I'll save more of a report after our next meeting. Um I had the opportunity to attend Literacy Night at Lynwood. Um I appreciate all the efforts that go into creating that big event, um all of the different community who come as well as the teachers and staff who make
034that opportunity there. I will say I was very distracted and blown away by all of the art that is in the lobby, in particular the birds. Like I they are incredibly realistic. I was very impressed. Um I also had the chance to go into Manoa for their Read Across America. And at at in the conversation, one of the students asked me what the best part of being on the school board was, and I honestly just told them this, like being with students cuz it's just a really good reminder of why we sit through all of the meetings that we sit through. Um and I just want to say again, I know our Coopertown and Chestnut Wald students have gone for the night, but I really appreciate that they come and present to us the things
035that they're doing in the schools because I I I think it's the best part of our meetings. I don't have an event, but I would just like to express appreciation for Best Buddies. I talk about this all the time, but um just really thank you for modeling such inclusive practices and making a way for our whole community to participate in things like a wing bowl in unified bocce and even these learning experiences and it's just it's much appreciated. So, thank you for that. Just one more plug for Legally Blonde just because I know how hard they are working and the tickets are still available. So, if anyone hasn't gotten their tickets yet, my family and I are going on Saturday and I can't wait to report back at how wonderful it was, but I know
036the actors and the tech crew have been working around the clock to make this happen. I also had a the opportunity to attend a few things over the past few weeks. I got to attend literacy night with Dr. McKay which was wonderful. I brought my 11-year-old who had the opportunity to kind of go through and try out some of the activities. I think she enjoyed it. Coopertown had their science fair last week and it was really incredible to see the high school honor society students come and judge. You know, it was they had their little clipboards and they were going around interacting with all of the students. It was really wonderful. I also had the opportunity to attend the sensory friendly production at the middle school of Descendants. I got to see Dr. Hayes there
037with his son and I will say you know, I really appreciated the intentionality that went into having that performance. The lighting, the sound, all of the elements that they put into practice to make sure that it was an appropriate setting for many students to attend. Um Also attended the IDC meeting which was my first as a board member. It was very interesting learning experience having all of the PTA members and representatives from the schools come together. Just learning about what they were doing. Um Some of them were sharing best practices whether that be fundraising or Um Just ways that they're that they're um Their meetings are structured. Um And and I did go to Manoa as well for Read Across America which was another wonderful experience. So, it's been a It has been a busy
038month Dr. Hayes. >> [laughter] >> And it I think we're in for a busy spring as well. And so I wait for the reports. Um we'll move to section seven finance and facilities. For seven A May I have a motion to approve items seven B through seven F as presented on the agenda. I request moved. I'll second. Hearing a second any discussion or comments? Just add that um These items on this consent consent agenda I apologize were discussed in previously during the workshop session earlier this month. All those in All those in support of the motion please indicate by eye. I. Any nays? Hearing the eyes have it. The motion is adopted. That moves us to seven May I have a motion to authorize submission of the 2026 to 2027 Charter Schools renewal application to
039PDE for approval for option C as discussed at the March 5th board work session. McKay moved. I will second. Hearing a second any comments or discussion? As mentioned we already reviewed this at the March 5th board All those in support of the motion please indicate by eye. I. Any nays? Motion is adopted. Item seven H May I have a motion to adopt the 2026-2027 proposed final budget totaling 166 million 307,548 at a mill rate of 20.3386 as discussed at the March 5th board work session. Choice moved. Snyder second. Hearing a second any comments or discussion? I just want to point out tonight the board is adopting the proposed final budget, but we'll have another opportunity to discuss the proposed final budget at our next work session before it goes and is posted publicly. The board
040has strives to really keep our fund balance around 5%, but this budget is below 5% and is being proposed with the increase millage to the maximum Act 1 index of 3.5% this year. Our district provides a high quality educational experience for our students. Very committed to recruiting, retaining, supporting, valuing our incredibly talented staff and supporting our community. Our goal in the next few years is to really operate on a fully balanced budget. Keep that fund balance above 5%. But while we work towards that long-term goal, we also need to be thinking now about additional revenue sources, tax options that we do not operate with budget deficits or below the fund balance of 5%. So, there will be further conversation available for this during the work session. But just for awareness that we really need to
041consider about keeping that above that 5% so that we are operating able to operate and continue maintaining the quality services and programs and supports that we have. Thank you. I I was going to point out you know, proposed final budget seems like it's final. But if you're not familiar with the way that the school district needs to handle its budget, we go over the budget many many times. I think we got a first look in January. Um Brief look in December. Yeah, there you go. May it was December and we've talked about this budget a lot and we will have more opportunity not only for the board to discuss, but for the public to make comment as well. And so, you know, that can be confusing, but this is just one step in the very
042long process of reviewing the budget. Any other comments or discussion? Okay, uh So, those please indicate your support for the motion by with eye. I. Any nays? The motion is adopted. This moves us to seven I the bill list. May I have a motion to approve disbursements for payment totaling 3,412,897 and 29 cents. I will move. McKay second. Hearing a second any discussion or comment? All those in support of the motion indicate by eye. I. Any nays? Motion is adopted. Moving to section eight human resources. Section eight A may I have a motion to approve items eight B through eight E as presented on the agenda. Hearing a second any comments or discussion? All those in favor indicate by eye. I. Any nays? Hearing none the motion is adopted. This moves us to section nine
043pupil services. Section nine A may I have a motion to approve items nine B through nine D as presented on the agenda. McKay second. Hearing a second any discussion or comments? Just um the K-12 school counseling plan we reviewed that back in January. There was some additional information and suggestions from the board. We've begun gathering some of that information. This counseling plan is moved to the state, but we're continuing to consider all of the information provided by the board during January as we work towards next year. All those in favor indicate by eye. I. Any nays? Hearing none the motion is adopted. This moves us to section 10 academics and instruction. May I have a motion to approve the student educational excursions listed below. McKay moved. Hearing a second any comments or discussion? I'll just
044say there's quite a few quite a bit going on. I love to see that our students get opportunity. Absolutely including the bocce team. I'll second the state. All those in favor indicate by eye. I. Any nays? Hearing none the motion is adopted. This brings us to section 11 policy. Um Policy 11 A do I have a motion to approve the second reading and adopt policy 209.1 pedology management. I request moved. Hearing a second any comments or discussion? I'll just make a brief comment that although at the last workshop we had a very robust discussion about policy we didn't really discuss this one. And not because we didn't need to, um, but because it's a that that was a first reading of it and there were no changes that the board thought was necessary between the
045first reading and the second reading that you have here. So, um, no changes to this one. All those in favor, indicate by eye. I. >> I. Any nays? Hearing none, the, um, the motion is adopted. This is our second policy. Do I have a motion to approve the first reading of policy 314 physical examination? Snyder has moved. Snyder second. Hearing a second, any comments or discussion? Sure. You'll also see that there were not any changes made between the, um, when the board uh, looked at this policy at the workshop last session, um, and today. This is a first reading and just as a reminder to the board and the public, this is a consolidated policy. So, in an effort to, um, combine our policies that previously would treat our different, um, sections of our workforce
046differently, um, but really the policies were, um, were largely the same, just a couple differences in language. Um, this is more appropriate to, um, to condense them all in one place. And so, it was previously policy 314, 414, and 514, all physical examination, but for different, uh, portions of, um, our employees. Um, just one quick question. Uh, um, I apologize, I should already know this, but I am assuming that the majority of this is required by law. Yes. Almost all of it. >> That's what I assumed. So, there's not that much of tweaking we can do given that it is, um, I would just say one formatting thing is on page one, there's some excessive spaces. Yeah. So. And sometimes when you convert it from the Word to the Google Docs, yeah, it does that,
047but yep, for sure. Word comments or discussion? Hearing none, all those in support of the motion, indicate by eye. I. >> I. Any nays? The motion is adopted. This brings us to section 12, other items. And section 12A, do I have a motion to approve the resolution designating Ms. Tonya Lee to serve on the Board of Directors for the DCIU for a 3-year term starting July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2029. It was moved. Snyder second. Hearing a second, any comments or discussion? Just thank you for keep doing what you're doing. Appreciate >> thanks. >> [laughter] >> Thank you for the opportunity. All those in favor, indicate by eye. I. Any nays? The motion is adopted. Um, moving on to section 12B, uh, we have uh, do I have a motion to approve the revised
048schedule of meetings for the 2025 to 2026 school year to accommodate the June 4th graduation ceremony. McKay moved. Lee second. Hearing a second, any comments or discussion? I just appreciate the change so that we don't have to be in two places at once. >> [laughter] >> I'm looking forward to seeing the graduating class. Mhm. All those in favor of the motion, indicate by eye. I. Any nays? The motion is adopted. This [clears throat] brings us to section 13, public comments for other items. And I previously went over our policy just briefly. Uh, this second public comment section is for any comment on any school-related topic. You have 3 minutes to speak. The timer will be set to start your comments. Uh, please indicate your and when it goes off, you're allotted 3 minutes. We get
049Please end your remarks within the 3-minute allotted We had two people sign up for this section of public comment. When I read your name, please come to the podium and and begin your remarks. Our first speaker is Todd Hall. Oh, I'm sorry. Just one moment, Todd. Before we begin public comment this evening, we want to remind everyone in attendance that this meeting is being recorded and will be accessible to the public. While the board encourages members of the public to speak during public comment and raise any concerns that you have related to the school district of Haverford Township, we also want to remind you that due to student privacy and confidentiality considerations, any speaker who references information that would identify another student will be instructed to redirect their comments. In addition, parents and guardians are
050urged to use care if they elect to speak about their own student's personal situation because that information will be part of a permanent school board recording. Thank you, Mr. Dodds. Mr. Hall, you can begin. Good evening, Todd Hall. I live in Haverford Township. Just a few brief remarks. Um, I had the opportunity to go to back to school night at the high school uh, earlier this year and I was very impressed with the enthusiasm all the teachers had for their jobs, for their uh, diligence in doing their work. They were all making it known they were accessible before or after school for any help students would need. So, um, yeah, thank you for reaching a contract with the, uh, teachers union uh, earlier in the year, late last year. Um, secondly, at the high school,
051there was recently a walkout related to national events. I was generally pleased with how it was handled. Um, the regular protocols applied for missing class. There was no changes made to that. There were no emails sent from the district that would have given any sense of legitimacy to what happened. So, uh, that was a positive note as well. Um, and then finally, um, in terms of just public comment in general, um, I had discussed before should versus must. Uh, Dr. Shelton said you must. In practice, it's been a matter of must. It says here you should reserve your time before, you know, you speak. So, I would just hope there could be some consistency or some type of uh, clarification brought to that. Um, I've spoken at three municipalities in Delco, Delaware County Council, a
052few other places. Some people practice democracy by holding up up signs. Um, you know, I practice it by speaking at meetings. Um, this is the only place that has a you have to reserve in advance type policy. So, just a few thoughts on that. Thanks. Thank you, Mr. Hall. Um, the second speaker we have is Colin Quinn or Andrew Hart if Colin is not available. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Dr. Andrew Hart and I'm a resident of the Ardmore section of Haverford Township. I live with my husband, Colin Quinn, who is a middle school teacher and a high school baseball coach. We are here tonight because we hope to host an international student for the upcoming school year. As you may know, the placements for that are being finalized in the
053coming weeks and so we have a rather time-sensitive request. We began this process back in September with the goal of participating in a meaningful experience for us and also for the broader Haverford High School community. Since then, we have completed comprehensive host family approval processes including background checks, interviews, references, and home visits. These steps are designed to ensure that host families are prepared to provide a safe, supportive, and successful experience for the exchange students. At the final step of this process, when students are selected and enrolled in a local school district, we were surprised to learn that administrative regulation 202.1, which requires host families to already have a student enrolled at Haverford High School, effectively prevents us from participating. In speaking with Dr. Hayes and Dr. Parker, we understand that one intention behind this provision
054may be to support student integration. We certainly appreciate that goal. At the same time, we note that none of the surrounding districts have similar requirements and instead rely on school-based supports and the structure provided by the established exchange programs to maintain a supportive home environment. We also believe this provision may unintentionally limit participation for families like ours, as well as others in the community including infertile couples and empty nesters who are otherwise fully capable and eager to contribute and learn from this kind of experience. We want to thank Dr. Hayes and Dr. Parker for their time and continuing this conversation. We are here tonight to simply ask the board and administration to consider reviewing this policy uh, in light of the district's stated commitment to inclusion, access, and meaningful educational experiences. Given the time-sensitive nature
055of exchange placements, we also respectfully ask that they consider, um, whether or not waivers and exceptions should be considered more acutely, uh, should a broader review take additional time. We appreciate your consideration and the work you do on behalf of the community. Thank you, Mr. Hall. This takes us to, uh, section 14, report on executive executive session. Uh, the board met before tonight's meeting uh, one, to review a confidential employee discipline-related matter. Two, to review an employee-related litigation matter pending in the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County. Three, to review a confidential student matter with counsel that if discussed in public it would violate a lawful privilege or disclose confidential information protected by law. And forward to review with counsel agency business that if discussed in public would violate a lawful privilege or disclose
056confidential information >> [clears throat] >> protected by law. This takes us to section 15, adjournment. The next regular meeting of the board is a work session scheduled to be held on April 9th, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. in the board room of the Oak Lawn Administration Building. With that, I will accept a motion to adjourn the meeting. Cyrus moved, Lisa. Okay.