001Good evening. I would now like to call this Thursday, February 19th, 2026 regular board meeting to order. Can we all stand for the pledgece of the United States of America to the republic for it stands nationy and justice for all. >> I now ask board members to read the district mission and goals. The the district mission the mission of the school district of Hford 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 practices. Social emotional growth. Builds a learning community that prioritizes social emotional wellness
002as 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. Tesla, will you call the role, please? >> Mr. Flaggler, >> here. Miss Lee >> here. >> Dr. McCay >> here. >> Mr. Schwarz, >> here. >> Miss Snogress >> here. >> Miss Snder >> here. >> Miss Weedman >> here. >> Dr. Shelton >> here. >> Dr. King, >> present. Thank you, Mr. Tessa. We'll now continue on with student reports. First up, Habfort Middle School student representative Sophia Kleti. Good evening everyone. On behalf of the students at Havford Middle School, we are very excited to share updates and celebrations from our school community. Okay, so to start off, our winter sports season has officially
003come to an end and we are incredibly appreciative of our coaches and student athletes for their hard work, dedication, and amazing sportsmanship throughout the season. We are now looking ahead to spring sports, which will kick off at anformational meeting after school for registered student athletes on Thursday, February 26th. Academically, students received their second quarter report cards last week along with the recognition of honoral and distinguished honorable. We are proud to for the effort and growth shown by our students and are looking forward to student led conferences in March where students will have an opportunity to share their progress and goals with their families. Throughout February, we've also been recognizing Black History Month through daily announcements and meaningful curricular connections across subject areas. These experience help students learn more about important historical contributions, diverse perspectives, and
004ongoing impact of black leaders and our gold team is also very excited to continue its long-standing tradition of supporting Bringing Hope. This year will mark the 10th year of involvement and we are hopeful that the team will reach its incredible milestone, the 1 million donation mark in support and families of our local community impacted by cancer. In the in the arts, excitement is building from our school musical Disney Descendants, which opens on February 26th. Our performers, stage crew, and sound and light technicians have been working very, very hard and are eager to share their talents with the school community. We also want to acknowledge the support for students and staff who may be observing Ramadan, and we appreciate the understanding and flexibility shown by our school community during this very important time. And finally, in
005true middle school spirit, many students, including myself, are still hoping for at least one more snowstorm and possibly even a snow day before the winter ends. Thank you for your continued support of Habford Middle School and the communities you provide for our students and thrive both academically and personally. Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you, Sophia. Next up, we have Liam Pender, our Hford High School student representative. Good evening everyone. My name is Liam Pinder and I'm a junior at the high school. Before I start, I'd like to thank the board for allowing me to present tonight. With the start of second semester, students are very happy to begin new classes and make new friends. At the high school, there are many ways to branch out and try new things. For example, students are able to
006take classes at DCTS or do dual enrollment. Personally, I am very grateful to get some college credit by taking an anthropology class after school on Mondays and Wednesdays. Applications for the Delaware County Technical Schools, where students learn real life skills, are now open on their website. I highly recommend checking out the options if you are unfamiliar with the program. The first week of second semester was jam-packed with many events, including but not limited to a highQ meet, a winter concert, and a back to school night. The most notable though, and my personal favorite, was the wing bowl. Each year, students and faculty raise money to be able to compete in this wing eating contest hosted by the Best Buddies Club. The money helps to support club trips, and as per usual, it was a great
007success. Yesterday, the HighQ team finished another amazing season with a tough loss in the first ever wildcard round. And after school, there was a college planning night for juniors at the high school. This event hosted for juniors and their parents covered topics such as creating a college list, navigating the application process, and asking teachers for letters of recommendation. All things I should probably start doing sooner than later. Moving on to sports, the girls basketball team had an amazing season as they made it made it to the Central League Championship. And the cheerleading team, as you probably already know, placed fourth in the whole nation while in Orlando, Florida. We also had many talented swimmers compete at Centrals. On the boys side, there were many winners, including the 200yard medley relay and the boys team coming
008second overall. The girls 200 freestyle relay also came in first place and Caroline Whitney got first place in two separate events. One of our most celebrated teams though, Unified Botchi, placed second at Delos this year and are headed to regionals where they will hopefully win and then go up to states. Havford also hosted our second athlete signing day of the year and held a women's student athlete symposium. Looking into the future, we will be recognizing special faculty members on the 23rd who were nominated by their students. One of those amazing educators, Leon Smith, is among the top five finalists for National Teacher of the Year after winning Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year in 2025. The following day, there will be a string concert at the high school that includes all grades fifth and up. This
009is a great opportunity for our high school students to showcase what it means to be a Ford to the younger students. The rest of the week will include the Franklin Realy Fair and a wellness day on Friday. The wellness days are a nice way to break from learning and to enjoy a new activity. Personally, I will be participating in Mr. Harris's food science class where we have so far learned to make fruit spaghetti and nacho cheese. Additionally, Hford students are excited for the upcoming job fair, the college road trip, and the second SAT school day. I would like to remind everyone that all of this and more can be found within the weekly email sent out by Mr. Dunny. Finally, I thank the board again for allowing me to present this evening. [applause] >> Thank
010you, Liam. Next up, we have Dr. Hayes for the superintendent's comments. >> Thank you, uh, Dr. King. Thank you, Sophia and Liam. Um, I'm going to first ask Dr. for Whitehead and uh Chattam Park to come up for their presentation to showcase Chattam Park. >> Dr. I'll be quick. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Jabari Whitehead, proud principal at Chattam Park Elementary School. Uh you may remember uh February 17th, 2022. Some time ago, uh we were here presenting our at that time community of caring initiative at our school. Uh at that time, community of caring had five core values. Caring, trust, respect, responsibility, and family. It was very important to have those at at that time period because of the power of having a a common identity for the school community. But over time
011we wanted to shift more to an opportunity that allowed us to be more actionoriented and something that could really filter through the community that not only was words and values but actions. I'm actually I know Mr. Liam Pender and Hadley as well and Sophia there chattam park they were there during the community of caring. Uh but we made the switch. Uh our school counselors that were here with me tonight, uh Miss De Cwell, K to2, and Miss Elizabeth Corbett, grades three to five, came to me um earlier on last year about the idea of of exploring PBIS. And one thing we learned in leadership is that our job is to hire good people and get out of their way. So, um I'm going to do that right now. And they're going to take over and
012present. And we are very fortunate to have these outstanding students here who will be represented or introduced as well. All right. Thank you. >> Okay. Um, good evening members of the board, administration, and community members. My name is Dear Mier Caldwell and I am a school counselor at Chadam Park. I'm here with Elizabeth Corbett, my co-counselor, and we are here to share an overview of PBIS at Chadam Park. At Chadam, we say we bark at Chadam Park. And tonight, we're excited to show you what that looks like in action. So, PBIS, it stands for positive behavioral interventions and supports. It's a researchbased framework focused on prevention. The ultimate goal is to increase student achievement while bi building a positive and supportive school climate. PBIS is a tiered framework that supports students academically, behaviorally, socially, emotionally,
013and mentally. Right now, our focus at Chadam Park is on strengthening and solidifying our tier 1 supports, which are the universal systems that benefit every student. At its core, PBIS helps us create a positive, predictable, equitable, and safe learning environment where everyone can thrive. So sorry. So what does PBIS look like in a school setting? So Miss Caldwell and I had learned of PBIS um through its evidence-based practice and its proven success rate throughout many schools throughout the United States. Um currently PBIS is being used across approximately around 30,000 different K to2 um school districts across the United States. Um and many of the districts say that the reason for its success is its highlighted sense on collaboration and data collection. So many school districts um reference the fact that its evidence-based practices support student
014needs. Um, it also engages students, families, and community members in its practices. Meaning that in using PBIS, we are constantly monitoring what's working and what's not. And we are constantly checking in with our teachers and our families to see things that are working towards our positive behaviors and things that maybe we need more practice in. Um we're constantly in doing that regularly reviewing our data to monitor our progress and guide our decision- making. Um that also requires us to rely on strong leadership teams to guide implementation which I'm going to talk a little bit more about in our next slide. Um, and in that it provides ongoing coaching and professional development for our staff, which we've been lucky enough to have throughout this year through the DCIU and try to strengthen our current system. So,
015our mission statement, way back at the end of last school year, Miss Caldwell and I went to Dr. Whitehead and said that we would really like to build um a new behavior program at Chattam Park. That was our PBIS program. We said that we were hoping to build an entire team to make a behavior program happen. Um, and our mission statement that we came up with is right here in front of us. Um, at Chattam Park, we work together to create a safe, respectful, and kind school environment where everyone can learn and grow through positive positive behavior interventions and support. We teach and celebrate positive behavior so that all students feel supported, included, and ready to do their best every day. Now, what does that look like? What we did was we reached out and
016acquired a group of professionals to come together and try to create a team. Currently, our team consists of ourselves also many of our regular education teachers, our special education teachers, our special area teachers, um our behavior interventionists, our speech interventionists, and other professionals throughout the building that we're able to get a wide variety of opinions and expertise and see where we need to grow in our behaviors throughout the school. Um, this just started with us back in the beginning of the year. We are certainly hoping to grow that as the year goes on and as years go forward. Um, but we've definitely developed a pretty strong group of professionals to begin this work. Um, and that kind of goes back to what we were saying on what PBIS is built upon is collaboration and really
017kind of utilizing every sense of expertise throughout the building to see where we need growth in our behavior. So what is the main focus? As Dr. White had said, we were moving on from community caring and thinking of our core values. We tried to build on what should our core values turn into at Chattam Park. Now they've turned from being values into more of behavior expectations that we are expecting our kindergarteners through fifth graders to adhere to in every part of the building at Chattam Park. So we bark stands to stands for four very big attributes that we are expecting our students to adhere to at school. Our first is to be responsible, to act safely, to respect everyone, and to keep it kind. These expectations are taught schoolwide, modeled by staff, and reinforced daily.
018They provide a shared language for students and adults to create clarity and consistency among classrooms, hallways, buses, and common areas. So, if you can see here, we have that all of these different attributes and expectations that we have through Bark are going to be kind of differentiated through different parts of the building. Being responsible, acting safely, respecting everyone, and keeping kind. It's easy to say, but it's going to look different in every single part of the building that we have. So, we have it very clearly outlined for our students throughout all of the building for them to adhere to. And it's something that we have right when you walk into Chattam Park, but if you walk into the hallway, you can very clearly see our expectations there just as much as you would in the
019cafeteria and every other part of the building. So we have that there as kind of a framework for our students to follow throughout every part of the building so that they know what we expect of them. Those expectations are there for them from kindergarten all the way up through fifth grade. That leads us to our bark bucks. So, we have these expectations all throughout our building, but we're definitely as staff paying attention to those students who are really going above and beyond and showing us that they are doing what we are asking of them. This year, we have implemented BarkBucks. What that looks like is whenever any faculty or staff member sees a student going above and beyond in being responsible, acting safely, respecting everyone, and keeping it kind, they are given a bark buck.
020Now, in the past, there have been different ways that students can kind of gain or get different ways of um like a positive reinforcement. What's very special about Bark Bucks is that's something that a kindergartenner can receive all the way up through fifth grade. So, it's something that's even now and only implementing it in the beginning of the year, it's something that's really starting to become very universal across all of our students in Chadam Park. So all staff members do give these out when we see, for example, if a student is cleaning up after somebody else in the in the cafeteria, they pick something up off the floor. if they are walking in the hallway. And our end result is that when you see somebody being rewarded for going above and beyond and doing the
021right thing, that it's just going to spread to have the rest of our students continue to do the right thing and what we expect of them. Okay, so this is an example of what our school store looks like this year. um we have fundraised throughout the the beginning of the year to um get the items that we thought kids would like. So we carry our card around to each classroom and the students get to come up and we called it the bark exchange because they're exchanging their bark bucks for um items that they want. So um this not only reinforces the positive behavior but it also is a chance to teach them some responsibility, some basic math, some self-monitoring and goal setting. So the school store has become an exciting and motivating extension of our
022PBIS framework and we are going to continue this throughout the year and for the foreseeable future as a way to reward students for meeting those behavioral expectations and earning those bark bucks. And now we're going to have some of our lovely barking bulldogs come up. We are lucky to have here tonight five of our barking bulldogs. >> Four so sorry four of our barking bulldogs. It is very very important to note that these four fifth graders are always caught barking meaning they are constantly showing us that they are respect that they are responsible acting safely respecting everyone and keeping it kind. This is a commercial that they made in showing to all of our students promoting our school store. We have them here tonight to show this same commercial to all of you in promoting
023our school store. Thank you. Hello Chattam Park Elementary School Bulldogs. At our school, we celebrate students who make positive choices every day. One fun way to do that is with our PPI school store and Bark Bucks. >> Book Bucks are awards you can earn for following school expectations. Bark stands for >> be responsible, act safely, respect everyone, and keep it kind. >> When you're showing these behaviors, you're barking. >> How can you earn bark bucks? >> When an adult at school sees you barking, you might earn bark bucks. >> Anyone can earn them >> anywhere >> and at any time. You can be responsible by picking up trash left at your lunch table. You can act safely and respect everyone by walking quietly from the cafeteria to recess. Take choices as small choices both matter.
024>> The PBIS school is a fun way to celebrate students performance or school expectations. >> You can trade Burke books for prizes or special rewards. This year, the school store will be on a cart. >> The cart will visit each home room so everyone gets a chance to shop. >> School store expectations. Just like everywhere else at our school, we use bark expectations at the school store. >> Be responsible by having your both books ready, >> knowing what you want to buy, and waiting your turn. >> Act safely. Act safely by having a calm body near the school store. >> Keep hands, feet, objects yourself while you wait. >> Use store materials the right way and follow adult directions right away. Respect everyone by speaking politely to the store staff and classmates. Use an indoor
025voice and handle items gently. >> Put items back if you decide you don't want them. Keep it kind by saying thank you to the store staff. >> Be patient with classmates and help friends make good choices. >> Celebrate others purchases. We can show excitement for our classmates who earned Bark bucks celebrate students who show bark behaviors. You can use them at the school store or for classroom rewards if your teacher allows. >> But you may not buy, sell, or trade bark books. >> If bark books are not used properly, they may be taken away. >> Being responsible, acting safely, respecting everyone, and keeping it makes Park a great place to learn. Keep barking, >> keep owning, >> and have fun at the school store. >> Happy shopping, Bulldogs. [applause] >> A big thank you to
026Miller Blanch, Jeremy Coleman, Charlotte Ioneri, and Finley LC for making that commercial for us. >> All right. And in closing, PBIS at Chadam Park is not just a program. It is a framework that guides how we teach expectations, build relationships, and support every students, every student. Through Bark, Bark Bucks in our school store, and a consistent focus on tier one supports, we are strengthening our school climate and helping all students students succeed. Thank you for your time and your continued support of our students and the staff at Chadam Park Elementary School. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> I just had a comment. I u I we recently cheered Chadam Park, you know, with the new new renovations and I kept seeing these signs like barking in and my kids went through Chattam Park and I
027was like, I don't remember barking. So, thank you for for the presentation. >> Of course. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Yeah. I wanted to just thank you for also being really thoughtful in your thinking through making something that's not very necessarily like how does this how do I do this dayto day making really clear steps in the different locations of the school I think that's really wise and just to the students thank you for giving us a live performance of your commercial it really makes our night so I really appreciate it >> thank you I just want to add fifth graders um I think you are ready for the middle school Dr. Haran is in the audience today and I'm sure he's ready to have you guys participate in PBIS at the middle school.
028[laughter] >> Can Can I ask the students, was there a favorite thing that you've gotten to exchange your Bark Bucks for? You just got the store today. >> Oh. Oh my gosh. Okay, the anticipation is killing me. [laughter] Um, report back. Thank you. >> Another great choice. Bookmarks are also my favorite. >> Um I'm always impressed by uh Chadam, but I I love your core values. um way to take this this process that you've made and and really develop world citizens. Like this is what we want to put out into the middle school, into the high school, but also into our community. And I just I think it's fabulous how you how you did it and how you got the the buy in from the students. Very much to be commended. >> Thank you. And
029I hope you get some bark bucks for being here tonight. >> That's right. The board is all in support of that. Um sorry again thank you to Chattam Park. Uh just also echo appreciate um the counselor's emphasis on researchbased data informed practices. there's sometimes misunderstanding about PBS and it is a really solid framework for preventative behaviors and uh teaching and reinforcing expectations. Um, also I had a couple comments for tonight. Um, but Sophia mentioned winter sports. Spring sports just uh are just beginning. Uh, we had our coaches meeting tonight. I stopped over there um and just wanted to uh inform everybody. Mr. Dina did a great job. Um, I really appreciated how he emphasized to our coaches that uh their goal uh is to develop citizen student athletes. Uh, and by that he meant uh
030we develop good people, good students, and good athletes as well. Um, and that's a comprehensive approach that I think is really important for this district. Um, I cannot guarantee Sophia's uh snow day request. Um, but we'll keep an eye on weather and as we typically do, we will provide any information to the community if it if it should be necessary. Um, also want to follow up. Uh, Liam mentioned some things about sports. We also have three boys competing in diving tonight up at North Penn. Um, looking to move towards uh, states potentially. So, uh, good luck to them. Um, and the DCTS and DCCC. I appreciate you recognizing that that there's definitely a number of, uh, partnership opportunities, um, that we have to support students. definitely encourage people uh to take advantage of those. Those
031are directly in align with our district's goals and visions to provide students with opportunities and access and experiences. So, um thanks for referencing those. Those are key key uh efforts. Um the middle school uh will be presenting Disney Descendants the musical next week. Um there is a sensory uh friendly performance similar to what the high school did um on Monday uh February 2, I'm sorry, Thursday, February 26th. Um so head out to see that. Uh the website has uh tickets available for people um to attend those performances. Um there was career fair held um during uh wellness day at the middle school. Also uh we had a number of students engage with guest speakers representing 42 different professions. Uh they asked questions completed worksheets um designed uh various professions. Um so we want to thank
032all the presenters for coming out uh meeting with our students introducing them to a wide variety of careers. Again just giving students the exposure to things is really important. Um and we have that uh reality uh fair coming up next week um which I'm excited to attend and see how the kids engage in that too. Um Monday, Tuesday I was at the National Science Honor Society um which was an awesome event. Um we inducted 104 students into um the National Science Honor Society. Uh and what was really great about it is there's obviously academic merits um to meet that requirement, but there's also a requirement uh or an expectation to make some contribution uh to that kind of field of work as well. Um, so it's good to see our students not only receiving uh
033and meeting those academic requirements, but also, you know, applying that um back into that field as well. Um, and Miss Kelly Kindergen was nominated and recognized by those students as the most impactful teacher that they had had. Uh, we had a chance to visit her class this year. Um, and I can attest she has some phenomenal uh, instruction going on there at the middle school. for for uh upper classmen to recognize a middle school teacher as being really impactful. She obviously must have had a significant impact. Um and then additionally uh you know February is Black History Month. Um it marks the hundredyear uh national observance for that. Um we have provided a number of activities to recognize and honor the contributions of African-Americans um throughout this month. Uh we do this continually and and
034recognize um throughout the year as part of our curriculum. Um but also we had a number of students engage in uh MLK events last month and we're continuing to recognize and shine light and a spotlight um on the influence uh there as well. So uh just appreciate all the work that our teachers are doing and our students are doing um to really embrace uh the district's values and and produce um you know well-rounded and and you know aware uh students. Um, and then one piece of information I'll note, residency verification for transition grades. So those are our fifth and eighth grade students. Um, moving into sixth or ninth, that starts on March 1st. So if you do begin receiving emails about that, um, those should start coming out soon, uh, just for us to do
035the resident verification for those transition grades. Um, that is all I have for tonight. >> Thank you, Dr. Hayes. That takes us to section four. which is public comment. Members of the community are invited to speak during the public comment section on the agenda. Should a resident wish to speak during the public comment section on the agenda, they must sign up by 3 p.m. on the date of the meeting. Specific signup details can be found on the district's website. Public comment occurs twice during the p during the schoolboard meeting. During the first public comment section on the agenda, you may make a comment about topics listed for a vote on the meeting agenda only. During the second public comment section on the agenda, you may make a comment about any school related topic. Per board
036policy, each speaker is only allowed three minutes for their remarks. A timer will be set at the start of your comments and an alarm will sound indicating that your allotted three minutes time has been completed. Please end your remarks when you hear the threeminute alarm sound. Should you have any materials for members of the board, please leave them at the end of the table with Mr. Tessa 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 your name is called, please go to the podium and state your name, confirm your residency, and then the timer will begin for your allotted three minute remarks. Um, on the signup sheet, I don't have anyone listed for the first section of public
037comment on the agenda. So, we're going to continue on to section five, which is meeting minutes. Can I have a motion to approve the official minutes from the February 5th, 2026 board work session? >> Moved and seconded. Any discussion? All in favor? >> Any oppose? The motion passes. Section six takes us to board reports. Um for 6A, we have a Delaware County Community College. Dr. McKay. >> Yeah, I appreciate in his report that Liam reminded students in the community about the great opportunities that the Delaware Community College has for both enrollment and dual enrollment. Um so a reminder for community members as a contributing district, residents of our district can also benefit from these opportunities. So it's important to look at check it out, see what they've got. Um, I anticipate that I get an
038email usually about our enrollment numbers. It hasn't come in yet. So, I anticipate next month I'll have our numbers for this semester um that I can report out. But I did want to share in January it was announced um of a public and private partnership that was led by the DCC um and the Philly shipyard um has been they've been awarded $8 million to from the US Department of Labor um for over four years to create an innovative new model of education and training for US ship building. Um this will include participants um will be able to um a ship building fellowship program um which will include registered apprentices, journeymen, veterans and people with disabilities who will train in high demand trades such as welding, steel work, electrical systems and steam fitting and carpentry. So
039it sounds like some really great opportunities for people who might be interested in in that. >> Thank you Dr. McKay for DCIU. Miss Lee, >> a couple of good things happening in the DCIU. Next week, Friday, um, at the Aston campus is CTE recognition. Um, it's a great time to walk around and get to see the programs that are available for those who may be interested in participating. In addition, there is a I'm sorry, one more thing. There is a secondary transition fair being held by the DCIU. There are reminders going out. The secondary transition fair is not until April 7th, but it is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Morton campus. The first one is for parents. And there is a second one that is for students and educators. And that one is
040Wednesday, March 8th, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. also at the DCIU Morton campus. A few points to make about the budget season for the DCIU. Um, this is the 27th consecutive year with no increase in district contributions. The DCIU has maintained financial stability for more than two decades without increasing member district contributions to the general operating budget. Um, there's plenty more details. If you need them, please feel free to uh let me know. I have a whole cheat sheet, but nothing to see here, folks. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Lee. For PSBA, Miss Wterman, >> no report. >> Thank you for Legislative Council. Dr. Shoutton, >> thank you, Dr. King. Uh, the legislative council met on February 11th, and a lot happened from my last meeting report. So, uh, first of all, the the assembly
041went into session for the second half of their legislative year. And so, there's a lot of bills advancing. Um, and also we had Josh Shapiro present his 26 27 budget on February 3rd and uh the legislative council discuss that and I also attended a webinar on his proposed budget and I know Mr. Tester you're working on our own district budget so you may probably know some of these numbers already but uh what should uh the governor is proposing is uh closing the adequacy and equity funding gap uh with a $565 million uh ad Um this is in response to this uh Pennsylvania Supreme Court uh you know striking down the fair funding formula and uh and then the basic education funding form funding and the special education funding will only be increasing by 50 million.
042So most of them uh the ad money is going toward the closing the equity gap. Uh what that means for Habford uh and Mr. test. You're probably crunching the numbers as we depend more on the basic education funding and special ed funding for our state. Um, and just a couple of minor items. There's continuing cyber charter reforms uh to save 75 million annually. Uh, he's also proposing 111 million for school safety and mental health supports and 125 million for school facilities investments, including 25 million for the solar for schools program. So that we'll we'll see how the budget goes. There is a large gap between the proposed budget and the and the actual funding and the governor's proposing closing that gap with increased revenue through game uh gaming and recreational cannabis proposals. So we'll see
043how this goes as the assembly discusses it. In terms of legislation, there's um I'll just hit the high points. There are eight bills that have uh that have reported out of their respective committees and passed at least one chamber. Um most uh recently uh House Bill 17 was signed by Governor Shapiro. This would require elementary schools to teach print joints and cursive handwriting as part of the English curriculum. I don't know if Miss Saxi you want to comment on how prepared we are for that. >> Yes. Uh well, I'm happy to report that we do Great. Thank you. Uh Senate Bill 1014, we've discussed before. That's the bell develop cell phone ban. Um PSBA u has come out against the current wording of that bill because it does not allow local uh accommodations, you know,
044for local communities. It it's a very strict mandate. U let's see. Um, House Bill 1935 strengthens penalties for terroristic threats against schools or high education institutions. And that that's relevant because we had a recent event at our high school. And finally, I just want to mention u House Bill 2146, which revises the sunshine law, which governs our public meetings. Um, a recent court decision has uh allowed uh school boards to amend the agenda during the meeting by majority vote. Uh, and so it doesn't require the 24-hour notification. So, this is a loophole that's been flagged by transparency advocates. Uh, and so the legisl the assembly is moving to um close that loophole. So, I'll I'll stop there. Um any if he has any questions about any bills or other items I can supply additional information
045back to Dr. King. >> Thank you Dr. Shelton. Um I would like to invite any board members that attended a district event to provide an update or share out. >> Um on Tuesday there was another complex learner social. So thank you Miss Batiselli for putting that together and all the hard work that goes into that. There were many new parents who showed up. So that was a fantastic opportunity to get together and share information. So looking forward to the next newsletter and the next complex learner social and the next opportunity to plug the making a difference awards. The 14th Making a Difference Awards is coming up this year. It'll be hosted at Rner High School. Um nominations are open. Thank you, Miss Batistelli, for putting it on the website, sharing it out on the socials.
046Each year, we get the best nominations from Havford. Really looking forward to seeing that continue. No pressure. Do tell a friend. Thank you, >> Leslie. What was the date again for the making the difference? >> Thursday, March Thursday, May 27th. I'm sorry. Right. I believe that's correct. Let me look. Is it the 26th? Okay. See, thank you, Miss Batiselli. May 26th. >> Thursday. >> Yes, that's right. Oh, it's a Wednesday. Listen, I'm all wrong. [laughter] It is on the nomination form which fortunately Miss Badestelli has shared out on the socials and I really appreciate that. >> So, can we just have the perfect can that go out to the board >> Wednesday? Yes, of course. It's coming out. You all know. >> Don't worry, it's coming out for sure. Yes, please. >> Thank you. >>
047Nominations are due by March 5th. team effort. I love it. >> I know. Everybody's like gathering me today. I appreciate it. Thank you so much. >> Any other board members? Go ahead. >> Yeah, the last Monday I was able to attend the interd district council, the IDC meeting, which is an opportunity for our PTOs to liaz and find out what the different um PTOs are doing. I know the district um has a special relationship with our PTOs that support our schools in so many ways with fundraising and events and programming. Um this is an opportunity for the um school level PTO's to also hear directly from the district about different initiatives or programs. So um it was just a nice opportunity to to meet with them and I they have a regular cadence and different
048um topics that they are bringing together so that the schools will have some common information and shared approaches. >> Any other on uh February 11th, Miss Bastelli and I had the opportunity to go to the Havford Middle School PTO meeting. Um did an incredible uh overview of pupil services for those that attended. Uh we also learned about the PTO match that will be happening during the high the um middle school musical coming up. Um and funds will be used to purchase some new AV tech for the middle school. All right, we will continue on. Section seven takes us to finance and facilities. Can I have a motion to approve items 7B through 7I as presented on the agenda? >> Moved and seconded. Any discussion? >> Many of these topics or all of them were discussed
049at our work session two weeks ago. So um covering a range of contract renewals, certain compliance matters, funding opportunities, and um ways to to support the solar project at Chadam. Thank you. Any additional discussion? All in favor? >> Any oppose? The motion passes. Item 7J and I have a motion to approve capital projects for facilities in the amount of $1 million50,000 and and technology. That's typo. Yes. Approved capital projects for facilities in the amount of $1,50,000 in technology. Separate approval. Thank you. In the amount of $24,591.17 as previously discussed. Okay. Moved. Shelton second >> moved and seconded. Any discussion? >> Yeah, I'll just note um the capital projects was not specifically discussed last month, but we've had [clears throat] ongoing conversation since November uh when facilities first presented their uh kind of five-year projection plan.
050Um there were some requests and some uh revisions made. Um Mr. Test and myself worked with the facilities department to really narrow down that. Um so this request has been revised uh after discussing that with the ongoing facility project priorities. Uh it really reflects more of a strategic capital planning. We've prioritized projects that are directly uh supporting facility operations and and repairs. Um but then we're going to plan to continue applying that same discipline as you know we manage our capital reserve moving forward. Um you know we we want to keep that capital reserve there but we also want to address uh facility needs. Um so just taking that strategic intentional approach. Um, so just wanted to add that in there. So for everyone to know that is a a planned approach being taken. >>
051This is for the summer of 2026. So I know in the past we've um after summer is concluded and these projects are concluded, we've gotten a presentation on exactly what was done with these funds. Um and so can the board and the public expect to see that again? >> Yes. as well as um kind of where our capital reserve uh balance lies after the projects and things and then then uh you know our path moving forward as well. So yeah >> and I think we're applying we're applying for some facilities improvement permits or additional clear school. >> Yeah. So, uh, if recalled, uh, there were a number of items not just for summer 2026, but mapped out all the way through, I believe, summer 2029. Um, some of those long-term large item projects that fell
052under the guidelines of the school improvement grant. Um, we did draw into uh that opportunity um, and step out over the long term. Uh so this is really just addressing more of the uh urgent priorities uh to maintain our facilities. >> And just for the public awareness, this is state money that we can get by applying. So that comes out of that facilities improvement earmarked funds that Shapiro talked about >> for the million dollars of facility improvements that would be funded by our capital reserve, right? the fund balance that we have been able to build up when there were surpluses in our operating budget and we've been able to transfer and create capital reserve. >> That's correct. We try to look at the most the priority the projects that have the most priority so we're
053not draining it all at once and we can reasonably spread it out to maintain you know some balance of >> so if I'm looking at the audit from for the fiscal year ended June 30th 2025 we had 3.9 million in that capital reserve um and I think it has been roughly the practice of the district to invest a million, a million and a half or so to um these projects that address safety and maintenance, upkeep, um some repair and replacement. And we're able to use our capital funds and not need to go to borrow like we do for the more substantial capital improvements like a new school or a new wing on a school. Um but the ability for the district to continue to have these funds at our discretion to um commit to capital
054projects is a function of maintaining the operating budget in a way that supports having some surplus available to replenish these dollars. So, um if we're at 3.9 million and using a million, um I think it's just important that the board Keep that in mind as we're going into the budgeting season and knowing that um the budget supports the annual operations and you know paying the salaries and getting supplies and running the day-to-day but is also a vehicle in which we have resources to invest in our our schools, our buses, you know, the the infrastructure that helps the school work. And so just a um a scarce and dwindling resource to to be mindful of of how we maintain it and um invested appropriately in the highest priority projects. >> All in favor? >> Any oppose?
055The motion passes. Uh 7K takes us to a bill list. Can I have a motion to approve dispersements for payment totaling 2,916,92829? >> Moved and second. Any discussion? All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? The motion passes. Item 7 L. I have a motion to approve bound council services with the law firm of Stratley Rotten Stevens and Young. >> Second. >> Moved and second. Any discussion? All in favor? >> I. >> Any oppose? The motion passes. Section eight takes us to human resources. Can I have a motion to approve items 8B through 8D as presented on the agenda? Okay, moved. >> Snider second. >> Moved and seconded. Any discussion? All in favor? >> Any oppose? The motion passes. Section nine takes us to people services. I have a motion to extend the agreement between the
056school district of Hadford Township and Clear Speech, Language, and Hearing for not to exceed $50,000 as discussed at the February 5th board work session. Okay, moved. >> Second. >> Moved and second. Any discussion? All in favor? >> Any opposed? The motion passes. 9B educational service agreement and I have a motion to approve the following educational service agreement for a district student. This agreement covers reimbursement for privately obtained legitimate educational services as incurred by the family for the benefit of the student. >> Moved second. >> Moved and seconded. Any discussion? All in favor? >> Any oppose? The motion passes. Section 10, academics and instruction. Have a motion to approve the student educational excursions listed below. >> Moved and seconded. Any discussion? >> One is for um boys winter track to have gone to an event and
057I think I've seen on our social media that uh they are setting records, getting ranked in the state and nationally. So, um, congratulations to them for representing Herford. So, well, all in favor? >> Any oppose? The motion passes for 10B, data management recommendation. Can I have a motion to approve quote number 00004979 from Lincolnit for data processing specifications not to exceed $76,92.50 as discussed at the February 5th work session. >> Shelton moved. >> Moved and second. Any discussion? >> Just um we discussed this uh at the last work session. Uh the board uh some great questions uh you know just regarding uh interfacing onboarding implementation consistency um we've addressed those as some key identified those as some key areas to address uh for more detailed planning. So if the board does move forward with this
058uh that is part of our um plan to work directly with the vendor to support those areas before implementation begins um for a very intentional onboarding process. Our goal would be to ensure that that smooth roll out uh minimizes any disruption uh for any teachers and students. Um onboarding is critical. Uh so taking that intentional process uh and a lot of those areas uh of of questions raised um will be worked on collaboratively with uh the vendor to ensure uh that that is efficient and then also um maximizes um the ability for our teachers to utilize resources uh and make data informed decisions in support of our students. So those are helpful questions and um those are things that again should the board board move forward with this um are in our plan to uh
059to have as part of that onboarding process. >> I appreciate you addressing those those questions about this program. I think one of the advantages um of this program that were talked about before was the community facing piece. And so I think what I'm hearing you say um and what uh is that there would also be that onboarding not just for our teachers and how to use that data but also affirmative outreach to the community that they now have access to to more of this data how to use it what it's used for why all this data is being taken in the first place. Um so just confirming that that is would also be part of this roll out of this new technology. >> Yeah. So discussion of that with administration. Um we also identified opportunity
060uh even absent of the specific uh you know platform program um to kind of increase the dig uh data proficiency, data literacy, data awareness of community members. Uh there are some things we can do kind of now and throughout the course of the year um to help uh inform and educate a lot of our parents and family members and community members um about you know not only our data beliefs but also why and how it's utilized but then also factoring that in with whatever specific vendor does come on board uh so that that can be tailored for them too and they're aware of how to interface and utilize that too. >> I just want to reemphasize that um there was a great presentation from Miss Carter. Thank you for uh Feb on the February 5th
061and I was very impressed with, you know, um the potential ability of this system to coordinate different data sets for efficiently for our staff and educators and and she had even mentioned that some some teachers have their own spreadsheets and things to try to keep track of this data set to this improvement. Thank you. Yeah, we're we're uh looking forward to really providing teachers with resources and the ability to um utilize their expertise and utilize that data informed practice. >> Thank you. All in favor? >> I. >> Any oppose? >> The motion passes. Section 11 takes us to policy. Can I have a motion to approve the second reading and adopt policy 209.2? to diabetes management. >> Shelter moved. >> Second. >> Moved and second. Any discussion? >> I'm going to chime in one more
062time. Um, we originally had 209.1 for discussion with 209.2. Again, there were some revisions requested. Um, we've gone back to administration uh [clears throat] and to our staff um to make those revisions. So, 2091 will come up in March um with as promised many other policy areas. Um, but that's the reason 2091 is not on here and only 2092 is. >> You stole a little bit of what I was gonna say. Sorry. >> Um, but what I also wanted to remind the board is um that in our policies, they often come with administrative regulations. And this one did come with an administrative regulation. But the reason that you don't see it here is because administrative regulations are not approved by the board. Um, they are for our uh administration to implement our board policy. And
063so we therefore review and um and and can comment on those and we get notified when there are um changes to those but they're not actually up for adoption. So uh just a reminder to the public about that. All in favor? >> Any oppose? The motion passes for section 12. Other items. Can I have a motion to approve the school year calendars listed below as presented at the February 5th work session? >> Okay. Second. >> Moved and second. Any discussion? All in favor? >> Any oppose? The motion passes. Section 13 takes us to the other opportunity for public comment. Um, so just as a reminder, when I do call a resident's name, please go to the podium, state your first and last name, as well as confirm your residency. Um, for the record, a timer
064will be set for three minutes. Once the alarm sounds, please conclude your remarks as that is the end of the three minutes that's allotted per our board policy. Um, for first up, I have someone by the first name of Tevin, but there is no last name listed. Okay. Could you come to the podium and state your first and last name, please? >> Kevin Dicks, Drexel Hill. Uh, I want to address, excuse me, address the protest from uh, last week. Uh, so last week I was very disappointed that Half High School allowed their students to walk out to do an anti-CE protest just how how other schools were allowed to do across the country. Unfortunately, today's generation is getting an indoctrination instead of an education when it comes to politics. But last time I checked, school
065supposed to be a place to learn, not an activist training camp. It's just sad how instead these instead of teaching our these kids to hate ICE, how about we have I'm encouraging the school board to work with the schools in the school district to educate students on on on immigration, how federal law federal law enforcement works. Maybe even better. Back in my school days, I remember when we we had assemblies, some some of the assemblies were about policing where a police officer came in and told their story about their career. Maybe it would be nice to bring in fellow law enforcement officers educating the kids on how illegal immigration works and our immigration laws. But I was really disappointed that the principles did not stop this protest from happening. I didn't Unfortunately, they were allowed
066to leave school grounds cuz you never know. would say someone god god forbid one of these kids get get hurt get hit by a car. I would hate to see the school board in in Herford High School gets get a lawsuit thrown at them. I was be like principal Weber from Wilson High School earlier today stopped students from going out protesting he threatened them with a suspension. In other words, ICE report since everyone wants to act like ICE is just pure evil and this Nazis Gustapo. Last week, 3,664 children were arrest I mean were not excuse me not arrested. They they they were saved. They were saved from ch from child trafficking. Last month somewhere in Virginia in Virginia over 600 illegal immigrants were were arrested with with doing drugs child and child trafficking. There's
067me many other stories and also there's also been a lie going on thinking that they're arresting children just like a couple weeks ago where a 5-year-old they said that he was detained. In reality he wasn't. His father was pulled over, fled on foot. One of the federal officers had to watch him. Thank and thankfully they brought they they brought the kid they put him in a facility not not a detention center like everyone's that everyone claims. There was these a lot of these illegal who come here coming come with all kinds of problems. They're drug dealers, child traffickers. They scam artists, [music] you name it. They've killed they've killed so many American citizens, but unfortunately nobody talks about that. Just like just like this past week, a professor, God rest her soul, Dr. Linda Davis,
068was killed by an illegal immigrant from Guatemala in a high-speed chase. and and but we we all must remember this is a nation of settlers on conquered land. Thank you. Thank you so much. I just want and I just encourage you guys please please to work with all these schools and educate them on on federal immigration. Thank you. >> The next person signed up to speak is Michael Glenn. >> Is there a Michael Glenn that signed up to speak? The last person that I have to speak is Kathy Little. Good evening. I'm going to spend this evening um continuing to read the letter that I sent to Dr. Hayes um in regard to his uh comments that I made death threats to people. But first, I want to address what happened at last at the
069last schoolboard uh meeting where the solicitor for the school board indicated that and I've never heard him say this to any other speaker. He said that we should not be naming children's names. I'm assuming that he was referring to me. And I just want to say this. I find it very disappointing that the school board and the solicitor do not want me to name children's names, the bullies, the the ones that did did the deed, allowing my son, the innocent victim, to not be able to have anything done to those bullies. So, I just I want to say that I find that to be very disturbing and very interesting. I'm going to continue with the letter. I even noticed as I was preparing my thoughts for tomorrow's meeting that the video from the 18th December
0702025 meeting was edited to remove one of the most shocking admissions on the part of Principal Dunie when he said quote we isolated him meaning my son William from his friends and then attacked him. I know this to be true because I know that he was placed in a lunch period that differed from his friends. There were many administrators at that meeting and when I turned to look at them, they all shook their heads in agreement. Mr. Dunny's admission explains a lot of the reason why William struggled with school attendance. I can't even imagine what else was done to him behind closed doors. But what I do know is that he was run off sports teams and academically bullied and discriminated against going back to elementary school. The school district refused to allow my youngest
071son a FAPE, which for those that don't know what that is, it's a free and appropriate public education, pure and simple. The school district looked for every possible way to make it more difficult for my son to stay in school attendance. Despite his lack of attendance, the case was never remanded to a truent officer for investigation either. Something that is very curious to me. And as a member of the school board, let me call you out on a lie that has been spread that William was quote expelled. I don't know who started that rumor, probably the school district. But he was not expelled. He was simply runoff sports teams made to feel academically inferior and bullied. And the school district made it impossible for him to attend. The hollow word salad school district's strategic plan
072goals of quote supporting engaging learning experiences honoring every individual's inherent dignity through equitable inclusive and diverse practices and social emotional growth certainly were not applied to my son as no substantive lawful help was given to him to him. I see that other students receive homeschooling at the expense of the school district that was never offered to my son. Despite the district knowing that William was in crisis, he was left with the option to be socially ostracized in a program with high school dropouts that stripped him of any classes. I'll continue next meeting for the next section that we have section 14. We have no executive session for this evening. Uh for section 15 for adjoinment, the next regular board public meeting of the board is a work session scheduled to be held on March 5th,
0732026 at 7 PM on the in the boardroom of the Oakmont Administration building. I have a motion to adjourn the meeting.