001Good evening and welcome to the May 22nd, 2025 regular board meeting of the school board of the school district of Havford Township. Would everyone please rise for the pledge? I aliance 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. Hey, can I ask our board members to read the district goals and mission, please? Any volunteers? I'll take the mission. The district mission of the school district of Habford Township is to educate and to inspire a community of lifelong learners who become well-rounded global citizens. Any takers for the district goals? District goals social emotional wellness. Produce a community of empathetic and resilient learners with skills to socially and emotionally flourish. Prepare contemporary citizens. modernize and expand learning
002experiences to prepare students as critical thinkers, problem solvers, innovators, and designers within a complex global society. Diversity and inclusion to establish a culturally diverse and inclusive educational experience that develops socioultural proficiency. Thank you, Dr. Shelton, and thank you, Miss Lee. Mr. Ta, would you please call the role? Miss Lee, here. Dr. McKay, Mr. Schwarz here here. Miss Nigress, Miss Vitali here, Miss Weedman here, Dr. Larson here, Dr. King. Hey, um Dr. King, Dr. McKay, and Miss Snograss um have other commitments this evening. Okay, moving on to the approval of our official minutes. I will accept a motion to approve the official minutes from the Sorry, my computer just froze. [Music] Moved. Lee second from the May 8th, 2025 regular board meeting. Sorry about that. Motion, please. Moved. Okay. Okay. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? Hearing
003none. All those in favor? I. Okay. Motion passes. Okay. Okay, we'll move on now to our report from our students. First, we have our Habford Middle School student representative, Naomi Ludvig. Good evening, board. My name is Naomi Ludwig, and I'm currently an eighth grader here at Hford Middle School. This upcoming year, I will be attending my first year at the high school. I'm excited to start this new chapter of my life and hopefully, fingers crossed, be a future board be at future board meetings representing Habford again. Tonight, I'm happy to be sharing some of our most recent updates about what's been happening here at HMS and to learn and reflect on my experiences as I prepare prepare for my 9th grade year. Our end of the year wrap-up is full of activities and celebrations. As
004of yesterday, our annual Potter Cup competition has been rescheduled to the 27th of May. Of course, not trying to brag, we're pretty confident that we've got this win in the bag. Most most importantly, through this event, all proceeds go towards Alex's Lemonade Sand Foundation. Sadly, today marks the final day of the spring season student athletes. I'm proud to say I was given the opportunity to become a captain of the track and field team. It's been a great undefeated season full of Regis runs, community building, and other great memories, plus personal bests from many of our runners. Our seventh grade girls softball team and girls track and field team ended undefeated while the boys track four by one relay beat not only the school record once but multiple times through this season. We are so thankful
005for the time and effort each of our coaches have put into the teams this upcoming week. On Wednesday through Thursday, our sixth graders are headed to Camp Candidencis. Personally, I loved rock climbing in the 500 a.m. run, but there are so many other fun and exciting activities I know the sixth graders will love. Additionally, the seventh and eighth grade course concert was last night, which was a huge success. Finally, tomorrow we have a half day at school with a normal schedule with shortened classes. Thank you so much for these past two years. I've been so grateful to be able to share what's been happening at HMS. Have a great night. Good evening everyone. I'm excited to be here tonight to share the latest updates, achievements, and upcoming events from Harvard High School. As we move
006into the final stretch of the academic year, our school continues to shine with academic excellence, athletic dominance, and meaningful community engagement. We're officially in the home stretch for the 2024 2025 school year. Seniors are preparing to graduate while underassmen work towards finishing strong. Last week, students in grades 9 to 11 took the Keystone oh Keystone exams. Thank you to our staff, students, and families for their flexibility and support throughout the testing schedule. A reminder to seniors, your senior survey in NViance was due by 3 p.m. today. This is required for graduation and ensures that final transcripts are sent to your next destination, whether it be college, work, military, or trade programs. In the world of music, auditions for next year's Jazz Ensemble are open and students can find information on the Hefford Jazz Ensemble website.
007Video submissions are due by June 1st. Our music department is also gearing up for various end ofear performances and we encourage families to come out and support our talented student musicians. Spring sports at Hford continue to deliver outstanding performances. Baseball has capped off an incredible 17-1 regular season, earning the title of Central League champions for the first time since 1996. They head into the playoffs as the number one seed in District 1 and currently ranked number three in Pennsylvania. Softball secured spot in the District 1 playoffs, entering as the number 10 seed. Girls track and field earned second place at the Central League Championships and have multiple athletes advancing to districts and Coatville this Saturday, May 25th. comes support. Boys volleyball completed their season with a playoff match against Sudatin, losing 3-1, but finishing with
008an impressive run nonetheless. Boys lacrosse got a key victory over Whistah Hicken and closed out their season last week. Looking ahead, our fall sports information night will be held on June 3rd at 6:00 p.m. in the HHS auditorium for any families interested in fall athletics. With just a few weeks to go, here's a look at important senior dates. On June 4th, senior decision day breakfast will be held at 7:30 and the tentative elementary and middle school graduation walkthrough at 9:30. On June 5th, senior finals for third and fourth block classes and senior awards night, which is invitation only. Senior finals for first and second block will be held on June 6th, and you can pick up your cap, gown, and ticket in the auditorium. On June 9th, we have a mandatory graduation practice. Then June
00910th will we will have graduation at 5:00 p.m. A reminder that free senior lawn signs are still available for pickup in the main office between 8:00 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Additionally, seniors interested in applying for the John D. Macdonald Memorial Foundation scholarship, which is a $2,000 award, can still submit their application and essay by Sunday, May 26th. As we move through these final exciting weeks, I want to thank our students, family, staff, and community members for your constant support. The achievements of this year, both in the classroom and beyond, are a testament to the strength of the Hford community. Let's finish this year on a high note, celebrating our seniors and keeping our school spirit strong. Thank you all and as always, go [Music] fors. Hey, thank you, Beatatric. Um, now I'll
010hand it over to Dr. Rushi for our superintendence report. Thank you, Dr. Larson. Uh this month we are highlighting um our middle school in particular a relatively new organization there uh project lit. They've already had made a meaningful impact at the middle school. The presenters along with other club members and their families are here this evening to celebrate their learning journey and highlight the activities that they have planned and led. Each one designed to benefit and enrich the school community. So, we welcome you here this evening and we're excited to hear about about your work. Good evening members of the board, Dr. Roshi, Mrs. Saxa, and community members. And a special welcome to Dr. Hayes. It was so nice to be able to meet you at the middle school circle of trust meeting yesterday. My
011name is Shana Henninger and I am an eighth grade student. My name is Jordan Peters and I am an eighth grade student. We are here representing Hford Middle School and our after school club, Project Lit. Project Lit is an afterchool inclusive extracurricular club for students who want to use books to educate themselves and others. Our goal is to create a safe space for students at HMS. We are an afterchool club with students representing all grades and many different voices. The heart of Project Lit is literature. This year we have read several books. Here are two. A mango shaped space tells the story of a young girl with senesthesia, meaning she sees words, letters, sounds, and numbers in color. We found this literature valuable because it shows how people perceive the world differently in a way
012that we don't often hear about. The other book we would like to share with you is Alice Austin lived here. Two gender non-binary students set out to research a famous person from Staten Island for a new statue. They stumble upon Alice Austin, a non-fictional photographer who was a queer person in the early part of the 1900s. It helped us see a narrative that isn't often told. This year, for the first time, we were able to create some student events. We celebrated Hanukkah, Porum, and Ramadan as a community after school. We also shared facts about black voices and impactful women during Black History and Women's History Months. As one of the presenters during women's history, I love the opportunity to be able to share the stories of influential women throughout history. We hope that next year
013we will be able to add events to continue showcasing the wonderfully diverse student body at HMS. The students of Project Lit find it beneficial to have a space where our voices can be heard, we can be ourselves, and appreciate perspectives that differ from our own. Thank you. Any questions? I just had a question. Is is there something that you learned that you want to share from the experience? We've learned so much from Project Lit and our other members who are here with us behind us. I find it so beneficial and I feel like throughout all of the literature, I learn different perspectives. I learned different views on life. I learned different walks that people walk through life. Um, and one of my favorite books that we read was Becoming. And I learned a lot about
014the like American government system reading that because it was written by Michelle Obama, which was very helpful for social studies this year. Nice. You're so good at this. This is really exciting work. Um, can you all talk a bit about how the group came to be? How did you all find each other? Um, what got the group started? I can join my really quick to help them. I'm Becky Ford. Um, I teach eighth grade Spanish at the middle school and I'm one of the adviserss for Project Lit. Um, the group came out of a lot of the equity work that the adult equity team was doing. We were looking at ways that we could engage students in the process. Um, and one of the things that we keep ke kept stumbling back to was literature.
015That we have so many wonderful reading goals for our students in the district and that if we're able to use books to help students see firsthand perspectives on different folks, um, that we can not only enrich sort of what they've got going on in their ELA classes through literature, but also allowing them to see these perspectives, um, that they don't always get to see. Thank you so much for sharing. Um, and I know we talked about the importance of literature um, as a mirror, as a window, and as a door into other perspectives um, and also mirror onto ourselves. And it sound like the group the group is helping achieve some of those goals. Thank you for sharing. I was curious, how long has the group been been active now? Is it just did start
016this year? Two years. Three years. Oh, awesome. Okay, great. So, so there plans to keep it going then? I would? Absolutely. Um, I personally only joined this year cuz I hadn't heard about it last year, but I think it gained a little more traction this year. Um, and I joined and I really liked it. And I'm kind of sad that I won't be able to do it at the high school next year. Maybe there can be a high school version of it, but I hope that a lot of the kids from other grades and some of the fifth graders coming in join Project Lit cuz it really is a great club to be a part of. Thanks, Well, thank you again for being here with us tonight. This is a busy time of the year
017for everyone and we really appreciate you sharing your experiences with us. Your enthusiasm for for this work is wonderful to see. Thank you. Thank you. At this time of the year, we um begin our our recognitions that we typically include as part of our agenda um at the close of the school year. Uh and tonight we want to recognize those students who have joined us for so many of our meetings, highlighting for us the happenings at the middle school and and also at the high school, keeping us informed u about all the terrific events that our kids are involved in uh all of the achievements uh that they attain um throughout the year. Uh so our actually um our two board reps who have regularly been with us, Lucy Filin and Austin McConnell um are
018rather busy this evening. So Anna and I will stop over. We've had that happen before. Anna and I will visit them at the high school. Um we do have a plaque that we present to our seniors each year uh recognizing their participation in our board meetings. uh and we're welcoming um back again, but we look looking forward to seeing much more of you, Beatatrix, as the new representative to the school board. Uh Beatatrix is completing her sophomore year and has participated in our strategic planning efforts. Uh so, uh Dr. Shelton and Mr. Schwarz, she may look familiar to you as you were participating in that as well. Uh and Beatatric, we look forward to hearing um a lot of the reports from you throughout the year next year. We've had several of our middle school
019students rotate throughout the year. It's a great experience for them uh to come and see how local government works and and to actually be part of it. Um want to recognize them for giving their time so willingly uh preparing the remarks that they prepare. Clearly, we can tell they don't just throw them together at the last minute. uh preparing them um and then being here delivering the remarks quite often in in front of a room that's populated predominantly by adults. Uh so we appreciate those efforts as well. And Dr. Larson, do you want to come Tegan Day? I have a feeling we'll see again how busy some of our students are. Zoro Alvare Alvarado Colton Crowder. I remember visiting Colton last year. Sophia Kleti, Payton Manfrey. I'm very busy. Eric Rubin. Naomi, come on. Carry
020it to the group. What? Please stay up here with us. All right. Willow Daiso. Thank you, Will. All right. Um, Christopher Lynch. There's a lot of concerts and stuff, I guess. I guess so. We'll go to school. We'll get a big picture. We'll get one right now. [Music] Yeah. The plaques fall. Sorry about that. Thank you. [Music] Thank you again. Excuse me. I'd like to take a few moments and recognize uh one of the elementary teachers uh who currently is at at Manila Elementary and that's Michelle Kzmarkski. Uh Michelle was nominated by a parent of a child at Monoa Elementary uh for the Delaware Valley Excellence and Teaching Award. Uh Michelle's expertise and deep compassion, I'm just going to take an extrapolation from what was written about Michelle and share that with you. Michelle's expertise
021and deep compassion make her a vital advocate for students with autism and a respected leader in the school community. As a mentor teacher, she supports new educators and promotes inclusive education by collaborating with general education teachers to adapt lessons and foster peer interaction. Her classroom is a nurturing space where students thrive emotionally, socially, and academically. One parent shared how their once shy daughter now confidently participates in group activities, a testament to Miss Kazarsk's patience and her encouraging approach. Michelle maintains strong communications with families, holding regular meetings to celebrate progress and build trust. Her efforts ease parents anxieties and strengthen the homeschool partnership. Through her warmth, encouragement, and hands-on teaching, she inspires curiosity, resilience, and a love of learning. A true role model, Mrs. Kosorski empowers both students and families, making a lasting impact on the
022entire community. It was a pleasure to attend that event and to to see you honored that evening. And Michelle, having had an opportunity to spend time in your classroom over the years, every everything that is written there, you see it on a on a daily basis. So, we're fortunate to call you a colleague within our district. Please come and allow us to acknowledge your hard work. Do you mind if I let also Dr. Alzi and pass you to come up for a picture of the recommendator? I'll get one of you guys. Yep. And thank you, Cassie, for for taking the time to submit that nomination. I said homework actually again. Thank you students for being here. Uh the next item on our agenda, we're going to hear an update of the incredible work that is
023undertaken by the Hford Township uh Education Foundation. Um some of the projects that they have have supported and what they see moving forward um in the future. So while we're transitioning u we'll invite the Ed Foundation to come to the podium. [Music] Okay. I'm not Michelle is the current president of the Ed Foundation. I'm sorry I didn't hear you. You're the current president, Michelle. Uh, good evening everyone. My name is Michelle Collier. Um, as Dr. Rushi said, I am the current president of the um, Habford Township School District Education Foundation. I have been the president since um, November of 2024. I've been a member of the board for over 15 years. I'm a resident of Hatterford Township and I have an eighth grader, soon to be high schooler um but currently at um the middle
024school. So, who are we? Um who's the ad Foundation? We are your neighbors, your children's teachers, um district students, administrators, local community members, business owners, and Herford Township lifers. found out last night that we have a lot of lifers on our board. Um, we are an all volunteer board and we do this work because we value our community. We value the excellent educational standards and reputation of our district and we have a desire to help our students continue to excel by enhancing the district's curriculum. Um, the Ed Foundation is an independent taxexempt 501c3 organization and we work closely with the district, the faculty and staff and the students. And this year we celebrated our 20th year. Um, we actually held an event in March to acknowledge that milestone. Also as a thank you to our
025sponsors, our donors, um our teachers who have been grant recipients, our community supporters. Um we we wanted to acknowledge those people because they help us to do the work that we do. So our mission is to fund innovative learning opportunities that inspire Havford students. So what does that mean and how do we do that? Um, so we provide grants for learning opportunities that go above and beyond um what uh the district either provides in their budget or as a part of the regular curriculum. Um, so we fund um programs that do enhance the curriculum as well as um extracurricular activities. So, we wouldn't fund something like desk or um uh school supplies, but we might fund we have funded um flexible seating or kind of um I don't know if you call them attachments, but
026um that are um one of our most um recent grants. Um we truly believe that a better school district means a better community. And um because of the work that we do, not only do our students benefit, but all of Habford Township benefits. So obviously since we are a nonprofit organization, we do fundraising because that's how we get the money that we need to award these grants. Um so some of our fundraising efforts um our signature event is our uh 5K twilight run and walk um along with our elementary onem challenge. You may have seen over the years um because we've been doing that for over 15 years. So over the years you may have seen um information about that. You may have even participated in the Twilight Run. We did take a break from
027that this year um to be able to do some other work. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of time and energy to um put that event on. So, this year we did take a break. Um and you know, we're re-evaluating it, but it will definitely be back in 2026. Um the Twilight Run is more than a 5K. It is an important event that showcases not only our school community um but the community of um Havford Township as a whole and brings us together. Um, so as I said, it will definitely be back next year. Um, we also do a staff tribute campaign. So we, um, get donations from district families. Um, and these donations are made in the name of a district staff member who's had an impact on students, parents, and the
028school community as a whole. Um, and then we also do ongoing fundraising campaigns and outreach. this year since we're not doing the twilight run, we are doing um year-long fundraising. Um to tell you a little bit about our grants and as you uh see the PowerPoint, it you know, we're going through just to see some of the grants that we've funded um in the last four years, but we've been around for 20 as I said. So, we've we've done a lot and we're very proud of that work. So we funded over 250 grants um over um 500,000 um in funds have been distributed and that has impacted over 60,000 students. So we have two types of grants. Um we have many grants that um fund uh initiatives up to um $1,500 and then we also
029have empowerment grants that fund initiatives over $1,500. Um I think the um the largest one that we've done to date um is $90,000 uh which was for H Vision. Um anyone can apply as long as it's um you know uh pushes forward our mission and is for the benefit of our students but over 60% of our grant recipients are district teachers. So our you know our grant request come from district teachers. So again, we can't do the work that we do without our wonderful teachers. So to highlight some of the grants that aren't up there in the PowerPoint, as I said, um we funded um Hvision, the TV station at the high school. So that was a $90,000 grant. Um we also funded um some upgrades to the radio station. That was probably about 15
030years ago. Um that was a $20,000 grant. And in case you didn't know, WHHHS is the oldest remaining um high school radio station um in the country. It's uh celebrated 75 years in existence last year. Um so that was one of our our big grants uh like I said 15 years ago. Um we also fund discover day which is at the high school. Um but it's a district-wide science program. really benefits our elementary students because those are the um you know most of the attendees. We've also um the pause so P AWS for reading um in the elementary schools um that's another program various artists and residence programs um the freshwater aquarium at HMS and the solar power project at HHS. So, in addition to everything that you see up there, everything that I just
031talked about, we have a ton of other grants that we have funded over the last 20 years, and you can go to our website to um to get more information um about that. So, what's next for the foundation in this our 20th year and as we move forward? So, we want to obviously continue to grow as a board. We do um accept board applications. Um if you are interested, you can go to our website which is uh habfordedfoundation.org. Um we also solicit volunteers for our various other events. Since we'll be bringing back the Twilight Run next year, we will definitely need a ton of volunteers. So keep your eyes and ears um open for that information or like I said, go to our website. you can click on get involved and find out more about
032what we're doing. Um we want to continue to build our community partnerships because as I said before that benefits all of Habford Township. Um I've indicated several times that we will be bringing back the Twilight Run. And then our most um exciting um initiative is that we will be hiring an executive director. So, like I said in the beginning, we are an all volunteer board. Um, and that has its limits. We've done great work, but we're volunteers who have other commitments, professional, family, social, whatever they may be. And um we can't necessarily do all the potential work that there is to do. So, we um will be hiring a part-time professional who will be dedicated to supporting the mission. um and the um growth of the ed foundation and that will allow us to go
033to um the next level. So, some of those opportunities that we look forward to um experiencing once we have hired um an executive director are building donor relationships and our database, expanding income streams, uh creating um more consistent interaction with district administration and our key stakeholders, providing continuity for our all volunteer board because our board will stay all volunteer. Um, and there's such great potential in terms of fundraising revenue. So, you know, we do a a decent job of raising 30 to $40,000 per year, but there are education foundations in Pennsylvania who are raising 100 to $400,000 um uh per year. So, that level of fundraising will allow us to support more expansive and creative and bigger initiatives. um that will benefit our students and um our community as a whole. So what that process
034has looked like so far, we've had um an ad hoc committee who spent um a few months researching the role and best practices in terms of hiring um and also um you know uh maintaining um an executive director. We've um our that committee conducted um interviews with eight um ed foundation and board presidents within Pennsylvania. So um we've also hired uh a search firm called Match NP who will who are experts in this work and um who will be able to help us with identifying uh candidates and um conducting the interviews. So, we anticipate that this will be about a 10-week process at, you know, at the kind of lowest end. So, um we will be starting the search in the next few weeks and then moving on to the interview process hopefully by um
035midsummer. It would be great to have someone in place um by September. We're not sure if that will happen, but we we definitely look forward to having someone um in place in this role in the fall. Um, so that's all I have. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity because I know some people know that the Ed Foundation exists and they don't know exactly what they what we do and some people don't know that we exist at all. So hopefully now you all know. Um, if you have questions, feel free to uh submit a question on our website or you can email me um at [email protected]. So that's all I have. Michelle, best of luck to you and the and the foundation board in your quest to identify an exe an exec director. Thank you.
036So many, as you mentioned, so many of our teachers and students have been direct beneficiaries u of the u grants that have been awarded through the through the foundation. So thank you. And I just want to take this opportunity again to publicly thank you Dr. Rushi for all of your support um of the Ed Foundation uh throughout the years and um we'll miss you. Uh we look forward to working with Dr. Hughes, but we we'll we'll miss you. So, thank you. Thanks, Michelle. Um just a few more announcements um before move u moving on. Uh on Tuesday, Pennsylvania awarded grants to 73 schools across the state to assist with funding solar energy installations through what has been termed the solar for schools grant program. Uh and we're really thrilled to um note that Chattam Park
037Elementary will receive a grant of $296,976. Um, in the initial round of applications for solar for schools, districts from rural, suburban, and urban areas requested um about $88 million, which is more than three times the amount that was available within that budget. Um, so we're thrilled. We did um submit more than one application was submitted. Uh, so we're just thrilled that we have the one that has um has been with we will be in receipt of that. And Mr. Testa, thanks to you and the staff in your office for putting that grant application uh together and and shephering that um through two more items of note. Um the district will host uh our third annual Ford uh diversity career networking event on Wednesday, June 4th, and that will be held in the um Hford Middle
038School library. And middle school is a busy place on Friday, June 6th. uh Hford Middle School senior citizen social uh will be held. So, and students are encouraged to attend with a special senior uh friend, grandparent. Um and that's usually a very well attended um event and an enjoyable evening for those who do. Thank you, Dr. Larson. Thank you, Dr. Rie. Okay, moving on now to the public comment portion of our evening. The first public comment for items on the agenda. Um we do not have anyone signed up to speak for items on the agenda. So we will move on. Um moving into section 5 board reports. Our board report for DCCCC is Dr. McCay. Um she's out so we'll look forward to receiving her report next time. Um for DCIU, Miss Lee, no report.
039Thank you. Um for P PSBA, Miss Weedman. Yes. Um just a couple of things. One is that a reminder that if we want to submit delegates for the delegate assembly in October and legislative platform proposals, the board needs to take action on those and submit by June 27th. Um, a new campaign from Pennsylvania School Boards Association is advocacy for school infrastructure uh to urge the state to support safe, modern, well-maintained school buildings. And there are resources for board members to access on how we can reach out to our representatives to um encourage uh support and funding for infrastructure projects. And the next building bridges webinar is on June 18th. Um title is engaging differences productively understanding uh polarization and culturally civil discourse in divided times. Thank you. And for legislative council, Dr. Shelton, thank you.
040Yeah, there's a lot a lot going on. I'll try to keep it to 3 minutes. Um, so uh there's things happening in terms of the budget, federal state uh level. Um at the federal level, the administration released the f uh financial year 2026 discretionary budget uh proposing 163 billion in cuts to non-defense spending for education specifically. The budget maintains full funding for title one and special education or IDA that significantly streamlines federal programs. 18 competitive and formula grant programs would be consolidated into a single K to2 simplified funding program and seven IDA programs would merged into one special education grant. The budget also increases charter school funding by 60 million reflecting the um the school choice priorities. Regarding executive mandates regarding DEI, federal judges in Maryland, New Hampshire, and Washington have blocked attempts to halt
041uh DEI programs in schools. This means the Department of Education cannot currently withhold federal funding from districts that continue such initiatives. Moving to the state, um seven significant bills have passed one chamber and moved to the other for consideration. Uh from from the Senate to the House, we have SB9 requiring athletic team designation based on biological sex at birth. Senate Bill 96 increasing penalties for school threat hoaxes or swatting. Senate Bill 227 subjecting the Pennsylvania School Boards Association to right to know law requirements. School board uh sorry, Senate Bill 246 mandating 24-hour notification to parents and staff following serious school incidents. and Senate Bill 315 updating CTE equipment grant funding formulas from the House to the Senate. Three bills um are up for consideration. House Bill 354 encouraging student storytelling and social studies curriculum. House
042Bill 411 providing cost of living pension increases for older PERS and SER retirees and House Bill 8/19 establishing grants to expand access to advanced placement IB and dual enrollment programs. Um these uh this legislation uh the the assembly is also uh currently in negotiations for the state budget for the fiscal year 2025. Key education issues under debate include uh Shapiro's proposed 75 million basic education funding increase and 526 million adequacy investment along with charter school reform and cyber charter tuition caps. Um so if I'll that that's a brief summary if anybody would like any any additional information. There are many other bills under consideration in committee, but I'll try to limit it to ones that are have passed through um uh to consideration. The there was also legislative breakfast that that uh the council organized
043May 16th. Uh I wasn't able to attend, but I believe Mr. Schwarz did if he has any comments. Yeah, thanks. I did attend the the the breakfast um last Friday. Number of local elected officials were there. Uh, Representative Scanland was there. Um, uh, state senator Kernney was there and several other local state our uh, uh, reps as well. I won't they gave some brief updates as Dr. Shelton indicated. I won't go through them labor them in in in great detail. One thing that was actually very very interesting there was they had a bunch of students there um, who were do who did an AI forum. they had spent the the uh year as a group discussing artificial intelligence and some of the implications of that. Um I was fascinated by it. They got up and
044and they gave presentations. Um they all recognize I think some of the concerns related to AI and I mean I should many of them I'm sure many folks do as well. One thing that they did indicate which which they had a pretty good consensus on I thought was that um AI is not something that is in the future that at some point will be uh AIB as it were. it's here. And one thing that they all recognized that they all indicated was that um because it is here because it is you know because they exist now in our world that you know they they're looking to for ways to adapt to it not ways to you know cheat or ways to do anything nefarious with it but they indicated that um upon leaving school I
045think there there will be a need that they they were saying there there will be a need to understand it and understand uh ethical and proper ways to utilize it but That was definitely one thing that came through loud and clear with them. So, I think that was great to um to to to hear. Breakfast overall was nice. It was good seeing some of our contemporaries and uh you know of of the schools and and some of our local um elected representatives. Um that's really that's probably it. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have um finance and facilities committeeman. Yep. The next finance and facility committee meeting is Monday, June 9th at 6:30. And I know one topic will be a final committee discussion of the budget before it gets voted on. [Music] Oh, so
046we won't even have that. Okay, we'll look forwards to some other agenda. Thanks. Hey, thank you. Um, curriculum and pupil services committee update. Um, our next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 29th at 6:30 p.m. here in the Oakmont building. Next, we have our policy committee update for Miss Snograss. She is not here, so we'll look forward to her report at our next meeting. Um, moving on then to our board president's report. Um, the board would like to give a shout out to Dr. Rushi, who received um the Margaret Smith Leadership Award from the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators recently. Um, this award is given to a female administrator who has demonstrated proven leadership in education. The award is named for Dr. Margaret Smith, first president of the women's caucus, a former Pennsylvania superintendent,
047and a former PA secretary of education. Dr. Rushi, the first female superintendent of the school district of Havford Township, has led over 40 administrators in serving 6,600 students across seven schools since 2015. Her leadership has prioritized mental health, amplified student voice, expanded community involvement, and revitalized strategic planning, all in pursuit of continuous improvement. A dedicated mentor, Dr. Rushi supports aspiring leaders and encourages career advancement and administration. She has mentored staff working toward their superintendent letter of eligibility and served on dissertation committees. Her tenure strengthens student support systems while maintaining academic excellence and promoting inclusivity across all schools. A lifelong learner with over 40 years in education, Dr. Rushi's journey from classroom teacher to superintendent is a powerful powerful example for future female leaders and for us all. Congratulations, Dr. Rushi. Thank you. Okay. Um, also
048want to make an announcement that Dr. Hayes is here this evening. Hello, Dr. Hayes. Um, and he has been in the district um since yesterday and throughout today. Very busy with all sorts of meetings um ranging from student meetings, meeting with staff, um meeting with board members, and um getting ready to take the helm in just over a month. So, welcome. Okay. And I'll open it up now to my colleagues to share any board related activities that they p participated in recently. Uh I have one this morning. Dr. Hayes, Jen Saxa, and I were at the ribbon cutting opening for the new Hford Township Library. It was a wonderful event, well attended. Um, we extend congratulations to uh the library board, the commissioners and township management, CB Development was um there. They were the project
049managers and successfully got that building done on time, on budget, getting the uh certificate of occupancy just today before they got the ribbon. Um, so yeah, fortunate that they work with us on our schoolled buildings, too. Um, it everyone should try to stop in soon and see the transformation of the building. It is a testament to this community's commitment to lifelong learning and opportunities to connect and collaborate. It is a lovely, bright, modern uh facility that will inspire uh people to read the books that are still there on the shelves, but also to use the many creative spaces to gather, to meet, to use the maker space. Um it it will be a great resource for our students and all members of our community and it was a great day to be able to be
050there and celebrate with them. Thank you. Uh, I happened to accidentally be able to visit the Splash the after prom uh set up at the the blast. Okay, I didn't do prom. Sorry guys. Um, it was actually quite fantastic. I mean, it's the best idea. It's only news to me obviously because I'm not a prom, but I got a chance to see it and the effort that went in to this setup. I want to know, was the prom as immaculate as the blast? Um, so I just want the community to know that that thing exists and thank you to the parents and everyone who put it in. It was so much labor happening to to make it happen to transform this space and it just looked a lot of fun. I was jealous. Anyone else?
051Okay, thank you for those reports. Okay, we'll move on now to se section six of our agenda, finance and facilities. If we go to A, I will accept a motion to approve dispersements for payments totaling 3,400,177.79. Shelton moved. We second. Moved and second. Any discussion? All those in favor? I. Motion passes. Moving on to B. Change orders. Computer's frozen again. Okay, you good? Okay, I will accept a motion um to accept the recommendation of owner's representative CB Development Services Incorporated and authorized the change orders totaling $43,56960 as listed below. Moved in second. Any discussion? Could we get an overview of some of these change orders since we got you here? Thanks, Ken. Good evening, everyone. Um, yeah, as you can see, there's really nothing of of uh major substance here. It's typical things that have
052come up, uh, minor things that have are missing on the plans. uh some existing conditions that were found that had to be dealt with um outside, you know, unforeseen conditions. Um we had some existing old frames that need to be replaced throughout the building so that the doors are square and plum. Um there was a sidewalk that need should have been on the original plans that needed to be added to the back of the building. Um so it's really a combination of those kind of standard things that that happen throughout the project. Nothing out of the norm. Um, so as you can see, even with all these changes, everything previously approved, everything projected to date, um, contingency still is about $328,000 left on the project. So with only a few months left, all the underground
053works done at this point, um, we feel that's a comfortable contingency at this point in the project. Thank you. Any other questions for Kim? just verify we're still on schedule then for a everything but the punch list stuff I guess. Yeah. So it's uh now we are down to the last few months of course. Um the front building's a little bit behind where we'd like it to be but they have been working overtime. They have been working Saturdays. Um we've actually just had the first move move out uh this week on Tuesday. Uh five classrooms were moved out into the new wing. So uh that went fairly smoothly. a few few minor things. Um but overall um it's moving well. So now they're going to kind of move into that next phase of taking over
054some classrooms. Uh working with district administration. We're taking over the cafeteria uh kitchen a little early. So that's going to help relieve some of the summer stress. Uh so everything at this point, they have all the kitchen equipment. They pretty much have everything for the project. So um we're we're confident that it will get done. The kids were excited to see the new wing when they Yes, it's very nice. Bright colors, you know, maple wood, the bright floors. Uh, so it really will rejuvenate the building. Thank you. No problem. Thank you. All those in favor? I I motion passes. Moving on now to C, food service management bid award. I will accept a motion to award award the food service management company bid to Chartwells for the 2526 school year with the option of four
055renewal years upon mutual agreement. Shelton moved the tally second. Moved in second. Any discussion? I'll just mention that this uh process and the selection was presented to the finance and facility committee and was discussed at our prior meeting and was reported out at the last board meeting. Okay. All those in favor? I motion passes. Moving on to D. Technology lease approval. I will accept a motion to approve lease agreements with Apple Financial Services for technology leases as presented. Delta moved. Second. Second. Moved and second. Any discussion? Is this the the what we reviewed at the last board meeting? No. Could Could we have a I I was trying to look at the document. I didn't I couldn't kind of [Music] uh this this one is for uh staff computers. So last meeting it was for
056the Chromebooks for students. This one is the um Apple laptops for our staff. um just in our current refresh cycle um staff that get computers this year. So it's I think it's Lynwood and part of the high school. Great. Thank you. Any other discussion or questions? All those in favor? I motion passes. Moving on now to E. Occupational Health Program Services Agreement. I will accept a motion to ratify an agreement with Vibe urgent care for occupational health program services as needed. What's moved? Shelton second. Moved and second. Any discussion? Just so I understand this is because of the clos the closure of Cro Croser. Is that right? That is correct. It's due to the close for closure. So we had to find another location. Okay. And there's one right here in in Htown. So, it
057worked out for our bus drivers. Okay, great. Thank you. Okay. All those in favor? I motion passes. Moving on now to a charitable donation. Um, letter F. I will accept a motion to accept the charitable charitable donations listed below. Shelton second. Moved in second. Any discussion? Work for just hold PTO to raise um $25,000 for the improvement of its playground. Absolutely. Thank you. And could one of the administrators speak to kind of the relationship that we have with PTO's to provide that kind of equipment on our playground? So, the PTO's have done great work to help support um our elementary schools and especially the playground. So, getting that playground equipment is not cheap. Um so, this will definitely um spruce up. We're going to take out an old piece of equipment and then replace it
058with this new piece of equipment. That probably was a couple years of effort on their part. So, congratulations on that milestone. I was curious, the the the other donation here is is raised through the Harlem Wizards event. the um high school had done an event with the Harlem Wizards. Um and it was a I don't know I think it may have been staff versus the uh team. So it was a fundraising event um and this was the net proceeds um that went back to the school. So it'll be utilized for scholarships. So it's a a good benefit. Great. And a good community event. Yeah. Thank you. Further discussion or qu questions? All those in favor? I on now to letter G, tax assessment appeal resolutions. I will accept a motion to approve district council to
059authorize settlement stipulations for court approval implementing the exemptions as presented below. Shelton moved the tally second. Moved and second. Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? I um moving on now to section seven of our agenda, human resources. Um letter A, retirement resignation. I will accept the following retirement and resignations as listed below. We have been moved. Shelton second. Any discussion? Congratulations to Miss Wisley, uh, food service manager for 26 years. [Music] All those in favor? I moving on now to B, non-acceptance of appointment. Um, I will accept a motion to approve the following non-acceptance of appointment. Shelton moved. Moved in second. Any discussion? Okay. All those in favor I and moving on now to C appointments. I will accept a motion to approve the following appointments as listed below contingent upon receipt of
060all necessary clearances including act 168 of 2014. Shelton moved for a second. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? I will just say that Dr. Raundos. Um, your office has been very busy clearly. Um, how are we doing in terms of hiring? Are we getting to where we need to be to be fully staffed for next year? Yes, we have been busy especially staffing for summer school and extended school year. Um, ESY. Um, and then we're looking forward to our administrators looking for those next generation of teachers that are coming into our district and administrators as well too. So, yeah, we're going to be ready to go by the time the school year starts, but it's going to be a busy summer. We're looking forward to it. Great. Well, you guys are off to a great start.
061All right. Thank you. Okay. Um, sorry. All those in favor? I motion passes. Moving on now to D. Professional employees. Um, I will accept a motion to recognize the following temporary professional employee who has fulfilled the three-year probationary period required by law and having received satisfactory ratings during this period has met eligibility to receive their professional employee contract effective April 24th, 2025. Shelter moved. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? Congratulations. Congratulations. Okay. All those in favor? I you motion passes. Moving on now to section 8, pupil services. I will accept um a motion to approve the following educational contract for services provided to students within the district. Shelton moved. Second. Moved and second. Any discussion hearing? None. All those in favor. I moving on now to B. Out of district ESY contract. Um I will accept
062a motion to approve the following educational contract for a student attending extended school year at an outofd district placement as listed below. Moved. Shelton second. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? Okay. Hearing none. All those in favor? I I you. Moving on now to C. Out of district educational service contract. I will accept a motion to approve the following educational agreement for a student attending out of district placement for the remainder of the 2425 school year. Shelton moved. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? I. Motion passes. Um, there is nothing under section 9 for curriculum and instruction. Um, nothing under section 10 of the agenda for policy. Moving now to section 11, other items. If my computer will Thank you, Dr. Okay. I will accept a motion to approve the school
063board schedule of meetings for the 2526 school year. Shelton moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? Dr. Rushi, would you be able to give us a quick overview of um what the the schedule looks like for next year? Certainly. Thank you. So, the schedule that you are approving tonight are approving dates for meetings. Those meetings will be in some cases board action meetings. That's going to be similar to this evening. uh there will be things that you will be asked to vote on to approve and then we have identified the uh other additional meeting for the month as a board work session. uh as the board continues to have their conversations about how they'd best like to work together, you can identify if that work session will be focused on one area only, such as
064financing facilities the way that you have been typically working um or if that might be a combination of some items that those evenings if there's nothing that you are asked to vote on, you're not asked to take any action, but they will be completely consist of presentations and discussions about things that would eventually be coming to the board. Okay. Thank you. All those in favor? I motion passes. Moving now to um number 12, public comments. And this section of public comments is for other items on our agenda, anything school related. Um we do have two um residents signed up this evening. Um, when I call your name, please come up to the podium. You will have confirm your residency in the state your name. Let me back up. Come up to the podium. State your
065name. Confirm your residency. You will have three minutes to address the board. If you have any materials to distribute to the board, please place them at the end of the table um near Mr. Ta and he will pass them down to the rest of us. Our first speaker signed up this evening is Megan Lee. Hi, good evening. My name is Megan Lee. I'm at 545 Lawrence Road. So, today I want to talk about some of the B uh the policies around bullying. So, I I looked at the student code of conduct. The student code of conduct is exceedingly brief with less than five sentences speaking broadly about how inappropriate behavior is bad and makes references to the discipline policy which links you to a page with all the policies there. If you can find the
066student discipline policy which is number 218, it has the reader refer to the code of conduct. Um, furthermore, from the bullying policy 249, the board directs, this is a direct quote, the board directs that complaints of bullying shall be investigated promptly and corrective action, school-based discipline will shall be taken imposed in accordance with board policy and the applicable stu code of student conduct when allegations are verified. The code of conduct actually does not address bullying. Um, policy 249 is also inaccurate because you actually have to submit the bullying complaint before formal investigation begins. Then I looked at the elementary family handbook 2024 to 2025 which reads, "It shall be the policy of the district to maintain an educational environment in which harassment and or bullying in any form is not tolerated." So, how are expectations
067being communicated clearly to students and parents if these policies are using circular references and lack detail? In my own experience with my first grader, the school has proven unable to monitor her as they said they would due to bullying. After already having been flicked, pushed, kicked, and knocked in the teeth just the week before due to negligence from a monitor, she was then pushed from the back by the same student. The administration was familiar enough with a student who bullied my daughter to describe him as unpredictable. So, let me ask you, how does it fair that even before this last push from the student, how did this school let my first grader be repeatedly subject to the whims of this unpredictable student? It strongly implied that the student may have special needs, as if that
068was an excuse for him using his hands and feet on others. Children with special needs are more often targets of bullying. How are kids with standard or regular educational needs like my child protected if the child with special needs is the bully? In a national survey conducted by the US Department of Education, 100% of student participants reported experiencing, witnessing, or being aware of acts of bullying during the 2021 2022 school year. That's from the National Center of Educational Statistics 2022. This is probably why in Raner Township, bullying is considered a level three type of misbehavior with an extensive list of possible consequences. At Lower Marian, they include three bullying policies with age appropriate language for each school level. Their documents include charts of examples of misbehaviors um including but not uh not only bullying as
069well as possible consequences for first and repeated infractions. These are just some of the examples I found of more robust uh policies in other districts. I'm almost done. How will the district prove its commitment to its no tolerance for bullying by modifying its policies to clearly communicate um its policies and actions? How will administration be accountable to consistently follow through with the actions outlined in the policies and what types of policy changes and education on bullying prevention can be implemented to take a proactive stance against bullying? Thank you. Our next speaker for this evening is Tim Treyhey. Please come to the podium, state your name, and confirm your residency. [Music] Good evening everyone. Uh, I'll try not to take too much of your time here, but I'm going to talk about a subject that you
070may not like here or been through already. It's your taxes. Taxes are wages here. I moved in this town. Um, my wife and I 1982 raised four children in here. They all went to Harford. Um she passed away. My wife passed away uh 18 years ago. In that period, my daughter, oldest daughter, she married a guy from Indiana. I had to go out and take the two of them back here because of a horrible situation with the ex-husband. And um they live with me up here. And all I want here is the taxes to be rare. I'm talking here may not ever do anything because this taxes always seem to be an ongoing situation here, but for the younger folks here that are going to live in this town, um I'm for going to be
071forced to sell my home soon and I live on a fixed income. So, uh when I brought my daughter home, she's a teacher here. She's always have her four children. and I raised we raised here and um I'm going to have to sell my home here because like I said because of uh their taxes and I don't know where I'm going to go uh as a senior because the taxes are too damn high and has affected my mortgage and at 1982 I bought the house for 75,000 at 17% interest at that time I should have the house paid off but I'm only fixing down social security and a pension And uh I want to stay in the house because she blessed there in his home. And u I don't know if I'm going to get
072my way on this or where I have to go to talk about this issue, but I have to do something about it. And I don't want to leave this here because I tend to leave the house to my daughter if she can't afford. She works three jobs as herself. I pay all the taxes here. But the biggest thing is the your school tax. That's the hardest thing that uh I tried with the homeowners insurance and all that. They gave me a little bit of break, but if I refinanced now, I got to pay higher for the from the monthly mortgage. So, um if I can find someone that can do something about it, not only for me, for anybody else that wants to live in this town, because as a senior citizen, you have to
073go someplace else. I'm not ready to go into a home. I want to stay in the house that she passed at. I leave the house to my daughter, but she can't afford to pay the taxes in here. So, I don't know what to go to talk to here, but all I want is a reduction here of somebody that's can do something for any any of the homeowners because as an as a senior citizens, they're forced to get out to a home somewhere and they don't care about them. These guys don't care about what happens to senior citizens here because younger kids want to come into the neighborhood and you can collect the taxes off of them and charges all the high interest rates and everything. He's all nervous, but nobody seems to give a damn.
074Thank you for your time. Dr. Rushi, could someone from the business office follow up with Mr. Trey? engagement. Yes, someone from the business office can follow up with me. Well, I sure hope so because I don't want to leave the home and I've got to do something by this summer. And where am I going to go? Go to Delaware. There's poor people and there's poor families and they left their homes. Poor people lived in hardwood here. I live off the street here. We'll be talking with you. I would appreciate it. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for Thank you. Okay. Moving on now to section 13 of our agenda, report on executive session. Um there was no the board did not meet for executive session prior to the um meeting tonight, so there's no announcement there.
075Our next regular public board meeting will take place on June 5th, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. here in the boardroom of the Oakmont Administration building. And with that, I will accept a motion to adjourn the meeting. Moved.