001proximity good evening i'd like to call the august 5th 2021 regular board meeting of the school district at havoc for township to order could we please rise for the pledge of allegiance states of america to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty thank you martha can you take the role please dr crispin here mr fleischer ms larson here is minji yeah mr sinto here mr schwartz ms snodgrass here miss ms wiedemann here mr feinberg so we have three members um absent tonight for summer vacations i just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself i've not chaired the meeting before in my capacity as vice president of the school board my name is bridget wiedemann i've lived in haverford township for 21 years i'm a mom i have two
002kids who went through chestnut walled and one is now at the high school and my oldest graduated in june and will be dropping her off at college next week to study engineering when they were at chestnut wald i was active in the pto as treasurer and i led activities such as art in the classroom and the jane goodall inspired roots and shoots environmental after-school program when they were in middle school i chaperoned the canadensis field trip and then my involvement shifted as they got older to cheering them on i was there for the couple of years they were in band in orchestra in the middle school and since spend lots of my time on the sidelines of their many soccer and basketball and frisbee games where i love taking pictures of the team in my
003professional career i do community development finance structuring loans to provide capital that builds health centers and funds the expansion of quality health care in areas that lack such access to services and i analyze financials and operating projections market conditions and construction projects to ensure that they proposed investment will benefit the borrower in the community and will be able to be repaid i look forward to presiding over the meeting tonight i know the school board meetings have gotten a lot of attention i'm glad we've moved to this larger room i'm glad the air conditioning is working and we have we're cool and are able to spread out and i look forward to everyone's participation and that know that these school board meetings serve as a model of democracy and local governance and this is how we
004conduct the business of the district and i hope that tonight we act as a engaged citizen for a model for everyone including the children who are watching thank you the next item of the agenda is the minutes from the august 5th meeting or i'm sorry of the july 22nd 21 meeting um could i have a motion to approve second is there any discussion hearing none all in favor aye any opposed six approved thank you the next item on the agenda is public comment um we have 15 speakers who are signed up tonight each of them will be allotted three minutes to speak uh when the three minutes is up we will ask them to conclude their remarks um but before we begin board member kristen larsen has asked to make comment so i'd like to
005take a moment to apologize to the board and to the broader school district of haverford township community i apologize for breaking with board protocol during the july 8th meeting when i spoke out of turn during public comments going forward i will adhere to board protocol and hold myself to the high standards of professionalism that i expect of myself and that you our community members expect of me i would also like to share a quote from the education scholar lisa delpit whose words have resonated with me in recent weeks i share them in hopes that they might also resonate with others in our community we do not really see through our eyes or hear through our ears but through our beliefs to put our beliefs on hold is to cease to exist as ourselves for a
006moment and that is not easy it is painful as well because it means turning yourself inside out giving up your own sense of who you are and being willing to see yourself in the unflattering light of another's angry gaze it is not easy but it is the only way to learn what it might feel like to be someone else and the only way to start the dialogue thank you the first speaker who is signed up is rich the glory could you state your name and address my name um so yes holy system um he has a whole script um yes is um uh thank you for your comments thank you thank you [Applause] the next speaker is lindsay mcgonigle can you state your address for the record please thank you um all right me [Applause]
007the next speaker is kristen malott sorry is krista here don't see anyone getting up um before we move to the next speaker anna has asked if they can look at people online are having a very difficult time hearing so can we just allow our tech folks to take a look at this yes thank you i can't hear you yes that's the email that we sent it okay we are ready to go thank you guys thank you so kristen a lot still not here um william bryant is the next speaker um good evening to the board my fellow residents of haverford and the esteemed law enforcement officers the business of this board is critically important to our children it comes with accountability responsibility criticism scrutiny and legality you're entrusted with this community's most precious commodity input
008from the community is therefore integral it should carry significant weight quoting from the honorable william j brennan united states supreme court debate on public issues should be uninhibited robust wide open and may include vehement caustic and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and elected officials i have heard no one from the so-called group of followers ever personally ridicule bully target any fellow speaker any point of view or any dissenting group yet we have witnessed some that will resort to ridiculing fellow speakers make allegations about mobs coming from other municipalities i thought this was an open meeting i don't need to be a haverford resident to be here i need to be a haverford resident to make a presentation claims uh that this public forum have become an embarrassment and even a circus also the use
009of name calling of speakers that don't dare share the same view as themselves statements from some attendees are merely members of a small fringe minority of online followers led by mere actors hucksters charlatans and pawns even going so far as to bring into question a woman's ability to parent her children allegations were made at this public forum has been allowed to become an extremely dangerous place we've all heard unsustainable claims of threats racism violence bullying and even firearms someone even went so far as to suggest that one way to silence or curtail the opposition would be to decrease the size of the gallery under the guise of covet or delta variant in my humble opinion the true danger lies in unbridled hatred political bias unfounded slurs censorship ignoring or silencing of the community your three
010minutes are up could you state your your record your address for the record i can't hear a word you're saying look your three minutes are up and um we need you to state your record thank you your address please your address please sorry um could you state your address for the record please thank you the next speak the next speaker is stacy thomasick my name is stacey tom tamashik and i live at 204 arlington road um the last board meeting was the first i ever attended and and spoke at and it was a very eye-opening experience for me i'm glad to have been able to hear a vast array of the voices of my fellow residents when the meeting was adjourned i immediately felt compelled to come back and speak again and this time in
011support of the strategic plan i saw presented and um to reiterate my support for basis those um those goals i was part of the initial uh strategic planning focus groups in the high school library in 2019 so it was really satisfying for me to see first that we're asked the community was asked their opinion and then to actually see it actualize into a tangible product for a reminder for everyone in attendance who may not know the strategic plan is composed of three core goals a social media social emotional wellness diversity and inclusion and prepare contemporary citizens this echoes the conversations i had in those focus groups and it's what i personally see as priorities for my children as students at chatham elementary and addresses many of the concerns i heard from my fellow parents and
012residents at the last board meeting they seem like universally appealing goals there seems to be a lot of noise surrounding the words diversity and inclusion and basis which brings me pause i think there's a misunderstanding or skewing of the facts when it comes to diversity and inclusion and basis these are goals and programs that are meant to create an equal playing ground on all for all of our children and again i emphasize all because we're talking about equity we want all of our children no matter how foreign their circumstances are to us to be safe to be heard to believe that they belong and to be given a quality education and i've heard several times not just at the last board meeting but out about in the community that racism isn't in tavr town and
013everybody is treated equally here and i can tell you firsthand that's not true right before schools were shut down in march in 2020 my then eight-year-old son was exposed to the n-word for the first time at a playground two other boys were playfully throwing the word around and my son not knowing what the word was joined in so then i had to explain to him what slavery is and the history of that word and the significance of that word and then i find out from another parent that one of those boys at the playground used that word in reference to jackie robinson years prior he's just an n you know he told another kindergartener so my friend's kid was exposed to that word in that hatred when he was five and at the last board
014meeting a man behind me quietly heckled many of the speakers who spoke in supportive basis prejudice exists here racism exists here and i'm sure my second hand stories of racism and prejudice are benign compared to what our residents of color and of other marginalized groups experience so creating a diverse and inclusive environment in our schools is nothing but a positive thing for all of our children expanding their global view is not going to hurt anyone learning about how other people think and live will only improve empathy and understanding it's imperative that our children understand a world outside of their own thank you thank you [Applause] next speaker is lara lombardi hello my name is laura lombardi i'm a parent and resident of harvardtown i live at 432 at kelly road i want to thank the
015school board for bringing the basis program to our schools i understand it's a polarizing topic but it's important for us to remember it's hard being a kid particularly for the students who are made to feel they don't belong or are excluded because of they're different in some way from their peers having the basis program is exactly what our children need and i'm so thankful our children are able to get this support from the district when i was seven years old i did not have that support i was excluded for many years because of my religion the emotional impact that had amazing a child clearly still continues with me today as an adult i was reluctant to speak tonight with so much anger coming from some of our neighbors but it's not about the parents it's
016about the children and no child should ever be made to feel less than or excluded every child deserves support inclusion belonging and to feel safe i can't imagine a parent not wanting that for their child additionally learning about each other's differences makes us stronger as a community it allows us to have an appreciation for new faces and friends when researching about the basis program i learned that morning meeting is the basis program in action morning meeting also happens to be my children's favorite part of the day besides recess they love it because they're learning about their peers they're working together as a team and they're sharing what's happening in their world thank goodness for morning meeting that was an essential part of our morning when we were virtually learning it was their opportunity to connect
017with their class socialize and feel included i understand that basis is more than morning meeting in middle school and high school but the basis program is exactly what our children need the author robert fulham said it best we could learn a lot from crayons some are sharp some are pretty some are dull while others bright some have weird names but they all have learned to live in the same box thank you for your time the next speaker is jen trolley hello my name is jen trolley i live at 19 east clearfield road habertown i want to start off by thanking the board for all the tireless work involved with successfully navigating an entire school district through an ongoing pandemic there are no easy decisions related to covid and education and i thank you for keeping
018the well-being of our students in mind the entire time though tonight i'm here to express my continued support of the basis program and the work the district is doing to create a sense of belonging for all of its community members as stated in the july 8th meeting the board and the administrators are committed to ensuring all students feel welcome and ready to learn as a proud parent of two coopertown students and an elementary educator myself i know that in order for a student to learn they need to feel safe supported and included this work is required in schools by the pa department of education every student succeeds act because there is more to education than teaching reading writing and math high quality education which is what we all want for our children in the haverford
019township school district goes beyond the instruction of the fundamental skills and teaches students to think critically be creative and work collaboratively learners must have so many tools at their disposal to succeed and there is no greater tool needed for a learner than feeling that you will belong and you are the basic program acknowledges the factors that impact a student's sense of belonging and is committed to identifying programs and practices that improve school climate and in turn enhance student learning as human beings one of the most essential needs we have is the need to belong according to dr linda darling hammond president and ceo of the learning policy institute when that sense of belonging is there children throw themselves into the learning environment and when that sense of belonging is not there children will alienate they
020will marginalize and they will step back in order for students to feel the sense of belonging the whole community students included need to be open to learning about others and the factors that impact social cultural identity such as race gender sexual orientation religion and family background just like with responsive classroom practices and the best buddies program we need to provide training and support for teachers so that they can help prepare our students for the future and validate the individual identity of each child they teach i strongly believe that both the basis program and the work of the diversity and inclusion committee are needed in order to provide an educational environment that fosters empathy and allows for critical thinking while producing our resilient learners our students need this and our support now more than ever thank
021you for your time [Applause] krista kerber is the next speaker good evening i'm krista kerber 811 powder mill lane in wynwood winwood my family has been here in the township for about 23 years i'm the parent of a 2020 hhs grad and a 13 year old who's attended chatham park in the middle school i'm also a member of the however town area community action network known as hcam and i spoke back in may about the history that led to the basis program expressing my support for it and my concerns about some false dichotomies and some misinformation that have been spread about it i applaud everybody that's spoken about the same things since unfortunately everything has gotten more heated since then and i hear those opposing this work i feel the concerns about children being indoctrinated
022about the lack of transparency that they perceive about mental health impact on our children of wearing masks all day and i'm encouraged you'll be hosting community engagement sessions to address this i hope they're facilitated in a way that allows everyone to feel heard i also hope it will become or at least begin to become clear that no one is teaching that politeness is racist no one is working to make white students feel guilty for being white while basis i'm sure isn't perfect it is working hard to support the needs of all students so they can learn things like language arts math and history so they graduate with tools like critical thinking work ethic media and financial literacy empathy to help them realize their full potential and contribute to society as adults i would i'd also
023love to hear about the extra support for mental and emotional well-being that you've provided and that you plan to provide in the midst of all of this especially since it seems likely that coveted mitigation efforts will once again have to include face masks indoors sorry my notes are and i i hope it also we also come away from it um with less suspicion and fear of each other i and in the meantime i hope that all of us who have been debating in public comments and online will do the work to start that as well thank you [Applause] christina gandy is the next speaker good evening school board and dr ruschi and everybody watching the meeting and listening i live at 124 treaty road my husband and i have three kids in the district high
024school middle school and elementary school i want to state that our family and many other families in our neighborhood are for optional masking for kids no matter the vaccination status from the beginning of this pandemic my husband has been an essential worker in various parts of philly interacting with various people he did not have the safety privilege to work from home he did not have the safety privilege to wait to go back to work after he was vaccinated or after the vaccines were available he had to take the risk of going into work as we watched my husband take the safety risk of living life we started allowing our kids to take those so-called risks as well starting in june 2020 we allowed our then 10 year old son to participate in indoor outdoor sports
025unmasked and sometimes in not well ventilated areas because people always talk about ventilation we didn't do this because we were careless parents but because we cared we knew he needed athletics and socialization for his emotional and mental health we knew kids were at low risk for serious disease with kovid so we let him participate masculist as the pandemic progressed and even through the winter massless participation in sports continued also all three of our kids saw friends indoors and outdoors massless and they have been fine they continue to be fine as they live their life mass less i also want to talk about mass for the youngest population so our youngest will be in second grade she was six years old last year in first grade she would come home from school she took multiple masks
026with little pin holes and masks soaking wet because she would suck on them all day so my question is if master mandatory how does a mess with pinhole soak and wet gonna protect her from covet it's not and she's six that's what she does that's what other six year olds did her teacher also had to pull her mass down her own as the teacher and the students had to pull their mask down because they couldn't hear the teacher the teacher couldn't hear them talk so how are you supposed to teach phonics and other things and that nature if they can't hear each other through the mass how are they supposed to learn socialization skills if they can't hear each other through the mass at six and seven and eight years old and i also have
027a question in regards to marple school district so my friend was at their school board meeting two nights ago their numbers are the same as ours and their masking is still optional so what makes the difference between us and them if we have the same numbers why did they not have plexiglass around their desks when our elementary school kids have plexiglass so i guess my question is i'm just not understanding the reasoning for mandatory mass when our neighborhood school district i know my time's up like a mile down the road um literally has different rules but the same cova numbers so i'm for optional masking your three minutes is up thinking i know that and i really hope you take our kids whole well-being into consideration when you make this decision elena elena wisely is
028the next speaker hi my name is elena wisely i live at 612 willowbrook road dr rusci i would like to thank you for the clarification that you're not teaching crt to our children allow me to clarify we do not think you are teaching complex legal theories to children i believe the concepts and ideology of crt are woven through the structure of their education this is accomplished through the implementation of 1619 sel dei training kennedy's literature your anti-racist resolution which you passed last year citing candy as well as others my interpretation of kendy's words is that the only way to make up for past racism is current racism that is what your racist resolution does and it hurts all children including minority students crt is also embedded in supplementations through videos such as brainpop and adam
029ruins neighborhoods there's no approval needed for these videos i'm really happy that you have stated for the record that you follow the pennsylvania department of education allow me to state for the record what the pennsylvania department of education shares on their website talks about whiteness white privilege blm in schools implicit bias curriculum for white americans to educate themselves on race the revolution will be tweeted middle school teacher empowers his student to lift their voices about ferguson by assigning them to tweet these are just two cartoons of many found on the pennsylvania department of education website if these don't say crt for kids i don't know what does the responsive classroom is another problem that i would like to see more about so if you could please put that on the website your woke work is
030teaching children that their self-worth is dependent on how others view them children should be taught how to value themselves for everything they are and everything they could be regardless of intrinsic characteristics our children are so anxious about using the correct gender terminology for their peers that they cannot focus on the little bit of academics you are providing they cannot create friendships and they are fearful they do not want to not be accepted because of other beliefs or accidentally saying the wrong thing or maybe not understanding someone else's beliefs fully but that's okay they don't have to understand everyone their children they're learning and that's okay a haverford high school student sent me a message thanking him thanking me for standing up for them he said that he hates how the district is using kids to
031fight in their culture war the focus on white privilege during history class is toxic i never had politics in class before but those people saw an opportunity to corrode students minds rather than just letting us learn let them learn as if creating lifelong anxiety and id identity confusion wasn't enough these programs are expensive share with the taxpayers exactly how many thousands of dollars you waste on these social experiments while they suffer further financial burden during a pandemic with additional tax increases to cover the costs of these programs a good education is expensive indoctrination is extortionate thank you [Applause] deborah crossman is the next speaker good evening members of the haverford school board i'm dr deb kaufman at 430 east manoa road and i'm also speaking on behalf of my husband dr mark cosman who is
032working tonight and couldn't be here in person first of all we would like you we would like you and this and the school administration teaching staff to be aware that there are many residents of this community like my husband husband and me who don't usually attend meetings but who very much support the efforts you have been making to bring issues of equality and diversity into the curriculum and to provide an inclusive and welcoming educational environment for all haverford township students we are grateful for the work that you do and appreciate how difficult it often must be my husband and i are both clinical psychologists with more than 25 years in the field we've been homeowners in havertown since 1996. we did not have children but we pay taxes and support public education because we understand
033how important it is both of us were educated in public schools we have family members who are public school teachers in new york new jersey and new mexico we are involved members of this community who support the work the school board has been doing because we want all children to become critical thinkers and engaged empathetic citizens it's good for their psychological and physical health the community and ultimately our country as they become adults who participate in democracy and hopefully make this world a better place we will continue to support basis and any programming and training that helps children understand racism and think about their own feelings and ideas as psychologists we understand the importance of giving children accurate information we have worked with clients of all ages from all different kinds of cultural backgrounds racial
034and ethnic identities sexual orientations with visible and invisible disabilities health concerns and neurodiversity issues we can't state strongly enough that teaching children to value difference as they seek to understand the world in which they live is exactly what good education is all about learning to be open accepting and curious about the experiences of others isn't about teaching adult concepts as one recent commentator said to you during the july meeting these are the tenants that form the basis of a solid education that lasts a lifetime so please keep providing the tools the funding and the will needed to do this you have our full support to do so thank you [Applause] danielle reynolds is the next speaker my name is danielle reynolds i live at 363 south middle road i've lived there for almost my entire
03533 years of life i'm a 2006 haverford graduate i was a member of that cheerleading squad you guys voted on that went to nationals and i'm now raising my son in town in district my family is composed of volunteer firefighters active and retired military volunteer coaches and previous members of the hilltop civic association we've seen many neighbors come and go we've seen triumphant tragedy but i've never seen like a hammer town like the one i see today i'm here to address the notion of crt being introduced in our school's curriculum though the board has stated you do not and will not be teaching crt your current summer reading list continues to contradict that statement first i'll start off by saying i'm neither for or against because you have not produced documentation that can be referenced
036but what but from what has already been introduced i can say the divide you are not supporting is already mass producing hatred amongst neighbors spite amongst friends and it's spreading faster than light my home has been attacked on multiple occasions my home assuming the obvious we're targeted for the flags we display military police and country i've had food thrown on my property i've been called a racist while playing outside with my three-year-old and i currently have a penis spray painted on the tree out front of my house that was done the night the election was called majority of the damage has been done by kids when i was growing up we barely stepped foot on the neighbor's lawn so i asked myself where do our kids get the audacity to attack their own community this
037way i can't tell someone how to parent but i can ask you just the board to stop encouraging and enabling a curriculum even entertaining a curriculum that only adds gasoline to the fire of a division that is growing at a rapid pace in this town and in this country i am all for a comprehensive curriculum which teaches our nation's history to include its flaws but i cannot support any material which insinuates that by virtue of skin color today in the 21st century an american child will be denied opportunity or given special consideration based on their racial status as a parent this idea of seeing everything through the lens of skin color is in direct conflict with the values i teach my child and it is not up to the school board to decide how to
038introduce children to such a polarizing topic prematurely pushing brain pop videos and other material without a heads up to the parents on our kids to keep up with your political trendiness is a disservice to our children our community and quite honestly looks like a check mark on your political agendas instead of creating confidence in the community among the parents with complete transparency you've repeatedly dodged questions ignored emails and allowed individuals to use this podium to attack other concerned citizens and mock their parenting skills your lack of transparency and quite frankly leadership has turned the board meeting into a circus the confidence of our community has been demolished and our one starving schools are being mocked and jeopardized i'm asking the board to consider the effects of pushing these non-crt materials three minutes is up thank
039you i'm finishing before brain pop our local police officers were respected heroes before books like can i touch your hair new kid or they already says kenny our kids didn't see questions or color their neighbors classmates or color of their neighbor's classmates again your three minutes is up everyone is they were teammates classmates neighbors and friends and now mike your three minutes is up [Music] man please sit down please sit down [Applause] we have a i'm sorry ma'am you are not one of the registered speakers we have three minutes allowed for each speaker the next speaker is helene kleinroy smith tomorrow smith i live at 32 east westwood park drive havertown i'm a mom in this community i'm also running for school board this school district has fallen short in producing the financial revenue and
040expenditure of reports at each board meeting this report documents each financial transaction that has been added or removed from an account as a taxpayer we have the right to see it it is you the board to ensure that it's shown to us as a taxpayer i'd like to see it back in 2018 at the board meetings the public's received two documents a financial disclosure at the agenda and the agenda as taxpayers we want to see the expenditures the revenue and we want to see everything that's occurring in between the weeks what are you spending our money on what time are you using on our where are you going on our time we want to know we no longer no longer share this information easily and we are well aware of your politics and we will
041not sit by and allow you to place this on our children transparency and equality is key you see discriminations against the law compelling children to make statements about their gender sexual preference or racial identity is against the 14th amendment and title sticks you gave an award to a student to show their privilege morning meetings i just want to clarify has been around for 20 years my kids have been through it i have graduates teachers our teachers are fabulous in this district and they they did this for our kids you know why because they care and they wanted to bring this in the reading material in the curriculum the statements you make and the lessons are sprinkled with marxism your own teacher mike mullen and sarah david on 218 said that we need basis and equity
042mike mullen shared his experience as a child and described his prejudice that's not everyone's experience and i just want to say louis smith spoke on 723 again supporting equity equity means we all end in the same place where are our counter views where are conservative teachers are they allowed to speak because it only seems that one side is presenting are you censoring and silencing teachers through emails and statements that direct teachers to not like state or comment on school board issues or district issues that don't agree with through social media are your allowances for one side to speak and not counter balance let me tell you something that signals your bias not mine not my following you treat your staff and our children the same you should be ashamed of the practices that you are
043implementing right now your claim of racism is unfounded your anti-racism resolution adopted on 8 20 20 was a political virtual signaling we are here at haverford we guess what you don't represent we you don't represent everyone in this community and it needs to stop thank you [Applause] sophia gracie is the next speaker hello i'm sophia gracie i live at 1422 johnson road i think we all have differing opinions on a lot of things in here but i think that we can all agree that we want our schools to be open this year that we want it to be as safe as possible that we want our kids to learn as much as possible and i am concerned that some of our current plans don't ensure this i came here initially to speak about the lunch
044plan um i think that it would be wise to reconsider what's in the current safety plan um i understand that our hands are tied with some things like eating in the classroom serves logistical issues because the teachers are contractually obligated to their lunch break and their preps my idea proposal is that we consider an outdoor lunch current data shows that the average american child spends four to seven minutes out in outside unstructured time per day which is roughly 40 hours a year but 1200 hours a year in front of screens which i think was only exacerbated this past year during the pandemic many of our coveted area private schools function in part on a tenant that their outdoor campuses are a central part of their student success they really incorporate them into their students learning
045and i think that's something that moving forward we could work to do we could use this baby step with our relief funds to start bringing that in but sorry hopefully create a model that allows for outdoor learning and outdoor engagement moving forward to help us achieve our goal of making our su our district a district of first choice and highly successful students research really supports that outdoor time for students is beneficial and accelerates students learning and success finally in addition to what i was already planning on saying i have concern about our ability the district's ability to enforce what they're saying they're going to enforce given the 25 people over here to my right that know that they're supposed to be wearing masks right now it's been mandated it's on the district website we all
046got an email saying mandatory masking okay was a rule put out by the district correct please please let her speak okay so let me change my wording then a requirement if there's a requirement that all teachers staff students and visitors wear masks while indoors to district in district facilities i think sorry i know my time is up if that is not going to be upheld i really think it's important to allow the zoom meet the public comment available on zoom again because this isn't safe for everyone i ask that we refrain from comments from the audience so we can hear the speakers the next speaker is andrew pidgeon order please we're trying to conduct business the next speaker is here andrew pigeon hello andrew pigeon uh 1728 hawthorne avenue i wanted to clarify a couple
047of things a couple of questions and hopefully remind you that there are experiences being lost that outweigh the risk of covet in my opinion so you set the bar you have set the timetable and you have set the precedent the second the cases go below 50 per 100 000 in delco that may have become optional no questions asked the very next day this makes me curious are we going to gather around our phones at 8pm waiting on the cdc to update the county's numbers will the excitement build like a snow day when we were kids kids kids guess what 49 cases per hundred thousand delco no mass tomorrow then we can celebrate tuck the kids in bed and they can rest easy knowing that if they don't take the bus they can continue to breathe
048free air like they have since school let out they can play sports free of a mask they may even be allowed to talk to a friend at lunch speaking of lunch how is that going to work with no distancing requirements is it like going out to dinner now kobe can't get you when you're eating only when you're on your way to and from the bathroom anyway back to the story the kids are excited they are free but their freedom could be short-lived on tuesday weekend numbers reports are due in and since masks are not required in any other aspect of life besides school the cases could go up to the dreaded fifty per hundred thousand will the teachers get an email each morning letting them know that the cases are above or below fifty per
049hundred thousand in all of delco so they can keep track on whether or not the kids are required to wear a mask it could also let them know that their students especially the ones that are learning to read may be able to see their smiling faces you remember those smiles you got growing up letting you know you were doing good work those smiles you got reassuring you and motivating you to do better or maybe even that look you know the one i'm talking about the one to let you know you're about to cross a line i remember all those looks for my teachers sadly my kids never saw their teachers faces in person last year and they never watched their mouths moved as they sounded out all of these new sight words and trick words
050i'm sure these teachers miss seeing their kids faces as well but sadly they won't get the satisfaction of seeing that aha moment on their students face when the teachings sink in with a pure joy on their students faces from the surprise ending of a new book with a profound life lesson that they just learned our kids and teachers alike are being robbed of these experiences personally i'm 44 years old and i cherish the memories of my grade school teachers faces and i'm sure long after the teachers are retired they look back on all the smiling faces they inspired listen to what's going on in the district everywhere i go there's talk of putting kids in pods starting their own pods not for safety concerns but because of the masking policies you can't even get into
051a catholic school in the district they have been booked solid for two years because of the droves of the people leaving the district how are we any different than bucks county their cases are no different than ours but they see the value in education and human interaction and that outweighs the risks of the 335 out of 74 million the last time i spoke i asked you to remember that undeniable fact 335 kids have died from or with covet in the last 18 months that's a risk i'm willing to take the next item the agenda is board liaison reports but we don't have any this time so the next item agenda is dr rushi's superintendent remarks thank you mrs weakness just a few updates some that i think will particularly be of interest to the public
052our next board meeting on august 19th we will introduce two portions for public comment uh during our during our meeting uh the first portion which occurs at the start of the meeting will ask for those comments to pertain to items that the board will be will have on their agenda that evening and then we'll add a second portion of public comment that could be for any other topics any other items that are on the on the agenda on august 12th the finance and facilities liaisons will meet that will be a public committee meeting that will be held at seven o'clock in the evening all of the items on that agenda will pertain to finance and facility projects that agenda will be published and will be shared with the community ahead of time so that you
053can see what items related to finance and facilities the board will be learning about that that meeting will be different from a general action meeting such such as this the most noticeable difference will be that the board will not be voting or taking any action it is a time where they will be learning about future items that we will be asking their approval for and having those as public uh meetings you'll have an opportunity as well to hear about the things that the board will be learning about hear the questions that the board members ask about those projects and that work and have a time for public comment that can also include some some questions you know depending on the items that are that are on the agenda we have said uh you've heard at
054these meetings from time to time that this is the business meeting of the board um it's set up for public comments to here so it's really at uh committee meetings where there will be more of an opportunity at not an extensive q a back and forth but we're looking at how we can increase the opportunity for that and as one of our speakers mentioned we are looking at how we can foster more of a community engagement session that's not something that we're going to be able to put together and hold this month because we want to look at how how would we facilitate that how do we have opportunity for everyone who who attends and and wants to speak and wants to be heard how do we create the opportunity for that to occur uh
055so we will be sharing more with you about that as as time goes on that we have received a few questions today in particular about you know what's the data set that the board is you know that we are using with respect to coven 19 data um it's the cdc website where there isn't anything more specific that we have than that so the cdc data dashboard is what we currently have to work from while the pennsylvania department of health does have a dashboard where you can look by zip code the data that are there go back to like the beginning of covid so it's it's not uh respective of this for this point in time which is what we're trying to obtain we have reached out to chester county health department to see would they
056be willing to put that data together for the schools in delaware county so that essentially all of the schools are not being treated as one county-wide school district school district we're looking to see where can we bring our advocacy and maybe our advocacy as a full community can we get specific haverford township data i saw the lines of students who were at the vaccine clinics uh both are students at middle school and students at at the high school level i know there are a lot of students who you know who are vaccinated we've not been able to get that specific um information and as i mentioned previously i'm hesitant to you know ask families about that in information for a lot you know a lot of reasons and i don't want to be presenting a
057false narrative if we collect and leave it totally optional which we would need to do if we were asking for vaccine information that's the so that's in answer to a couple of the questions that have come in today specifically what's the data point what is that data reference that you are using that's what we have used up until this point in time the next item of the agenda is for informational purposes i'm sorry i'm sorry there you're out of order that this is not a time for public comment you can sign up for the next meeting the next item of the agenda is um for informational purposes it is uh um the secretary is to submit for insertion into the minutes proof of publication as it relates to the change in the meeting location for
058the regular public school board meetings and that was the move to the high school auditorium the next item of the agenda is the bill list this is an action item may get a motion to approve disbursements from the general fund totaling six hundred forty thousand nine hundred seventy nine dollars and eighty two cents moved crisp in a second is there any discussion all in favor any opposed six in favor the next item is change orders there is a requested action to accept the recommendation of the project architect kcba and associates inc and the owner's representative cv development services inc and authorized change orders totaling twenty 28 dollars and seventy five cents as listed larson moved for spend second is there any discussion um do we have any updates in terms of um the this just
059reminds me lynnwood um how are things looking timeline is tight we said six days a week they're looking good they are at civic at six days a week um and that will be part of our facility like a more current update okay at our facility meeting and the second meeting of august is when um our rep from subaru development does attend the meetings okay fantastic thank you any other discussion all in favor any opposed six in favor thank you the next agenda is a professional services agreement um seeking a motion to approve the relocation services proposal with wayne moving in storage for the haverford high school school project phase one as recommended by the owner's representative cb development for an amount not to exceed 8 100 not grass moved it's a second any discussion hearing
060none all in favor aye any opposed six in favor the next item is an action item seeking a motion to approve the government entity resolution with td bank to change or add authorized signatures any discussion hearing none all in favor any opposed six in favor next item is for action seeking a motion to approve a technology lease for the acquisition of 575 chromebooks as part of the one to world haverford program at a cost of nine 157 eleven dollars and eighty four cents person moved president two second any discussion is this a cost that we're going to recur or incur annually there will there will be a cost that particular number will change will change these are actually going into us into second grade classes we're moving um laptops along okay thank you any other
061comments all in favor aye any opposed six in favor we're now on the human resources portion of the agenda uh this is an action item to accept the following resignations as listed with two positions retiring congress moved larson second any comments all in favor any opposed six in favor seeking an action uh to approve the following appointments is listed larson moved just one second any discussion all in favor aye any opposed six in favor number 10 on our agenda is board reports antoinette um yeah just really quickly um because i have a kindergartener who's really excited i want to remind everyone there's five weeks until we start school and i also just want to say that everyone up here comes to this table with good intentions and we are we are here because we are
062public servants and we want to serve our community everyone that comes to the mic i believe that you have good intentions and i just want everyone in the community to approach each other with the understanding that we're all here because we care about our kids and we care about our communities and the reason that we're here is because we have the good intentions whether we agree with each other about everything or not that's that's why we're all here today that's why we're up here and thank you everyone to be engaged and uh thanks lara would you like to go next five more weeks wow susan thank you bridget i i just i i feel compelled to say that i've been a public servant and have for chancellor for almost 40 years and for almost 40
063years i have worked tirelessly for the children your children my children everyone's children and i've never always 100 agreed with anyone but i've always been able to communicate to people that it's all about the kids what's best for the kids we can agree we can disagree some of us may win some of us may lose next week it may be different but i have always emphasized community in this district we are one community i came from drexel hill and i moved to haverford when my third and fourth children were born because i believed in haverford i got a job here i worked here i moved my way up the ladder i ended as a principal i became i got on the school board because i noticed that there was no educators on the school board
064no one had a say no one was able to talk about what the teachers were thinking nobody was able to talk about what it looks like in the classroom what morning meeting looks like which is something i agree we've been doing for many years so i just would like to say that whether we agree or disagree and i understand that we are all here for your children and our children so i thank you very much for coming and talking to us i love the passion i love the energy i think it's important that we're all able to speak to each other about how we feel why we're angry why we're not angry i thank you for that and i thank you for giving me the time to work 40 years for your children thank you
065kristen no report no report um and i yeah i don't have much of a report but it just dawned on me that um the high school sports will officially start uh two mondays from now which is several weeks before the school year starts on september 9th so it will be fun to see the school back in action i'm looking forward to hopefully soon getting to see the new wing here and see the new linwood we'll have a lot to celebrate as the new school year starts so enjoy the next couple weeks of summer it's going to start to get really busy for the next public board meeting the next regular public board meeting will be held on august 19th here in the auditorium of haverford high school there was not an executive session tonight so
066i don't have a report on that and i'd like to accept a motion to adjourn the meeting my grass moved second all in favor all right thank you meeting is adjourned