MTSD School Board - Voting Session - 4/16/2026

001Good evening. The meeting of the Manheim Township School Board is now called to order. Welcome to everyone here in person and those joining us online on YouTube. I apologize for us getting started a few minutes late this evening, but I will say in addition to our live stream, both audio and video are being recorded here tonight. Nurture and challenge for success is our district's mission. It serves as a reminder of our intent to enable every Manheim Manheim Township student to learn, grow, and thrive. Now, please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. >> [laughter] >> This meeting is keeping me on my toes already. Okay, we are now on to our announcements. As I said earlier, members of our community are encouraged to participate in board meetings in person or to view them online. In

002support of both transparency and community engagement, recordings of meetings can now also be watched afterwards on the district's YouTube channel. We have a few important dates to flag here, and I want to start with April 22nd, which is Administrative Professionals Day. That's this upcoming Wednesday, and this one is easy. Our schools cannot function without the people in our front offices and administrative departments. They are the glue that hold our district together. They're often the first smiling face a student or visitor sees upon entering the building. They manage logistics and support our families, ensuring that our daily operations run smoothly. I want to thank them for their tireless work. I'm also very excited about something that relates to my professional life, Earth Day. This is Earth Month. But this upcoming April 25th is our native plant

003sale and Earth Day Festival. It's a Saturday. This is a wonderful partnership between the Township School District and the Township itself. The event runs rain or shine 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Overlook and at the Park and Activity Center. It's going to be a fantastic day featuring music from our own school district staff and students, food trucks, kids activities, and educational presenters. There will also be a recycling drive and raffle prizes. A great way to show off our the beauty of our community and our local sustainability efforts. And then moving on to next, another important day to lift up is National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day. That is Tuesday, April 28th. And our drivers have the immense responsibility of transporting our most precious cargo safely each and every day, regardless of traffic or weather.

004We truly appreciate their commitment to our students. Thank you. And then finally, I want to talk about executive session. This board met in executive session on April 2nd purely to receive information where no deliberations occurred. And we also met this evening before the meeting to discuss confidential personnel matters. That's it for our announcements, and we are now on to item two in our agenda, which are presentations. Our 2026-2027 budget updates. Mrs. Robbins, welcome. Thank you. I do have a helper tonight. Mr. Gills is going to help me out with a couple slides. As you heard from me back in February, we're providing another update to you this evening. We'll have another update in May and another one in June. I will tell you that the numbers I'm going to present to you this evening are

005not finalized. We're going to continue to tweak those numbers. As the board knows, I like to do that till the very last minute to make sure we have the most accurate budget possible. So, the expenditures that are not finalized, which are could be a little bit substantial to be based on if anything happens between now and June, are the the tuition for student placements. That's our students that are placed outside of district. We we analyze that only up till the last minute. The IU costs for student services, these are for the students that we sent to the IU for special education. Those costs have not been provided by the IU yet, so those are just estimated at this time. Myself and Mr. Brubaker will be continuing to refine all the expenses and revenues until you're

006ready to approve the final budget in June. What the budget does include, our biggest increase is a $4.7 million increase for labor. That includes all of our salary and benefits. That includes the new staff that was presented to you in February. It also includes increases to the teachers' contract, which is 3.75% for next year. It also includes lateral movement, which means they get some educational degrees that move across the schedule. And also stipends. We also have a $127,000 savings due to employees that are retiring that we can replace them at a lesser cost. The non-recurring expenditures, what I like to do is I like to pull the things out that are not recurring. And we've been saving for these items through our multi-year plan. Those equal about $943,000, and we're going to recommend that we

007utilize our fund balance or savings account to pay for those non-recurring items since they're once and gone. That $943,000 includes the $840,000 ask from curriculum and instruction for the new textbook and materials. That's actually down from last year. Last year was about 1.2 million. So, you'll see an actual decrease in this curriculum and instruction budget, even though they are asking for those additional materials. And also there's some safety and security upgrades, which Mr. Gills is going to help us out with. That's $103,000. Again, that's going to be a once and done for next year if that's approved. We are phasing in some mills for the future future teachers' contract and the future borrowing for next year. Transportation increases from current year budget to next year budget is increasing pretty significantly, and Mr. Gills is going

008to go over that in a second. That's about $488,000 that increases due to needs this year. And then the basic ed and special education subsidies that the governor proposed, I've included all of those for a total of $279,000. As you know, the state budget did not was not approved until November of last year. So, the board only wanted to um include 50% of our adequacy money. Those funds did come through, so we we are picking up an additional $878,000 for the adequacy funds for the current year. I attended a PASBO conference, the business officials conference, and I got some good news from PASBO. They are really encouraging us to include 100% of our adequacy money for next year. So, I went ahead and included 100% instead of the 50%. Hopefully we're going to get that.

009I'm going to be optimistic there on that piece. We're also doing our special education department also doing a lot of additional billing for Medicaid assistance. That's going to that's that's an increase of about $450,000 on the revenue side. We'll be using some of those dollars to pay for some of the new positions that we were we were requested back in February. We are anticipating the interest the Fed cut the rates a little bit during the year, so we did have to decrease the interest earnings down to a 3%. That's about a $300,000 drop. And for purposes of this evening, we have not included any tax increase. I'm not going to review all these positions in in great detail because we did give you a pretty detailed presentation back in February. However, you'll see that the

010first three positions were mid-year adds for this current year, and the remaining positions were requests for '26-'27. And then these are the proposed support staff positions that were again presented to you back in February. These are all proposed for next year. So, at the bottom of the slide there you'll see the total. If you net out what we anticipate that we could apply towards these positions for that the new medical assistance funds, the net add for the new positions is about a million dollars. I already went through a lot of this with my opening slide, but these are the major budget increases. I took the expenditure budget for current year, and I backed into the number for next year. So, you can see all those budget to budget adds. I'll just highlight a couple of

011things there. You can see the first five lines is all related to that $4.7 million increase for labor, which makes sense because we are 67% of our budget is labor. So, a big piece of our increase on the expenditure side is labor related. As I stated earlier, the curriculum and instruction looks like it's a decrease, but it's just because the ask for the new materials was less for next year than it was for the current year. We'll skip down to the transportation piece. Again, that's going to increase about from budget to budget about $700,000. Special education services, again, that will change because we have not received those amounts from the IU yet. Facilities and utilities, that is going to increase about $440,000. About half of that is due to electricity. I'm sure you all know

012from your own hearing bills we are increasing electricity costs and also just the cost of repairs, maintenance, supplies, things like that that's hit our facilities and utilities budget. Security services, again, most of that is non-recurring, which Mr. Gillis is going to go over with you. And also the debt service, that's a little bit tricky because um last year we You'll see on the other side, on the revenue side, a decrease of sale of fixed assets. Last year we had made two payments for the Apple lease because we had sold all of our old devices, so we had made two payments um in the current year. That's why that's that looks like a little bit of a drop there. So, the total expenditure changes is $5.8 million. On the revenue side, you'll see some some pretty

013big increases in our earned income taxes. We're actually going to realize of that $925,000 increase, we're we're going to realize about 600,000 of that this year. Um that was unanticipated, but it's actually coming from one taxpayer that was exempt from paying and now they're paying, so we'll be able to enjoy those those funds moving forward. Um even [clears throat] at a 0% tax increase, we've had it assessment increases. Um so, that's that's 316,000. We'll check that assessment number several times between now and the county will send it to me here. Um we keep asking them what our assessment number is so we can get the most accurate real estate number that we can get there. Um as I alluded to earlier, we are dropping interest earnings slightly due to the Fed cuts. Uh transfer taxes,

014we anticipate a little bit of an increase there. That's just based on trends. Um $350,000. The PEERS and FICA state reimbursement, if you look over in the expense side, you'll see that the PEERS and FICA is increasing 1.3. We do get half that back from the state, so that's the corresponding um increase in revenue on that side. Um you'll see the ready to learn adequacy money of 1.75. Again, that's 100% of what we hope to receive for next year. Um I mentioned the sale of fixed assets. We won't have that um for next year. And then you can see the medical access funds. We hope to um draw down about $495,000 in additional medical access money. So, you'll see our revenue increases is 3.9. And then you can see the total estimated expenditures and revenues

015at the bottom of the page there. And then um that leaves us with a starting shortfall of $4.163 million. This just shows you um just kind of a screenshot of our largest piece of our budget, which is labor, which is makes up about 67.5%. You'll see most of that is made up of salaries there in the blue. We have uh FICA and PEERS in the red and the green there. Again, half we get half we will get half that back from the state. And then the 10.7 for medical, dental, vision. And you'll see the other the other pieces of that pie there. And our total budget, again, you can see the 67.5 is is based on labor. Um our the red the red section there is uh instructional support of 9.7. And the other large

016piece there is uh debt and reserves of 12.3%. Let's turn things over to Mr. Gillis to go over the transportation budget. Good evening, everyone. All right. So, as transportation does tend to drive budget quite a bit, I do like to provide a little bit more of a perspective in terms of what we're actually paying for on a day-to-day basis. Um as we talk about transportation, it is something that we are obligated to do because as a district we decide to provide transportation for all of our students. What that exactly means in layman's terms, basically any one of our students, public students or non-public students within 10 miles of boundaries or students going to charter schools, we have to provide transportation in regards to the PA school law. So, in terms of our budget, as we're

017trying to extrapolate some of the numbers here, so it doesn't look like too large of an increase from year over year, a lot of the change happened within this year. So, this year for 25-26, we expected a $6.2 million budget. We do zero-based budgeting, so virtually we're accounting for every dollar, you know, that's attached to anything that we're actually doing. In the 25-26 school year, we did need to add multiple vehicles, so we added three buses for non-public IEP-based transportation and then one for regular ed transportation. In addition to those three buses, we did add an additional four vans for IEP-based transportation. So, it was a large increase that was definitely unforeseen. Each year we tried to provide a little bit of buffer room, but this was a an exploding year, so to speak. So,

018actual budget more or less is looking like $6.7 million, which is closer to the 6.9, but just wanted to give a little bit perspective. Going ahead into 20 26-27 budget, Brightbill accounts for about $5.7 million of the budget. That's going to account for the day-to-day transportation of our students. So, anything, if you think of the buses running in the morning and the vans running in the morning, as well as in the afternoon, and that is exclusively to our nine buildings across the district. In terms of direct transportation costs, that's everything else. So, if we're talking about IU-based transportation for students going to other placements throughout Lancaster County, talking about early intervention, extended school year for students with IEPs, um anything regarding curriculum, so if it is like curriculum-based trips or field trips, which we now

019cover, we started that this year at the elementary level, as well as anything regarding athletics. So, even though it's great that, you know, our teams are doing well, that's an additional cost that we are accounting for and I work with uh the athletics department in budgeting accordingly for that. In terms of the airport lease, we do have two different leases at Lancaster Airport uh for Brightbill Transportation. We have a building that we constructed a few years ago up there for our office staff and some light bus maintenance. Uh so, we have that as well as parking for about 100 vehicles over there. So, it allows for all of their staff and office staff to work up there and still be safe and close to all of the action because once again, when we talk about

020reimbursement for dollars, the closer our contractor is to what we're doing, the better it is for us. It's less miles with students or without students on board. So, that's what we want to maximize from that level of things. In terms of vehicle leases, so back in 2023, we did start a partnership with Enterprise. So, right now out of our vehicle fleet, we have 22-23 vehicles. About half of them are leased through Enterprise. What we found What we found is we didn't really have a replacement schedule, so we're getting close to many vehicles needing to be replaced from the standpoint of maintenance, um food service, and once again in transportation. So, we had the opportunity to leverage, you know, and and be able to replace more vehicles all at the same standpoint, which is great for

021us. Um in terms of fuel, uh so, unleaded and diesel fuel, we do purchase through Roads Energy for Brightbill Transportation. We do own a portion of those costs, part of our current contract with Brightbill Transportation. Um so, there is that component of that, as well as additional agreements with Sheets for our own vehicles for anything that may be related to a student-based trip or our daily operations, so we have that as well. Um in terms of maintenance, we have anything that's, you know, upkeep of all of our vehicles that we have that are district-owned. Uh the dollar amount is lessening because most of our vehicles are newer, but we do have a portion of them that are on the older side that we're working on replacing them as we can as we can get the

022additional vehicles. In terms of miscellaneous expenses, that's virtually everything else as a catch-all, any additional transportation supplies and equipment. So, think of booster seats, harnesses for students with IEPs, any office equipment, anything that we do for driver appreciation for the bus drivers, etc. Uh a couple things that I do like to note for next year in terms of preparation, the numbers are including two additional vehicles based off of what we're forecasting for needs. If we do not have those needs, that's going to be a quick savings of $140,000. It's all going to depend on what next year actually looks like, so we have some preparation and some buffer room with that. And on an exciting note, despite everything else going up in costs, um in terms of our fuel, we had the opportunity last year

023to start uh a new agreement with Roads Energy. We used to procure fuel through the IU. So, last year we took the step to negotiate with them and hedge fuel for unleaded fuel. So, we locked in around $2.50 a gallon and that saved us over $20,000 last year in addition to our diesel fuel. Going into this year, that agreement still goes through June of 2027. Uh back in December, Mrs. Robinson and I had the opportunity to connect with Roads again and do some more procuring for diesel fuel and we locked in at about the same rate. So, in the last few months, when it's really exploded in terms of the actual prices per gallon, you know, we would have been paying an additional $24,000 per month. Uh so, that's a nice savings, that a little

024bit of a cost avoidance from that level of things, but if we were doing hedging right now for next year, virtually that cost avoidance is about $18,000 per month. So, we're pretty excited about that. So, that's the one win despite everything else going on. But uh but yeah, I'll be able to answer questions at the end of the presentation with this. Thank you. Um so, next we're going to look at those non-recurring items that I'm going to recommend we utilize fund balance for. Um as I said, the curriculum instructional materials, which were presented to you previously, um and then the safety security enhancements. So, that equals $943,000 and essentially um how I like to explain this is we're um if if the board approves that the budget, we'll have an allowable deficit of that amount

025of money cuz we'll cover that with our savings account, our fund balance there. And then Mr. Gillis is going to go over safety. I really appreciate him pinch-hitting for um Mr. Deeds, so I appreciate that. Yeah, so I'm filling in for Mr. Deeds this evening. I had the opportunity to see some of these different um opportunities for us as a district, so I'd be happy to kind of jump in for him. If there are questions at the end of the presentation. I'd be happy to help answer. If there's something that I'm not too familiar with, I will partner with Mr. Deeds and we'll get you some answers. So, starting off with Centegix, so I have a little bit of show and tell tonight. So, this is the first piece with Centegix. So, Centegix is basically

026a crisis response badge system. It was developed after the Parkland shooting in 2018. The goal is basically think of this as like a mobile panic button for anyone across the district, right? So, if we have an emergency situation, a crisis, or something in which one of our staff or you know, members in the community here that actually work here have or need additional support, this is where it comes into play. Basically, it's complying with Alyssa's Law, which is mandate which has been passed in several states and has been introduced in Pennsylvania for schools, public schools across America to provide all classrooms with silent panic alert technology, and that's what this is. Basically, with how this system works, pressing this button, so that I'm not going to press it tonight, so I I hear it is

027live. So, pressing this button three different times, it's going to alert other building response teams that hey, something is going on. Alerts can go to the staff in the building, law enforcement, and first responders in that emergency. If someone sees a weapon or an active shooter, the building could be placed in lockdown if you press it eight times. And it works that quickly. The badges do have location-based services. Think of like your cell phones that or if you're going into doing something somewhere, it does have location-based services where you can pinpoint where the actual alert came from and locate where additional supports are. So, if I'm looking for help and I press it near my office, it'll say where the nearest, you know, AED system is, whatever the case may be. What's also pretty cool,

028too, it'll pull up camera footage with a Rhombus system, the four nearest cameras to see like what's going on in that area and how we may be able to help. It'll go on the digital platform from the standpoint of computer or a cell phone from that standpoint of things. It only tracks when you press it, so it's not following our staff at all. That's one thing that we want to make clear on that angle of things. This company specifically is also preferred by Lancaster County 911 dispatch. They were also part of this presentation. They're ready to work with Centegix given the fact that one of our neighboring school districts, Hempfield, has implemented this back in the fall to early winter. So, you know, they're familiar with that and it's soon coming to the IU 13

029from what I hear. In terms of the tech itself, so Centegix monitors the system and also the badges with their battery lifespan. Sounds like it's going to be about a year per card for the battery life. There's no additional cost for the battery replacement. It does integrate within our security system infrastructure. And you guys can see on the screen the additional pieces for visitor tags cuz visitors will also have these. So, if we have a substitute, they will be trained on this protocol. They will have access to this. So, they are also empowered if something does happen that they can jump in. And the little beacon, you know, is kind of mindful from the standpoint of it's going to provide a short strobe and an audible alert from that angle of things. So, one cool

030thing as well, there are plans from what what I understand as well in terms of our student devices. So, this technology will integrate with our student devices with the iPads. So, there does become a lockdown situation, it will push to the iPads, which is pretty neat. In terms of other systems, Raptor, we were piloting at our middle school. Feedback has not been positive for that. Navigate 360 is another comparable product, but the support from that end is not favorable to the to the team in the long run. And we actually discontinued partnership with them based off of our Alice training effectiveness or lack thereof. In terms of Centegix, like I said, it was also shown to our first responders, several administrators, which I was a part of, and the safety director, Michael Deeds, also did

031attend a training with Hempfield in real time for 911 pieces. In terms of the pricing itself, it is comparable across the different systems that are available in the marketplace. We will be provided with 1,100 cards at the onset of the program. It's basically a 10% overage versus our staff right now, and that will account for any lost or damaged or broken cards. In terms of implementation with what that would look like, we would look to do an install in July of 2026 and train staff in August. So, this would look to be up and running for the next year. But like I said, the the biggest thing is instead of having one single panic button in all of our buildings, everyone is empowered to have this in case of an emergency. So, in terms of

032your cost, your recurring cost of the $67,000 outside of the initial investment. In terms of part two for my show and tell, I'll just show this without pulling it apart here. We're talking about the Nightlock safety shades, and this is a one-time cost here. So, virtually with the Nightlock safety shades, the idea and the component behind it is to provide privacy in case there is a lockdown event or medical emergency or any IEP based need that we need to create privacy. So, from a safety perspective, we do want to make sure that there's no visibility from the hallway for an intruder. When you eliminate that visibility, it makes it a much more difficult target for anyone to go after any of our students or our staff. So, that's that's one positive thing from there and

033it does comply with the law. This is also been feedback from our professional staff. So, right now our professional staff is creating their own version of something like this for their windows, whether it's paper or fabric or anything like that that they're paying for that we want to get consistency across what we're doing with all of that. With the picture itself, you can kind of see that there's a little bit of a pull down versus the clip system that I have here. The pull down is more accessible for any individual with a mobility mobility issue, plus it's a lot quicker. Just a quick quick grab and it's just going to fly right down exactly like this would, but you have to clip it down. In terms of other things, so the district has researched other

034products in the marketplace including the lockdown door shades, defender shades, and school safety solutions. The quality and the functionality was about similar, but the price point was over $40,000 versus the $37,000 that Mr. Deeds was able to pull together. So, a little bit more cost-effective and it's a simpler design that will be more effective in those emergencies that you need to just do a quick pull versus you know, clip clip cuz seconds count when you have an emergency going on in in your premises. In terms of the application itself, West Chester Area School District has also implemented the the Nightlock product and has found success. Our goal for this project would be summer 2026 install and it's virtually going to be a couple minutes per item between our security team and our maintenance team because

035once again, it is installed with Velcro. So, very easy implementation. Thank you. So, going back to the fund balance piece, I just wanted to share this is the our fund balance as of June 30th, 2025. If you look at the left side of the screen, you'll see for the curriculum instruction, we have about $2 million saved for future curriculum instruction expenses and also 1.4 for technology and security. So, we would recommend utilizing those two buckets of designations to pay for those non-recurring items. We have a total of 22.4 million in fund balance as of June 30th, 2025. And next, we'll move on to revenue. You can see there are just a We have thousands of lines of revenue, but I summarized them there for you. Just have your local, state, and revenue and federal and

036other. You'll see a majority of our revenue does come from local sources. Next, it would be the state revenue piece there. And then here's just a visual. As you can see, that big blue section there is our local piece. Red is state piece. So, our preliminary budget totals again, these these will change prior to final approval. We're looking at about $138.2 million for expenses. $134 million for revenues. We're starting off with an estimated deficit of about $4.2 million. If the board authorizes utilizing the the fund balance, it would bring our deficit down to about $3.22 million again at a 0% tax increase. I did prepare some tax scenarios for you. We're not looking to uh agree on tax uh tax rate this evening, but I wanted to provide it to you. We will be recommending

037a tax rate at next next month's meeting. But you'll see I started from a 0% and you'll and you'll see we pick up 312,000 again just from those increased assessments. And I just did every tax scenario every just 0.5% all the way across. And you'll see each 1% tax increase uh generates about $814,000 of tax revenue. And these are just our next steps with budget. You'll see me again next month for the for the final budget and then in June for the final budget, the tax rate resolution. You'll have to designate fund balance in June and also approve the homestead farmstead resolution. Mr. Gillis and I are happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you, Mrs. Robbins. Thank you, Mr. Gillis. That was very comprehensive as usual. I have some questions. I'm sure

038my colleagues do, too. Who would like to start? Dr. McCardle? Thank you. Um, just want to thank you again for this presentation. Um, yeah, I'm always that the detail is is impressive and and very much appreciated. I just wanted to actually comment and one question about the safety and security enhancements. Um, I'm very excited about the safety shades. This is actually a conversation that I had with an educator back in January. Um, who was telling me about how they like you mentioned, um, Mr. Gillis, they kind of go to Target and buy stuff themselves to make something. So, um, I'm sure that that the educator is going to be very thrilled to know that that this is, uh, going to be available. Um, my question, 525 classrooms, that's district-wide, every school building? Yes. Okay. Does

039it include, um, like administrative offices? I asked that, no, it does not. So, the focus is on our classrooms first. I'm not sure if something like that will change in the future, but focus is on classrooms first with students. Okay, great. Thank you so much. You bet. Do you want to ask a question? Mrs. Hance, go ahead. Oh, on bussing. Um, our increases have been primarily special ed needs across the whole budget. But, specifically transportation. Can Do you have a number in your head, how many of our regular ed Manheim Township resident students are not bussed? That are not bussed right now. >> bussing. So, in terms of our walking population, I want to say probably like 500 students potentially. That many? So, in terms of walking, just for clarity and transparency purposes, so walk

040zones, um, students can walk up to a mile and a half at the elementary level or 2 miles once you hit seventh grade. I can get the full determining number for you. So, I'll I'll double-check that. Uh, but from the standpoint of all of that, you know, we follow in regards to the PDE. So, a lot of it is based off of hazardous roadways. In terms of Manheim Township, there are a lot of hazardous roadways and there's very few areas that we can, um, offer the opportunity for students to walk. Um, we do look at that and when we do have new neighborhoods coming on board, a a riding ball, we have two new neighborhoods that are going to be right there as well. Those will actually incorporate into the walk zone. I have already

041had conversations with Mr. Deeds. We will be staffing more, uh, crossing guards. Uh, but yes, it is kind of a mix with that. Depending on the school district, you may have neighbors like where like where I live and where I grew up, um, most of the area is a walk, but you do have, obviously, the country areas that are provided with bussing. Yep. I ask on behalf of parents, that is often a parent request that Mhm. that there be more bussing available for those students who are really at a distance, especially Yep. the very small ones and as cold as it was last winter. Yep. That is something I would like us to keep forward in our minds. Um, and I would also, um, What was I thinking? Uh, also, uh, on behalf of, um,

042the community, I will ask the community question. Where would it be possible if we were to try to decrease the budget instead of adding taxes? I'm thinking that those areas are very small. So, between you What would be possible? Um, I know we could do without the new positions or we could it would most of them are dictated by mandate in one way or another. So, is there a place in the budget that we could tell the community we could make decreases instead of increases? I mean, I I will say that we we take a really fine-tooth comb to all the expenses. Yeah. I mean, labor I mean, labors our biggest piece. We don't have a lot of other ancillary. Labor and, um, debt are our two biggest pieces. Um, we could certainly look at

043building budgets. We could certainly look at things like that, but it would have to be probably labor to have to be anything anything significant. Okay. Does anyone else have a question? Go ahead, Miss Wright. Um, I just have a comment, not a question about the Centegix. Um, it's honestly, it's just an example of how we stay ahead before Alyssa's Law becomes required. Over 10 states require it. We would be one of two school districts in Lancaster County that would have it. So, thank you for staying forward-thinking. I feel like the cost of 132K in the grand scheme of the budget for the safety of our students, teachers, and staff is well worth it. Thank you. Yeah, thank you, Miss Layman. I guess, uh, Mrs. Robbins, I have a question about the adequacy funding budgeting. And

044so, uh, you know, for some of our newer members on the board, like we Mrs. Robbins typically gets our budget like the the the the how how closely you get our projections to our actuals is just stunning every year. Uh, and and just how how, uh, effectively you, uh, uh, optimistic about the state legislature properly allocating the adequacy funds that we're entitled to. Um, and that guidance came from the professional administration of school business officials from across the state. Uh, any more guidance you can have on that or or unpacking that in terms of, you know, the professional administrations recommending it, you're recommending it. Has anyone let the legislature know that that there are going to be school districts across the state that are planning to receive that funds? And given the the tenor of

045the conversations we've had from certain parts of our state legislature over the years, uh, it it you know, I makes me a little concerned about whether people will fulfill their promises. Yeah, I was a little bit more nervous last year, but now that they funded this for 3 years now, I feel like they want to get this comply with the order. Um, and again, I think that, um, I mean, I know like yesterday there was some news that there that the budget might slow down a little bit, but um, if we don't budget for the whole amount, then we end up with like we do this year with a excess of $800,000. So, this is the first year we have budgeted 100% of it and we'll hope that we'll get the funds and they'll fulfill

046their duty to fund them. We need to We need to keep them to their their promises. We need to keep their feet to the fire cuz this is these are real decisions we're making based on on their commitments. So, I appreciate that. Anyone else have thoughts or questions before? Okay, Miss Skelly. Just a quick question about the medical assistants and the special education transportation. Does medical assistants help to cover the costs of the special education, um, buses and vans? So, it it used to be a lot easier to bill for, um, special education transportation, but because a lot of our vehicles have, um, multiple students on them, it's a lot it's a little bit more difficult and there's a lot of tracking with that. Um, so so, last year the board approved us working with

047a consultant to help us get these, um, funds for us and that is one item that they really have reduced the reimbursement for is the special education transportation because of the of the difficulty in tracking those actual expenses. And it's federal dollars, they want to make sure we're very precise on that. Mr. McKenna. Can you speak a little more about the medical access expansion, the 495,000 that's forecast as a a positive swing? Is that came grow with our expectations from the modeling from the consultant? >> It is. A lot of It's a little bit tricky. We We want to wait Mr. Brubaker and I are really watching that because there it's a lot with timing and deadlines and we want to make sure we do anticipate receiving additional funds, but because we're just revamping the

048billing piece of it. Um, there's certain services that we weren't billing for like OT, PT, occupational therapy, physical therapy, things like that. Um, it is it is pretty heavy lift for our staff to do this, but we do know in the end it's going to it's going to generate some significant dollars for us. So, we're just increasing those that billing piece of it. Thank you. Okay. I have a couple more. I just want to say, well, let me Mr. Gillis, I do remember the conversation where you locked in that that fixed rate fuel price. So, kudos to you. Unfortunately, I mean, instability and volatility in commodity prices is a reality and it I'm glad that you had the the foresight to to plan for it effectively. Um, Thank you. So, I don't have any more

049questions, just kudos, you know, I appreciate appreciate your your your planning. I know you and I have many conversations about our charter vehicle fleet over the years and this may get to the next part of my question, which is, you know, looking at those utility expenses. And I see you over there, Mr. Charles, too. I'd be curious for an update on the solar panel installation on our middle school, which we forecasted to result in pretty significant savings on our utility expenses, uh, and that would hopefully further insulate us from, you know, volatility in in electricity prices. Go ahead real quick, Mr. Charles. So, we had a, uh, good evening. Uh, we had a, uh, pre-construction meeting with MVE and McClure uh, Tuesday this week and that project will begin in about 2 weeks. Um, we're

050going to start getting everything on site, water bodies, staging. Uh, but yeah, we're we're scheduled to start in about 2 weeks. Couldn't be a better time. Payroll, yep. Appreciate that. Thank you very much. Does anyone else have a thought or question? Mr. McKenna. Hi, this one's on the expense side, um, but also a a positive swing. So, a reduction our debt service of uh, 366,000. Can you just provide a little more context for how we arrived at that? So, the current year budget had an additional payment for our Apple lease. So, we actually had an an extra 800-ish thousand like this current year, which was offset by on the revenue side, you'll see the sale of fixed assets. We utilize those dollars to make that extra payment. PDE is complicated. PDE makes us book We

051can't just net it out. Not We got to do it on the expense side and the revenue side. So, So, it's just a one-time It's a one-time reduction, correct. All right. Thank you so much. Mr. Lyons was creeping behind you. Did you have anything to add to that on here? Always ready. I was just going to Since Mr. Gillis was on the board at that time, so we purchased our new iPads, and once those came in, we recycled all of the old ones, and then we when we received a check that was actually larger than the payment we made, so we we netted some profit there. But, when we received the check for those recycled materials, then we made the extra payment. So, that's why you see the the double payment that Mrs. Robins referenced,

052but it was actually offset and then some by the recycling revenue. Thank you very much. Okay, I think we're ready. Mrs. Robins, Mr. Gillis, thank you so much for the clear presentation, and we'll look forward to further updates next month. Thank you. Okay, we are on to item three in our agenda, which is a roll call vote. Unless otherwise stated, each vote taken at this meeting will be considered a roll call vote, and the board secretary will record any negative votes or abstentions. We're now moving on to item four, Manheim Township community comments on consent agenda or other action items. Residents, taxpayers, district employees, and students are all welcome and encouraged to participate. The board won't engage in discussion, but will provide follow-up if needed. If you'd like to speak, please fill out a commentor's

053card for the board secretary to to collect. Limit your remarks to 5 minutes related to the voting items found in the consent agenda and other action item section of the agenda, and then please share your full name before you begin. Would anyone like to give public comment this evening? All right. Seeing no one. One more chance. Okay, we're now moving on to item five in our agenda, which is approval of agenda or agenda modification. Is there a motion to either approve or modify our agenda for this evening? I'll make a motion. Mrs. Woodbury, is there a second? I Oh, should I say to approve the agenda as written? That's what I'll do. Yeah, sure. Second, so moved. Mr. Rivera, second. Any discussion? All in favor, say I. I. >> I. Opposed, nay. The motion carries.

054We are on to item six in our agenda, which is our consent agenda. Items listed under this section are considered to be routine and will be acted on in one motion. There is no discussion prior to the vote unless a board member requests an item be removed from this section to be discussed in section seven. Are there items from the consent agenda that any board member requests to move in order to discuss further? I want to to remove the personnel report. Okay, Mrs. Hentz, we are going to remove item 6C, which is the personnel report, from the consent agenda. Does anyone else have anything they'd like to pull from our consent agenda? Okay. So, is there a motion to approve all of the items in our consent agenda except for item C? So moved. Mr.

055McKenna, is there a second? Second. Mrs. Zimmerman, all in favor, say I. I. Opposed, nay. The motion carries. So, now we are on to item seven in our agenda, and this is the personnel report. And so, Mrs. Hentz, would you like to start us off on why you pulled that? Yes, I move to to accept the personnel report with amendment. I would like to refer item I, salary increase guidelines >> Excuse me, we need to have a first and a second. Before the discussion? So, we need to have a motion to approve item the personnel report knowing that Mrs. Hentz is still going to amend it. Okay. All right, so Mrs. Hentz, would you like to make a motion? I move to accept the personnel report with amendment. With the amendment, that's enough. I think

056we need to say what what what we're Well, no, but to remove item I. We already removed item No. >> We have not removed item I yet. Yeah. Okay, just just approve the personnel report. We'll come back and do the amendment. That that needs a second. Okay. So, we have a second from Dr. McCardle. So, now is there a discussion? Mrs. Hentz, over to you. I move to remove to remove item I, the salary increase guidelines for further discussion with report to return to the board at the next meeting. Okay. Is there any other discussion on this issue? Okay. So, Sorry, Mrs. Woodbury. Doesn't need a second. That was my question. I don't believe that amendment needs a second, or that that removal needs a second. Our parliamentarian. I know. She's working hard tonight. Sorry.

057I think from what I'm understanding, Mrs. Hentz, if you can just confirm, you are asking to approve the personnel report, but asking to postpone the vote on item I. Would you like further discussion on that at next month's meeting? Yes. Okay, so what the what the action item would be is to postpone item I in the personnel report to next month, to May. It has a first and a second. It's not debatable. It needs to go to a vote. Okay. Thank you. As always, Mrs. Stevenson, appreciate you. Okay, all in favor. I. I. Any opposed, nay. Okay. We are moving on. It passes. We are on to item eight. Almost did it this time. Other recommended actions. So, we're on to item A, approval of secretary's minutes of the facilities committee of the whole meeting

058on March 5th, 2026, the board work session on March 12th, 2026, the special meeting to interview board candidates on March 12th, 2026, and the regular meeting of the board of school directors on March 19th. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Mr. McKenna, is there a second? Second. Mrs. Woodbury, is there any discussion? Okay, all in favor, say I. I. Opposed, nay. The motion carries. We are on to item B, approval of the phase two site work of the campus master plan to Horst Excavating Company, the firm with the low bid while meeting specifications in the amount of $2,612,291.77. Mrs. Hentz, I'm wondering I'm looking at you on this. Is there a motion to approve? Yes. The dirt the dirt pile. Pile. The the dirt pile. I wanted to give you the chance. Yes.

059>> [laughter] >> Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Dr. McCardle. Any discussion? Just for clarification for for the community, this is the planned work at Landis Run, and has nothing to do with the campus master plan that we'll discuss later. Yeah. Thank you very much. That's it's all tied into our discussion around the dirt pile. And then then then So, I know. Okay, is there any other discussion? Okay, all in favor, say I. I. Opposed, nay. The motion carries. We are on to item C, approval to award the contract for the high school roof restoration to Progressive Roofing in the amount of $1,175,370. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Dr. McCardle, is there a second? Second. Mr. Rivera, thank you. Is there any discussion? Okay. Looking forward to getting that roof fixed.

060All in favor, say I. I. Opposed, nay. The motion carries. We are on to item D, approval of the selection of option B, the end zone backdrop, as the official design direction for the Manheim Township School District campus master plan phase three, authorizing the administration and design team to proceed with detailed architectural planning, engineering, and leading to the development of bid specifications. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Dr. McCardle, is there a second? Second. Mrs. Lamb, is there any discussion? I do have a question. Go ahead, Dr. McCardle. Thank you. I've had the opportunity to engage with several people across the district about the campus master plan with quite a few quite a few items that were brought to my attention. I think a lot of it is details for later, but there

061were there were a couple things that I wanted to ask this evening, and I see that Mr. Hollenbach is here, maybe he'd be able to answer to these. The The big things that I got were questions from the community on option B regarding the need for that multi-purpose room. That that space, what's that space going to be used for? How often is it going to be used? Do we really need it? Similarly, I got questions about the weight room. We talked about it a little bit at the facilities meeting, but people are just wondering, do we really need that weight room? So, I wondered if Mr. Hollenbach could speak a little bit about the need for those things. Good evening, everybody. Yes, so the multi-purpose room in our original concept, we had actually considered a

062meeting room for potentially a football team or a track and field team and a multi-purpose room we kind of condensed into one bigger room. Um So, I can speak with 100% certainty that that would get used pretty much every day in the spring and the fall when we have teams out there on journey in the stadium. Things that would get used for you're talking about film every day for teams, team meetings not just in season but out of season, interest meetings, that kind of thing. You're talking through booster club meetings right now. All of our all of our booster clubs every single program has one now at our school. Right now they're fighting for classroom space. A lot of times coaches that don't aren't teachers in the district struggle to get into those rooms in

063the building. Having a space right at the field would be great for them. Team meals, you know, we have a couple coaches in the room right now. A lot of our teams booster clubs provide team meals after or before. They have to track all the way back over to the cafeteria. So, having a space there right at the field would be great. We host a lot of special events, senior night, homecoming. We have an athletic hall theme ceremony. There's a lot a lot of things that we could have in that in that building. Other ideas, summer camps, we have several teams that host those. Think about the opportunities to have registration in there. You could also rent this facility out to the community, you know, for for their meetings. Think about how many teams how

064many programs locally utilize our facilities. You know, they could use it as a centralized location for the community. The list goes on and on and on. We would be using that that our teams would be using that pretty much every day. My the biggest thing that I worry about is am I going to have enough space to have two teams in there at once that want to watch film when they're practicing at the same time. That kind of thing. So, that's a little bit about why we made that that room a little bit bigger to make sure that we can accommodate potentially having like a divider and having two teams watch film at the same time. Um In terms of the weight room, as we talked about before, our current weight room is about 2,700

065sq ft. But it's not it's not designed in a shape that's really conducive for the safety and security of our of our kids. Our coaches can't see everywhere in that space. We do have another lower fitness room in the high school, but that's that's more of a fitness center. It's not really a strength training room. So, for example, our football program has about 90 kids. Our track and field program at the high school has about 140 kids. It's impossible for them to all fit in one room at the same time. So, having a weight room that has the space, you know, I think we're about 4,500 sq ft now. That would enable all of the kids to be in there or at the very least most of the a lot more than right now. Double

066the number that we can get in there right now. We would we would continue to have the space at the high school for those other gyms, the lower fitness room and the current one just because PE would still utilize those and all of the winter sports teams would use those cuz obviously they're right there. But a weight room at the field will provide our teams a lot of extra time. They're not having to walk back and forth after practice or before practice. You're talking about a half an hour you know, window where they're saving that time. They can go right to practice afterwards and that's 30 more minutes that they could go home and spend with their families, get their homework done, that kind of stuff. So, I do feel like it is a pretty

067big need. Yeah, Miss Zimmerman. Can I just follow up on that question? And again, this may be a future thinking, but in regards to the weight room, I spoke with several community members about the concern related to all of the glass that was proposed both from a safety perspective as far as people being able to view students doing weightlifting activity from the parking area and then also the concern about repeated broken glass. So, just wanted I know it may be a future thinking, but wanted to bring that Yeah. It's the next step and we heard that feedback also. So, that will be addressed like every time we bring something to you, we receive feedback and approve it from there. Greatly appreciate that. So, now I wanted to put that out tonight as a threat that

068I heard. The other thing with the multi-purpose room, I love maybe the assurance is the wrong word, but when we did the tour, we we saw the multi-purpose room that's in existence now and we saw that it's shared with the rifle team. I would love that the rifle team is committed to their own space in the high school then where the multi-purpose room becomes the multi-purpose room where tape can be viewed and we have that ability for the rifle team to have that space as their own. I appreciate you bringing that that thought up. So, it's actually a multi-faceted issue right now. So, yes, so we don't the rifle range right now in the fall is where because it's so close to our football team's locker room, that's where they watch. So, they share a

069lot of that space with our rifle team. So, we would we would have the ability if with this field house that now yes, there would there wouldn't be overlap. The rifle team would have their own space. Additionally, with a weight room going into the field house, one of the other issues that we have during rifle practices and matches when weights get dropped above the the rifle range in the weight room, it it affects our rifle shooter's ability to focus and concentrate. So, that that would really really I know it sounds but that's but that's but as you're as you're holding a rifle shooting at a target and a big weight drops down, right? Obviously, there would still be weightlifting and stuff going on after school, but far less because we'd have a 4,500 sq ft

070weight room somewhere else. So, that would that would help twofold. Thank you. No problem. Mr. McKown. It's great to answer that. I will say I really appreciated that tour. It really, you know, really visually showcased why this is a need now for present for our current athletic needs, but also I think this board has been forward thinking about the future. We're not just building for now. We're we're keeping in mind cost versus future needs as well. And so, I appreciate that you you know, took us on that tour and showed us the the present need and that RLPS has been responsive in responding and has been interacting with administration and the team here at the district office to continually refine the plans to bring us to the point we are this evening. It's very much

071appreciated. No problem. Could I just could I just add to that thank you and sorry Mr. McKown was on stack. I'll come back to you. I would echo with the gratitude. I learned a lot through the tour. I think this question is probably more for our partners from RLPS. Just wanted a clarification on the total project costs. We have a range that was presented as between 19.5 million and 22.5. Just wanted to confirm was there a difference between option A and option B recognizing of course that this is total project here, but what was that >> There was a slight difference because the square footage of the the field house in option B was bigger. So, it was directly related to the square footage. Everything else is the same between the two options. Okay. Thank

072you. Okay, Mr. Ryman. No, I just wanted to again thank everybody that took us on those tours. I don't want to leave anybody out, but I know Mr. Charles was there, Mrs. Robbins was there, Mr. Rala was there. Obviously, Mr. Holleback and and I learned so much about the needs, safety, accessibility was huge. All those things combined really sealed it in my mind that we are making the right decision. So, I thank you all for these tours. Dr. McKown. Thank you. I just had one other thing. Of all the things that were said to me, one other thing that was said multiple times was a desire for a second lined turf field in addition to turf on the infield of baseball. Multiple people. Those things are not in part of this campus master plan. Am

073I but I just for the sake of the those community members who are have such strong feelings about two things as well as staff members. Those are things that are up for discussion in the future that even if it's not part of this plan, it's something that could be done in the future. I'm just wondering if I'm correct in that statement. That is correct. We're working on phase three and we would incorporate all those ideas into a phase four that you could consider for the future. Thank you so much. Okay, Mrs. Hance. Just for the record, this has been a conversation since before I was on the board. This has been a need that has taken second place to a lot of other needs. So, it is it's time. I agree. I appreciate that perspective.

074Anyone else? Okay. So, we're now on to our vote. Is all we have a motion? We have a second. All in favor say I. I. Opposed nay. The motion carries. We are on to item E, which is the approval of Panorama as the new district data platform for implementation during the 2026-2027 school year with a final cost of $109,662.30, an 18% discount from the original quote. I believe we we call that the the Dale Ryman discount. Is there any motion to approve? So moved. Mr. McKown, is there a second? Second. I have Miss Woodbury and that's all I have, Miss Zimmerman. Any discussion? I just would like to say thank you, Dr. Ryman. He and I had a discussion afterwards about if you don't ask, you don't get and I and I appreciate it how

075much you advocated for the district. Absolutely. Team effort. And I'll just say again I I uh I'm in support of us continuing to integrate and streamline our different platforms so that they communicate clearly to each other. And I think that just is going to help with efficiency, morale, clarity of vision, planning. So, I just support our district's efforts to continue to improve our operational systems, which are so critical for the day-to-day functions of the school district. Any other comments? Okay. So, we have a motion, we have a second. All in favor say I. I. Opposed, nay. The motion carried. We're on to item F, approval of entering into a new 5-year contract term for copy and print services with DocuSign at a monthly cost of $10,913.46 with additional color overage cost to be reconciled on

076an annual basis. Is there a motion to approve? Mrs. Hans, is there a second? Second. Ms. Kaylor. Uh any discussion? I would just like to echo um >> [clears throat] >> that we heard an incredibly thorough presentation that really matters to the quality of life of everyone who's got to use a copier, which is a lot of people in this district. Um I just really appreciate the care, the analysis, and uh the way it was presented. So, thank you very much, Mr. Lines. Thank you for that, Ms. Woodberry. Any other comments? Questions, Ms. Zimmerman? And again, in addition to the negotiations, it includes state rate. Let's not [clears throat] forget that. Thank you, Mr. Lines. No, truly appreciate the work that you did to get that contract negotiated as well. All right. All in favor

077say I. I. Opposed, nay. The motion carries. We are now on to item G, approval of the following replacement elementary math instructional materials for the 2026-2027 school year with an anticipated cost of $603,906.33, Ready Classroom Mathematic Mathematics, also known as I-Ready. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. >> Ms. Lamb, is there a second? Second. Dr. McCardle, is there any discussion? Ms. Lamb, go ahead. Yeah, um a couple months ago I had asked if parent surveys would go out since we were piloting two, and I did very quickly receive one of the parent surveys, so I really appreciate that giving the opportunity for parents to give feedback. Yeah, thanks for sharing that, Ms. Lamb. That's great to hear. Any other thoughts or questions? Ms. Woodberry. I just wanted to also say thank you for

078the thoughtful approach of piloting things before we go all in, and that we make sure we take care of getting input from all stakeholders, including our educators. Thank you. Anyone else? Put your finger on the mic. No, okay. Uh all right, so then we have a motion, we have a second. All in favor say I. I. Opposed, nay. The motion carries. Okay, we're on now to item H, approval of the 2026-2027 Lancaster Lebanon IU13 general operating budget. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Ms. Zimmerman, is there a second? Second. Ms. Kaylor, is there any discussion on this item? Okay. All in favor say I. I. Opposed, nay. The motion carries. We're finally now on to item I, approval of the Lancaster County Academy proposed budget for 2026-2027. Is there a motion to approve?

079So moved. Dr. McCardle, is there a second? Second. Mr. Rivera, any discussion? Oh, sorry. Dr. McCardle, didn't see you. I just wanted to say um I'm I'm the um Lancaster County Academy is my partner board, and I just want to echo some of the comments that were made last week. This is an incredible program, um really giving opportunities to some young people who otherwise wouldn't have them. Uh so, I think um I'm very um makes me very proud that Manheim Township is involved in this cuz I think it's a wonderful thing. So, I just want to thank Manheim Township for being part of this Academy. Yeah, I agree. Feel good about voting for this. Anyone else? Okay. Thank you, Dr. McCardle. So, all in favor say I. I. Opposed, nay. The motion carries. We are

080now on to item nine, our superintendent's report. Dr. Hudacs, welcome. Thank you, and good evening. Uh this month our team had a chance to travel to Brighten Elementary where Jennifer Tucker, our learning support teacher, was honored as the April employee of the month. Jennifer was nominated by the faculty and staff of Brighten and she was recognized at her faculty meeting. She was presented with a certificate and a gift certificate for spirit merchandise. We want to congratulate Jennifer for her work. Um >> [clears throat] >> our enrollment update for the for the month as of April 14th, in buildings, we had an enrollment of 5,982 students. Um our total enrollment of buildings as well as those who are outplaced was 6,038 students, and there was only a single homebound student as of April 14th. The Manheim

081Township School District's mission statement is we nurture and challenge for success. We are nurturing learning community that provides safety and mutual respect, stimulates curiosity and creativity, promotes personal integrity, and encourages good citizenship. As I've gotten around into the buildings and around the district this past month, I've had a chance to see these words put into action. Not flashy ways or not in headline-making ways, but in every day way that things are done. So, I could give a lot of examples, but for the sake of time, when I do shout-outs uh to a handful each month, hopefully it's going to be hard to choose. Now, I've been able to visit quite a few kindergarten classes this month. Kindergarten students have a sense of wonder for things that we take for granted. They have a boundless energy

082and they have a true love of learning. As I travel throughout the district, the kindergarten classes I visited had a wide variety of students, including some that required adults with them to support them for their disabilities. When the students would sit in the circle for reading or for sharing, all of the students were in that circle. All of the students shared. They shared their ideas or what they did over the weekend or their favorite anything. And they were sometimes supported by other students with a thumbs-up or a high-five hand motion, which quietly affirmed what they offered. The kindergarten teachers called them friends because that's what they are. Now, that is nurturing for success. The second shout-out I'll share relates to a bus incident that occurred recently. A bus broke down in our elementary run. Nat

083Gillis, who you heard speak earlier, our transportation director, he was all over it. He worked with the driver on immediate actions. He worked with the bus company to address the issue. And Mr. Good, whose students were on that bus, went out to the site to be with the students. The young students, kindergarten and first grade, they're easily worried about this change in routine or not getting to school. Mr. Good got there and assured them everything was going to be fine. Now, what struck me about this is that Mr. Gillis and Mr. Good weren't primarily fixing a bus problem. They were helping students. Being there, showing that we care, getting the students back to their regular routine, these are the things that show care and concern, and modeling that behavior nurtures a culture of concern and

084success. And these are unheralded everyday actions that demonstrate the commitment and to nurture and challenge for success, and and I thought they were worth sharing. I do have just one more thing. At tonight's personnel uh report, there was retirement of swim coach Dan Gravel and his longtime assistant, Nikki Macey. Dan has had a long and storied career as a swim coach here, and we are truly grateful for the decades of dedication he's given to our student athletes. Thank you, Dr. Hudacs. We're on to item 10, which is new business. Items brought forward under new business will not be acted upon until the next school board meeting to allow school board members to have sufficient information and to allow opportunities for public comment. Does any board member have any new business to bring forward? Okay, not

085seeing any. We are on now to item 11, our board member reports. Let's begin with our one student representative here tonight, Ms. Shayla Segel. Welcome. Good evening, everyone. I'm Shayla Segel, and I'm looking forward to giving you a report of the high school. We are officially in the last marking period of the 2025-2026 school year. Our Women in Leadership Club hosted a Women in Leadership Forum this past Thursday. Four women from our community participated in a panel discussion and spoke to young women about the challenges, hardships, and obstacles they face while building stable and successful careers in male-dominated workplaces. Bella Voce, our very own choral group, performed as part of the event. We are so proud to share that more than 50 of our talented music students represented Manheim Township High School at various LLMEA

086and PMEA honor performance ensembles festivals this year. Special congratulations to Jackson Cogle and Tim Cruise, who have earned a place in the PMEA All-State Chorus this year, which is performing next weekend. Coming up later this week is Senior Sunday and Memory Lane at Penn Medicine Park. This is the first event of prom week. Funds for Senior Sunday are being raised by parents and it is held in the Silver Ball arcade area. And prom will be held on Saturday, April 25th from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. at the Eden Resort and Inn. This year's prom theme is Enchanted Garden. An early college career planning virtual presentation took place last night. This presentation was for ninth and 10th grade families that want to learn more about graduation requirements, post-secondary planning, resources available at MTHS, and things students can

087do to prepare. The high school and middle school implemented a pilot digital hall pass, which makes getting through the building more streamlined. The app downloaded for this is called Smart Pass. The local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of American will visit our US history classes tomorrow. Our veterans will share their experiences, open the floor for student questions, and offer an opportunity for conversation. And for our school day countdown, we have 34 days remaining and seniors have 33. And that is all. Thank you and have a great rest of your week. Thank you, Miss Seigle. Getting closer to summer. Okay, does anyone else have a board member report they want to share from one of their representatives? Miss Kaylor, go ahead. I had the pleasure of my first meeting with the Envisions group this past week

088and I just wanted to comment on what a caring group of individuals they all are. Um, they are truly committed to providing good care for our students before and after school. And Manheim Township is so fortunate to have this unique program. Um, and I feel really lucky to be working with them. Yeah, I'm just two great things happening. They're going to be providing two scholarships to deserving seniors to um, attended Envisions as younger students themselves. [clears throat] And uh, I know as a senior mom myself, those scholarships matter. So, thank you for doing that. And also they will have summer camp. Um, the theme they'll be celebrating 30 years of Envisions. So, celebration will be the theme. And uh, 98 students, I believe, are enrolled and there's still room for a few more. So, if

089you're looking for a great program for your children, uh, consider that. Anyone else have an update? Miss Lein, go ahead. Uh, my liaison is with the Manheim Township Board of Commissioners. Mr. Granter actually already mentioned this event. On Saturday, April 25th, um, between 8:00 to 1:00 is the Overlook at the Overlook Activity Center. It's the second annual Earth Day Festival. Um, I only mention it cuz Parks and Rec sits under the Board of Commissioners office and it's a collaboration with Manheim Township School District. You already advertised it very well. I was just going to say there's a native plant sale. There's kids activities, makers market, and food trucks. And my second one, my partner school is Nitrauer. This weekend, April 17th and 18th, they're having their school play. The show is put on by second,

090third, and fourth graders. It's adorable. Um, and the show this year will be channeling Grimm, which will feature Grimm fairy tales. Friday night is already sold out, but you can still come to Saturday show. There's two at 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. and you can also buy tickets at the door. Thank you, Miss Lein. Anyone else? Mr. McKenna. Um, I've been sharing an update about Reidenbaugh. I'm going to be adding to the uh, well-deserved accolades for Mr. Gillis tonight. Um, anyone who has been near Reidenbaugh's campus the past few weeks knows that we've had a lot of disruption due to the construction of the two new new neighborhoods right there. Uh, and I just wanted to acknowledge him as well as Mrs. Keller, Mrs. and the main office, Mrs. Long, um, all of our bus

091drivers, all of the the staff who are involved in our pick-up and drop-off routines. Every single day there's been sort of a a new disruption. Um, and everyone has been responsive uh, doing the best they can um, and and staying patient with one another. But, um, in in true uh, alignment with our mission, um, in in trying to improve it, Mr. Gillis has sought out additional communication with the township so that we can hopefully have better coordination as these projects continue to unfold. And of course, uh, coordination with the contractors as well. So, thank you to all those folks who've been responsive. Um, and thank you to the parents as well. Um, and to my kids who are being patient with me in the mornings. So, um, I also want to acknowledge our staff at

092Reidenbaugh, uh, who themselves are continuous learners. So, they've had uh, differentiated professional development um, unfolding throughout the year. And this month and next month they'll be doing uh, presentations to one another. Uh, they've been studying topics related to math interventions, uh, writing instruction strategies and best practices, ways to boost student engagement, ways to improve inclusive practices, and they've also been doing a deep dive into two different books, uh, The Power of Moments and What Great Teachers Do Differently. So, uh, wanted to thank them for their own commitment to their to their growth and development. Um, and grateful as a parent that our kids uh, continue to learn from people who themselves are always growing uh, and developing their skills. And thank you to Mrs. Long for uh, championing that professional development. It's great. Anyone else

093have an update? Mr. Rivera. Yes, so just to highlight a few things at my partner school, uh, which is Booker, uh, I had a chance to speak with Dr. Martin. He really wanted me to highlight this uh, an Arc lesson that occurred. Uh, so it turns out all kindergarten through fourth grade Booker classrooms took part in a Diverse Abilities Training Program provided uh, by the Arc of Lancaster-Lebanon. Each classroom was able to enjoy a 30-minute presentation to help students navigate social encounters in school as they interact with peers with a disability. Uh, the four presenters helped the students to see that all people have gifts, challenges, and value. So, I absolutely love that and and the report from the Arc presenters was that the Booker students were one of some of the most attentive and

094engaged students that they have ever interacted with. So, I'm really proud of all those Booker Bears and and what they did. Uh, and just to highlight one other thing that occurred, they had a an artist in residence from the Luna Dance Company and a lot of the students learned how to dance, which is awesome. And then looking ahead, on May 15th is uh, Booker Spring Fling. So, save the date. Okay, anyone else? Mr. Zimmerman. Miss Seigle mentioned the College and Career Readiness Program. Manheim Township is not my partner school high school, but um, just wanted to mention that I had an opportunity to attend that as a parent and want to thank um, Mrs. Elizabeth Ziegler for doing that. She is the College and Career Readiness Counselor at the high school and it was a

095fantastic presentation and I want to just, you know, let my fellow board members know that we are truly preparing students for success in all aspects. She talked about college opportunities, uh, she talked about apprenticeship programs, she talked about such a variety of things, um, and I I was definitely more excited than my student, but I learned so much and I'm going to continue to prod her and and have her explore different things. So, I just wanted to do a shout-out. Thank you for mentioning that uh, program came to light and thank you to the staff for our for nurturing and challenging for success in all areas of life. Thank you, Miss Woodbury. Thank you, Mr. Granter. Um, I wanted to just call on some highlights about Landis Run and all of the music that's going

096on at Landis Run is really a way to talk about how they serve the whole child. Um, all of your element all of our elementary schools should be sending out information about the the the Landis Run instrumental demonstration for parents and students in fourth grade. Very exciting coming up on May 21st, 7:00. Uh, and today there was a youth concert. So, uh, folks students from Landis Run, the orchestra and band students got to walk over to the high school and then they got treated to uh, a concert by the high our high school students. So, it's really touching to see that this continuum throughout our entire uh, all the grade levels and how everyone has to work together behind the scenes in the district to support them. Uh, speaking of how we can support those

097folks, uh, the there's a survivor survivor themed teacher appreciation week at Landis Run, uh, first week in May. Uh, information came out on Sapphire on the 13th about that. So, look for there's a donate if you can't um, get away to donate your time, you can donate funds to that teacher appreciation week. So, that would be much appreciated. And I also want to highlight that they've got some fun school spirit going on with PSSA color days. So, they've got a theme a color theme for each day and that's one of the ways they'll be supporting our students as they take the PSSAs. So, I appreciate all the things that are going on there. It's a very busy place. Thank you, Miss Woodbury. This is me speaking as an individual. >> Yes, sir. But, my family

098still watches Survivor. We're in season 50, no big deal. >> I love it. >> One of my maybe one of my children had a Survivor themed birthday party last summer. >> I'm all in. Yeah, it it it's check it out. I I I got I got no notes other than I want all of our teachers to survive the entire year is what I was looking for. There's some strategy there. So, uh, I'll jump in and also say middle school string students also went to the high school for that event today. Uh, both my kids, my my Landis Run son and my my middle school daughter raved about it. I think Mr. Caravella played a big role in making that happen. Uh, but again, yeah, love love the connection, the mentorship that we can cultivate and

099maintain that our staff are leading between our different buildings on campus. Uh, I'll add a little bit more for the middle school that tomorrow is a big day. It's uh, Mini-Thon uh, at the middle school and all of our school students who raise money for Four Diamonds will participate in the afternoon in the fun events, games, and activities. All the money raised throughout the school year will be donated then uh the organiza- and Four Diamonds, in case you don't know, is an organization that assists patients and families of children fighting cancer. Stay tuned for what the final amount is, what the announcement of the total amount is raised. Uh but thank you to all the many fun sponsors, our middle school administration and staff, and volunteers, and students who have raised money for this important

100cause. Does anyone else have an update from their school or or a partner? Mrs. Hans, go ahead. Uh shout out to the NEF PTO, wonderful group of people who also have uh teacher appreciation uh activities planned. And May 1st is the May Fest. So, plenty of opportunities to volunteer or contribute. Please go to their Facebook page. Everything is there. And so many different ways that you can get involved. I did attend the IU 13 meeting. Um and I think the only thing to really highlight uh they do wonderful things every single day. Uh there've been a lot of changes in supervisory positions. Um retirements, people moving up from uh within the organization. So, lots of changes. And in that process of change, they're going to be consolidating and uh reconfiguring uh their services. And uh

101it all sounds excellent to me. But we don't have a lot of details to share other than that. But then um I think I think what they will be sharing will be um very beneficial to our special education students. Thank you. Yeah, thank you, Mrs. Hans. And please keep us updated as you see fit as we learn more. >> given a lot of details for what they have in the works. Sounds like it'll be very beneficial. Yeah, trust your judgment. Appreciate your uh continued uh engagement on that for this school board and the school district. I think that's everybody, right? Okay, so we're done with our board member reports. And so, we're moving on to item 12, which is Manheim Township community comments. Residents, taxpayers, and district employees, and students are all welcome and encouraged

102to participate. The board won't engage in discussion, but will provide follow-up if needed. If you'd like to speak, please fill out a comment card for the board secretary to collect. Limit your remarks to 5 minutes and share your full name before you begin. Would anyone like to make public comment this evening? Okay. Seeing no one. One more try. Anyone? Okay. Thank you. That brings us now to item 13, which is our adjournment. Is there a motion to adjourn? Mrs. Hans, is there a second? Second. Ms. Woodberry, thank you. Our next scheduled board meeting is Thursday, May 4th at 6:00 p.m. here in the district office. This will be our facilities committee of the whole meeting. Thank you to all our Manheim Township staff, administrators, and volunteers for your dedication to our students and community. All

103in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. The motion carries. Thanks to all.