001e you all good you good everyone good all right we're going to reconvene this meeting please I believe we have a a video to start off with thank you good evening and welcome to this North pen news update I'm going [Music] theary ah the sounds of the annual reading is fundamental play that kicked off The District's Rift program in our elementary schools over 1,000 first graders were Enchanted by their favorite storybook characters as they inspired our students to enjoy and appreciate the value of reading thank you to the volunteers our theater department and the north pen Educational Foundation for making this magic happen happen each and every year for our first graders speaking of the Educational Foundation the annual golf outing teed off with more than just birdies in mind it was all about raising
002funds for classroom and school grants as Putters clinked and cheers echoed across the course the event smashed records raking in an incredible $38,000 to enhance North Pen's Curriculum by the time the final hole was played participants celebrated not only their scor cards but the lasting impact those grants would have on the future of North pen students proving once again that a little friendly competition goes a long way for Education some of that funding made today's visit from the PA philarmonic Possible A Magical Musical experience this morning the Pennsylvania philarmonic took the stage at North pen High School to present Reach for the Stars an inspiring music program that blends the beauty of classical music with the excitement of space exploration as the orchestra plays students will hear how themes of Cur perseverance and setting big
003goals are woven into both music and the Quest for the Stars this Unforgettable performance not only ignites their passion for music but also encourages our musicians to dream big in their own lives aiming for the stars with their instruments and Beyond October 2nd marked as special day at North Penn the national school custodian appreciation day our custodians the unsung heroes of the school were celebrated for the hard work they put in day in and day out to keep our buildings Clean safe and welcoming from mopping floors that sparkle brighter than a new pair of shoes to transforming the entire school over the summer break our custodians do it all with safe schools week approaching it's a timely reminder of the importance of rigorous safety training in our schools at North pen the commitment to student
004and staff safety is evident through regular building evacuations bus evacuations and monthly fire drills ensuring everyone knows exactly what to do in an emergency this year North pen High School is taking it a step further conducting its first full building evacuation to a remote location for over 3,000 students and staff this large scale exercise is not just a logistical feat but a critical preparedness measure that could save lives in the event of a real emergency these training exercises are essential for building muscle memory reducing panic and ensuring that everyone in the school Community is equipped to respond swiftly and calmly in any crisis investing time in these training practices is critical to keeping our students and staff safe at Walton Farm the fourth graders traded in their pencils for Chef hats and transformed their classroom
005into the book tasting beastro at each table students res served a menu of different genres including fiction biographies Mysteries graphic novels fantasy and non-fiction all waiting to be tasted the young chefs excitedly explored new stories savoring each genre like a new flavor of ice cream by the end of the day their literary taste buds had expanded and they left the beastro with stacks of new favorites a big shout out to Mr Paul for cooking up such a fun reading Adventure at Englewood in Mrs Hoffman's latest wit and wisdom lesson the class dove into the circulatory story to uncover the wonders of the human body's circulatory system each group took on the challenge of dissecting two to three pages of the book searching for the main idea supporting details figurative language and the text and graphic
006features that brought the science to life after decoding these complex Concepts the students channeled their creativity to build vibrant graffiti walls bursting with drawings key facts and colorful phrases on a bright and Breezy morning last week York Avenue Elementary Schools flooded the sidewalks their sneakers squeaking in excitement for the annual National walk to school day along the way principal Richardson led to charge handing out high fives and cheering like a coach at a championship game by the time they reached the school doors even the squirrels seemed impressed by the energy pausing to watch the parade of Happy Kids March past held annually in the fall the walk and Bike to School event encourages the importance of movement as a part of students daily life North pen High School's environmental Club enact set out for a
007day of field service at their nature preserve armed with gloves and shovels the students picked up litter cleared overgrown brush and laid fresh Mulch on the walking trail turning it into a Scenic path for future explorers energized by their success and act is already gearing up for their next big event a CommunityWide recycling day in November where they will trade soda cans for sustainability one bin at a time a group of North pen employees thrilled to take advantage of a Broadway group discount found themselves transported to 1960s Oklahoma during a riveting performance of The Outsiders starring sky Lakota Lynch North pen High School class of 2010 as Johnny the Tony award-winning musical brought the classic rivalry between the greasers and the socks to life with Sky's powerful portrayal earning him a well-deserved Tony nomination after
008the show the north pen crew couldn't believe their luck when Sky still in costume met with them backstage proudly beaming as they all shouted in unison Stay Gold Pony Boy good advice that's it for this North pen news update as always check out these stories and more on our YouTube Instagram and Facebook pages as well as the wnpv app have a great night Welcome to our regularly scheduled Action meeting this meeting is being videotaped for Community cable channels and streamed live individuals attending this meeting and intending to speak to the board should be aware that they are being videotaped in order to meet the requirements of Pennsylvania Sunshine Law it is necessary to record the names of all citizens who speak to the board during the meeting to assure compliance with this requirement it is
009essential that those planning to address the board State their name and municipality members of the audience will limit their questions and comments to 3 minutes and now please stand for the okay um so we already did the Pledge just so everyone in the audience is aware uh Mr Gilmer you outdid yourself that time with the monthly update so thank you for that that was excellent and thank you for everyone who contributed uh some of those great experiences for our students um for those in the audience who were not here before we took a recess um I just want to reiterate that some of the things that I mentioned before that recess number one we did take a 3 36 minute recess because there was a mistake on our end that that we did not click
010go live last night at 7 rather it happened at 7:36 um so to address that we did take a recess after doing the pledge the other item is there is a um there is typically on our action agendas we're finally getting to the end of them but um there is typically an item that is a about adoptions of policies that item rolls over each month policies are presented at the policy meeting then they come for a first read then they go to a second read and adoption on that third meeting if you will um when that item was rolled over from the last meeting to this meeting the agenda item did say adoption of policies so the matter was listed as adoption however the details on that item did say um the the F following
011policies are presented as a first read when that error in the details was discovered that was changed and it has been brought to our attention that some people were confused about whether it was a first read or an adoption of policies um so just to avoid the confusion and just to be as transparent as possible we are not going to vote on that matter this evening so when we get to the consent items in the superintendent report rather than say um I recommend items a through k I will instead am I going to do B yeah they still get repealed B yeah okay all right so I am instead of uh recommending a through K I will recommend items B through K so we will not take up item a tonight that will be for
012a future Action meeting uh so that's it Mrs stole if you want to take it away um and I'll be back on the mic in a little while thank you Dr Bower okay so first first up we're going to have uh public comment if there's anyone that would like to make public comment this evening now is your time to do so is there anyone in the audience that would like to make public comment at this time good evening Mrs me um Shannon Maine to Menon Township I just would like to thank you for taking this action tonight and removing it from the vote tonight and I believe that was the right thing to do and I appreciate you delaying the meeting as well so I just want to thank you that's all oh you're welcome
013is there anyone else that would like to make public comment at this time Mr Gallagher go ahead I assume what what I want to talk about is the item being taken off the agenda but I I I was going to talk about it tonight anyway so uh Don Gallagher lale um obviously what I want to talk about is the title 9 issue I found some information on Title 9 just researching it and I found descriptions and sentences uh that I think support to where I'm going which is um there's and I have the documents here and there's a a numerous uh examples of where um it's stated that uh schools can have rules of eligibility for various Sports depending on things like uh fairness of play chance of injury um and uh and uh that
014that's what I wanted to address tonight I know there's a good chance this will go we we'll get pasted but maybe you could get past with certain rules uh rules of Eligibility as it's described in in here um one of the things I found it says uh you know that th this title Title 9 applies to opportunities for athletic participation scholarships and how athletes are treated and for example says equ Equitable locker room facilities Etc and I want to use focus on that word Equitable how is it being Equitable if um uh young lady athletes um don't feel comfortable in their locker room if this goes into effect and if something you know were to happen um uh I don't see that as them feel being comfortable going to school or participating as something that
015requires them to be in a locker room um and it's uh you know H how can that be Equitable um uh I think I think things like uh playing time can be at risk um uh scholarships who knows or even maybe being on a team it's not unlimited but with how many people can be on a team so some um some girls may not make a team if a trans person uh comes over to play in on on the girls team how do you handle that uh if it if it were to happen um uh the rest of my comments are along those lines but I just wanted to repeat some of the things from the Senate documents you guys put out 103A and 104a and if I could get these two pieces of paper
016apart I could continue here okay that's good um this is uh 104a and it says here when District programs and activities include Separation on the basis of sex in accordance with law and regulations including but Lim but not limited to um separate restrooms changing facilities the district shall not Implement such programs or activities in a manner that discriminates on the basis of sex uh including an individual's gender identity Mr G I'm sorry your time is up really yeah yeah just turned red y next time thank you for your comments sure is there anyone else that would like to make public comment good evening hi Victoria Cy Lansdale um I'm a mom to students from nap and pendale and the high school and I visited the Forum here one month ago in support of the inclusion
017of gender and gender identity in the north pen discrimination policy because as a mom of a transgender student I think it's important to hold students and staff accountable to the ideals of equity and diversity unfortunately just in the last week my child was harassed due to gender by a North pen employee at the school this individual said Gross and derogatory things to my child they wrongly accused them of inappropriate behavior just because of the way that they looked this should never happen to anyone especially not someone who's supposed to be a trusted adult in our schools this had a very bad impact on my child's mental health it's clear to me that not only does gender need to be protected here at our schools but a training program is needed for staff on how to
018best support these students according to a recent report by the CDC that just came out last week I think about 3% of American High School students identify as transgender and in a district as large as North pen here that's about 90 to 100 students at the high school and up to 30 at each Middle School these students are part of our community and they deserve the same dignity and educational opportunities as everyone else before anyone opposes a PO any policies that aim to create a safer learning environment for transgender students I would encourage you all to get to know these kiddos to understand their experiences and to see them for who they truly are they're students just like any other trying to figure out their place in the world I'm curious for those complaining tonight
019how many transgender students do you actually know and would you agree that every child regardless of gender identity or expression deserves that chance to feel safe and and accepted when adults in our school and Community harass these students or spout fear-mongering rhetoric it not only damages our students self-worth and mental health but it also creates an unsafe environment that affects their ability to learn and Thrive one of the most important things that you all can do as a Schoolboard in a district is to provide proper training to all of your staff members so they can understand and support transgender students rather than making harmful and ignorant remarks I don't want to engage in any political talking points IND divisive arguments I'm not angry I prefer to have a calm logical conversation focused on real issues
020and not hypothetical situations ations we need to First include gender identity in the school's discrimination policy and then second ensure proper and ensure our staff receed proper training on the update to the policy we also need to figure out the sports thing but we can do that in a calm way it sends the message that North pen is a place where every student is valued and respected and supported thank you for your time thank you could you um please write your name in y Township thank you thank you for your comment is there anyone else who would like to make comment this evening good ahead Mrs Blanc Mrs Blanc I think he was up first and hello uh my name is James holiday uh lale uh just wanted to uh offer my thanks to the
021school board for holding the meeting this evening and express my unabashed support for the trans members of our school and of our community and urge you to pass any and all protections you can regarding our trans students I believe that they're very much at risk of uh at worst violence but most more than likely uh no small degree of harassment um and yeah please uh do whatever you can to help our kids um that that does include uh training for people who may not be familiar with the issues they may face but thank you Mr that's all I have to say Mrs Blanc hi Aaron Blanc at field um I did send an email today that I think everyone at this table received um I appreciate the response from Mrs St um I think that
022the one thing from my email that I didn't get an answer to that I did ask before was um what is the plan during the renovation for this bathroom locker room situation I would love to hear that like clearly addressed because I think that that could um help with some of the questions and issues I have um you know other things that I said and concerns that I have but I think that's like the big one that I'd love to hear more about okay so thank you thank you Dr Bower could you maybe touch base with Mrs Blanc this week to update her I'm not sure if we are that far along I do know it is um scheduled to be discussed at one of our upcoming programming meetings but those decisions have not been
023made yet but I'll give you a call and talk to you about actually let me go on and I do have time right um so my focus when I said that was the high school but I think every school needs to be addressed too because we have you know different bathroom uses down to the elementary school so and I think others would like to hear it I appreciate that you would call me and of course I'll talk to you but I think maybe other s you know might be having the same question and concern so thank you thank you is there anyone else that would like to make public comment oh the man oh yeah go ahead Jason ler lale um evening Mr lanir so i' I've come up for a couple meetings here and
024asked the same question doesn't this policy allow men into women's locker room and I've heard no to it's not going to happen to it's it it's unlikely to happen so which is it is it can it happen yes or no is it possible for a a a man to walk into the woman's or the girl's locker room at a high school event is that possible because if it is possible that's the problem I don't understand why this what is this this block that you need to you need to somehow make uh transgender students feel better about themselves so we need to allow men into the women's locker room why why is this why how is does this equate and I've I've a number of you I've talked to a number of you and you say
025no it's not going to happen or it's unlikely to happen or it never has happened in the past so why would it happen in the future what what kind of answer is that why create a policy that would would would facilitate such a thing to happen and so then the answer comes back well it's required by by the United States Department of Education and we we don't want to miss our our funding how much how much funding did we get last year from from United States Department of Education or what's our average couple million bucks so this is the price so what is going to happen What what will be your response when it does happen just like when you said oh we we'll pass these these uh great policies called um a restorative discipline
026and you let a kid back in from a school who has a violent past and you let him in because they identify as transgender and they beat the mess out of a girl in in a different Middle School what happens who takes responsibility for that well you hired a you hired an independent firm which wasn't independent we haven't heard the results is are the policies going to change because you've done that you've allowed that to happen so what's going to happen when this when there's a problem with this new policy why are you doing this so quickly or why did you want to get this done so fast the first reading second reading no second reading we're just going from first reading to to passing it luckily not tonight it's going to be in the
027future but why is this is a political agenda this is not having anything to do with the safety of anybody this is a desired is isn't there isn't there a policy that uh or a program that um chapiro is putting forward that wants this to be passed in all the school districts am I right about this you know so why are you doing this for political reasons you guys should be ashamed of yourself thank you Mr lir is there anyone else that would like like to make public comment at this time okay seeing none could could I say something quick the man from lale who van out of time you can always write the board a letter and we Mrs stall answers all the letters but we read all the letters that are sent to
028us thank you I think Mr Gallagher knows we've responded before right so we've corresponded before we email so yeah we're all good all right thank you for making that okay my computer is not working tonight so I'm going to borrow Mr fusco's here all right the audience of citizens is concluded and next up are the minutes can I have a motion for the approval of the minutes for the September 19th 2024 Action meeting so moved on the approval hold on and the approval of the minutes from the October 8th 2024 board work session please thank you second motion by Mr Fusco seconded by was Dr G are there any comments or questions seeing none all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries next up are the committee reports and as usual we
029have Finance safe schools ECI policy facilities and operations are all on video and available for viewing on the North pen YouTube channel so we're not going to read those reports um if you want to see them you can look on the North pen YouTube channel for them the um reports that we'll start off reading the report from though are the north pen monco technical Career Center please Mrs romage not me m I always get that it's all good I'm just gonna switch you I like her better anyway too uh the J has not yet met for the month of October and will convene this Monday at 7M end of report thank you Mr McBain I apologize all right next up will be um mgy County Intermediate Unit Mrs romage please great thank you um the
030mciu board met on September 25th and we started our meeting with a presentation about the Head Start program which was perfect timing because it then enabled us to have a background on the programs and services that are being expanded to a new location so the mciu recently this actually just this week um formally opened the mciu Discovery Center which is located in Lansdale um and has now space for Head Start um Early Head Start and preap programs as well as a post1 12 um U CL entire floor for programs and services as well it was really an incredible event um and it was great to have um districts represented um and it was um anyway it's just it's a beautiful space and a beautiful opportunity for our students to be able from throughout the county
031but and to have it hosted here in the Northbend School District catchment area um so the board also at that meeting um heard first readings of policies we approved budgets we reviewed agendas and reports from Head Start policy Council meetings and we approved the mciu health and safety plan we um voted on and approved um Personnel report and new Staffing and then approved Mo us with um various um universities and programs so the next IU meeting is I believe on Wednesday um November mber 20th end of report thank you Mrs romage are there any comments or questions for Mrs romage seeing none we'll move on to the next committee report um which is also from Mrs ramage for the north pen Educational Foundation please great um as we saw in the video that Mr Gilmer
032put together the foundation held its annual golf outing on October 1st at the talamore Country Club more than a hundred golfers enjoyed a day on the greens and helped us to raise $38,000 this is a record-breaking amount of money ra raised for the annual event I want to thank the dozens of sponsors who were an important part of the Day Day's success we could not have done it without you October 1st also marked the start of the unite to inspire staff giving campaign during the month of October the north pen School District staff members are asked to consider to donate to the foundation last year more than $155,000 was raised the midyear Grant cycle um has started um and the requests are coming in all staff are invited to apply and we um support project
033at every grade level in every school so we encourage teachers and staff to um submit their great ideas any questions related to the foundation can be directed to Christine leoski at the ESC or you can learn more at npen foundation.org and I do want to um share a special thanks with the board um for contributing um at the sponsorship level of the golf tournament and for their support of that event so thank you end of report thank you Mrs ramage next up is our legislative report Mr McBain please I have no formal uh report this evening but just want to remind everybody to go out and vote by November 5th thank you thank you Mr McBain that concludes the committee report so next up we will have the solicitors report Mr Summers please uh thank
034you president stole the board did meet in an executive session immediately prior to tonight's meeting as well as during the earlier recess uh for the purpose of Consulting with legal counsel regarding the third party investigation to the April 2024 incident at Penbrook middle school and to receive legal advice regarding asserted Sunshine act objections and that concludes my report thank you Mr Summers next up is the uh superintendent report Dr bow please good evening everyone and as previously mentioned I recommend the items listed on the consent agenda items B through K namely repeal of policies adoption of policies for a first read notice of intent to repeal policies gifts to The District student travel contracts approval to advertise for bid student agreements and hearing waivers alternative placements and student agreements can I have a motion please
035so moved can I have a second second motion by Mr Fusco and seconded by Dr G are there any comments or questions president St the the um on for the gifts to the district the Oak Park Elementary the grant is that can that be explained or what that is entails is that yearly it seem I do not know if it's an annual Grant Dr Waters do you know about this grant if you don't it's okay I don't I don't believe it's an annual one so the grant that M MC merury is referencing is uh titled The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the grant is in the value of $500 um this is us receiving a grant Mr scy I assume so I can get you the terms of that Grant
036and what the money will be used for I just thought it was interesting and I also want to thank the enact Club um for Their donation of the tree free paper I mean they make an effort to uh be really good environmental stewards for the entire District so thank you to them absolutely thank you Mrs MC are there any other comments just a comment regarding um the collective bargaining agreement that is not yet we're there we're on the we're on the oh sorry okay I will wait I'll hold my com everybody's getting way ahead of me tonight so okay um okay so there's no further comments there's a motion on the floor all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries okay next I recommend approval of the Personnel items as per the
037attached can I have a motion so moved second motion by Mr Fusco and seconded by Mrs McMurry are there any comments or questions all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries and with that motion and subsequent uh vote and approval I am very pleased to introduce our new director of facilities and operations Mr William Slaughter congratulations Mr [Applause] Slaughter there are some there are some projects on the horizon Mr SL we'll fill you in welcome to North pen okay next uh I am very pleased to recommend the approval of the collective bargaining agreement between the district and the north pen educational support professionals Association PSA Nea for the period of July 1st 2025 through June 30th 20128 a copy of which is on file in the office of the Chief Financial Officer
038could I have a motion please so moved second motion by Mr Fusco and seconded by Dr G are there any comments or questions Dr G um just a comment about the um the collective bargain agreement with the north pen educational support professionals Association um as an educator throughout my 27 years in education I've been fortunate to work with a lot of support staff that have work throughout our buildings and um they I think most teachers would say they're often the backbone of our buildings they're the reason why so many things happen in the buildings that um you know are behind the scenes um so I just want to um this is not for I think all of us this is also a vote of confidence in the support staff that we have working within our
039district and I I know I am grateful for them I I work with support staff all the time and um am just grateful for them and appreciate the work that was done um to get to a collective a bargain agreement that was fair and honors the work that they do in our district thank you Dr G thank you Dr g i I do want to comment here that the leadership of nespa is in the audience Mrs Dana Cook and Miss Nikki Davis is here thank you so much for the collaborative process um this this was agreed upon without attorneys in the room no offense Kyle um it was the administration and the leadership of our support professionals getting together and working together um to come up with an agreement that's advantageous for everyone um they
040were a joy to work with and we really appreciate everything that you do um so just really pleased that that this keeps us competitive in the market um there are many benefits in this agreement that make North pen the best place to be a support professional and we appreciate you so thank you for being here thank you for your efforts yeah I want to Echo those comments and then and also the administration is this the first time we've had two early bird agreements in yeah yeah so for those who aren't familiar with the process there are laws kind of governing when you need to start to negotiate formally negotiate collective bargaining agreements and in both cases last year with MPA and this year with nespa um we kind of opened the conversations earlier and we
041said why don't we try to get in a room and work through this together as opposed to going through that formal process um I think it speaks to the relationship we've built over the last few years and uh their ability to work with us and I'm just really happy for all of them well thank you for all of your efforts a special thank you to Dr Kim and Mr scy as well on the administrative side of the table because they absolutely did the line share of the work Dr Waters and myself certainly contributed but you guys really put in the effort and so thank you for that too thank you that's great okay so um we have a motion if there's no fur comments all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries
042wonderful thank you okay next I recommend the approval of change order c001 to designs Construction Incorporated in the amount of $1,371 for unused allowances additional plywood sheathing and additional miscellaneous repairs incountered during construction can I have a motion please second motion by Mrs Mcmurry seconded by Mrs romage are there any comments or questions seeing none all in favor say I I any opposed motion carries I recommend the approval for permission to advertise or seek pricing to pre purchase long lead electrical equipment for the high school project can I have a motion please sove second motion by Mr McBain seconded by Mrs romage it's too bad Mr patchell is not here this evening because he would approve of this are there any comments or questions yes president told this is something that Mr patchel has mentioned
043and other folks in the community have mentioned and our future uh director of facilities Mr Slaughter Knows Mr Slaughter knows full and well long lead times for this equipment is imperative that it happened now and we'll will'll continue to do so so I feel really confident at the board level admin has it and Facilities has it as well so we're good to go thank you great thank you Mrs MCM marry if there's no further comments all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries um including the last item and the next couple these are certainly discussed in more detail at the facilities and operations committee meeting led by m m Ms MC Mery uh last month just so everyone's aware all right so next I recommend the approval of the amendment of the
044building scanning and modeling Services contract with production modeling Corporation PMC uh by an additional $3,650 2 for additional expenses incurred during the course of the contract can I have a motion please so moved second motion by Mr Fusco seconded by Mrs romage um are there any comments or questions seeing none all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries I recommend the approval for the amendment of The Underground utility scanning contract with Taylor wisman and Taylor by an additional $2,250 per day to perform video pipe inspection of below slab sanitary sewer pipes inside of the high school can I have a motion please so motion by Mrs mry can I have a second second seconded by Mr Fusco are there any comments or questions all in favor say I I any opposed motion
045carries I recommend approval of the attached resolution certifying that the district will not exceed the Act One index of 4% for the 2025 26 fiscal year budget can I have a motion please so moved second motion by Mr Fusco seconded by Mr McBain any comments or questions all in favor say I I any opposed motion carries I recommend acceptance of the public school environmental repairs Grant in the amount of $250,100 and I believe Mr scroy the bulk of this was spent over at Penbrook on the modular repairs that's correct can I have a motion please so moved can I have a second motion by Mr Fusco seconded by Mr Rush are there any comments or questions all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries I recommend approval of the assignment of the
046Dewey engineering Incorporated Construction manager contract as per the attached can I have a motion please so moved motion by Mr FCO can I have a second second seconded by Mrs McMurtry are there any comments or questions all in favor say I I I I any opposed motion carries okay next I recommend approval for the district's financing team to proceed with preparing the new money financing for the high school renovation and new construction project can I have a motion please so moved second motion by Mr Fusco seconded by Mrs romen are there any comments or questions all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries just uh for those who didn't watch the finance meeting Mr scroy I believe um this is in particular for the first borrowing that we're anticipating coming up and
047while I think the projection said 30 million um you did reference that it would typically be above that just to give some leadway on that first phase correct correct and the next step really with the board resolution tonight the next step is for Bond Council to prepare what's called a parameters resolution and that parameters resolution will be presented either at the November December Action meeting that basically establishes a maximum amount to borrow for this first phase good thank you thank you Mr Shi again further discussion at the finance meeting a few weeks ago I recommend approval of the attached extension of the treasury management Master Services agreement with Univest for a three-year period commencing on October 18th 2024 can I have a motion please so moved motion by Mr Fusco seconded by Dr G are
048there any comments or questions all in favor say I I any opposed motion carries okay and finally I recommend approval of the attached Court petition to sell the real property known as the quote movie Lots located at the intersection of Welsh Road and West or Villa Road in Hatfield Township subject to final solicitor review can I have a motion please so moved motion by Mr Fusco seconded by Mr McBain are there any comments or questions all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries and this concludes my report this evening thank you Mrs St thank you Dr Bower um next up will then be the uh Finance report from Mr scroy please thank you madam president just a couple updates before I give the treasures report a reminder for all of our property
049owners in North Penn School District that the end of the flat period for taxes ends on October 31st so after this date a 7.5% penalty will apply um also the School District's annual audit that is required of our general fund and all of our bond funds is nearly complete we do plan on having our audit firm present at the November finance committee meeting November 12th is that date and also reflecting that report will be the capital reserve fund transfer for the school buses that got delayed and spilled over to a new fiscal year that amount was $61,900 that the board previously approved that transfer will be reflected in the 2324 audited financial statement uh also I want to mention Dr bar always kids me every time I bring this up but the rebate program award
050winning the award-winning rebate program I have to mention that that it's an incredible response this year you might recall in our discussions from the spring that the state expanded the income threshold the maximum before used to be 35,000 now it's 45,000 half of Social Security is counted well that has resulted in a tremendous response in applicants this year we've had 548 applications already um and Johanna is processing all those applications for my review so she's doing a great job with that but we're within about 30 applications of hitting our all-time high which was just this past year so that's tremendous news and I also want to thank Joanna she attended two senior fairs one in August one in September one by representative malagari and one by representative Sado so this also ties in with our
051community outreach to try to get the word out and clearly it's working now Joanna that means more work for you but I appreciate you reaching out at those senior fairs and I think the response of those senior fairs was outstanding so the award-winning program just keeps rolling along we had this tremendous response so thank you for the board for your support with this we are in our seventh year of this program and I think there's about 25 school districts in the Commonwealth that school districts that have replicated our program here so thank you again for that Mr SC I have a quick question about that so the other schools that have or districts that have implemented it have you had any feedback on their participation rates are they I I do and they're not anything
052close to ours and I think part of it is we are really going out of our way to spread the word I think some take the approach build it and they will come and they're not coming um so the Outreach that we're doing is unparalleled from any of the other districts and no one is seeing the numbers that that we're seeing I talked to one District last year I think they had a total of like 10 applications for the year Well we get I don't know what 80 on the first day so yeah I I think the Outreach that we're doing and the fact that neighbors are talking to one another that certainly helps spreading the word good and this is one of the reasons why I do mention this ad nauseum because in the
053hopes that somebody might be watching tonight that didn't know about our tax rebate program and again if you are eligible for the Pennsylvania property tax or rent rebate program through the state in all likelihood you can receive a rebate from North Penn School District as well so if you might know of a neighbor or a friend or a relative that receives the rebate just check with them if they reside in North pen School District just to make sure they know about our program and as you said I think uh raising that income Threshold at the state level will really boost participation a lot so absolutely in terms of the finances for the month this report is for the month of September 2024 our cash receipts for the month total $ 45.6 million our dispersements for
054the month total $42.5 million leaving us with a total balance at the end of September of2 $55 million and that is up about $19.6 million over the same period next year I recommend approval of the treasures report for September 2024 please may I have a motion please I'm moved motion by Mr Fusco can I have a second Mr rash thank you very much are there any comments or questions all in favor say I I any opposed motion carries next item for approval is a ratification of dispersements for the month of September in the amount of 47,4 04732 and just a reminder these are for all funds general fund bond fund capital reserve fund St activity fund everything so we're recommending ratification of those dispersements please can I have a motion please so moved motion by
055Mr FCO can I have a second second seconded by Dr G are there any comments or questions seeing none all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries and finally for information we have our monthly Financial reports posted of course we talk about these in more detail at the monthly finance committee meetings um I will just mention that uh the party is starting to be over with interest income because now the FED did cut interest rates by half a percent that obviously lowered our investment return from five and a half down to 5% so we'll start to see our investment income coming down but we did plan for that in the budget um also with the reduction of interest rates we are also seeing an uptick already in real estate activity in terms
056of transfer tax so now uh month over month compared to last year for the past couple months now is picking up again so we kind of get like we kind of see like a leading indicator already from what we see with realy transfer that that goes on just because of that decline in interest rates already taking place thank you uh that concludes my section of the finance report Madam president thank you thank you Mr scy okay next up is other business um Mr SC we do we have to take a motion for this right yes I always like because I'll submit the vote on the behalf of the board I always like for the board to actually authorize me to submit the vote it's kind of easy again this year as it was last year
057these are for the officers of psba for the 2025 year there's no opposition so with your approval I will just cast the vote on the behalf of the North Penn School District Board of Directors for the candidates and just to let you know the the president-elect is Sabrina backer from Franklin Area School District the vice president is Matt vanoi from Sharon City School District and we also have an Eastern Zone representative Holly Arnold from tuah hanic area school district and I believe that is it section E2 I don't believe we are section E2 that doesn't apply and we have three seats up for the psba insurance trustees three candidates three seats Nathan Mains Richard frerick and William cof and the school board secretary Forum there are two vacancies two individuals and myself as the board
058secretary I actually need to vote on those two so that's not contested either but with your approval I will just simply cast the vote to psba on your behalf so there's no opposition and only you can vote correct correct so I would recommend casting the ballot for the only candidate that's on the Sate for those positions I just mentioned well this is a tough decision it's a tough decision I know so okay can I have a motion please so moved motion by Mr Fusco can I have a second second seconded by Mr McBain um are there any comments or questions seeing none all in favor say I I any opposed motion carries okay um is there any other business I had a quick question about the phone policy I'm sorry I didn't give you the
059heads up before is there any been any feedback about the phone policy is that still going okay or yeah uh Dr Waters I don't know if you heard otherwise in schools I actually spent over an hour today with students at gwy no um but there wasn't a change for elementary school um but my most recent uh sitdown with students was at Penbrook and um overwhelmingly positive students acknowledging um the success of it the reduction in inappropriate behavior the stress and anxiety of social media so it's not perfect there are conduct referrals but that's what we expected um so we have asked staff to hold a hard line on the cell phones and write students up if they have them out during times when they're not supposed to so um early reports are still strong good
060so glad to hear it is there any other business from anyone else no okay seeing none do I have a motion to adjourn please so moved thank you very much meeting is aour