001e e e good evening everyone welcome to tonight's Action meeting uh we're going to start off the evening with a video I believe welcome to the 20242 school year and the North Penn School District the school year kicked off with a beautiful sunny day smiling faces laughing and general overall excitement filled the air as we welcome back our North pen students and families North pen High School class of 2025 officially kicked off their senior year with their senior Sunrise classmates gathered together to watch the sunrise on their senior year senior Sunset held in June will symbolize the end of the senior year North pen staff all 2000 plus gathered together for the district's annual convocation focusing on the district's four ease of ensuring belonging elevating learning engaging the community and exceeding expect expectations several staff
002members were recognized for their outstanding efforts in these four e Vivian Cal desktop and device specialist in technology Brent Talbot routing specialist in transportation Becky Jeremiah third grade teacher at Bridal path Bernie Jones superviser of security at North pen High School Mike Flynn school counselor at pendale and amby Murphy ESL teacher at nap Elementary School congratulations to all of our 4E Award winners and that's the kind of school did District we're building because of people like you as I move forward I'll carry with me the lessons the values instilled by Me by this amazing School District I'll strive to make you proud and to be a reflection of who you are to show you that all that you gave was worth it our entire staff was treated with amazing inspirational speeches by two of our
003students fourth grade student colani glass at Hatfield Elementary School and mukan manakan 7eventh grader at Penbrook Middle School our school nutrition service department under the leadership of Melissa Frolic continues to be recognized for their work and dedication to the nutrition of our students yesterday Governor Shapiro and Secretary of Education Dr mman hosted the winners of the school breakfast challenge to celebrate the schools who had the highest increase in kids taking advantage of their free School breakfast it is homecoming tomorrow at North pen High School the 14 members of the 2024 Court we introduce to students today tomorrow there will be a pep rally pregame party and the crowning of the 20242 homecoming king and queen see these stories and more on North pen television Comcast Cable Channel 28 Verizon cable channel 29 or watch it
004all live on youtube.com/ nptv have a good 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 essential 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 pledge of allegiance to the flag of our country I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic
005for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all okay next up we're going to have the student Spotlight convocation speakers and Dr Todd Bower is going to introduce them good evening everyone I think the the last time I stood at this Podium I was a 30-year-old High School principal and Mr patchel was sitting right there talking to me while I was trying to give a speech and I was very nervous so with that uh it gives me such great pleasure to stand on this side of the podium and present our student Spotlight recipients this evening uh two students that uh presented at our convocation ceremony with all 2,000 staff members we have Mund maniki from he was at gwor elementary correct and now he's at Penbrook so he's a
006seventh grader at Penbrook and colani glass is a fourth grader at Hatfield Elementary School which is near and dear to Dr Waters heart of course um so when we were planning convocation this is the first time that most of us can remember um I Know M Li M liberos says the first time since she's been here and I think she's been here about 20 years where we had everyone there like we planned the calendar a year ago to have the entire staff there and as we were discussing what we would do at convocation it was really about trying to bring it back to the why and why are we doing this and what are we here for it was really about kids of course and um so we we somebody threw out in a meeting
007whether it was Dr Waters or Dr harer myself like wouldn't it be really neat to include kids this year because it's usually you know you have a keynote speaker or it's just us performing and we're like that would be really great um so we had a video and then everything went black in the room pitch dark there was a voice over about the start of a new school year and then the spotlight came on and it was on M Kanani glass um and let me let me just say she's basking in the glory here let me just say that she brought the house down uh what a great way to start the school year for 2,000 employees who serve our kids every day um so the rest of the program went on which was wonderful
008we honored our employees um and then we ended with a speech by Mund if you did not have the opportunity these two individuals had the highest scores at our Black History Month oror competition last year um so they immediately came to mind when we think about who could give a public speech um so if you ever seen the Kid President videos think along those lines but if you have not watched you should check out our YouTube channel as Mr Gilmer just said because it's inspiring uh the performance was incredible and they represent the best that is North pen School District so very pleased to present to you this evening and you guys are going to go around and Shake Hands okay uh first up we have mun mon cond congratulations thank you great job much
009and last but certainly not least M Kanani glass congratulations congratul and I guess I do need to say that I'm sure their parents didn't plan to practice for a week leading up to the start of the school year so thank you to their parents who are also in the audience thank you colani and Mund I did get to watch the convocation on the video and I saw both your speeches and they were so inspiring and I was so impressed that both of you could speak um that long with no note cards nothing in front of you um and that well you guys did great and so I asked Dr B I'm like can we meet these kids because they were just phenomenal so thank you so much for coming out tonight making the time I
010appreciate it and and now is the time where we usually tell the folks who come for proclamations or student Spotlight feel free to go home and do homework you're welcome thank you okay I highly recommend watching that they were really phenomenal I can't express that enough so all right next up uh we're going to do the audience of citizens uh the statement was already read in the um video so if there's anyone who would like to make public comment tonight now is your time good evening hi hi you're already on you were on it was on you can turned it off red is on got it thank you um hi everyone my name is Victoria ciny um I live in lale um did I get it right yep um I'm here to talk about policy
011um so I'm a mom of students at nap and pendale and the high school I've got four here and I just want to express my strong better thank you I'm short I want to express my support for um including gender gender identity and gender expression as protected statuses under the student and staff discrimination policy as parents I know we all want our children to have equal opportunities to have uh to learn in a safe and supportive environment and updating this policy is essential for holding the school accountable for preventing discrimination and ensuring equal access for education to all students including those like my child who is transgender let me tell you a little bit about our story um this summer one of my teens told us that they were assigned the wrong gender at Birth
012and they shared their new names and pronouns I didn't see it coming it was a big surprise um they've started socially transitioning now um but while we were really taken back and we're transitioning together um what I can say is in some ways in many ways my child hasn't changed at all um they are still the same beautiful quirky person they've always been they remain exactly how God created them to be so I'm sure we're going to hear a lot of nonsense tonight about predators in the bathroom um but I've learned that gender transition has nothing to do with sexuality or sexual attraction it's about relieving the Deep distress and anxiety of gender dysphoria um transgender students like all students just want privacy in the bathroom I'm much more concerned about everyone else's kids bothering
013mine than my kid bothering anyone else and I'm really grateful that North pin offers unisex bathrooms um in all of the schools where the transgender students can feel safe but back to the topic at hand my kid like everyone deserves to feel respected and valued and safe at school and unfortunately we know that transgender students often face bullying and exclusion which deeply affects their well-being and their education this has been my child's experience at North pen for many years unfortunately um but by explicitly protecting gender identity under the policy we can hold students and staff accountable for fostering an inclusive and respective learning environment so thank you so much for your time thank you for considering this um and considering the real lives like my kiddo um who are impacted by this policy um it's
014really just about ensuring every student feels supported in their own educational Journey so thank you so much thank you Mrs Sani appreciate you sharing your story good evening Mr Pachel yes good evening I've already uh written my name but I'll say it my name is William patchel I live in mon Township for 30 years I know that uh one of the new board members also resides in that great Township and some of the other people I would like to see in a real democracy if you go to Greek and you go to the Acropolis you you learn that the Greek words have a greater meaning demo and uh you know various Greek might be a good idea if we had a small segment of students take Greek and Latin so that they might throw great
015depth of learning and I am sure that that would be well uh well for them uh when they go on to higher education but um I want to thank the board Now We're Here meeting on the field of of a conversation and trying to make the district once again we're going to make it great again I'm not stealing that hat off anybody but what we want to do is uh we want to get back to where we were in many areas I didn't meet the new uh uh athletic director Kyle he is absolutely wonderful and I said well you know I've been one of these people a nagging troll about concussions and it did take six years for the former board to say you know Bill you were probably right but I was glad to
016see now they had that uh protected helmets and they have a 40 season so far probably they now have a Playbook and it's written down so you don't have to ignore your mathematics and subjects that you're having hard time I I found that a little odd but you know maybe that's changed also uh 1 minute and 15 seconds now I I am following those young children here I'm sure that they'll be at their school board meetings far into the future and bringing things uh to the attention of the public so you you have to learn to speak clearly and slowly I I listened to Senator Robert bird he was a maestro at public speaking and uh although long- winded at times knew absolutely every person in West Virginia but what I would like to see
017let's get serious about the electrical system we need to get a complete rewire switch gear trans Transformers underground feeders and I hear somebody told me that the electrical demands of the district are are going to be increased by Pico so and the location where we're getting it now may may be defunct so you need to get a new electrical system before you cuz that stuff is 50 years old already it's not going to hold up we know and the lead time for this stuff two minute 2 seconds is years years for this equipment cuz everybody's going to need the same thing thank you very much is there anyone else who would like to make public comment this evening my name is Don Gallagher I live in Lansdale and I have some questions or comments whatever
018about the uh uh changes to the to the title9 policy um uh there's a lot I don't know um I do know that there are unisex bathrooms and I guess that's a good thing um but uh uh the the intent of the changes I I from what I've read is to uh protect those who Express their gender identity um but what how do you control uh I don't know how to are all those expressions honest or are would some kids or some people even some adults maybe um try to uh manipulate the system to their twisted uh intentions um so how do you control access like when there's a basketball game and there's you know a thousand people in the school coming from elsewhere how how do how is that controlled uh access to the
019bathrooms um and and and I know there's all well-intentioned people and I appreciate the comments from the lady was up here uh before me um but I do I I I I do want to see something that addresses you know what that stuff that probably wouldn't happen but might happen um maybe the schools uh I think there's a school a a School Safety Committee or student Safety Committee from members of the board maybe that could be an agenda item for those folks to uh address there's always the issue with sports um and uh I did read today and and trying to research for this a document from the depart Federal US Department of Education regarding this it's dated April 2023 so I you know I guess that's relatively recent um where it says that um
020individual schools or school districts have the ability to Define eligibility requirements for for different teams different sports um uh as long as those requirements are not rooted in uh discrimin against based on gender race or whatever um so it can be it can be rooted In fairness of competition which I think that that's a obvious obvious concern and uh risk of injuries if you have really big people against you know uh Mis comparisons like that uh I think we saw some of that in the Olympics um uh when and I think everybody saw how ridiculous that was um so I'm hoping that the board utilizes that uh statement from the Department of Education and comes up with something I realize this is something that probably can't be stopped sorry your time is up oh my
021time's yeah I'm sorry all right I'll sit down thank you appreciate it dropping everything thank you one of these is mine okay is there anyone else that would like to make comment good evening Mr main hello hi I'm Mike main Tom Menon resident uh first I'd like to say I agree with the new cell phone policy and hope the school continues to enforce it the feedback I got from the teachers from back to school night um seemed good and um I noticed a change in my daughter and friends so um I think it'll uh help mental health and academic performance so I'd like to see that continued uh second I'd like to note that tonight's meeting has a direct conflict with the high schools back to school night parents with children in the high school
022are one of the largest and most affected stakeholders of the policy decisions tonight they will not get the chance to participate in tonight's public com comment because of this conflict um whether it's just an oversight or mistake I am asking the board to acknowledge the oversight and postpone the first reading of 103A reschedule it to another meeting that does not have such a large scheduling conflict so these parents have the opportunity to participate um now I'd like to address the policy tonight um uh I feel the policy um does pave the way for biolog iCal boys to compete in girl Sports um it goes against What Women rights activists have been fighting for for the last several decades um it is against the very Spirit of which Title 9 was intended also girls um in
023our schools especially middle school already have anxiety about using the bathrooms due to um the fact that the restrooms are used for other activities and behaviors um against school rules and in some case illegal activities um I feel that this policy change um will negatively affect the mental health and safety of our students the Pol I I'd like to address also that bullying of any kind is unacceptable based on race color um sexual identity that's just not acceptable however this policy is not the answer and doesn't address many many issues as we've seen across the country um there are many problems foreseen and unforeseen that this policy will not address and everybody needs to take a step back look at it consider other options and not necessarily go with whatever the state decides is the
024best policy just to accept the money this is not the answer uh I don't know what the answer is and I don't think we're there yet but I know that this is not the answer and school sports needs to be addressed women's rights need to be addressed and protecting our girls in the school needs to be addressed as well and I'd like to reiterate um bullying of any kind is unacceptable but um thank you for your time thank you Mr main is there anyone else who would like to make public comment good evening Mrs good evening um my name is Shannon main from to Menon Township um again with my husband Mike I do appreciate the cell phone policy I do see that it's been doing a lot of good I went to back to
025school night spoke to every teacher they see a lot more production from the kids I also think it's great that we changed the block scheduling the middle schools I think that the shorter blocks are working well and with that also with the cell phone policy I think a lot of the cell phone use was being done at the second half of the block scheduling last year so thank you for making that change um one of the things on the policy tonight is about bullying and cyber bullying um right here on your um cyber bullying document it says the board is committed to providing a safe positive learning environment for the District staff and students the board recognizes that bullying creates an atmosphere of fear and intimidation and distracts from safe learning environment um it's right
026here in your policy and I I feel sometimes coming up to this Podium right here it does not create an atmosphere free of fear and intimidation for example Mr Casa even tonight when the last first woman spoke she said oh you're going to hear a lot of nonsense tonight you shook your head immediately yes in agreement with her stating that everybody else coming up here is going to be spewing some nonsense does that create fear and intimidation amongst people coming up to the podium and now we're going to put a policy in place for our students to follow about bullying and intimidation I do appreciate appreciate every board member that is looking intently at the speakers without nodding their head in disbelief of some other things also after this meeting I know that I'm going
027to get some social media outlash Mr Fusco even when I speak at toan and supervisor meetings you immediately go on social media and Bash people on there we're asking our students to abide by the bullying policy right here electronic verbal and in writing and all of your social media accounts or at least three of you have bullying in social media your school board you're Schoolboard representatives of our district and I would appreciate it after this meeting you don't go bashing people on social media I do not do that to you and I don't expect to see it anymore from the school board um the second thing is the policy I know probably no one's going to motion for this tonight but I really think that the policy that states for the policy 103A um it
028mentions Athletics I think that the policy has to be reviewed because because the last meeting the committee meeting Mr Summers said that Athletics was not decided on yet that we are waiting for a decision in the future the policy states Athletics even if you interpret that as some way it St still States Athletics I think the policy needs to be revised I think someone should make a motion tonight to revise that um the other thing is there is litigation currently going on with this policy which excludes these schools am cop Elementary School North Penn High School and Penfield middle school so at least my child does go to Penfield middle school and that school's exude it but how is that not discriminating that we're going to pass this policy but exclude three schools from the
029policy I think we have to wait until a couple meetings from now so we can re-review this and get some more comment from the public thank you m is there anyone else who like to make public comment this evening good evening Mr lanir good evening Jason lanir Lansdale uh I want to talk about 103 and 104 i i i attended the policy meeting the joke of the policy meeting that it was it lasted all of 20 minutes most of it was tell me what I shouldn't shouldn't say so the the discussion was not but I did ask one question and I'm glad Mr Summers here is able to clear this up will this allow men to ATT enter women's bathrooms girls bathrooms girls locker room that's a yes no question you're the lawyer you should
030be able to answer that yes or no no answer so that's a yes that's a yes they will be able to enter a bathroom so all of you board members who are going to sign up for this realize you are saying that it's okay for men to go into women's bathrooms okay for men's to go men to go in girls locker rooms is that okay with all you board members show a hands who's okay with that are you all all okay with it hands down no answer what does that mean nobody wants to respond is that okay is it okay wasn't there was it last night there was a was off-duty officer who had a who had his uh his gun with him at a swim meet and there's everybody's up in arms about an
031off-duty officer having a gun I wonder are you guys more upset with that idea or what if there was a man in the locker room with the swimmers which would be more upsetting to you which would be more upsetting to the students this is where your your political bias is showing you are doing this for political motivation not for the safety of the kids not to benefit anybody this is political bias this is bad policy and when something happens because something will happen just as it did before in Penfield which by the way we haven't heard the results of the independent study when something bad happens what are you going to do you're going to throw your hands up and say we can't talk about this because it's under lawsuit or whatever else so let's
032get this straight every one of you who are going to vote in favor of 103 and 104 are okay with men entering women girls locker rooms girls locker rooms you're okay with that but you well I guess they don't address having an armed officer in the in the stands during a meet how do you look at yourself saying this is okay what how many kids need to get sacrificed with your stupid policies in order for it to see justifying the the the political nonsense that you you espouse this doesn't benefit a single person by going into the bathroom to which they feel be most comfortable I can understand if kids don't want to go to a bathroom because they feel like they're going to get building I am that is awful there's no reason for
033that but there's no reason for this nonsense allowing full-grown men in the bathroom with little girls your time's up that doesn't happen good night it doesn't happen have a seates 103 and 104 allow that to happen yes or no ask the lawyer have a seat ask the lawyer have a seat ask the lawyer have a seat ask the lawyer now seat ask the lawyer have a seat will that happen yes or no your comment period is concluded will that happen you'll answer Mr L your time answer is there anyone else that would like to make public comment at this time okay seeing none we'll move on to the next right solic to do it under solicitor report okay all right so we're gonna have a um approval of the minutes from the August 15th 2024
034and approval of the minutes from the September 10th 2024 board work session can I have a motion me a motion please so moved second motion by Mr Fusco and seconded by Mrs romage are there any comments or questions all in favor say I I motion carries all right for committee reports Personnel Finance safe schools ECI policy facilities and operations are all available on YouTube on nptv for viewing so we're not going to read those reports we will move on to the north monco technical career center to be the first one to be read um Mrs romage please no I'm sorry that's me Mr R 24 the following um it was um we approved the uh first following Personnel items we accepted the resignation of uh Steve Norman we ratified the employment of Kelly mattz approved
035the employment of uh Joseph laowa uh approved Joseph Sims as a mentor approved Galia kellian as an addition to the approved substitute list approved the employment of Ellen K as full-time CDL instructor ratified the resignation of Robert palfrey P part-time Plumbing instructor approved the employment of Pat Patrick Moran as a part-time Plumbing instructor ratified the employment of K Kendra as part-time evening metatronics instructor approved the continuing education salary increase for the 2425 school years we approved uh three travel requests for students uh we approved the budget transfers uh we approved the spring 2024 OAC recommendation s we the jlc approved the following travel requests uh there were six five travel request and one uh one catering press uh event was uh approved thank you thank you Mr rash does anyone have any comments or questions
036seeing none we'll move on to the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit Mrs ramage please thank you and I want to apologize that I was late in getting the mciu report into board docs and I will make sure to follow up with M Mr scroy but the mciu board met on August 28th the board appointed and welcome two new board members um we started our meeting off with a program highlight um focusing on the upcoming um budget um for the 2024 2025 um fiscal year um we highlighted many events that were happening through out the entire mciu organization in prepare of the upcoming school year um including updates on the Summer Academy the new employee orientation opening of the new discovery center on Morris Road The Early Learning Academy Anderson School Southeast Youth Development Center um and
037and the power Pathways to empowerment program um which actually will begin enrolling um students starting next week the mciu board um uh reviewed various policies conducted first readings of other policies and approved budget items um there will be we approved the um the 53 new employees um and then updates regarding contracts and other U memorandums of understanding the next mciu um Head Start policy Council will be held on the 18th the mciu board meeting will be on September 25th and the opening of the new discovery center will be on October 16th and I hope to be there um end of report thank you Mrs Roman are there any comments or questions okay we will move on then to the north pen Educational Foundation meeting Mrs ramach chcken please thanks the foundation will hold its annual
038golf outing on October 1st at tmore Country Club more than 100 golfers are registered and we are extremely happy with the amount of sponsors who have partnered with us this year this is our major fundraiser for the year and helps us to fund more than $100,000 in Innovative projects um for students each year October 1st will Mark the start of the unite to inspire staff giving campus cign every year during the month of October we ask North pen School District employees to consider donating to the foundation those who are are who are eligible uh those who do are eligible to win great prizes in October we will open um a midyear Grant um cycle and staff are invited to apply and should watch their email for more information any questions related to the foundation can
039be directed to Christine leoski at the ESC um I just want to um share sh a thank you to all board members um we are um collectively sponsoring um a sponsor at the golf outing and I appreciate all of your support for um for the foundation um I will report on our meeting that we actually had this week which was incredibly exciting and next month's report um but I can't contain my excitement about some of the great ideas and great efforts that were put forward um but you'll have to wait for next month's report on that one okay we'll tune in thank you so much Mrs romage all right next up will be the legislative committee Mr mcmaid please thank you we have no report this evening oh thank you Mr McBain all right next
040up then is the solicitor's report Mr Summers please thank you Madame President I would like to announce that the board did meet an executive session immediately prior to tonight's meeting for the purpose of Consulting with the solicitor regarding Title 9 regulations and the impact of ongoing Federal litigation um and just on that topic uh kind of as a followup to some of the discussion that occurred at the board policy committee meeting um just for the the benefit of the board overall to hear um kind of the information on the background for these uh revisions to the district's policies 103 and 104 um for anyone who is not familiar policies 103 and 104 generally prohibit discrimination uh and harassment from occurring within the school district um they address sex discrimination but they also include things like
041prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race U uh religion uh disability age and other protected characteristics under the law um so those policies are essentially the district's way of ensuring and demonstrating that the district complies with a variety of federal state and local laws that prohibit discrimination it ensures that students staff community members are able to access um all District programs and and benefit from those programs just as to the same extent as everybody else in the community um so included within policies 103 and 104 is a Prohibition on the uh on discrimination on the basis of sex that is primarily governed by Title Nine which is Title Nine of the education Amendments of 1972 federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex under that federal law um there that the law itself
042calls upon agencies that distribute federal funds um to issue regulations um basically setting forth the ways in which federal agencies will ensure that programs that receive federal financial assistance don't discriminate on the basis of sex and so for decades there have been Title Nine regulations that the US Department of Education has issued to say how U the prohibition against sex discrimination is enforced in schools um and so most recently before uh 2024 there were regulation updates in 2020 at that time there were significant revisions to policies 103 and 104 I believe in August of 2020 um at that time the policies the board's policies were revised to ensure that they complied with the new title n regulations um several years ago there were proposed revisions to those regulations and ultimately in April uh there were
043new regulations issued with an effective date of August 1st um the revisions to uh policy 103A and 104a that are before you for a first read tonight not ultimate uh adoption but for a first read adoption occurs after the second read those policy revisions are designed to ensure that the district is in compliance with Federal Title 9 regulations as they have been updated and effective August 1st um I do think it's worth noting anyone who regularly follows uh the district's policy committee meetings would know this but by and large the district's policies are created um by the Pennsylvania School boards Association a nonpartisan Statewide organization that uh Advocates on behalf of public school districts one of the services that they provide is a policy service so they develop policies for school districts throughout the state
044that are designed to ensure that schools continue to comply with uh their legal requirements whether it be state federal or local law um so those uh the revisions that we see in policy 103 a and 104a are psba recommended revisions they've been reviewed by the policy committee locally um and they're designed to ensure that the district is in compliance uh with uh the new federal regulations so just to um add some clarity because there is ongoing litigation throughout the country involving these regulations there are a number of states that have brought challenges um to the authority of the US Department of Education to issue the regulations um or more specifically to issue certain aspects of the regulations certain um requirements that are imposed within them whether or not they have the ability under the law
045to do that is the subject of a current Court dispute um there are a number of states throughout the country that have brought these lawsuits against the US Department of Education and there are also a number of advocacy organizations that are participating in that litigation most notably the organization moms for Liberty is participating in one of these lawsuits um and the one that has received the most attention is a lawsuit that was brought in Kansas um in that case there is a federal judge who issued an injunction that prohibits the US Department of Education from enforcing these new regulations against schools that are in the states that are party to the case as well as against any school in which um members of the moms for Liberty organization have their children in attendance um and
046the way in which the court uh set forth that that would be demonstrated of what schools are impacted by that is that the plaintiffs in the case need to submit to the court in Kansas a list of all the schools that are impacted and so the schools were I believe referenced earlier tonight but just um to reiterate those schools that have been included on the list of schools that are uh impacted by this injunction are North pen High School Penfield middle school and Culp Elementary and so what the US Department of Education has said is in those schools um they will be enforcing the 2020 regulations or the current regulations um that our current policy is des designed to comply with um however for all schools that are not impacted by that injunction they are
047enforcing the new 2024 regulations and in fact um there have been complaints filed against schools with the US Department of education's office for civil rights throughout the country for not um complying with those new regulations so what um The Proposal uh in terms of 103A and 104 4 a is designed to do is if those policies are approved at a second reading at the next meeting of the board the current policies 103 and 104 will apply to those schools that are on the injunction list those three schools that were identified um as the US Department of Education is enforcing and all other schools will be governed by uh the revised policy which is designed to ensure that we are in compliance with the new title 9 regulations um I I think it's worth noting that
048the new 9 regulations are are not only focused on the issue of gender identity they were also designed to address other concerns with the process of of addressing concerns of sexual harassment and ensuring that those complaints are are um able to be made in in a in a way that doesn't unduly burden individuals who have been harassed um and that schools are are dealing with those complaints in an effective uh Fair manner so there are certainly many aspects Beyond what has gotten the most attention and what is the subject of dispute which is the gender identity issue um there are many other aspects of the regulations that that will come into play the other thing I think I would just point out is that um at with the ongoing litigation that has occurred um the
049Pennsylvania Attorney General has made it clear that under current state law in Pennsylvania discrimination on the basis of sex includes discrimination on the basis of gender identity um and so even under our current policy the prohibition against discriminating against someone on the basis of sex includes uh gender identity certainly the revised policy 103 makes it clear uh and that was one of the stated purposes of the new title 9 regulations was to clarify who is protected by uh the Federal Regulations but um because state law even under our current policy uh is interpreted as including gender identity um I certainly gave this opinion at the policy committee meeting meeting and I'll reiterate it now which is we don't expect any significant change in terms of students whether they're at any of the three schools that
050are impacted by the injunction or any other schools um that the experience of North pen students will not change as a result of this uh policy whichever that they are covered by that the district any form of discrimination harassment bullying um is encouraged to be reported and will be dealt with uh you know with all seriousness um again regardless of which policy version so if there are any other questions from the board I'm certainly happy to to help answer those but hopefully that provides a little bit more context oh sure so um there was a reference to Athletics um as a a program of the district Athletics is certainly governed by the same policies as our academic instruction our uh you know other extracurriculars musical activities Athletics is is just another program of the district
051in which we are not permitted to engage in uh discriminatory treatment of individuals with specific regard to gender identity and participation on athletic teams I do think it's important to note that the current regulations were not designed to address the issue of gender identity and what sports a particular student is able to participate on um there are proposed other Federal Regulations uh specifically addressing that issue that were not issued by the federal government um at the same time as these new uh just more General harassment regulations so as far as the impact on Athletics we don't anticipate any change in terms of uh how the district is complying with current PIAA requirements for gender identity as it relates to um Athletics thank you Mr Summers good can I ask you a question sure um as
052a chair of the uh policy committee I know that you're an integral part of uh uh developing these new policies that come into place um and the reason for that is we don't want lawsuits we want to follow law uh could you tell us what happens if we don't follow the law in this case sure um so the question is what are the implications for a school that uh would choose not to follow the applicable regulations whether you know whichever school we happen to be talking about whatever version of the regulations applies to that school if a school chooses not to there to follow the regulations in that school there are essentially two primary um consequences of that one is a potential loss of federal funding because Title Nine prohibits sex discrimination in any school
053that receives federal financial assistance the ultimate penalty that the US uh government has is by accepting these uh funds your required to abide by the guidelines that they establish and that if you you you fail to comply with their regulations they can withhold funding um that is rare um it is not something that occurs typically it it would generally only occur after a thorough investigation by uh the US Department of Education and typically what we see is um the office for civil rights which is an office within the US Department of Education will investigate schools that they uh believe are not complying with the regul ulations and more often than not they come to resolution agreements uh with those schools to bring them into compliance so that they don't lose their Federal funding um the
054other primary way in which uh non-compliance with Title 9 is addressed is through individual lawsuits um and those are would be brought by individual students community members staff who are negatively impacted um by a school's failure to follow the non-discrimination requirements um if they are denied meaningful access to you know the same programs and activities as others um they can bring individual lawsuits under Title 9 and and seek damages that can be in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars thank you thank you Mr Summers is there anyone else that would like to make a comment okay great next up will be the superintendent report Dr Bower please okay good evening everyone uh first up I have the consent agenda which includes the adoption of policies for a first read contra track s approval
055to advertise for an RFP for data analytics a future resident student uh medical director and dental examiners for 2425 alternative placements and student agreements may I have a motion please so moved second motion by Mr Fusco and seconded by Mr Casa are there any comments or questions seeing none all in favor say I I any opposed motion carries I recommend approval of the Personnel items as per the attached can I have a motion please so moved second motion by Mr Fusco and seconded by Dr G are there any comments or questions all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries next I recommend approval of the math support and Ela support application RFP to ISL learning for a three-year period through 6327 at a total cost of $173,200 and for anyone interested uh
056we had a presentation about this at the finance committee meeting a week or two ago can I have a motion please so moved second motion by Mr Fusco and seconded by Mr Casa are there any comments or questions all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries next I recommend approval of the multimedia creation and presentation application RFP to Book Creator for a 5-year period through June 30th 2029 at a total cost of $132,600 and again there was a presentation at the finance committee meeting about this RFP as well may I have a motion please please so moved motion by Mr Fusco and 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 a waiver from policy 3660
057which is for Professional Services requirement for issuing a request for proposal pertaining to our banking services and again in that same Finance meeting Mr scr gave a detailed explanation as to why uh he would like to continue with our current agreement and banking services can I have a motion please so moved second motion by Mr Fusco and seconded by Mr Casa any comments or questions that was quite a meeting it was and it was a very thorough explanation of why so all in favor say I I I I any opposed motion carries and lastly um which actually did make the news this week I recommend adoption of the attached resolution regarding a capital reserve fund transfer for the 2324 fiscal year thereby transferring $1,310 into the general fund to the capital reserve fund can I
058have a motion please so moved motion by Mr Fusco and seconded by Mr McBain any comments or questions I I would like to thank Mr shaki for negotiating a $110,000 uh um save on our bill the buses for the new buses yeah so this thank you Mr Rush this was about uh some buses that were about a week late for delivery and uh when we procure products or buses or whatever they are if they are delivered after June 30th they have to be uh purchased in that fiscal year not the previous fiscal year so even though we ordered them in last year they arrived during this fiscal year so we had to make the budget transfer there's a motion on the floor all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries okay next
059I recommend the agreement of sale uh with P homes of PA for the district owned movie Lots located in Hatfield Township in the amount of of $1 15, 85,000 as per the attached can I have a motion please so moved second motion by Mr Fusco and seconded by Mr Kasa I have a statement to read off here regarding this and the process that we went about it so the north pen School District currently owns approximately 5656 Acres of undeveloped land located at the intersection of Welsh Road and orilla Road the land is commonly known as the movie Lots the land the land is not currently used for educ ational purposes but as leased to a local Farmer for his commercial purpose the district has thoroughly reviewed the movie lots and determined that the property is
060not suitable for the district to use for its own educational or administrative needs in the future as such the district initiated a formal process to explore the sale of the movie Lots starting on March 12th 2024 on that date The District's Chief Financial Officer made a presentation to the district's finance committee regarding the current use of the movie lots and exploring the potential sale of the Lots on March 21st 2024 the district's board by resolution authorized the administration to take all steps necessary to pursue the lot to pursue the sale of the movie Lots between March and July 2024 the Chief Financial Officer solicited proposals from multiple reputable developers who are active in this area the district received a total of six proposals from four different developers after reviewing the proposals with the subset of
061the board in agreement with the District staff it was determined that the offer from py homes of PA was the most desirable the district determined that the purchase price of $1 15, 85,000 contingent on the buyer receiving final approval to build 85 homes in the development was the best value and the least disruptive to the neighboring Community it is noteworthy that py homes is currently undertaking a similar project on a neighboring property it is also noteworthy that the district has two separate appraisal reports completed to determine the market value of the movie lots and purchase price is well above the appraise value in both reports if the bo if the board approves entering the purchase and sale agreement the district must secure Court approval per school code and the buyer will need to complete both
062due diligence and secure the necessary approvals for the construction of the 85 homes before the sale can be finalized in the closing Wheel car all terms of the contract are industry standard for a transaction of this size and scope between a landowner and a developer and have been reviewed by our special Council so with that we have a motion on the floor are there any comments or questions I do want to mention um that we did not utilize the services of a real estate broker for this transaction um so Mr scy while he is not here this evening did ask that I share with the board he is willing to wave his $900,000 uh real estate commission for this transaction um but I really and all kidding aside I wanted to uh pass along some
063kudos to Mr scy uh he did did the bulk of the work with this transaction he advertised it he met with all of the potential buyers um and really brought about those offers to the school district which obviously were presented by to that subset of the board uh to make a recommendation this evening so thank you to Mr scy I know he's watching um and thank you for waving that sales commission so yes thank you Mr scroy it was a very thorough contract I read through most of it so um all right so if there are no f comments question so Ju Just for folks to understand the timing of us entering into this type of transaction in sale um and why we thought it was advantageous to do so um why we haven't done
064it before or why we would delay it why was it advantageous now and what is the plan for the um the sale the money of it going forward yeah so in general terms and there was uh he I believe he referenced the March 12th finance committee meeting it might have been a work session or finance committee um he gave a detailed explanation so for those who are interested you go back and watch that uh presentation but in general M MC Mery um we've had this property and one of the primary reasons we were actually holding on to it was to put our transportation Depot um we explored that option it was not a suitable use uh given that zoning um we do not see the need for an additional School based upon enrollment projections perhaps
065some boundary changes in the future but certainly not um a new building necessary um we're really sitting on this 56 Acres um and when we look at that capital projects list that totals $190 million outside of the high school renovation um the board did say at a meeting are there other ways to generate some re Revenue um and quite frankly we've been sitting on this property now since I believe it's we started acquiring movie Lots back in the 80s and 90s um so once we determined we weren't going to use it and there wasn't uh the proper zoning to use it for a transportation Depot we started to pursue the sale of the property thanks you're welcome sure are there any other comments or questions okay we have a motion on the floor all in
066favor say I I any opposed motion carries okay uh next for the finance report I will do my best to um are you going to I'm going and I'm we're going to play Taboo and I'm going to say things like healthcare Center uh award-winning tax rebate program and things that Mr scroy would undoubtedly share with you this evening uh but again kidding aside um the cash receipts in August totaled 163 M 39,5 5.91 cash dispersements for August were 8,861 61156 um so the total available funds at this time which is very typical is 251 million 8 42,1 65 so with that I recommend approval of the treasurer's report for the month of August can I have a motion please so moved second motion by Mr Fusco and seconded by Mrs ramit are there any comments
067or questions all in favor say I I I any opposed motion carries next I recommend the ratification of dispersements for the month of April in the amount of oh excuse me August starts with an a uh in the amount of 23, $ 3 3,933 and9 can I have a motion please so moved motion by Mr Fusco and seconded by Dr G any comments or questions all in favor say I I any opposed motion carries and finally as an informational item only and explored in further detail at our finance committee meetings uh the financial reports are listed in board docs that is all thank you Dr power okay next up is other business and I know I wanted to um ask about um feedback on the cell phone policy I think there's a lot of agreement
068tonight between members of the audience and the board that the cell phone policy was needed and I just was wondering what the feedback was from staff um and yeah um I'll be happy to provide what I've seen and heard and Dr Waters if you'd like to chime in please do um so we embarked upon a change of the cell phone policy at the secondary level or at least the practice I'll say because policy was the policy itself is um pretty Broad and gives a lot of autonomy to the building and to the teachers but we really uh brought a group together over the summer and made changes to our expectations in our secondary schools um so it used to be we'll say back in 2015 not every student had a device not every student was
069walking around with technology and um since then obviously we have a onetoone district we have Chromebooks the students have technology at their fingertips in the classroom and there's certainly well documented research now with smartphones over the last 10 15 20 years and its impact on adolescence and in particular the big Tech that is a New York Times number one bestseller is the anxious generation so there's a lot of literature out there about the impacts of electronics social media on uh student mental health and wellbeing um so there was subcommittees of at the uh secondary level that came together to offer recommendations and those recommendations were I'm paraphrasing quickly but those recommendations were cell phon should be off and away and in backpacks in the Middle School start to finish of the school day and at
070the high school they should be off and Away in backpacks during class time but in common spaces like the library or the cafeteria the high school students could have them out um so of course Dr Waters and I have been to every school at least once some more than once um over the first couple weeks of school and the feedback has really been excellent um I shared with some of you this evening that was just standing in the front of the high school on Tuesday morning as kids and staff were coming in welcoming people saying hello I had five teachers pull me a side and just say hey this has really made a difference and I think you heard that at the podium this evening um so certainly wasn't my work um it was the
071work of our staff and the leadership of Dr McKenna and Dr Nicholson kind of working through some things with the oversight of Dr Waters of course and um kids seem to be interacting more they seem to be happier and we're hearing from parents kids and staff you know what this is making a difference so so far so good I agree that with what I heard uh again this evening that the enforcement is key um I recognize that it is September 19th and so we need to hold firm and the expectation is that you are following uh the rules um so we're supporting our administrators in that regard and our staff um and I know Mrs stole you in particular have been very vocal about you support us in kind of bringing those consequences if it's
072violated but thus far the kids the kids want expectations and uh they're listening and you have to set those expectations and it seems to be for the better so great thank you that's good to hear from my personal experience uh my son and his friends from pendale this is how I know it's working have asked you why they have to keep their cell phones away during lunch right and I've just simply said so that you can get to talk to your friends right so the fact that they are recognizing it and even sort of you know parsing out you know why here not there um I I think anecdotally anybody who has kids at District probably right now is feeling the same way that there it is making a difference so I very much appreciate
073the um the effort of the teachers and staff to ensure this enforcement because it's not easy right this is a cultural change that's never an easy thing to approach uh in the administration for ensuring that this will be applied with Fidelity uh and much like Mrs stole I I also very much um support those making sure that the enforcement rules are followed uh because this only works if everybody's doing it 100% so thank you and to that point my phone did go off earlier today in this meeting and I want to apologize for that um I am awaiting a birth of a grandchild though so I was hoping that that was what that was so um that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it we appreciate this the music though so thank you for that
074thank you Mrs stall I was also reminded um that we did you may recall last spring in some of the communications over some of the incidents that happened we talked about uh listening sessions in schools and Dr Hart and Mr ran um went to uh all three levels met with students and you know heard their voices and a lot of the conversation from kids was about how destructive cell phones are in terms of bullying and mental health and drama if you will in particular at the middle level um so it was student feedback as well that really initiated it good it's good to hear I just want to thank you and Dr Waters you mentioned that already this year you've been in every building and I want to also thank you for giving us the
075opportunity to be at um at those buildings as well and it was just really wonderful to be able to to see students students as they were arriving see how they were being greeted and just the warm welcome um that our schools extend to our students and and and that extension of of providing um that sense of safety and welcome so I really appreciate that um I in the video when we kicked off the meeting it it highlighted our school breakfast program and a highlight of one of the visits for me was at North Wales Elementary where I got to see the breakfast cart in action um and the options that kids have on a little cart to be able to start their day and some kids hadn't at some there was already there was a
076student who had had a little bit of a rough start right and we all recognized those we have um days where it's just hard to get up and they didn't have time for breakfast and they were able to grab it go to class and and um it started their day off so much better so um I'm so grateful that we have that program and that effort and that um that that is now available to our students for free thank you Mrs romage there are there any comments Mr Kaa yes I I just wanted to make sure um for the last meeting or two maybe it was safe schools but uh that we can get an update on the progress for the uh independent review uh if Mr Summers has any um I actually had the
077opportunity for the first time uh to speak with the lead investigator in that today and I was told that um the report is final and we'll be meeting in an executive session with the board inside of two weeks um so I have not seen it I don't know what it says um but they have they're really wrapping up the investigation finalizing the report and it will be presented to all of you in an executive session in the near future thank you very much yep thank you thank you Dr B are there any other comments or questions other business okay can I have a motion to adjourn then so moved thank you very much meeting is adjourned e