001All right We will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence. I pledge allegiance Mr. Rao, may we have a roll call, please? Mrs. Anderson here This is been say here This is Bowman here Mr. Briegel here Mr. Camilletti here Mrs. Chaudhuri here Mr. O'Neill here Dr. Payne Mr. Taylor here all members present. Thank you superintendent's comments We'll move into the celebration of excellence excellence in education in Peters Township School District So many great things are happening in Peters Township schools Our high school freshmen in personal wellness are learning how to make a real difference in an emergency As part of their first aid instruction unit students are practicing how to perform CPR on adults children and babies and Learning how to properly use an AED machine Those who successfully demonstrate their
002skills can even earn official certification through our partnership with the Peters Township fire department Personal wellness is a required course for all freshmen Many activities took place throughout the district to honor our veterans last week Students of Peters Township Middle School welcomed Marine Corps veteran Patrick Keeley as a guest on the school announcements The works media crew interviewed the Peters Township graduate and learned more about his years of service during the Vietnam War He detailed the rigors of boot camp and the challenges faced in combat Including the seven times he was injured and how he overcame them to continue serving his country Mrs. Meyers afternoon kindergarten class created a poster for Veterans Day in recognition of the service of retired US Marine Corps Sergeant Doug Vitao the parent of one of their classmates The poster
003with the handprints of all the students was presented to Mrs. Vitao at the start of class on Veterans Day Third graders of Bowen Hill spent time this month celebrating veterans as well Some students brought in a form about a veteran they know or someone special in their family who has served our country They loved sharing about their veterans with the class and learning about each other's heroes All of the veterans are proudly displayed in the hallway or classroom for everyone to see and celebrate Earlier this month the high school hosted the annual career and technical fair for students in Peters Township and from surrounding communities this event helps students learn about future career options explore hands-on training programs and engage with professionals and a variety of fields Ariel third graders celebrated the 50th day of
004school with all things from the 1950s In addition to dressing in 50s attire they had 50s trivia learned some dances from the 1950s Played some classic games and even enjoyed a root beer float on November 1st Peters Township won the WPI AL title in girls volleyball This is the first WIPL championship for the girls team in school history The team finished with a record of seven and four Including a first round win in the state tournament versus Mannheim Township leading to a PIAA quarterfinal appearance The big kids in our school had just as much fun as the students dressing up for Halloween kudos to all of them for getting into the spirit and thank you to our PTAs and parent volunteers who organized fantastic parties for our elementary students Our high school staff gets serious
005about their Halloween fun Turning the annual costume contest into a fundraiser for a good cause Students voted for their favorite staff costume with donations and altogether. They raised $686 for the Children's Institute of Pittsburgh Congratulations to mrs. Jalen Pinto who took home top honors for her Statue of Liberty costume this year High school Spanish Club had their Dia de los Muertos annual celebration this month Students pre-ordered authentic traditional Mexican pastries from Mount Lebanon shop to enjoy along with some Mexican hot chocolate Students watched the Disney movie Coco and had fun making flower headbands and coloring Cavallaris Pleasant Valley Elementary has been named the number one elementary school in Pennsylvania for 2026 according to the US News and World Report This is the second consecutive year for the honor for Pleasant Valley And it is based
006on student proficiency on state-required testing and how well the school serves all student populations Our Hill Elementary was also ranked number six on the elementary list With the middle school ranking seventh across the state and their middle school ranking as well Second grade students at Bower Hill and mrs. Q ins and mrs. Bodnar's homeroom had their first cookies with a cop session recently Throughout the school year students will have a chance to visit with school resource officer Mallory, Jersey Enjoy a cookie thanks to a donation for meet and park and get to know each other These relationships with our SROs are the cornerstone of the program as our first responders are trusted adults in the lives of our students Each month a new group of students will meet with and get to know officer Mallory
007Our Pleasant Valley best buddies kicked off their year with a fun breakfast courtesy of the nutrition group this week Followed by some fun while they got to know each other Students decorated placemats and delivery bags for meals on wheels and also had a chance to decorate pumpkins Generously donated by Simmons Farm on Route 19 Congratulations to junior Molly Berry who was selected through a competitive audition process to perform in the PME a district one honors jazz festival The festival is hosted by Franklin Regional High School and will take place in December at Seton Hill University The tradition continues at Bower Hill with kindergarten students painting their rocks to add to the rock garden outside of the school Each year our newest students add their personal touch to the display near the front door as they
008become part of the Bower Hill family Our Peters Township High School Indians will be making their way to Acreshore Stadium this weekend as they compete in the WPIAL Finals Our undefeated team take on Pine Richland on Saturday at 8 p.m Bower Hill students celebrated a record-breaking read-a-thon this month during BTV Overall our Bower Hill B's read for an astonishing 266,000 876 minutes and raised a mind-blowing $46,437 for PTA activities this year We're so proud of these great readers and appreciate so much support from our families Top readers and fundraisers were on BTV for the school announcements and medals were handed out to all students in homerooms Middle school students in the Best Buddies program kicked off their year with a trip to Acreshore Stadium this month Students had the opportunity to go on to the
009field go to the pit and Steelers locker rooms and even visited the Hall of Honor The high school a cappella group room 100 has had a busy month Mr. Ryan Parati and the group hosted the second annual PME a district one a cappella showcase With over 20 Pittsburgh area schools attending just a few weeks later room 100 also performed at the Kettering a cappella festival in Ohio The largest educational festival in the country last week Pleasant Valley held their annual student talent show for a packed parent audience at the middle school Students sang danced pogo told jokes and otherwise amazed audience for two and a half hours And all the fun was for a good cause admission to the event was canned goods for the local food bank as well Tonight we end our celebration
010with a heartfelt Thank you to four board members who have selflessly given their time their talents and their unwavering dedication to our students staff and community Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Bowman, Dr. Payne and Mr. Taylor. Your leadership has shaped our district in meaningful and lasting ways Your guidance has strengthened our schools and made our district the leader it is today Thank you I would Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Bowman, Dr. Payne and Mr. Taylor. I would First i'd like to note that you all looked a lot younger before you started Your your board service Yeah And I will say it's the the the years of energy and effort and worry that you put your heart and souls into this district And I sometimes I we become a little bit numb to all these celebrations, but they wouldn't happen
011without Without all without you and you cannot have a high-performing district without a high-performing board It just doesn't happen And I want to personally thank you for you know, all the time and effort you put in For always answering for me personally for always answering the call when I reach out That you know this education can be very lonely But it's never lonely knowing that you're going to pick up the phone and I don't think people outside of these walls can appreciate What what it means to be a board member and and what it means to always be standing in and putting our children first? Because those decisions are not easy Especially when you're putting the decision of 4 000 children first So I want to thank you For everything that you've done and there's
012no words that I can that will extend My deepest gratitude and be able to even come close to what it's meant for your leadership for this district. So I want to thank you For your service It's hard to follow that but I I concur would like to thank you all. I mean, let's face it None of us do this for the paycheck If you're here, it's because you care about your school your community. So miss bowman miss anderson. Mr. Taylor. Dr. Payne Thank you This is the time on the agenda for public comment and on the agenda and other items Peter shanship school district values parent and community engagement Speakers who signed up in advance per policy 903 will be allotted a maximum of five minutes for public comment All other speakers will be allotted
013a maximum of two minutes per public comment Part of our communication effort involves taping and sharing videos of our board meetings to help our community stay informed on matters before the board Any guest speakers or members of the public who are taking part in the meetings Are reminded to come to the podium and use the microphone when making comments So that they may be heard by those of us in the room and those watching online All speakers are reminded to state their name and resident status for the minutes The public comment period of the meeting is not a question and answer format between the public and the board The purpose of public comment at board meetings is to allow the board to learn the thoughts of the public Prior to board deliberation and action Is
014there any public comment on the agenda and other items? Seeing none. It is the time for the public President's comments and I will begin by saying that executive sessions were held October 20th And immediately prior to this meeting to discuss personnel matters I wish to take the privilege of the floor, which I will share with my fellow departing board members Uh to make a statement of farewell I i'd like to can I start to get it over with? I'm just sitting here like trying to keep it all together, but okay. Thank you. I appreciate that It has been an honor serving on this board for the last 12 years and supporting what I believe to be the best administrators in the state They have worked so hard to get our district where it is today
015And I wanted to thank them all for caring so much and working so hard. It did not go unnoticed It has been my pleasure to work with so many talented and dedicated board members We had many people with various backgrounds lawyers educators secondary administrators electricians emt's cpas Coos and the list goes on in hindsight I think having a broad spectrum of backgrounds was a huge asset to the administration We established a trust and respect among ourselves Which was essential to accomplish the many things that we did And above all I am proud that I always voted for what I believed was best for students. So thank you so much Thank you I I am going to give the shortest speech since I serve the shortest amount of time amongst my colleagues I want to thank
016my fellow board members, um, particularly those who were here for the first two years you Onboarded me so well and made me feel like part of the team and I I thank you for that For the newest ones that have come on. It's been a joy working with you and I wish you much continued success It's a great administration that you're working with and we're still in the district. So Looking forward to all the great things that you're going to accomplish in the coming years So congratulations to the new board members I can beat them I I appreciate the opportunity to get the chance to serve and I I hope I was able to help out along the way well I'm not sure It has been my honor to serve peters township for the past
01712 years as a school director We have faced challenges crises and triumphs that have become and remain a stellar school district Consistently among the top in the commonwealth The three most important components of our current excellent profile Were the assembly of a superb administrative team led by the amazing dr french the appointment of an extraordinarily competent solicitor And the assembly of a wonderful family of teachers and staff During my tenure when the extraordinary opportunity arose to acquire jointly with the township a significant piece of property Smack in the heart of peters township We were positioned to take advantage of that opportunity In turn acquisition of that property made it possible to build a new high school facility to overcome severe overcrowding And an outdated physical plan The new high school facility meant in turn that
018the former high school could be updated and made a secure and safe facility for a redefined three-grade middle school That created a cascading opportunity to repurpose the former middle school Into a satellite location for the intermediate unit to provide improved Expanded services And for the community college of beaver county to provide offerings that expanded college in the high school offerings for our students In the midst of those carefully planned changes, we were slammed with multiple crises First in the 2020 2015 2016 fiscal year The commonwealth appeared to become paralyzed completely unable to complete a budget for nine months As a benefit of careful budgeting Mr rao and truly extraordinary financial efficiency Peter's township came through that period of uncertainty Without a hiccup then there was coded Peter's township was one of only a handful of
019school districts in the commonwealth Able to provide in-person instruction every single day of the 2020 2021 school year the flexibility and adaptability of our administrative team And our teachers and our students and our physical plant And the fact that our one-to-one technology could be quickly implemented Meant that overall our students were not only not negatively impacted but in fact excelled With more students taking more ap exams and passing them In the spring of 2021 than in all but one prior year ever During my tenure peters township participation at western area career and technology center has steadily increased This year was the first year that we needed to send two school buses to western area My greatest joy during my years as vice president and then president of the school board has been the operation of
020the school board itself I will always be grateful to mrs. Anderson for her incredible Attention to today detail in working with policies to dr. Payne for her post-secondary and career readiness insights To mr. Taylor for his deft handling of the negotiations However, the greatest triumphs of this board have been twofold First this board consistently Demonstrated the capacity to listen freely, but respectfully disagree with one another And regardless of the outcome of a vote to move forward as one with the decisions of the board second This board has consistently refrained from ever bringing politics into the boardroom Focusing focusing instead exclusively on what was best for our students all of our students I will miss my interactions with my colleagues on the board and the wonderful administrative staff However, I will enjoy the extra free time
021Which will enable me to expand my passion for coaching and tutoring students So moved second second second Thank you, mrs. Bowman Recommendation number one move to accept the resignation of michael brookie co-principal mcmurray elementary effective january 8th, 2026 second I just want to say yeah, I just wanted to thank. Uh, mr brookie for his years-long dedication and service to the school Um, one of the things that was mentioned was the significant progress that was made on the math scores I don't know. Dr. French if you want to expile upon that, but I think that deserves recognition So the mcmurray team has done an amazing job Again, we're amazed by the accomplishments of our children and we just uh, dr fischer ran some of the numbers today in mcmurray fourth grade math Number just absolute scores
022number one in the state Pretty amazing pretty amazing A lot of hard work. It doesn't happen overnight and that's I know I say just it rolls up my tongue But it's it's a there's a lot of work behind that and it's a lot of thanks need to go out to mcmurray the teachers And team there any further discussion All in favor say hi. Hi Any opposed Recommendation number two move to accept resignation of robert garvey principal of bauer hill elementary effective november 30th 2025 second I did not know mr brookie that well, but uh, I do know the bauer hill library secretary fairly well And um, she always speaks very highly of rob So i've i've gotten to know him and whenever I go into the building he generally comes around and says hi so
023I'd like to thank rob for his years of service and We will miss him and I know the people of power hill will miss him as well I just want to thank mr Garvey my daughter was a student at his school and she had a fantastic experience and I know it was due in part To his leadership. So We wish him well any public comment Seeing none All in favor say aye. All right Any opposed? Of course again, we're all opposed Recommendation number three move to approve jennifer carfano That's the principal of bauer hill elementary effective december 1st 2025 second any discussion I will um, I commented about the quality of the staff here and the fact that we have in place Um people who can step up without breaking step Is a wonderful blessing
024just just real wonderful blessings Any other comment? Any public comment? Seeing none all in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries congratulations jim This is boom and that ends the personnel. Thank you. Mr. Taylor Mr. Neal you're up You need water? No, I haven't it's still just going down the wrong pipe. Thank you. Um, regular drinking problem. Yeah, clearly Recommendation move to approve the responsive bus bids submitted by wolfington body company inc meeting specifications for two 72 passenger school buses with chains at a total cost of 231,000 two other bids are received. This project is funded by capital projects in second Any discussion I guess one comment. Mr. Rock probably give more detail on it This was the lowest price for two school buses we've seen in a few years, correct. I was thinking
025that Just to give an update last year for the the 72 passengers the bid we received was 125,700 So this year we went out early and we're getting The current year model but it's still brand new and uh, the price we got was 115.5 per bus So this is a lower price than we've seen in the previous years and thankfully it seems like maybe um, Things might be stabilizing or even retreating back a little bit on them and awesome Wonderful. I know it's a random opinion, but do you think that because is because we've finally dealt with some supply chain issues after covid I I absolutely think it's this price is definitely reflective of there being uh Prior your model bus is still available In the previous years there weren't any you were having long
026lead times that you can get them So yeah, I think kind of the supply caught up to the demand Excellent. Thank you Anything else? That's all I had on that any public comment? Seeing none all in favor say aye. Aye. Aye any opposed? Motion carries Next recommendation move to approve a guaranteed energy savings agreement Gisa between site logic energy services inc and peters township school district for a greenhouse project at the high school in the amount of $380,000 on terms and conditions approved by the solicitor funding is to be to be provided by the pa smart grant second Any discussion? I have a quick question. Uh, this is less than the smart grant allocation, right? Yes, but we have another item right afterwards. That's greenhouse related Okay Any other discussion? Do we know when it
027will be started or finished? Do we have any ideas? It's taking a little bit longer. Um than because it's it's a It's a pretty massive greenhouse and we will be because it is going to be It It's where um, so that we it's accessible We had to put in a location that required a lot of earth movement And then we had to design get fire suppression and we wanted to make it so we can fit wheelchairs in there It's taking a little bit longer to get exactly what we want. So i'm hoping that now I'm i'm hoping in the spring that it will go up pretty quickly. All right. Thank you Any other discussion on the board? any public comment Seeing none all in favor say aye. Aye. Aye any opposed? motion carries final recommendation
028Move to approve the responsive greenhouse bid submitted by greenhouse megastore meeting specifications for the high school greenhouse at a total cost of 101 thousand six hundred fifty six dollars and fifty four cents This project is funded by a pa smart grant in the high school coffee tree roasters activity fund second Any discussion good question Alex or brad, do you know what the breakdown of was that was what was the full grant and like how much did coffee tree roasters? Activity fund pay so four hundred total correct. So what were it? Uh 381 and change so the 81 and change will come from the coffee roasters Thank you. Welcome Any other discussion? yes, I would like to thank the All the students and staff who do the high school coffee tree roasters. It's amazing It's amazing
029how much money they raise. So I really appreciate that Anyone else any public comment Seeing none all in favor say aye. Aye. Aye any opposed? Motion carries that is my report this evening miss bowman. Thank you. Mr. Ernie. Thank you Thank you, mrs. Bowman. I don't have anything specific to report tonight. It's been a while to gather all the data and with The turnover in the board. We thought we would wait a little bit and I just don't want people to think we're ignoring The education results we will have something when we have it all ready for everybody Thank you recommendation move to approve resolution number 2025-11-17 alpha stipulating no increase in the rate of the real estate tax by more than the index of 3.5 percent for the 2026-2027 fiscal year so moved Second
030recommendation move to authorize the administration to pay required invoices between november 18 2025 and january 20 2026 due to the length of time between meetings so moved second Any discussion on the board? Any public comment? Seeing none all in favor say aye. Aye. Aye any opposed? motion carries miss bowman, I just want to thank the four outgoing board members for a great example and Showing us how to be effective members on the board and that concludes my report Thank you. Mr. Kameletti mrs. Anderson Um, yes recommendation move to approve the second reading and adoption of the following policies 102 105 122 122.1 123 209.2 304.1 317 317.1 320 626 626.1 718 and 827 second any discussion Being the last meeting miss anderson. Do you want to read them all? No No, but I have them
031copies for everyone I do also want to recognize mrs. Anderson brought me in a little bit this last year to learn to do policies You've been doing it for 12 years now. Yes. Thank you so so much. Oh, you're very For some reason I I don't mind it. So I guess it's a little weird But thank you for us. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you Anyone else? I would express to the public It is an incredible blessing To have someone who doesn't mind it much It's a huge job And what what you may not realize it isn't as much a matter of the board setting policy occasionally we do Um of our own initiative But for the most part we have to respond to every jot and tittle that the legislator comes up
032with legislature comes up with and it's integrating that is just mind-blowing And eye-glazing At least it's been on top of it the whole time Okay, uh any comment from the floor? Okay, seeing none All in favor say aye. Aye Any opposed? Seeing none the motion carries mrs. Anderson. Congratulations. You got another batch of public policies approved Thank you, and that concludes my report, but it's a good segue into psba in that um, i'm just Pleading with the new board to continue the subscription to the pnn um because otherwise the new policy chair will be um It would be very scary to be without that service. So, um I'm just hoping that you continue with that subscription And that is a service that filters all the stuff that comes out of the legislature Because there would
033be no way for For me to know every legislation and then the pick through the 900 policies or it's probably 500 policies that we have to see What has to be changed? So psba proposes those changes? And then we go through and see whether we want to accept all their changes or not. So and as with most um Statutory requirements We must do what the statute says we can do more Set the standard higher, but we must do what the statute says So if they change it on thursday, we have to implement it as soon as possible. So thank you again includes my report. Thank you western area A very wise woman on the board. Mrs. Bowman suggested to me about a year ago She said within 24 to 48 hours of a meeting write
034down the report send it in so you don't forget I did not listen to her this time I don't like why didn't I do that? So I did not get my report in officially to put on the Agenda, but I do have a report that I will say so Thank you for instructing me this one time. I didn't listen to you and I regret it So i'll do it going forward. Thank you for all your help also Getting integrated into western area So there was a meeting october 22nd 2025 2025 we approved to purchase a 2024 to 10 passenger minivan and that would take students if they had if they're going to do a project at a different school It would take small groups of students there. So we did approve that We approved hiring
035hair professional and a custodian Under the executive director's report. Mr. Milanovic. He is still Continues to look for grant money for the new auto tech shop growth expansion And they are reviewing possible programs like vet tech and plumbing And currently we have 80 peterson chip students enrolled And that concludes my report And I would like to provide a supplement to it. The next meeting is wednesday And it is a holiday dinner which is provided by our culinary students at western area And the members of the joint operating committee are invited to bring a plus one And for most of them their plus one is their significant other I have chosen over the years to bring a student from the eighth grade who has expressed an interest in western area So that they can get a
036private tour And so I will be picking up a young lady wednesday night and taking her with me She has a strong interest in the cosmetology program So she will get a private tour So it's a it's a lovely opportunity to I don't know put your hooks in, you know So that's what will be happening at the at the meeting on wednesday Okay, nothing to vote on so I will keep going superintendent's agenda All right. Thank you. Mr. Spellman and i'm requesting action on certificated personnel items number one through five. So moved second Any board comment Pardon I said give it to rolf. He moved it. I seconded it. Okay Seeing none All in favor say aye, aye any opposed motion carries Requesting action on non-certificated personnel items number one through four so moved second
037any discussion Seeing none all in favor say aye. Aye Any opposed? Was that an aye or a nay? Okay motion carries Requesting action on extra duty personnel and programs items number one through four so moved second Any discussion? I did have a question I was looking through the resumes And i'm sorry off the top of my head. I can't remember which one it was but one of the people coming on in theater is like Holy cow. How did we get that person? Is that I hope that's a comment because I don't know Okay, I was like wow um We're getting somebody's really got some skills That's very cool, there's a win then that's a win Um, okay any other discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye any opposed? Motion carries requesting action on professional conferences
038trainings and trips one item only so moved second any discussion Seeing no hands on buttons all in favor. Say aye. Aye any opposed? Motion carries requesting action on educational programs and student activities one item only so moved second Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye Any opposed? Motion carries requesting action on other items numbered one through seven So moved second any discussion I'd like to thank the various individuals and organizations for their donations and support of our students and our what we're trying to do for them I'll second that anybody else All in favor say aye. Aye Any opposed? Motion carries Thank you Are there any matters of board information to be shared? I'll put this here mrs. Bowman as was referenced earlier this evening at some point I think I did have an
039opportunity last thursday to attend a shazda presentation given by one of our solicitors um, it was on free speech issues among staff and students and although Neither group checks them entirely at the entrance to the school We don't also enjoy them to the same extent that everybody else does and I thought it was a very educational, um Presentation if you will, it's not the first one like that i've gone to but I find that it's always a good to hear it again I believe um, ms. Cramer sent the her Cases and summaries to the school board. I'm assuming the school also has it and I would I'm assuming the school's planning on sharing it with the staff, but if not, I would request that they do that because I know I don't get that where
040I work and it would be helpful So noted And I didn't say anything. Oh, I was saving it for now I would also like to thank the four of you who's who is are having a last meeting tonight Two of you came on after I did although one of you just barely I will not repeat all the things you've done for the board as everybody else has but I do want to thank you It's always been a pleasure to be able to discuss things with you whether we agreed or not And i'm very grateful that I got a chance to know you and to work with you And two of you have been on the board longer than I have and i've always looked up to you I have Missed other school directors as they've
041come and gone And I will miss the two of you as well. I've always looked up to you You've been a great role models for me. Thank you. I will miss you. I'll miss all four of you anyone else And I would make a note somehow shazda fell off the committee list We need to unfollow it off I know you don't have something every time But I I felt sad making making you come up with board information There was so little to report that was the decision and it was understood that if there ever was anything to report I would simply jump in at this spot and tell everybody that works Okay, any public comment on agenda items only? Seeing none solicitors report I just want to echo what everyone else has shared on behalf
042of weisberg hurt kramer Thank you to dr. Payne. Mr. Taylor. Mrs. Bowman and mrs Anderson for your dedication to the district and your time on the board I know that our office has great immensely really respected you and enjoyed working with you Enjoy your free evenings. We are also incredibly jealous of that All right, thank you Of correspondence and matters of information of the reorganizational meeting will be held on thursday december 4th at 6 30 um, and that will be why you passed the resolution that Finance could go ahead and pay bills because we won't have a formal meeting until january Uh, there are any committee meetings that need to be scheduled That would be generally considered wicked During the month of december, but just in case Okay I will entertain a motion to adjourn
043second Someone leaving better say Thank you All in favor say hi. Hi Any opposed Didn't think so