001And we're live. [Music] Hi everyone. >> Hi Tom. >> How come we have so many administrators who have nothing to do with the one topic? You guys can you guys should be able to relax, right? [Music] Well, everyone still logs in. Just you never know. >> Get ready for a million HR questions, Tim. >> I'm ready. >> Okay, Katherine. I don't see Katherine. [Music] I don't see Shan. >> Sean? No. Jenna? I thought I saw Jenna. Oh, there you are. >> Here, I'm here. I >> I see you. >> Can you uh message Sean to not message Katherine? Oh, okay. Katherine's on her phone. Let me [Music] >> Tom, can you miss it? Sean, >> I just did. >> Thank you. >> Okay, Katherine's coming over now. There's Sean. That beautiful background behind Mr. >>
002We have everyone correct >> a couple weeks for the not the Irish. >> Looks like everybody's here. >> All right. Good evening. I call to order the special meeting to accept a board designation. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. Pledge allegiance. Pledge >> allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. >> To the republic for it stands under indivisibley for all. >> Thank you. Roll call. >> Mr. Borwick >> here. >> Mr. Casey >> here. >> Mrs. Chzik present. Miss Fox. Miss Fox. I see her number here. Okay. Mr. McCandrew, >> present. >> Miss Merkel, >> present. >> Mr. Leki, >> present. >> Mr. Holmes, >> present. Um, Katherine, can you hear me? >> Mrs. Z or >> Well, we have >> we have a quum. >> We have a quorum. So,
003we'll continue. Can you continue to make sure that you try to establish >> communications with Katherine? The purpose of this meeting of the special meeting is to accept the resignation of a board member as duly advertised. Before we begin, the process for at the opening um please state that there's an issue right now with the Google signup sheet. Uh if you wish to make a public comment, please put your name in the chat box so that you can be called upon. Again, there is an issue with the Google signup link. Um we are currently working Yes, we can. Thank you. >> Currently working on it. So, please, >> if you wish to speak, put your name in the chat and Virginia will call on you. We'll begin. I turn over to our solicitor. >> Good
004evening everybody. Um, as uh, President Holmes has mentioned, uh, this is a single purpose special meeting um, to accept the resignation of uh, a director who submitted a written letter of resignation Friday, September 12th. Um, I have suggested and I'm going to ask for before the action is taken to accept that resignation, we have a motion to suspend district policy 004-B1. That policy is titled the filling of board vacancies and we're not asking it for it to be abolished or rescended. As a matter of fact, we're going to substantially follow it uh for the process of appointing the new director. However, um there are some there are some there's some language in the policy and some issues that I see that would put us at odds with this policy. Principally, if we accepted the resignation
005tonight, the policy technically limits the acceptance to regular voting meetings. Uh so for that reason, I'd like to suspend it so we can take the action. Also believe uh based on my conversations with the board president and the superintendent that the recommended course of action is to attempt to fill this vacancy at a regular voting meeting on September 29th. Uh if we begin uh advertising tomorrow and we run the advertising tomorrow uh and through all of next week um we would run into an additional problem with this policy where we would probably only be able to advertise for nine days and the policy requires advertising for a minimum of 10. So for those two practical matters that are not restricted otherwise by Pennsylvania law, my recommendation is that we suspend it so we can move
006move forward with a functional process and expeditiously fill the seat. Secondarily, and I made this the subject of a memo that everybody's had a chance to review, the policy wrongly presumes that the vacancy clock begins when the letter of resignation is submitted. That's not true under Pennsylvania law. The reason we're here tonight is to accept the resignation. When the governing authority accepts the resignation, the vacancy clock begins. So, we didn't want to prejudice the board. I wanted you to have the full balance of the 30 days because the law says if we can't fill it within 30 days, there is a process where the court of common please uh is given that task. Uh that's that that that's the the the reason for the motion to suspend the policy. Moving on, the process as I
007just mentioned is uh substantially identified and detailed in the policy that we are suspending. Uh if if the previous vacancy was filled according to this policy, there's no reason we should deviate from it. Uh so what this will be is we will we the administration will publish uh on our district website as well as the Scranton Times uh advertisements soliciting resumes, letters of interest, statements of financial interest. The policy I believe also requires um all applicants and especially the successful applicant uh to be free of delinquent real estate taxes at least those owed to the Scrant school district. So my my following this policy and what I'm announcing is we will begin tomorrow advertising for this vacancy. We will close the solicitation uh at the end of next week. The uh administration will will briefly
008review for legal compliance residency in particular and the tax delinquency issue that's spelled out in this policy. Thereafter we will we we will submit the submitted names to the board for consideration. Uh at the Monday meeting, the board will uh interview each candidate um separately. The we'll have a separate room where the board will get to interview uh uh individual candidates. The individual candidates will be allowed to give two-minute opening statements and then the board can ask questions with the caveat that we agree on the questions ahead of time and all the applicants are asked the same questions. Upon conclusion of that interview process, uh there will be a public deliberation and a public vote and the first the first candidate to receive a majority of support will be appointed to that that that seat.
009I will bring the oath of office. Uh I will swear in the new director and that director will be able to take his or her seat at the technical work session. We'll finish our business and then then the new director will be in a position to vote at the regular meeting October 6th. Does that make sense? >> Yes. >> Okay. Then I'm done. Uh I will just move move the agenda back to the president. There's two items. We need a motion to suspend the policy and then we need a motion to accept the resignation. Thank you so could everyone else mute their their um devices right now so during public comments so that we don't get any cross interference and also a reminder to anyone that wishes to speak the Google sign up link is
010not working so if you wish to make public comment please enter it in the chat therefore our secretary to call upon you and Virginia first person >> okay the first person I have for uh public comment is uh Amable Mkinson. If Amable Mkinson is in the attendees, raise your hand because all I'm seeing is numbers and first names. I'll move on if I don't see anything. I have a a Glor Wakisa. I don't see anything there. How about a Molly McNelte? No one's raising their hand. Uh, Jun Junis Santana, Janet Brunson, uh, Phoenix Vasquez, and Jacob Vmonsky. If if I mentioned your name, please please raise your hand in the Zoom so that I could move you over. >> Nope. No one. >> That's all I have. >> Anyone else in the Zoom who had
011issues signing up? I don't see anything. No, >> nothing. Okay. All right. Then we'll move to the actions. Turn it over to policy. Director Marklin. >> Yes. Thank you, Director Holmes. I move that the board of school directors suspend the district's policy regarding filing a board vacancy 004 BOG1 effective immediately on the grounds that portions of the policy conflict with the Pennsylvania public school code of 1949 and it misidentifies the start of the 30-day period for filling a vacancy. I further request that this action be taken by roll call vote. >> I'll second >> on the question. [Music] >> Roll call. >> Mr. Borthwick. >> Yes. >> Mr. Casey. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Chzik. >> Yes. Miss Fox. >> No. >> Mr. McCandrew? Yes, >> Miss Merkel. >> Yes, >> Mr. Leki. >> Sorry, I
012was muted. Yes, >> thank you. And Mr. Holmes? >> Yes. >> Seven affirmative, one negative. Motion passes. >> I I move to accept the resignation of Director Tarani. effective September 12th, 2025. >> Second, >> on the question, >> um I guess on the question, is is it effective as the 12th or as of the 17th? >> You're muted, Larry. >> So, Mr. Mar under the law is effective today. Director Nyani's letter asked to be effective the day it was submitted, but technically she was still a director up until the moment uh this motion uh carries. >> So, should we amend it to the 17th? >> Yes. >> Okay. I'll make a motion to amend to the 17th. >> Second. >> Okay. So, can you reread that with amending the motion to read the 17th? Thank
013you. >> I move to accept the resignation of director Tariani effective September 17, 2025. >> Second on the question. >> Do we have to vote on the amendment to make the amendment and then vote on the amendment? >> Yes. >> Or just or is that okay? >> Yes. >> We have to vote to make the amendment and then we vote on the actual motion. >> Correct. >> That's correct. Yes. So, right now, the only question before the board is a motion to amend the question to make the resignation effective today, September 17th. >> Roll call. >> Uh, Mr. Casey, >> yes. >> Mrs. Chzik, >> yes. >> Miss Fox, >> yes. >> Mr. McCandrew, >> yes. >> Miss Merkel, >> yes. >> Mr. Leki, >> yes. >> Mr. Borthwick, >> yes. >> Mr. Holmes, >>
014yes. >> Eight. Affirmative. Now we will vote on the motion to accept the resignation uh for today September 17 from director Tariani on >> um Mrs. Chz second. >> No so you have to wait to go back on the question again. Sorry. She second in on the question. >> Roll call. >> Mrs. Chzik, >> yes. >> Miss Fox, >> yes. >> Mr. McCandrew, >> yes. >> Miss Merkel, >> yes. >> Mr. Zleki, >> yes. >> Mr. Borthwick, >> yes. >> Mr. Casey, >> yes. >> Mr. Holmes, >> yes. >> Eight. Affirmative. I have a motion to adjurnn. >> So move >> to adjurnn. Second. >> All in favor? >> Good night. >> Night everybody. >> Thank you. [Music]