001e e e for 2025 please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge of allei flag United States of America the stands naice roll call here Mr Casey Mrs chz pres m Fox M Merkel here Mr mcandre present Mrs Johnny present Mr Holmes present seven present one absent I will now turn over to the budget and finance committee chair Mr bwick thank you president hes first item on the agenda involves the summary of the state budget um Mr lafy would you mind absolutely thank you um in the uh in the folder that Dr keing handed out there is just a brief uh presentation that we will that that we will walk through additionally there's some copies up on the stage we do not have a a projector here so there's some paper copies on the
002stage as well if anyone like to uh follow along but um again the first item on the the agenda this evening is just a quick uh state budget summary um as proposed by Governor Shapiro back in February and some impacts on the Scranton School District again we're going to focus on kind of the the major initiatives here uh obviously there's much more um that goes into it but we're going to focus on on the educ ational side so the approximately $51 billion proposal um includes the following educational Appropriations an increase to the basic education uh fund for $75 million an increase the special education for 40 million um a $526 million increase to the adequacy and Equity supplements that the Scranton School District receives both of through the ready tolearn block grant $100 million for
003proposed Safety and Security grants $125 million for proposed public school facilities Improvement Grants as well very similar to what uh he proposed last year so that's the total Statewide proposal um adds to the education uh Appropriations so how does it impact the scanton school district so it certainly increases our our funding over the prior year looking at it from the state's fiscal year which again is July through June we are as opposed to the scanton school districts calendar year School uh budget which is January through December our basic education would increase from approximately 73.9 million to 74.9 million or or $1.1 million in bef special education increase would grow from 10.2 million to 10 to 10 10, 650,000 or approximately $434,000 increase and our ready to learn uh black Grant would grow from what it
004currently is right now of $117 million to the proposed total amount of 26.2 or a 9.2 million increase to to the district if what he proposed last month would be accepted in total that's a 10.7 million increase in state funding over where we were in 2425 additionally there was some funding set aside for Charter cyber reform I believe it was around $378 million um if that was to materialize that could generate a for for the Scranton school district and the amount of students that we have enrolled in outside Charters that would generate approximately as they estimate approximately 1.9 million of additional funding as well so in total that would be could be an impact to the district of an additional 12.6 million based off of the state's fiscal year any questions on what was proposed
005um by the governor last month so currently you're working on cost outs of what that would look like and what we you know ideally we get everything or more um potentially we're going to get less because budget negotiations are a thing um are you looking at variable cost outs of what it might look like depending on finalization yes we are and again I think this is all going to become important as we move in as we are in the spring and move through the spring as we prepare our proposed preliminary budget which will be due in July so before we go any further let me just hit on how this impacts the Scranton School District's 2025 budget which again is is a calendar year um page three in the middle of the page you will
006see what we estimate to be the impact if this budget was to be accepted as as proposed when we develop our calendar year budget we know one thing for certain we know what our prior State funding is so we knew with the 2425 funding was for the school district we have to make assumptions to what 2526 may be so this past year our assumption for increases to bef in special education was similar to what he proposed in the governor proposed in 2425 which was 225 million through the bef and 47 million through the special education funding unfortunately the proposal on the table right now did fall short of that where as we mentioned before there was a $75 million increase in bef and I think it was 40 for special education so you'll see that
007the the the difference the impact on our calendar year budget would we would receive less than we anticipated by about 1.7 million between basic education and special education the good news is we didn't include any growth in ready to learn black Grant we held that flat so that would add an additional 9.2 million to our budget which would fall in for uh 2025 the net impact of that would be we estimate to be approximately 7.5 million of additional revenues in calendar year 2025 again if adopted as proposed back in February that's wonderful and do we have uh I I mean I can make assumptions but I'd rather ask do we regularly engage with our local delegation to make sure that they're there down in Harrisburg advocating on our behalf to make sure that we get
008what we're owed I mean this is part of the fair funding settlement they're inching toward what we're owed but they're still not they're still not there yet yeah absolutely I mean I our our local legislators you know reach out to Dr keing often you know asking expressing concerns for the scho strant school district and what our needs and priorities should be there been real good open communication good good good to know and and when it comes to the preliminary budget like I said we're going to have obviously there's going to be tiers just for safety sake if we get this if we get that um is it possible to include potential board priorities in in that budget if we're able to get that extra you know seven eight nine 10 million dollars if there programs
009maybe we can start restoring we've looked at restoring preschool that's obviously going to be a budget item as we grow that program is that something that you'd be able to include in the budget projections projection projections yeah I think I think the biggest concern right now and any of the um the groups that i' I've talked to um or or working with the teachers and talking about things is the uncertainty of federal money at this point um and then it becomes a yes there was a state increase but with the loss of federal money where are we going to be so it it's it's hard in the sense of limbo that we're in right now without knowing what our allocations are I know a Pat has additional information segue nicely pull it too set for
010that but usually we receive our federal allocations mid to late May so we're still about six weeks out from seeing what those numbers are going to be okay so it's going to be a combination of weit and see and as we discussed you'll you'll tiar it and have projections if we get X we could do why if we get yeah and similar to last year if you recall when funding is done through a block grant like the writer learn block grant it can only be used for specific uses allowable uses so we'll have to match up up any additional funding and ready to learn with our priorities and make sure that they fall in line with in those allowable uses the good news is they have expanded those over the past few years so there's
011in previously I believe there was like maybe 17 or 20 allowable uses in Prior years uh that has expanded with with this new funding so again we were a successfully able to do that last year when we saw the the increase and we you know we anticipate having that ability for any new funding that we may receive this year but again we'll keep that in mind as we move forward as a related note um are we eligible for pre- counts this coming year we are not the window only opens up every 5 years so we are working to try to um be able to have two classes uh through legislative channels but the actual application window is not open at this time uh an grebeck and Alo Donnell will be participating in um a pte
012level uh conference on prek counts to be able to start working towards that um and I I would like you to know from the federal level as part of the elpc fellowship which I've talked about numerous times I will be in Washington DC next week and will be meeting on the federal level with Senator fedman and representative brush thean so I will continue to Advocate there that this money cannot disappear for the district okay wonderful and you'll update us I'm assuming and I will absolutely positively update everyone okay any you know mentioned Congressman Brenan and congressman fedman and I believe the other guy is McCormack uh could we offer as a board free of charge for any one of the three to have a town hall meeting so that we can actually meet them and
013ask questions of them and have the public come and ask questions on the education budget I I believe there offices set up town halls I believe there was a town hall a virtual town hall for one of them last week there was um president representative bresnahan had that I believe so um but I I will all I'm saying is that we offer them our facilities free of charge for them to come and have an in-person uh Town Hall I will make such a suggestion next week when I'm in Washington wonderful thank you anything else to add on the state budget so anybody no I think it kind of seg Segways nicely into our second pollet point on on the agenda which is the impact of potential Federal cuts um again we've already started this discussion
014obviously there's been a lot of other discussions going on about potentially the um dismantling of the Department of Ed um and what uh that could look like the impact on the Scranton School District I thought on on page four I thought it would be um nice just to provide the the board with a very very brief overview of the federal funding sources for the school district and some of the um staff and Ben Associated salary and benefits that are funded with it again this is not all that's funded with federal funds uh but it is from a from a staff salary and benefits of the largest portion I don't have that whatever you're discussing or referring to it's in uh it's in the folder that Dr keing had oh oh okay I'm sorry I thought
015it was one of these you're good so you want to jump to page four gotcha so again just going down the left-hand column obviously we have we have the four title grants uh we also receive idea and and access uh access reimbursement um in total that's $12 million of federal sources in in the general fund um you know looking at again the staff that are funded with federal dollars again we have over 47 uh staff members funded through title one uh approximately four classroom size reduction teachers funded through title two um approximately five or six language guides and El staff uh uh supports uh funded with title three um five employees funded through title four in with in the form of Crisis counselors youth enrichment directors and college career Paris uh our idea funding of
0162.4 million um funds the salary and benefits of approximately 29 teachers and our access uh draw Downs about of approximately 1.9 um is anywhere over 17 uh special education professional and pair professional support staff so there's over 100 positions currently that are that are funded with some sort of of Fe Federal funding so um we we obviously we don't know um what any impacts may become we have heard some some talk that we could potentially see um you know possibly up to a 10% reduction in title one and possibly the total elimination of titles two and three uh you'll see just highlighted in in in yellow there that that is is an approximately $1.4 million again have they has the federal government specifically stated but that it's just Word of Mouth from various organizations of
017what the potential impact but the bottom line is the potential impact is going to be financially devastating to the district correct the department of Ed did put out today um a statement um that the Department of Education encourages states to expand education Choice by lever leveraging the flexibility of Title One funds there is a letter attached um from the department and there is summary information there as well from the Department of Ed the US Department of Ed's website I mean eliminating the funds or the department itself it's doomsday for all these District all the districts across the state in my opinion so I hope it doesn't happen um I believe we got to prepare for the worst but again let's hope it doesn't happen we don't to deal with it yeah we should also point
018out that um the the national school lunch program that's $7.4 million dollar that the federal government gives to the grand school district so that our kids can eat breakfast and lunch and if there's one thing that you know a lot of us are in the education field you know we're all directors and we all care if a if a kid's hungry that's the number one impediment to learning so you think about oh no it's this it's that no if you're hungry you're not thinking about the math problem you're not thinking about spelling or grammar you're thinking about your next meal and Scranton is blessed to be in a position where our kids when they want to eat they can get they can get a meal they don't have to worry about it it's uh we're
019able to participate in the community eligibility program which ensures that all students eat breakfast and lunch for free and um based off of our our identified percentage we receive 100% reimbursement at the federal uh at the free rate excuse me uh through federal funds so again you are correct it's an excess of approximately 7.4 million through our nutrition program as well yeah so so we're nearly hitting the $20 million Mark between the nutrition program and the total of title funds and title you know for the people listening you know that's that's a lot of our special need Services that's that's a lot of language support uh for for kids who don't speak English and are trying to learn and integrate and those those are the kinds of things um that that we need as a
020diverse District especially an urban District so um seeing this cut would be devastating and this would be one of those times where we just say you got to call your your local U well you got to call your National legislator so locally it's uh Brenan um senators or Federman and McCormick we have to let them know I know I've I've gone over this before but just to give that Federal overview again um the elementary and secondary Education Act which contains the titles and was last reauthorized as the every student succeeds act Falls there the individuals with disability Education Act or idea which is the law governing um special education and except exceptional children um that falls under the department um the National School breakfast and lunch program falls into that there is also Medicare and
021Medicaid reimbursements which is actually the Department of Health and Human Services but it is something that we need to watch because that is also additional funding that comes into the district and then you have your civil rights as well which fall under the office of civil rights which has been traditionally under the Department of Education as well so those are the broad sweeping categories there obviously is more detail to that um but those are the things that that need to be most closely watched thank you you have any sort of backup plan if this does happen like what does that mean for the district like how would we you know continue to keep our doors open if if all of this occurs well that we would have to look at where the governor's budget Falls
022in what money we receive there um and what programming um can be supported through those funds so I mean it it's going to be it's going to be a a kind of a a balance of what comes in at the state level if something is taken away at the federal level okay thank you Pat and I continueed to participate in every organization's update dates that we can um and I could tell you that in the senior staff text messages anytime somebody reads something they're dropping in links for people to share information that's being shared out from the federal level or or information that could impact us from the federal level as well so we're really trying to watch it but um and stay a breast of the latest information but again traditionally the allocations for
023our titles come out mid to late May thank you um anybody else all right Mr laic we do an update on current Revenue yeah we'll hit just a little bit again we we are very um early in our year uh so what I what you have in front of you for this uh for this period is just a two-month snapshot of the calendar year 2025 budget first actual okay so the screenshot you have here is a uh a condensed report based off a major function so we're not going to go into a lot of detail because again it is so early in the year at at at this time but if you look uh at the fifth column from the left you'll see the year-to-date expenses revenues um it's broken down again at the major
024function level so you have your instruction your support services your non-instruction facility improvements and other financing uh uses um in total we've expended approximately $ 33.6 million in the first uh two months of this year out of our total total budget of 225 um that hits right around approximately 16% of of our um annual budget which is consistent with you know how far we are in into this year moving on down to the the revenue side again broken out at a very high level of total local revenues total State revenues total federal sources and and any other financing sources um we've collected approximately 26 million 2.89 I'm sorry 88 excuse me um million dollars this year uh um in our various uh Revenue sources um the so at this point our expenses have exceeded our
025revenues by approximately eight or 7.8 million that's not uncommon um as of February tax bills were just going out at this point you know we will now that the first installment period was was due for March 31st with the discount period shortly approaching um we will be uh most likely seeing uh that shift this is the time of year where we start seeing that shift where revenues will soon outpace our our expenses um we are going to talk at you know on some investment uh pieces next but this this is the this is the year or this is the time of year when we would traditionally need a tax revenue anticipation note so the district would normally at the budget process approve a a tan or Tran um we've not had to do that for
026for the last few years because our uh fund balance has grown our cash reserves have grown and have a allowed us to not have to go through that process and save on any interest expense related to actually doing that just a couple like high notes or things things to watch in terms of uh the revenues again federal and state they're coming in just as just as we thought thus far um on the local side again real estate will see that amp up in the next coming weeks when I give you my next report to include March and April but on the payroll preparation tax as as you recall the district eliminated or moved away from the business privilege mertile in Prior year and Levy a payroll preparation tax I'm happy to report that the collections
027in this period of this year compared to last year are $260,000 ahead of where they were at in the same period U of the prior year so again I think the uh the the taxpayers are educated on the tax change and they seem to be paying probably uh more on time okay um also U our earned income tax again has been one of our um fastest growing taxes for us uh and that is currently trending approximately $150,000 ahead of where we were the same exact period uh last year on the expense side of things our obviously our our biggest expense is our salary and benefits it's 148 million out of our 225 as of right now we PA to be right right on target with about 265 million of expense related to salary and benefits
028or approximately 18% of our budgeted amount so I'm I'm okay with where we're at there at the moment the one area and you've heard me say this before at other presentations and it's it's no secret for any school district in the in the state um is our our Cyber Charter in Prior budgets we were budgeting approximately 900 students to be enrolled in outside Charter cyber schools we did increase that to 1,30 uh this budget cycle um currently as of the end of February we were sitting right at 1,222 so um it's it's something that we're trying to keep our our hands around but um those numbers just kind of seem to continue to tick up even if we move our budget needle the actual kids are are um are growing as well so that's an
029area that obviously we will um we will keep an eye on but again that's that's what we have to report again for the first two months of the year we're very early in it there's at this point no no red flags uh to report to the board good to know anybody else all right next up we have um a possible RFP or RFQ on Banking and Investment Services Pat would you be able to speak to that yeah absolutely if you want to jump to page five I'm going to go all the way to the bottom I probably should have put this at top but um in Prior correspondence to the board Dr keing did note that we would be doing various rfps um and this is in the banking Investment Services side of it was
030in in the tier three window which I think um is you know coming up here in the spring all right so um we will be looking to to to issue that uh but I wanted to talk a little bit about you know where we are standing here and why we're I think while we're able to look to expand our investment opportunities here because in the past if you look at the top of the page you'll see that in 2019 we were carrying a negative fund balance and prior to that it was an even larger negative f fund balance so we've been fortunate enough uh to to grow that fund balance to an estimated $20 million for 2025 um you know the board has been uh um great with um helping the administration commit some of
031those funds for future Capital Improvements so you'll see that we have an estimated unassigned of approximately $5 M million okay and as you move down towards the the middle of the page you know our goal is to our policy our own policy states that we need to maintain an unassigned fund balance between five and 8% so 2024's is hovering right around 8% 7.96 in 2025 because the board committed an additional 2.5 million is hovering right around 6.73% so you know I'm happy to report that some of our uh improved Financial conditions will allow us to um look to increase some of our return and maximize our our investment which is required by our own policy so as you'll see here policy 609 um is the overlying policy that sees that lays out our investment strategy
032who's responsible for overseeing it the appropriate vehicles that we can look to utilize um so so we will be following that um uh you know to a te and we'll work with our solicitors office obviously to make sure that any that anything we do is is is compliant so basically your office is going to come up with some recommendations about either an RFP RFQ or a blend Y and say like hey we've got these funds they're unassigned we can maybe turn them into a little bit more money and then see if the local banking investment Community can get involved and turn it into you know something bigger for us absolutely okay and after you just scared us with all that Federal stuff a couple extra bucks with yeah yeah I think we need to do
033do the best we can on to generate on the local end so to offset any potential yeah U makes sense anybody else on that uh next up Grant services so just a brief update on this I think everyone at the table here is aware of what our current model uh is or was and it it was a shared position with the city of Scranton um that position uh uh recently became a vacant position so it was a scr it was a city of scr an employee and um we contracted with them to we shared we shared 50% of the cost with it and 50% of the time um obviously we feel that a grant writer is a a value valuable asset to the district and we have some you know major wins for us so
034like you know this position over the last year had helped us secure a million-dollar school facilities Improvement Grant which which was a competitive one all School against all school districts throughout the the state and we're going to use that to fund our West W Grant High School and well not completely fund but offset to assistant funding the West Grant High School in South fire suppression uh contract that you recently awarded additionally this this uh this position helped us secure over $800,000 of an environmental Grant which will help offset costs related to abatement from the 2024 and also the upcoming summer 2025 abatement those were both competitive grants um and again uh he was uh this individual was an integral part of the uh p CCD Grant of 450,000 that we did receive uh and will
035utilize for a districtwide exterior door up upgrade so I guess the question now is you know the position is vacant where do we go next what's the what's the the next step and Dr ke and I were talking like it looks like we possibly have a few options we can continue the shared service with the city of Scranton which I felt worked fine for for us you know like it was 50/50 um I've heard some people say maybe a full-time position for this Granton School District would be something that they would want to consider um we can also do issue an RFQ or an RFP for a contracted 1099 style grant writer or some hybrid model of both so I think next steps for us we love board input on this the administration I think
036is going to meet as well and um kind of think put our heads together on what model works best for us I think sorry no you're good one of the first questions do we know why the grant writer left no that would be yeah that's that's personnel as to why somebody would leave a position okay I didn't know if there was a reason why if it was pay or something like that that's all I just think we should explore the options of Hiring Our Own having somebody fully dedicated I think it'll pay for itself um but if we can't do that you know I I do think the partnership did work but I I think we if we have something fully dedicated I think it' be awesome I'd rather have somebody pay more attention to
037us it's a very specific skill set too it's very technical writing um there is a formula to it um what they look for in the grants I was an English teacher I not a grant writer I'll I'll give you everything I got to write the best grant that I can but really it really is a skill set and you need to find the right person who has crafted and honed that skill set okay so you're going to look at some options and present them to the board absolutely all right wonderful anything else on that and lastly um so an RFQ on cost reduction Services Pat yeah absolutely again you've heard us talk in the past and you know we're not only looking to increase our our Revenue outside of any tax increases but we're also
038looking to obviously to control our costs I mean our budget is almost a half a billion dollars at at this point so we've been there there's been a few uh firms that have reached out to me offering I think or submitting some information on services that they can Pro provide and you know they would look at some of the current spending related to our supplies utilities possibly vehicle fuel um some of our communication and internet services Etc so again so far with everyone we've talked to preliminarily seems very qualified and they and and they've got a great um uh reference base uh possibly looking at an RFP or an RFQ for some type of services on this also as as well um some of the people that we've talked to have referenced having some uh
039clients in you know school districts or municipal government so they have that you know public and private sector experience so um again this is something that we'll be exploring um and hopefully bring some a recommendation for the board out yeah there's a multitude of services like this I'm familiar with them just from talking to people in the business world but also other school districts and what they'll do often at no cost to to us just bid out on their own um things like like electric util or whatever and then lock in savings so if there's a way for I mean obviously our utility imprint is going to be substantial so if we can find if we can find savings I'll take it pass when is the architect engineer and the um construction manager bids going
040out on the street so I I could take that we've we got delayed um photo copier should be going out next school security is on tonight um there's been a lot with the Food Service management and then just the legal services so that will be issued once we're able to kind of clear some things off our plate I thought the architect engineer and construction manager was sort of a priority for most members on this board it it's part of the tier two and we're still in that tier two so it's coming um it's just we have to sit down and go through it and I'm going to be very hon honest with you it's kind of gotten pushed to the side with dealing with some of the other things that are going on Christmas is
041coming too we've talked about this for about eight months it's been a while it's been a while and I believe that under director borwick he said that our present uh uh uh architect engineer would only be doing projects uh that U are presently in the works and from what I'm seeing or hearing I mean seems like every time I turn around there's another project coming I think we need as far as I'm concerned I think we need to move this to a priority I will make it a priority director I'll be honest with you I sold copers that's not a priority believe me it's not a priority again we are working through the tier 2 list as it was released and I went over public at a board meeting that is on the tier 2
042list it has I have every intention of of having that done before we move on to the tier three list so I am working through that list right now and eron I have every intention also of going to mass on Easter but I may not be able to get to it and that ain't going to fly and this ain't flying with me clearly understood director Casey Point made okay anything else on that agenda item okay then at this time I'd like to turn it back to president Holmes motion to adjourn so I need a bathroom break or no okay I call the order the work session for March 31st 2025 roll call Mr borwick here Mr Casey here Mr ches pres M fox M Merkel pres Mr mcandrew pres Mrs Johnny pres Mr Holmes presid
043a present okay Athletics we will have a discussion slash motion for the spring sports equipment repair or new equipment so Mr janza put um information in your packet this week after the scoreboards were put through at one of the board meetings information was asked to be gathered of what other sports um issues there would be uh that is the preliminary list of what was given back to us and shared with all of you so you have that information um we now need to sit down Mr lafy and myself with the athletic directors and the High School principles and prioritize that list um and look at what can come out of a school budget versus what would be a capital project versus what we would have to ask the board for funding for but that is
044information that we're bringing forward to all of you to let you know that we are working forward on that that's it questions budget and finance uh so on the consent agenda we'll have motions to approve the bill list and exception Bill list Delinquent Tax reports Treasures reports repository sales budget transfers disposal of assets and budgeted purchases uh then we'll have a discussion and motion of on delinquent real estate taxes anything on that absolutely uh so as part of the annual budget adopted by uh the board in 2025 there is there is a Lineum for delinquent real estate tax tax um we historically the district has been selling our delinquent real estate taxes to a firm um mrss Municipal Revenue Services they have submitted another uh proposal to us uh for approximately $4.3 million so um
045as this is a budgeted item and we have experience working with them we'll be bringing forward that that for the board and all closing documents everything will be reviewed by the solic prior to okay and then a discussion motion uh on real estate assessment approvals if there are any just the one that uh well just the one that we re reviewed an executive this evening okay and then information on a contracts update uh none to report at this time okay thank you director Merkel community relations yes we'll have motion to approve donations Fidelity Bank to Scranton high and West high for the dual enrollment program that is that's eitc dollars so that's what that's coming through thank you a donation for Valley in motion to Willard for transportation cost for field trip to naog park
046self-explanatory a donation for artifacts pictures and memorability from the 1940s to Scranton high from car Carol Dillard again self-explanatory but very neat will they be on display somewhere that sounds awesome yeah it's something we hope to dool a donation from John Connor to West West high for a storage shed this is a small shed for softball equipment which will be located back behind the building by the softball field a donation from laana Heritage Valley to John Adams for Heritage Express Train ride again self-explanatory and a donation for kids gardening to McNichols Plaza again self-explanatory thank you Dr K education yes we will have a motion to approve permissions to attend meetings or conferences motion to approve out ofate field trips motion to approve PLT w n semiconductor Foundation Grant can I can I comment there
047for a second sure so that Grant is actually due on the 3 of April so we would ask um this is a grant um to expand the engineering offerings in the stem program we would ask that any questions be asked and president Holmes I would ask you to take consensus that we could submit that Grant by the 3D of April because that will be prior to the board meeting is that something we can do now I I I can you you can take consens and can be ratified because of the deadline okay does everybody understand what we're taking consensus on yep okay we'll start with director borwick yes yes yes yes yes yes thank you we will be submitting grant that was easier than I thought director Holmes will receive a document to sign yeah
048president Holmes you will receive uh a document to sign okay we will have a motion to approve grade nine technology education curriculums again those are those are the new updated ones that are coming through that uh Mrs gbec has been working on uh motion to approve updated list of pathway courses title updates uh Mrs greere is really doing a lot of work to make sure the course catalog aligns and that everything is where it should be so that is something else that's coming forward okay we will have a motion to approve the meal Psychiatric Center agreement out of District placements and Care motion to approve intro to computer technology part A B curriculums this will be used in our intermediate schools and this is part of um the technology that's in place for places where
049we don't have a teched teacher and have had problems recr motion to approve CTC budget so there is a 2.9% increase which will cover additional staff um health care costs Mr lafy reviewed that and Mr lafy believes that it is a reasonable increase it's a total for the Scranton School District share it's a total increase of $49,444 again as uh Dr key noted it is related to some increases in their health insurance rates uh consumable budgets related to supplies inflation changes utility increases Etc I think it seems reasonable and I feel it's in line with what we budgeted for 2025 and what's our total contribution with that increase our total contribution is $1,783 1,783 448 is this something that should be um pulled from the consent agenda just with the dollar figure on that I
050would okay can we pull that from the consent agenda please no problem thank you any further questions on that motion to approve special education settlements of if any there will be one and at the moment we'll have a discussion SL Mo motion for high school dress so this is this is only a discussion I know the information was put in the board packet um last year there was a lot of talk about the dress code and we had made some amendments to the High School dress code um again this is just focused on high school K8 will remain as it is but we put out through thought exchange which is one of the platforms we did to be able to collect and gather information um surveys to students staff and community on the High School
051dress code um we had close to 2,000 people participate in that survey um so it gave really nice stakeholder feedback um and there is an overwhelming consensus to look at further modifications to the dress code however we still need to sit down with the high SCH principles with our Safety and Security um supervisor Mr Carney and get input from the Scranton police as we have in the past so we're actively working through this process right now and we will continue to share information out for you what's important to note is that this is not going to be a policy change but again will be brought forward in the approval of the handbooks the dress code policy itself will remain as it is however these changes appear if changes are so sanctioned in the handbooks that
052will come before you for approval in June or July of this year so I just wanted to give an update that we have begun that process much earlier than we did last year um so that we can truly have information um a lot of relevant information for you as a board uh to see where the students the staff and the community is standing in addition to the input from security and enforcement so it's just an update Dr Kean I do have two questions for you regarding that so um first do we have some sort of update as to how things are going with the dress code since we changed it this past year and also uh number two would we still consider relaxing the dress code for k through eight okay so there was a
053memo in your board packet and I I can't tell you specifically when um but I will be able to to Reet that we'll get that for you that did give you some um information was from Mr Duca about uh what they've seen in the buildings in relation to treny and and and um offenses and things like that so I I will make sure I send that to you again um K8 the administration is really steadfast with um at that level the dress code is still a really good thing um so we haven't explored that as we have in the High School director chz okay because I know that came up last year when we were voting on revising the the high school one and we thought like maybe we could look at that for the
054upcoming school year so I was just wondering if any I'll work with Mr DeLuca to get information for you again on that as well okay that would be great thank you is there a chance that we could look into something um I often see on like the community pages and such that there's people in emergency situations and such looking for um clothing for their children um and it's different per each school who has what is it like conversations maybe that can happen about having something centralized or what not because I know there's like what if one elementary school has 65 uniforms and another has zero and then we can't help that family over there um I just maybe wondering if there would be something easier like a one click on the web page that said
055need help with uniforms click here yeah we can we can absolutely put something on the web page like we do for questions so that's easy to do I'll work with Sydney to do that so that's something that can be done most of the schools have pretty extensive uh uniform like closets yeah I saw someone post recently that they reached out to their child's Elementary School and they said they didn't have anything I don't know which school it was or yeah if you can get me that information some of the other schools have a ton of clothing so we would definitely get people absolutely help people out 100% 100% thank you is that it that's it for there there's no other questions operations all right uh first we're going to have a motion to approve the
056Kelly Brothers proposal for scran high school interior veget doors at $ 11,3 so I believe that the Scranton High School doors have been the project that will never cease however um this is the last thing that would need to be done so that working with the new badge system and security uh overviews the doors at Scranton High School would now uh be fully integrated um it was just old parts and and uh electrics and things that are outside of of my general scope of knowledge but this would need to be done to make that fully functioning and working with our badge system okay all right we're going to have a discussion possible motion to approve the design RFP for Chiller so the next two I'm going to Loop together because there are projects and director
057Casey just uh made a point of new projects needing approval which we have brought any new project for forward however we do have the chiller that needs to be done and we also have other projects that have popped up and we don't know at this point if we are to go to an independent architect and put out an RFP or are to we to use our owner's rep right now to get these designs done and Pat to go over the figures for those certainly yeah as part of the owner rep services with uh cha uh they can assist in the RFP process for an architect to design a project like the chiller under their their retainer there is a flat fee associated with that so they're to oversee I think you know the the insurances
058the bonds the bidding specifications it's all contained in the agreement I believe the fat flat fee is approximately $25,000 per project okay any Aon so it's it's just we're going to need a direction are we talking about a design for The Chiller at McNichol yes I thought I said at the last meeting how that should be done you get the name of the model the manufacturer and you put a bid out and you include um and you put or equal and you put set in place which means to basically install it and uh if we go through the RFP process like I saw that night that'll cost us an extra $64,000 and I if I remember correct John F A uh agreed with me on it uh there's no reason why we need an architect
059to design this Chiller because anybody who's in the business once you give them the model number and you give them the uh uh serial number and whatever other pertinent information that you need they'll bid on it with those specs I mean the the uh Chiller that's there it's already providing uh uh what it needs to do for the building uh I can't see why we're doing an architectural design for something that's very easy to rectify uh Mr Rucker I'm going to openly admit in public outside my wheelhouse at this point how's everybody doing this evening in regards to looking at just doing a like for like on the on the chiller uh it's not just the chiller that could end up being an issue we also have older hbac components throughout the rest of the
060building that may or may not be able to support that the Chiller was installed 30 years ago so there's a lot of different variables in that that we're looking to that we may need to design we may not even need a chiller maybe we look at something more of a brf unit type setup maybe we look at different options that could end up being more efficient and and or cheaper so I think that's kind of what we're looking at for an architectural side in a design is not just a like for like there's some other options that may be a better solution have we looked at bringing the company in just to look at it and give us some ideal to see if it can make it compatible I mean that would be the first
061start bringing companies in that focus on this before we do an RFP RFQ and just saying what would it take for you to do this just to get an ideal gauge what it would take I think that would fall more into procurement I mean you if we're just going out and reaching I mean not reaching just seeing if someone can come in and tell us full scope what this will look like in assessment like an assessment I mean we'd have to pay for an assessment more than likely I disagree that we'd have to pay because if they think there's possible business there they'll come in and give us an opinion um I've done this for 18 to 20 years and believe me if they think that there's business there to get they'll be here with
062bellaz on and they won't charge us and before we say uh well they'll come in and they'll charge us well maybe it might be good idea if we let our fingers do the walking through the Yellow Pages and bring some people in and ask them I mean when I saw the the fee of $64,000 for design of a chiller somebody's selling us a bill bill of goods R understood so I'll I'll get I'll get some more answers for you on that one I mean we have a hbac Contractor on staff or on contract don't we as a service contractor yes and who are they uh Scranton electric why don't we bring them in and look at the hva system and maybe we should look at their contract because they may be able to do the
063work that we need done but I can't see paying $64,000 for a design of something that we could possibly do I think also one thing to keep in consideration is the long-term use of theill building uh and if that makes if changes happen changes occur you're going to be looking at putting a system in that may end up having that may not meet the needs of the building in the future so there's different things if we go and we design somewhere to how West intermediate is and put walls in your your your load changes and your design and your need changes so I I think we need to have a bit more information personally to to make a decision well that's your job to get us the information and I would start first with our
064HVAC guy and then I'd call a chiller company and find out what actually needs to be done I mean these guys they want the business I mean the other guy designed Fe $64,000 I don't think so R not before we exhaust all options right now we're renting the chiller I mean we have time to do it we have the people people on staff to go and get the information we need and I I would highly suggest that we do that J Casey in my experience I think you're right there's no shortage of companies that would be willing to do an assessment what you'll typically find is they'll they'll have you engage in an LC a letter of commitment where they'll do the assessment and if you maintain them thereafter the assessment you know folds into
065the the project there's no separate fee um but certainly if you were to not go with him then there be the fee but you're right there are there are enough companies out there that would do do the assessment so Mr Rucker can you get to gather some information and put in a board pack for Friday entally thank you yeah I will do that all right so we're going to have a discussion on the wooder parking lot playground so Whittier is one of the schools that received the valley in motion Grant the current playground the children need to cross an alley to get to the playground one of the things that was requested were asked was could the playground be put where the current parking area is and could we pave the area across the alley
066and make that a parking area obviously the playground has no cost that's a grant through Valley in motion however to move the parking lot would cost in the neighborhood approximately $500,000 so we would need to make a decision of if we wanted to look at no longer having to cross an alley and having the parking over there or do we want to go with the grant as it is and keep it in the area where the playground exists currently but we're bringing that forward to you as it has been requested questions do we have a recommendation or we're waiting on that um I don't have a formal recommendation for you right now it's just information we're bringing forward um I will give you I'll I'll dig more and I'll get you a formal recommendation yeah
067I just think with you know talking to our safety director talking to yeah I haven't had those conversations this was just the initial this is what it would cost got and why we why we are getting that information okay good Dr Keon what what are the students doing now like to get over to that play area are they staff there to assist them okay so it's just it's an alley so it's presumably not trafficed right correct it's an alley I believe they might block off the alley why they think they I believe they do yeah no I agree you may get a rogue person that just goes flying down there yeah it's definitely is the alley a high traffic area it it's not that it's a high traffic area but it is drivable people use
068it would it be a major inconvenience for the people who use it I know somewhat of the area if we just ask for the uh City to condemn it the city would need to make that decision I will tell you that in my time back here the area where I get the most neighborhood complaints about traffic in buildings is Wittier agree okay I would say significantly I've talked to Neighbors in that area same what are the complaints about the traffic about the traffic jams people parking on people's property people blocking people's driveway the noise um deliveries that occur in the middle of the night that are loud uh there's a lot yeah one two there's been multiple people that I've met with in those neighborhoods the drop off too with the buses coming I could
069understand that it's tough anybody else okay good uh motion to approve uh award painting contract for West intermediate um it is my recommendation that we award that contract okay any questions all right uh we have a POS a discussion possible motion to approve change orders for costs associated with work to remove um the uh acoustical lay in the ceilings and provide an open ceiling um there's the four uh change orders listed below there's gcco 00005 mcco 00003 EC 007 pcco 004 and the total for all for them is 8,133 81 so this has been brought up um at multiple board meetings uh work sessions the ceiling in the gym in west Granton Intermediate School is a drop ceiling um it isn't the most conducive ceiling to an Athletic Facility the current scope of work speaks
070to replacing a drop ceiling um we would like not to have a drop ceiling and have a more open industrial space where we didn't have to worry about the ceiling tiles and and those different things um in the gym area initially we thought this was going to be extremely expensive $200,000 or more however it came in at a much lower number if we're going to redo that gym it is my recommendation that you accept this change order and that you do not put another drop ceiling in the gym area any questions all right and then finally discussion possible motion for lighting at SC High School softball field so our lighting is not working at the Scranton High School softball field at all um water had gotten into the area where the electric uh stuff I
071I don't I'm trying to come up with a better word is um and until it froze unfroze we had a pretty cold winter we couldn't really get down there but the lights are shot they do not work at all anymore um Mr Coyle the building principal is coordinating to meet the needs of the softball players however we are looking to put out to bid to replace the lighting at the softball field if it's water damaged do we explore possible insurance claims pat pat that would that be an insurance CLA I believe we did submit it to Insurance already oh okay great Mr how's that going did they respond well it's been submitted to the carrier but so we just have to yeah we'll follow back up like about a month yeah no it's not that
072long oh okay great this this is relatively new development it's only I don't know couple a week when about a week and a half week and a half two week yeah okay so what end up occurring uh about a month and a half two months ago we had an issue where a breaker trip took the power down for the entire building uh come to find out it was the 300 amp breaker servicing the softball field and the soccer field across the street uh we weren't able to get that to come back online so we locked out tagged out the 300 amp breaker went out to inspect vaults found that they were frozen so we had to wait until the thaw occurred for us to get in there pump the water out get in and discover
073that multiple of the 500 MCM lines had bubbled and we're causing dead shorts which was taking down the electrical so there's about 900 ft of that uh estimated so we're looking at getting uh a contractor come and do it uh just the material on the wiring itself is about $440,000 and just material uh so that's kind of where we are at the moment and just I don't know if you remember it was over a weekend I texted you guys that the lights had gone out in Scranton High School this was also the thing that tripped that to happen yes p as long as we're talking about lighting in that area uh where do we stand at getting Lighting on uh the street Providence Road the last we were director Casey that's a great question and
074it kind of involves goes back to what um our grant discussion we had uh just a few moments ago um we were working that was going to be part of a and I'm going to mess up the name but I believe it was a pendock grant that the city of Scranton was uh was working on I don't believe that Grant window is currently open at this time um but I think they are prepared to submit for when it is but I will follow up with um with my contexts at the city and get a report back here's what my concern is I actually believe that it's a safety issue uh for people uh walking around after games or uh on uh inclement weather uh I I actually believe something needs to be done in a
075hurry before somebody gets hurt so so there is I know that they in that Grant they were working theying looking specifically at allive Street sidewalks things like that so that is something where we do need to petition the city on that lighting because that's not ours that's theirs so it it's something we would have to reach out to there for additional Lighting in that area well have we done that I have not Mr Ricardo was working on it we did and and actually that's not uh that's technically not even a city road that's a state road right so that he was that was part of what Mr lafy saying that was part of the grant we were working on I believe I think I found it online it's called the the pendant has what's called
076a multimodal transportation fund and I believe they were looking at applying for a grant out of that specific funding source I will I will get an update for this week's board packet again it's on their radar I don't think the grant window is open at this time but you'll get a full report this weekend you know maybe we could talk to Senator Flynn and have them help us with it because guys I am petrified every time I drive that street at night it is Pitch Black and somebody's going matter of fact it's actually in the winter time a safety issue for people who are in the school you don't know who's down there Personnel okay so under the Personnel uh report we have we'll have a motion to to approve the Personnel report motion to
077approve election of board secretary motion to approve theou with SEIU Local 32bj and a discussion about pay scills so the Personnel report is standard the election of the board SEC secretary is something that must occur every other year um so that is an official appointment every four years I'm sorry every four years so that is an official appointment um and then must be submitted and signed by the board president um the mou with SEIU has been um reviewed with the board as has pay scales answer poliy um director Holmes before we move off personnel and I mentioned this in the back room could we just have a uh a resolution for the it guys uh for the uh extra time that they worked to change that from 25 to $45 an hour remember I know
078Dr keing said they were going to work on that and submit something in the packet correct yes correct okay all I'm asking for is a resolution either vote it up or vote it down you can't vote it up or vote it down right now she's got to gather information that's what they explain to us next week B they we explained executive session they still have to run all the numbers when they get all the information to share with us we can look at adding it let them do their job fine policy a motion to to accept the resignation of director Gil Martin a motion to approve second read updates revisions 006 meetings a motion to approve second read updates revisions of 209 Health examinations and screenings a motion to approve first read updates and revisions
079103 discrimination harassment affecting students a motion to approve first read updates revisions 104 discrimination harassment affecting staff MO to approve first reads updates revisions 234 pregnant parenting married students and a motion to approve first read updates revisions 817 responsible contractor so those are all as written thank you vendor relations okay the first one is uh to approve mom and pop contracts if any the next is to update list of Transportation Drivers if any um the next one is the award of uh fsmc RFP contract can we we we need to comment on that that's the Food Service management contract and to get that together we are going to be requesting a special meeting um and postponing that for Monday Mr lafy I don't know if there's anything you want to add no absolutely certainly so
080as you're aware we are out to uh to uh invitation for proposals for the Food Service management um we recently conducted conducted a walkr with interested uh Food Service excuse me food service management companies approximately seven or eight of them uh within the past week week and a half through uh the district facilities uh the the proposals are due to the district on April 2nd we do have a committee established of admin Central Administration uh building Administration uh nurses uh clerical and support staff to evaluate the proposals based off of a scorecard that the bureau of f food and nutrition um requires you to follow uh due to the fact that the proposals are due on the second and the lengthy review process that will take place we will request a special meeting now the
081reason we're going to request a special meeting in the middle of April is because in order to not have any effect on our summer food service program the Bureau of food and nutrition not only wants the contract awarded but it needs to be signed and submitted without error into the bu to the bu of food and nutrition so we'd like to give ourselves a little bit more leeway to make sure that that's possible there's no Corrections that have to be made correct okay the next one is the award of uh school security contract so that was one of the tier 2us that was released Mr Carney is working through the scoring process now and we will be bringing forward a recommended candidate for our school security Force for you on Monday it will be in
082the board packet okay the next one is the appointment of special education legal counsel the next one is the appointment of General legal counsel we have any discussion on that it says discussion and motion did you have anything Dr keing pardon me I I don't have anything can I just say um before we begin um without attorney cat's present who was helping us with the um appointment of legal council um how would you recommend we go about any questions that we may have I I will have attorney cats here on Monday unfortunately he had a conflict tonight so he couldn't be here so he will be here next week for the vote for both executive session if there's questions and for the meeting May we speak to it at this time I I I don't
083see why not yeah I just know I just know that attorney wer can't speak to it right conflict of interest okay I understand in the meantime uh this has now been put into the negotiation process by I think you sent out a uh a text or an email Ty I did forward the email forwarding it uh instructing the administration to start negotiations with uh Joyce Moran and carmany correct for both contracts correct correct okay uh next one is there's public comment director Casey pardon me there's comment there's another so we make comment yes okay okay um so I'll start um during our consensus discussion I shared with my colleagues how important a decision I think the selection of a law firm is to represent not only the board our Administration but our students so in
084my opinion we need to appoint the most coste effective firm with the most experience in public education law and that's for our students our staff and our taxpayers so with that being said I I just want to make the point and I think most of you know this that I take all of my votes under very careful consideration I do my homework I do my research um and I do that because in 2023 my my community supported me for reelection when negative mailers went out about me so I always keep that back my mind when I make decisions so I'll always do my due diligence for my community I look through the proposals and I it's my understanding from attorney Catz that we can talk about the pieces of The Proposal so um The Firm
085that the majority of the board has decided to go with is $240 an hour for partners versus $200 an hour for the firm not selected that's not true uh it's negotiation negotiations haven't been complete let's not deceive the public may I finish speaking and then you may I just want to make sure the public understands sure um what I said was in looking at the proposal submitted on the initial proposal submitted I don't know if they're a matter of public record will they be a matter of public record Dr Keening I believe they a matter any RFP is a matter of public record after their closed correct okay so okay so then it is a matter of public record for the public to see that in the original proposal uh submitted that my colleagues have
086chosen to move forward with as a majority vote it's $240 an hour that was submitted and $200 an hour for the firm not selected um The Firm not selected is an education Law Practice Group currently serving 32 districts I think they have the most experience if you compare the proposals so for that reason I am not in favor of the firm desired by the majority of this board thank you for allowing me to speak anyone else sure uh EV buses I said sure bu okay um good evening for the official record I director Katherine Fox will be taking a moment to discuss the motion to approve appointment of General legal counsel there's just a few moments that I would like to take um at this time I will start with um Puris Granton Times Tribune
087article um in July of 2023 an attorney um from The Firm presented in front of us sent a letter to the school board opposing us to take action on any significant contracts including contracts relating to the district's execution of government functions such as Legal Services Administration and other functions under school code particularly if those contracts need not to be renewed or reconsidered until after the successor board assumes office excuse me director Fox my inter there's a light shining in my face I think by Mr Moran it's very hard for me to see that's fine I'm just it's very hard for me to see it it is being taped so everything will be on record and it's on YouTube for you sir I'm sorry that light was just hitting me right in the face go ahead
088cther um until after the successor board assumes office and will bind the successor board for a longer period of time so just to clarify um this was a letter that was sent to us on behalf of two currently seated board members who were um potential well at that time I think secure nominations through the primary um telling us that we could not vote on um the superintendent at that time because um they would be seated members soon I would just like to clarify that we are in very very similar situations at this time because our current Law Firm the contract does not run up until December of 2025 when we will have a new board makeup and it is a guarantee that at that time that at least three if not four members will not
089be present so I I do have a couple points to make but this one I would like to understand the clarification on how we were threatened to be sued if we voted on the superintendent and in this letter it was specifically addressed also something like such as legal services and now we are pushing a vote to go through um very soon rather than even running out the contract for the legal services that we have um uh another point I would like to make I guess off of what director Yanni stated was um as director borwick said negotiations will now take place so um I believe I'll have more to say on this come next Monday's meeting um but um upfront it was made clear to us that there's different um methods of retainer for um
090the different firms so I would request that we really push on having a similar retainer method um being as it was explained to us that we saved over $220,000 by having a work-based retainer rather than an hourly based retainer um and that is a lot of taxpayer money that I don't want to see um gone um yes it is it is a little intimidating knowing that you're being recorded and such because as was stated to us recently we have a First Amendment right um so to feel like I can't speak openly and freely is unfortunate um so I've had very I've had multiple members of the public reach out to me me with concern um I also had colleagues reach out to me um with concern so I have two um requests which I'm sure
091will go unheard the first is um I had a colleague reach out to me and say that they were not sure how to feel because the opposing firm wasn't from Scranton so if your concern is that the opposing firm isn't from Scranton I believe we should deny both bids and put it back out with the requirement of Scranton to be fair and transparent that Scranton is a requirement for seated board members that was not listed on the RFP and if that is going to be a deciding factor we need to be fair and transparent in that um if if that's not for a majority of you and such then that's fine but I think it's something we should at least discuss that if that's really going to be our our main factor is Scranton we
092should be clear on that um and then there have been discussions of possible potential conflicts of interest that we' have discussed up to this point we've been advised that some of them cannot be discussed publicly which I will not um but there have been various others such as um members of the firm and um other roles that they hold within the community so I'm requesting that we seek an attorney that is specializes in ethics or submit for an advisory opinion through the PA ethics commission um I believe that this will make sure that we do our due diligence as I've said I've been addressed by multiple community members asking questions that I cannot address nor can we because we are not ethics attorneys so um for me to do my due diligence as an elected
093official I'm requesting again that we either seek an attorney that specializes in ethics or submit for an advisory opinion through the PA ethics Commission because there is there's too many there's a host of concerns that have been ra raised and they cannot be answered by by just us or just the people at the table they have to be raised by somebody with they have to be answered by somebody with higher knowledge than we hold and as a seated director um that is my request at this time are you done yes thank you and EV buses is there any is there any other comments sorry director Casey I just wanted to make sure okay uh discussion on EV buses credit uh so I I know that this was in your packet as well um all of
094the buses are running and we will begin receiving uh the reimbursement for them running uh we will continue to give you updates um on any issues or problems and just to clarify that's $110,000 a month while we're in school correct while in session yes okay that's it anything else you have anything Dr K well the federal update we went over during um the budget and finance you all right with that said motion to adjourn I'll make the motion all in favor I being adjourn