001e e e call to order tonight's meeting for Monday October 7th please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all roll call please Mrs zor Mr Bor here Mr Casey Mrs chz present Miss Fox present Miss G Martin present Miss Merkel present Mr mcandrew present Mrs Johnny present Mr Holmes seven present two absent can I have a motion to approve the agenda so moved second okay I'm a question so on the question um uh so uh director chesk chair of our policy is in agreement to combine all the policies listed on the agenda for approval of second read this evening into one motion so as it
002stands we'll have one motion to approve policies 22.01 through 22.2 4 collectively as listed on the agenda that's perfectly acceptable it does not require an amendment okay all right thank you and then just so my colleagues know if on the on the question of that motion if there's any that they would like pull for for their individual reading we can do it then okay okay and then I'm also aware that we'll need to add wording to an item on the consent agenda should we do that on that motion um yeah that that'd be preferable to do that okay so we'll do that then okay anything else on the question of the motion okay then roll call please Mrs z um I'm sorry Mr borwick yes Mrs chesik yes Miss Fox yes m g Martin yes
003M Merkel yes Mr mcandrew yes Mrs Johnny Yes seven affirmative and Mrs or um executive sessions were held on September 30th 2024 and this evening to discuss Personnel litigation real estate negotiations and safety thank you um attorney for any report no report Madam vice president okay um Dr keing superintendence report hi everyone good evening uh thank you vice president Yanni I'd like to wish everyone a Happy October it's been a very exciting first month of school and everyone seems to be back into the swing of things um here are some updates from the central Administration the PSATs will be administered to all interested sophomores and juniors on the 26th of October at both West Scranton high school and Scranton High School September 14th we had an immunization clinic sponsored by the administ ation 149 vaccines
004went to students with a total of 301 vaccines given that day um there will be an SSD guidance counseling for Career Success advisory council meeting on November 6th at West Granton Intermediate School our first quarter progress reports are available for parents on the Home Access Center we are very very thrilled that we have received approval for an an mtss critical support partnership with Paton um and with our neiu so we're going to be receiving support from the state level from Patton for our mtss program I'd like to thank Mrs gbec for her hard work in securing that um we're in the process of planning to provide enhancement modules for our principles and eventually our school team the special education department has renewed a contract that provides transition services for our special education students Scranton High
005School hosted their first on-site cross country meet on September 24th it was very exciting um everything ran no pun intended smoothly um our first parent advisory committee meeting will be held on Tuesday October 15th um we're really excited about this this will be under Mr O'Donnell's office we welcomed the University of Virginia to campus on September 25th and 26th we're very excited to be part of their educational leadership initiative with the Darden School of Business uh teachers principles and Senior Administration participated in interviews and focus groups during that time we want to thank Dr sailor and pte for sponsoring this professional development we're really excited to be part of it and some big news at West Granton high school we now have a working elevator so that is really exciting and and more exciting coming
006soon is air conditioning to the West Granton High School third floor cafeteria so this is really big stuff that we're really really excited for um because I know it gets really warm up there so thank you uh vice president Yanni that's all I have for tonight okay great then we will go to Dr saor our chief recovery officer no report okay thank you all right then we will go to our student Representatives so we we have Mandy Martin from West Scranton high school and Dean Moran from Scranton High School who'd like to go first okay great good evening members of the board West Granton high school has been very active in successful since the last time we met Brian Barbosa celebrated making his 50th goal on September 19th against Western Wayne which also broke the
007record for the boys soccer team for the most career goals the annual Invader Powderpuff team will be held at the Memorial Stadium Sunday October 13th starting at noon and the West Granton football team will have their senior night acknowledgements this Friday October 11th home against denore there are some brand new clubs starting at West the breast cancer awareness Club led by senior president Cara Schultz spreads awareness regarding breast cancer and fundraises to benefit the cancer prevention project they will have their first meeting Thursday October 10th the diversity equity and inclusion Club also known as the Dei led by Junior president Tristy dungle focuses on creating a positive environment for students to thrive and express their identities this week our sad saave club will be drawing positive messages on the steps with the chalk in hopes
008to make a positive imp act as the first thing each student sees each student will see as they enter the school after the possibility of it not returning this year the West step team is making a comeback and it's better than ever teachers Mrs Kasa and Mrs Vasquez have done an extraordinary job coaching him and led by one of three captains theres and chadine who highlighted that their team has now grown to 21 members this weekend West will host their annual haunted hallways October 13th and 14th regular tickets will sell for $10 VIP tickets for $20 and doors will open from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at West Granton Intermediate School they are in preparation for their first annual Halloween event at West at WSI at wsis they will host a safe trick-or treat and a
009haunted house from October 29th to the 31st also stay tuned for their special times for students with sensory needs if anyone is interested in volunteering or setting up a table please call or email missing wsis is also having a fall reading challenge called fall into a good book for October 1st until November 29th prizes will be rewarded to the students in each grade level who read the most books between October 1st to the 29th McNichols Plaza Elementary has a weekly attendance contest to see which grade has the best daily attendance for the month of September the third graders came in first place with a 95.7% daily average student Rel Maldonado was nominated as a Rising Phoenix and she is a role model amongst her peers and always demonstrates respect integrity and safety John F Kennedy
010Elementary students are doing great with attendance and have had their first group of students nominated for demonstrating respect who earned the title as Kennedy Cadets some of our West Granton Invaders visited JFK for their first blowout of the school year students heard from members of various fall Sports and activities such as the marching band tennis golf football volleyball and cheer team about what it looks like to be ready responsible and respectful as a student athlete Charles suar Elementary students had the opportunity to meet the Scranton fire department for Fire Prevention and safety month and presented it to their kindergarten and fourth grade classes in September 71 students had perfect attendance 12 Sumer stars and Charles suar has this kindness tree where names of students are put on on the tree and are displayed when they
011display acts of kindness among those 44 students whose names were put on the tree student Elizabeth Murray had her name on the tree the most during the month of September Francis Willard held their first blowout of the year on Thursday September 26 students who made excellent Behavior choices in the school in the school for September were rewarded with a glow-in-the-dark dance party teachers and faculty are so proud of their W wered wild cats for making good choices overall this community has has been very productive this past month and I'm excited to see what great activities will be in store for us in the future again I'm Andy Martin thank you for your time thank you Mandy good evening September was a great month in The District in October and November are looking to follow on
012October 5th the SAT was held at Scranton High and the PS will be held on October 26th interested students can find more information and sign up and guidance character strong lessons have begun spreading positivity and mindfulness throughout the school the first night out will be held at Kelly's Pub in eery tomorrow night proceeds G towards the Scranton High senior class there will be a transition fair for special education students at the Goodwill in South Scranton on October 23rd students will participate in mock interviews as well as interactive activities night ambassadors will be volunteering to help Mr Powell is taking 15 AP History students to attend the Dennis Farm Symposium at Keystone College on October 10th this focuses on the history of Dennis farm and his impact on the community October will wrap up will wrap
013up with sad club's Red Ribbon Week to spread positive decisions and awareness routines there will also be a mini Halloween spirit week to spread school spirit from October 30th to November 1st school pictures will be October 28th 29th and 30th lacana College dual en Roman forms are due November 6 par participating students a financial aid night will also be held on November 6 at 5:30 in the greaton high Auditorium senior C count orders will open on November 7th after a presentation is given to students and on November 14th there will be an open house from 6:30 to 8 Le By Night ambassadors semi will be on November 22nd at the Hilton downtown stem students of their monthly stem night this Thursday October 10th where they will decorate pumpkins after school both middle and high school
014stem students are participating in a monthly Health intern program at Ginger Medical College where they get Hands-On experiences in the life of a medical professional stem is also participating with Lac aack to raise 200 trout eggs in their aquarium eventually these fish will be released into the laana river overall October and November are looking to be busy and productive months within the district thank you for your time thank you [Applause] um director Fox psba report yes thank you um February 1 psba will have a builder stronger School communities through civil discourse um event join us for an interactive event dedicated to fostering stronger School communities through the power of civil discourse on February 1 from 9:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. at psba headquarters in Mechanicsburg learn practical strategies to lead responsibly and communicate clearly within
015your district and Beyond explore the core principles the core principles of civil discourse in practice applying them to Real World School related scenarios through role playing exercises and group activities enhance your leadership skills and build a more respectful empath impath wow if I could talk to sorry an Engaged School Community um then there will be a new school director exchange this is only for new school directors um Learning To Be an Effective member of your team of 10 10 takes time uh this will be held sorry one Thursday each month from 12:30 to 1:30 I apologize the next one is October 10th so in just 3 days um and I don't think I do that uh tonight we will be um approving the psba officers um which is a really really great thing that's on
016our agenda and it excited that we'll be doing that and then at the table this evening we have um I think was attorney F at the conference also yes I was yes okay so currently going on is the psba conference and attorney Freud and director ol Martin were present um I'm not sure if anybody else was or not to have any um to speak thank you for taking your time to be here leaving the conference to come be with us this evening I don't know if either of you have anything to say are you're really joining yourself I'm sure well you know i' uh I'd encourage uh you know all the directors to participate you learn a lot from the different directors I I couldn't agree more this is my first experience I'm I'm there
017as the sectional advisor to the E1 Zone and it's my uh most comprehensive experience I've had at the conference so far and it is really very interesting and I'm you know obviously want to make sure I'm sharing uh things that are are materials for everyone but I think there will be a lot of really valuable resources I I think there have been some great conversations um about onboarding school directors um there was a a budget presentation that you really would have enjoyed Pat and I don't know that I could say that to a lot of other people but you and I would really we really have a good time with those kinds of things and and also um some really interesting conversations in several sessions about some of the changes impacting both many of the
018legal changes some uh dealing with Title 9 and the complexities there and and how that's kind of working through the court system as we speak so I think much to come on that but also a lot about social media and director rights and responsibilities and and the um impact it can have on the district so I I think at some point I know Aon you've mentioned this and perhaps John can fill us in on some of those changes at an appropriate time sure absolutely um and um vice president Yanni sorry I am finished at this point but I just want to say I'll send an email reminder about the uh training that we have remaining in the end of October if anyone didn't yet complete theirs it'll be virtual and they could sign up for
019that and also I'll send an email just in case anybody needs that information Catherine um did you still not Jenny's been trying to help me with this but I've been trying to go on and uh we've been having a problem haven't we Jen with trying to get you uh some your training yeah pardon me I I've been in touch with them just I'm still waiting for someone to get back to me but we spent a whole day when Friday I mean as the sectional adviser are you able to help absolutely I Jenny and I have communicated a little bit about that I know you got some answers on some other matters and we can certainly follow up I would imagine there could be a little bit of lag with everybody at the conference but we'll
020make sure that all gets I did I got I took a picture of the air did I I don't remember if I took a picture but I gave her the well all I want everybody to know is I'm not neglecting my duties which you're not a you're not a the point yet either so we still have time so no but it took me all day to actually try to get on um now I know that I'm not the most uh uh technology uh Savvy Savvy I mean I'm I'm probably Fred Flintstone of the technology World um we'll figure it out for you but I wanted to let you know and the other question I have is can you go and register on site at the uh conference y I did men because I TR we
021we did try but they told me that registration was closed and as it turns out I have some free time that I'd like to go up and uh see what's available just go on I believe you can I think you can just go and the registration is right in the door you go to the parking lot you park in the elephant section and go right in the right in the front door and the registration is well I've never been up there so I um great I guess I have to look for an elephant even though I'm a donkey but okay there'll be a lot of people around okay but we're good you know I I did I forgot I did want to mention uh last night there was an an awards reception and I just
022want to acknowledge the student groups who performed it was the Nazareth Area Orchestra a GU choir from Honesdale High School in the Wayne Highlands district and a jazz band from Pocono Mountain I believe East High School and they were they were phenomenal and you know I know we're working to expand some programs here and I know we have a lot of really talented students today so I I hope when the opportunity next comes we'll think about I believe it's an application process but I would certainly love to see some of our students on that stage awesome yeah that is awesome yeah it was really really great great all right thank you for those reports uh now we're going to hear from public comment so our first speaker is Amanda van buerk okay good evening school
023board members and Dr Kean if you're into Halloween and you love spooky Seasons then this is your spot to come and support the West Granton High School drama club department for their biggest fundraiser the haunted hallways October 12th and 13th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. $10 is general and $20 is our Fastpass enter if you dare thank you Amanda you're welcome what's the age range on that I'm just thinking about I've got a five and a seveny old uh age range um it depends on usually we do have that kind of age come in with their parents okay thank you yep there's lots of jumping out at you yes there's lots of jumping out at you depends on if if they're okay with that thank you Dr key yes couple meetings ago I I
024mentioned how I was informed about the uh stage and the ropes yes do you know if anybody checked them out if yep in fact uh Mr Rucker put something in the board packet on that there was a memo that was sent out on that and are they safe uh Mr Rucker has a Feer company coming in to go through all of them the company wanted to charge us to do that so we're working to try to find a company that will come in and look at them um right now Mr Rucker you've looked at them and we're okay for the time being but we want them inspected by professionals correct okay uh Dr King why don't you check with Dr Casey can we Circle back after public comment we we'll come back to address any
025issues okay sure just so we can keep public comment moving okay our next speaker is Nathan onen am I saying that correctly okay all right the reason why I'm here is because my son has been the victim of an assault twice and it's not from students it's from staff to where my son was needed to be seen by the nurse this is not right okay so twice my kid was victimized by staff Mr Mr Mr O did you report this to uh principal or any um the principal is the one that called us administrator the principal is the one that called me and told me about it with a cop and somebody else in the room I have still yet to hear anything that has been done about it I'm at the point to where
026I'm going to seek legal counsel because of it m Mr Onin would you would you be willing to speak um outside of this meeting with um Mr jca who is here who is our is our director in that area would you be willing to have a conversation with him at this time I don't know because of everything that's been going on it's been swept under the rug okay this was last month sir I have um Mr odonnell is here tonight Mr Ducan both of them could speak to you privately in the back of the room right now we we'll we'll begin addressing it your concerns immediately we absolutely want to address them um if you're if you're open to that something needs to be done about it that's that's they'll they'll they could start taking
027notes they could start taking your concerns right now both gentlemen have stood up thank you sir uh okay uh next we have Holly me hello really hi you can take that off if it's easier yeah hi um um I just wanted to bring to your attention that we're beginning our literacy initiative this week um it's a collective effort between our ER andd instructors and the Scranton School District as many of you know this is not the way we have done things in the past and we are super thrilled to be partnering together to bring consistency I'm sorry consistent literacy instruction to our students in Scranton many people feel well reading why would I learn about that I teach 10th grade or I'm a math Specialist or I'm a school board member or that's not my
028job I don't even work in a school I don't have any Elementary age children I don't even have any children so part of our mission is to have our community understand the gravity of this crisis it's not just about reading it's about the future of our students and our society this is everyone's Collective responsibility and we need your help to address it many of you may be attending the right to read documentary on Thursday night um at lacana College which will be followed by a panel discussion um and our entire School staff will view the truth about reading should write that down the truth about reading on Friday if you have a chance I highly recommend you watch it it's available on Amazon Prime video um I think it's between 99 Cents and $1.99 to
029rent it um and this will clearly explain why we all need to teach students to read we need your commitment as well we need you to get involved and to help us with this crisis the more adults we have in prominent positions taking talking about the reading crisis the better the next generation of readers will be so I invite you all to come on this journey with us this year watch both films and get ready for our next steps and I just have a shout out for my new teachers um one of the new teachers one of the students recommend mended and she's been in our district for maybe two months and she's already the coach of the step team so just proud of our new teachers they're like really doing great jobs so thank
030you thank you Holly and I don't know Dr keing maybe we could get that video somehow um we do have it shared we do have it rented um for the teachers to watch right now okay um so I don't know how the licensing off the top my head works but definitely something I would be interested in in viewing okay great all right um and then we have uh Rick sephus good evening everyone my name is Rick cus I a representative of the National Association for the advancement of colored people or the NAACP for lacana County um I've been before you several several occasions some good some bad um and and I come to you this evening because once again it's a new school year but we're still encountering the same issues that we've had previous
031years um my particular committee which is the Public Safety Committee um is is also takes a very valued interest in school policy and procedure and how it and how it protects our students especially those with IEPs and when it comes to their discipline um and again new school year different complaints from different children um different parents who were saying that the policies and protections that are supposed to be afforded their children are not being given to them and they're being treated as if they you know they're disciplined for as if they had no IEP um these complaints are coming to my desk I have I overlooked these and as a previous employee of the district I can definitely say that when Administration wants to act um on the behalf of the child they will suspend
032immediately but yet then there's also cases where they drag their feet and it's also and it's for certain people in certain places in administration who in our in our eyes and in the eyes of these parents seem to be gaining favoritism from the administration and possibly the board and that is not acceptable that is not acceptable by any means from the nacp it is not acceptable by any means from any of these parents that the complaints are still coming in these parents want to Rally they want to come together they want to meet and they want to have a Bonafide meeting regarding these issues that they are not being addressed they're not being addressed correctly and they want the favoritism in the administration to end and they want it to end now thank you Mr
033cus if you'd like to meet with uh Mrs Janette and I we will be more than happy to sit with you to discuss because we can't discuss individual kids or things but we will absolutely positively sit and meet with you all you have to do is call me you know I'll schedule a meeting with you whenever you need okay you have you still have my contact correct just reach out to me we'll get that all right thank you okay director Casey was there was there anything you wanted to Circle back on regarding public comment pardon me was there something that you wanted to Circle back on regarding public comment the only thing that I wanted to say was uh when I was notified of this it was from uh bill cockro from the uh stage
034hand and um he he basically said that they'd be willing to come in and talk talk to us and uh possibly uh fix it for free so I just wanted to pass that on if you want if you're looking for somebody who's going to for free uh you may want to talk to bill cockro with the stage hand union he was the one who brought it up to me okay I see Dr keing writing furiously so I think she's got that y okay all right thank you Dr Casey okay so now I am looking for a motion to approve the meeting minutes of August 12th 2024 and August 26th 202 make the motion second thank you on the question okay uh roll call Jenny Mr Casey yes Mrs chesik yes Miss Fox yes Miss G
035Martin no Miss Merkel yes Mr mcandre yes Mrs johanni yes Mr borwick yes seven affirmative one negative motion passes now we would need a motion to approve our consent agenda so moved second on the question so on the question I just wanted to add one word to uh 1310 C3 it should state approved donation of bus transportation costs for Scranton high school and West Granton high school students to the college fair at mohagen Sun Convention Center thank you okay right so then I'll do nothing else on the question of that right okay so then roll call please Mrs Mrs do you need a do you need a motion to do that or no as long as long as the secretary has okay very good thank you Mrs chesk yes Miss Fox yes Miss good Martin
036yes Miss Merkel yes Mr Mander yes Mrs Yanni yes Mr borwick yes Mr Cas yes Mr Holmes or I'm sorry affirmative okay um I don't see anything listed under Athletics and Student Activities so we'll go on to budget and finance uh director Kil Martin uh motion B8 a motion to accept the 2021 single tax office audit report prepared by rainy and rainy CPAs the cost of this service was previously authorized and is shared with the school between the school district and the City of Scranton second on the question roll call please miss Fox yes Miss G Martin yes M Merkel yes Mr mcandrew yes Mrs Johnny yes Mr borwick yes Mr Casey yes Mrs chesik yes affirmative b n a motion to approve a resolution pursuant to section 1949 act 14 of the school code
037requesting the tax Equity supplement under the ready to learn ready yeah ready to learn block gr yes board missing sorry ready to learn block grant Appropriations for the 2425 school year the financial impact is $793,000 Martin yes M Merkel yes Mr mandra yes Mr borwick yes Mr Casey yes Mrs chz yes M fox yes Mr JY yes B 10 a motion to authorize the adoption by the board of school directors of the school district of the city of Scranton a resolution authorizing the issuance of one or more series of General obligation bonds the bonds for the purpose of funding a project consisting of any or all of the following one planning designing acquiring constructing installing Furnishing and equipping of alterations Renovations additions and improvements to existing fa facilities of the Scranton School District purchasing Capital
038Equipment for use and out use in or in connection with the facilities of the school district additional capital projects of the school district to the in extent approved by the board and paying the costs and expenses of issuance of the bonds all as more fully described in the complete text of the resolution second on the question roll call please miss Merkel yes Mr mcandrew yes Mr borwick yes Mr Casey yes Mrs chz yes M fox yes m g Martin yes Mrs Yanni yes affirmative B1 motion to approve real estate tax assessment appeals as follows pin number 04001 for the year 2024 the current assessed value 1,249 se4 the new assessed value 95,9 se4 an annual loss of7 1,594 pin number 04001 2004 $95 95,9 74 currently assessed $826,000 the new assessment an additional loss of
039$1,739 annually yep um there should be a correction on this uh the second line as you'll notice the PIN numbers are exactly the same this is a two-year it's a two-year tax assessment reduction so in the the second row for year should be okay so this is ESS essentially an appeal and then an additional appeal correct okay it affects two two uh uh real estate Cycles okay total impact is$ 29333 over the two years over the two years okay okay so on the question but annually recurring laws yes recurring recurring and Mr lafy it is your recommendation that the board approved this uh yes um attorney w we provided some correspondence in the weekend packet um based off of uh you know the County's already agreed to it and based off of some other comparable
040assessment appeals that he's worked but he feels this is reasonable okay thank you is there anyone else I just need a second second thank you and then when you're ready roll call please Mr Mander yes Mr borwick yes Mr Casey yes Mrs chesik yes M fox yes m g Martin no M Merkel yes Mrs Yanni yes seven affirmative one negative motion passes okay that takes us to community relations uh director Fox C4 we will have a motion to approve theou for the refug garbage truck lending agreement between the city of Scranton and Scranton School District Financial impact zero second on the question on the question I think this is great that you know the city's helping us out here but I think it might have been something in our packet but are we almost are
041we looking at getting another one or leasing it like what's the update on that Mr Rucker can you give an update on the um the garbage truck for the district so both of the garbage trucks one's a garbage truck one's a recycling truck right the current garbage truck um has failed the the center weld I guess it's common with that style Body I'm not going to say names of which style but it's common for that Center weld to separate buckle and then cause the unit to fail um it is over 10 years old uh currently uh we're looking at some options for replacement uh through some contracts Cooperative purchasing whatever it is that we can get also reaching out to Enterprise and see if that's something they can procure um right now with one of
042the Contra one of the truck manufacturers were 9 to 12 months out depending on if we went with them and the costs for those is ballpark around a quarter million dollars for one okay thank you okay there's no other questions um we will move to roll call Mr borwick yes Mr Casey yes Mrs chesik yes Miss Fox yes m g Martin yes M Merkel yes Mr mcandrew yes Mrs Yanni yes eight affirmative sorry C5 we will have a motion to elect Pennsylvania School boards Association officers per the psba policy 108 which specifies that votes of an entity's board are to be cast at a public meeting the Scranton School Board hereby approves the following Sabrina backer president-elect Franklin Area School District Matt Venoy for Vice President Sharon City School District Holly Arnold Eastern Zone representative
043tanic Area School District psba Insurance trust trustees seat one Nathan Mains seat two Richard frck seat three William Lov second on the question these are all School directors no pardon me no I think it's can you answer that attorney gr their employees correct they're not directors he asked if they were all School directors yes attorney attorney FR said yes but director gartin you is Nathan M A School director I I don't I think he's the um oh he's the no he's the actually the executive dor the executive director of psba yes so I think it's in his capacity I mean I I don't know this as fact I'm assuming it's in his capacity he may be he may be ex official I'm not sure okay the the three officers are Schoolboard directors and Richard and
044William are School Board directors I do not know William uh Richard is a past president of psba which would I I don't know if he is a current School director okay but he he would have been one and I don't know William but I think this might have been detailed in the information I know the officers were in there with the trustees as well yes um is there a salary attached I don't believe so attorney F do you know that no no there's no salary no no salary okay and speaking of salary in in previous years I have recused myself from this out of an abundance of Co caution because as an advocacy Ambassador there was a stien associated with that position but that grant-funded program ended at the end of 2023 so now I
045serve as a volunteer as a sectional advisor so I think it I there are other sectional advisers on other boards so I think it appropriate that I vote unless anyone have a has a concern have you ever received a sniper yes you have as an advocacy Ambassador ended last year in 2023 that was a grant funded program that ended in 2023 how much was this stien uh it was $2500 a month for nine months I believe when it ended it changed over the course of the program did you declare it on your financial I did director Casey I I'm going to ask for a point of order I think that's inappropriate on this motion pardon me is there anything related to the motion further on the question on the motion in front of us okay
046then I will go to roll call please Mr Casey yes Mrs chesik yes Miss Fox yes Miss G Martin yes Miss Merkel yes Mr Mander no Mr borwick yes Mrs Johnny Yes seven affirmative one negative motion passes okay moving on to education um director Merkel motion D6 a motion to approve special education settlement agreements following legal review and negotiation settlement summaries previously provided to the board for review 393-4236 24-25 KB and 32 27- AB second I'm a question roll call please Mrs chesk yes Miss Fox yes m g Martin yes Miss Merkel yes Mr Mander yes Mr borwick yes Mr Casey yes Mrs Yanni yes eight affirmative okay motion D7 a motion to approve the hearing impaired Services agreement beginning September 9th 2024 and concluding on June 30th 2025 per the terms and conditions indicated
047in the attached second on the question is there anything that like you'd like to address with this Dr KY no this is this was just added on for anyone who follows the work sessions this was not on the work session however this is for services that are needed um for students so we did add it on late that's why you didn't hear this discussed at the work session thank you yep okay we'll go to roll call then please miss Fox yes Miss G Martin yes M Merkel yes Mr mcandrew yes Mr borwick yes Mr Casey yes Mrs chesik yes Mrs Yanni yes eight affirmative okay moving on to operations uh director borwick we have a motion to approve project number 03335 districtwide exterior door upgrades includes construction a Construction contract bid award multi-prime B gc00
048one cost $150,000 to the general Construction contract costs associated with the administration recommended scope changes to provide additional electrified Hardware change order also amends the project substantial and final completion dates to allow for the additional scope to be completed respectfully submitted second on the question okay we'll go to roll call Miss G Martin yes Miss Merkel yes Mr krew yes Mrs Mr borwick yes Mr Casey yes Mrs chesik yes Mrs Fox yes Mrs Johnny Yes eight affirmative we have a motion to approve a change order gc5 cost $ 13435 21 to the general Construction contract for cost associated with replacement of existing carpet tile with quartz tile in the hallways and cafeteria respectfully submitted second on the question so um keing we I know we discussed this last week but if we were to vote
049this down Administration would then implicitly be finding an opportunity to either see if we could in-house it or bid it ourselves in a way to save money if we're so directed we will move forward in that manner yes can can we implicitly direct you if that's the what we do or do you need like someone to say something specific no would would we need to vote on this motion first and then if it is voted down then look to that directive yeah then it would be directive to go out and solicit the bids if it doesn't pass okay okay thank you okay yep is there anything further okay then we'll do a roll call please miss Merkel yes Mr mcandrew no Mr Borthwick no Mr Casey no Mrs chesik no M fox yes Miss G
050Martin yes Mrs Johnny Yes for affirmative for negative motion fails E3 motion to approve change order gccl 00006 cost $4,743 56 to the general Construction contract for cost associated with providing faint excuse me paint for 39 rooms in the gymnasium respectfully submitted second and Dr King I'm sorry have to say on the question no go ahead on the question okay um so Dr King the same the same um vote if it were to go that way like the same event you would look for some way to get this painted without going through um without amending the general Construction contract we could possibly use the painters we have on staff or look at that um or look at possibly bating out correct correct we could we could look for other options if if so moved by
051the board to do that okay thank you yeah on the question I just want to see if we can get some cheaper options um so I'll be voting no again for this one okay is there anything else on the question all right Mrs or roll call please Mr Mander no Mr borwick no Mr Casey no Mrs chesik no Miss Fox yes Miss G Martin yes Miss Merkel yes Mrs Johnny Yes for affirmative for negative motion fails okay motion to approve change order uh gccl 005 for an amount not to exceed $108,000 for six additional months of the modular lease at $18 00 a month and time extension for final removal and close out of the modular from 11525 to 8125 project number 033 028 respectfully submitted second on the question and Mr laffy there was
052nothing we could do since the lease is not actually held by us it's through someone we contract through there's no way you've indicated that there's no way that we could uh do this ourselves uh that is correct director Bor we had solicitor F take a look at both agreements and that is the that is the guidance that we've received right thank you okay Mr B borwick also um I've spoken with um Mr fail and they are they're willing to um not charge their full percentage on that that uh extension just want to do that for 2% rather than seven and a half percent yeah that's wonderful to hear thank you that's awesome I I just had a question I I know in the past we talked about the potential to purchase these does approving this
053motion then preclude us from doing that I it does not uh Ethan is here tonight we're still working on that and this would go towards the cost of perex then correct Ethan yes it would if that was okay and could could we ask for some additional information as to possible uses and reasons why we would want to or why we wouldn't I guess I'm looking for some more Direction sure so the first thing that I did was I I talked to Ethan who who was working with me to get me the cost for what would it cost First to take them down move them and reassemble them somewhere um and then we will have if once we get that information we will have options for you of these can work here and this is what
054we might be able to use them for okay okay okay thank you but we need that um Ethan is working on that for me once I get that information then we could start moving forward with other things okay okay thank you anything further on the question no roll call please Mr borwick yes Mr Casey no Mrs chesik yes Miss Fox yes Miss G Martin yes Miss Merkel yes Mr mcandre yes Mrs Johnny Yes seven affirmative one negative motion passes okay we have a motion to approve suer retaining wall project the suer retaining wall is currently failing and poses a significant risk to adjacent properties and safety we receive Cooperative purchasing pricing from gordian to complete the necessary repairs and reconstruction the project includes a demolition of the existing wall stabilization of the surrounding soil and
055construction of a new retaining wall the attached proposal provides a firm fixed pricing schedule approve approval of this motion will allow us to proceed promptly to mitigate risks associated with the Wall's potential failure Financial impact is 92,5 7710 respectfully submitted second on the question I I just want to say a firm fixed pricing schedule is always excellent I know Mr Rucker that you often recommend that and that's nice to see in one of our projects so we won't have to worry about over edges okay roll call please Mr Casey yes Mrs chesik yes M fox yes m g Martin yes M Miss Merkel yes Mr mcandrew yes Mr borwick yes Mrs johanni yes eight affirmative okay and then we will go to Personnel director mcandrew all right so F1 we have a motion to approve
056the Personnel report as attached all hires are contingent upon all background checks and clearances second second on the question roll call please Mrs chesk yes Miss Fox yes Miss G Martin yes Miss Merkel yes Mr mcandrew yes Mr bwick yes Mr Casey yes Mrs Johnny Yes eight affirmative okay then we'll go to policy director Chic um so for the sake of time I'm going to group all the Motions so I'd like to motion to approve second read 146.10016510 termin okay it okay so we're on vendor relations um so I'll go ahead here we have um H2 approve amendment number two to the student transportation services contract between Pete's garage and the Scranton School District this amendment adjusts the required umbrella insurance for buses from 10 million to 5 million and adding one-way shuttle service to
057Memorial Stadium for South Intermediate School and West Granton Intermediate School um we we don't have a financial impact there I guess to the district it would be zero correct okay so I guess I'll I'll stop there see if there's a second second okay so on the question um I'm wondering first if we need to do uh an amendment to this motion because this is actually the third amendment to this student transportation services contract yeah the the the first one was I think for the allow for the electric buses I mean if we're going to that talk to amendments to the contract and then the second one was for lowering the liability limits to the um Vans and cars so was a separate contract thank you it was a separate contract it was okay okay so
058so it is then the second amendment okay okay all right um so while I'm speaking I'll I'll just follow up to the work session to just state that um we did have a few additional questions that were outstanding and attorney F I know you took those questions back to um the vendor attorney and you did receive a response today is that correct I was we were asking if we could find out the cost difference um to the vendor for the insurance to lower it from the 10 million to 5 million so could you that response yes what what I was told this was last week it was last Friday had the conversation uh I I forwarded the um the questions that director Fox had exactly speak into the microphone Sor uh I said I forwarded
059her exact questions uh I received a um a call back from the attorney on Friday we had a discussion he indicated to me that with regard to um the um difference in cost that that would require uh the broker to do some um additional research search that they were not really willing to um insist that the Bro the broker do and they felt that the that they had provided sufficient information and just asked the board to vote the um request up or down so so they indicated that they were not willing to provide that information to us is that correct it's correct okay so for that reason I'm I'm uncomfortable um with this motion and approving this amendment is there any anyone else that would like to speak on the question what was the specific
060information that they that that they didn't provide um I was looking for the cost difference how much money they'd save yes how much money they would save going from 10 million to 5 million because is it my understanding um Mr lafy that they are they currently did Renew at the $10 million liability limit so that is what they're paying now correct that is correct we have a Certificate of Insurance showing that they've maintained that coverage right so I was thinking that what they could then is just if if they they know what they're going to go down to at the 5 million um just tell us that difference I think that's what I was looking for another question the the shuttle service that is from the middle schools to Memorial that's something we don't currently
061do though correct if I I'm going to dig back into my memory I believe when I first brought this up I it's because last year we had a number of safety incidents walking to the stadium so it was an opportunity to try to get those kids buses to Memorial Stadium so it's something new we're doing it's something new yeah and there are existing runs that don't have a second run at present so they would swing and pick the Intermediate kids up and then drop them off okay I mean I know this has been a great discussion on all this I don't see anything negative um or any negative impact for this for the district and right there is a positive one you know it helps our students get safe tra uh transportation from their school
062to their event at Memorial Stadium so to me that is a huge positive CU I remember those incidents that happened uh last year so I'm very happy to hear that um so for that I'll be voting yes I second with director mcre just said I feel exactly the same way and attorney FR you had said previously that the 10 million is unusually high is that correct like it's more along the five million range for other districts but it it it it it varies but uh you know under the under the current market circumstances and based upon um the national standards that uh Mr lafy and I looked at um it is it is higher than than those standards thank you I assumed the issue was distance or or closeness I guess is a better way
063of putting it with Northeast intermediate but if safety is the issue why is why is there no route director G Martin can I just ask you to speak into the microphone it's so hard to hear down here to have one I'm sorry oh you don't have one sorry I'm sharing I right or left here I I I assumed that the reason there was no route from Northeast intermediate is because of its proximity to the stadium correct but if safety is the concern is there no concern of safety with the Northeast intermediate students there there safety with every student the issues that we had last year were with the students specifically um walking from West intermediate um that had had numerous um fights and and other security issues on the way to the school um South
064Scranton Intermediate has low participation just it's a very very long walk for those kids but yes Northeast had not had the issues and the proximity was taken into consideration on that okay and obviously no one is hoping for this but should an issue arise do you think there is the potential we would have we would have to in an equity situation okay thank you um on the question I I think I feel similar to the conversations we just had about the room painting and such um where we could save money I think we should look at that uh the questions were asked of um I thought it seemed very reasonable to ask what insur what they paid for insurance last year to compare it to this year and then what they would be paying with
065a lower um liability limit um which was stated that that was not available so I did I I had no other option but to try to look up myself what the insurance difference would be um and so I'm completely saying this is just from Google because I they need to be given information otherwise that um it says a bus in PA with a $10 million liability umbrella can run between $7,000 and $122,000 per bus per year a $5 million umbrella can run between 4500 and 10,000 per bus per year I'm going to take the high numbers here just because I haven't been giving anything else and again we're looking at this from the high that would be um for for actually we have 49 buses right now so for 49 buses that would be 7,500
066time 49 which would be $367,500 for one year of potential savings unless we're giving figures otherwise so again I just want to clarify that the cost difference from all I could find online because I haven't been given otherwise could be seen of up to $367,000 for one year and if you multiply that for the life of the contract plus the potential of a bit of an extension with the EV bosses it would be over 1 8 million of potential savings from dropping the liability limit so this contract that we have is a $4.6 million contract times it by five years that's $23 million the only thing I'm asking as a seated director as a steward of taxpayer dollars is to have the conversation of this contract was bid at a certain amount a certain amount
067that it was worth it is now going to be worth less and as a steward of taxpayer I personally believe that that means that we should pay less um obviously they will be paying less because they're offering this free shuttle and I did ask how the free shuttle came to to the table um I'm not sure who who brought that up but obviously they know they're going to be saving a certain dollar or else that wouldn't be offered to us we also don't have a cost of what that shuttle would cost because technically this financial Impact says zero but we would we're saving money off of whatever the the free shuttle would be um so we don't have a full picture here by any means so again I'm just I'm just trying to say that
068as someone who is elected to oversee taxpayer dollars and I read these numbers of the potentials I'm by no means saying this is correct that they're going to save $367,500 a year I don't know that because I wasn't told that but again multiply we're talking millions of dollars here and I'm confused on why we're concerned about how much painting and room cost and we're not concerned that we could be saving tax PLL on a contract that per school code we as school directors are responsible to negotiate and see through the contract I'm only trying to do my job here and I'm not given the information to do such and I I I don't know if I'm missing I I feel like I'm missing something here because I I don't this is millions of dollars I
069don't know if anybody has any insight or thoughts um you can all tell me you're wrong if you'd like I'm wrong if you'd like um I'm just I'm confused and I'm not trying to cause any frustrations or anything of that but when we're talking millions of dollars just the same as the EV buses we were going to get zero dollars back for that we are now going to be getting $450,000 back for that we have to keep that in mind that this is money that our job is um is education and this money could be going uh Pro policy um 601 it states the board recognizes its responsibility to District taxpayers to ensure that public monies expended by the school district are utilized for delivery of educational program in a ma matter that mandates full
070value to the taxpayers that's my concern here thank you director Fox um May I just inquire what your Source was for that information my only concern is that you know there is a lot of information that you can find on Google and it's not always from a reputable source so my concern is that you're throwing these numbers out and speaking as as if it were fact and we I made it very clear that it's not fact and that I had to go to Google because I was refused the answers the um the attorney For Pet's garage specific specifically said that we were given enough information and just to put it to a vote so I did I did try to get the information and because nothing was given to me I had I had to
071use the internet because we as we have to have some information in front of us before we make a vote right now I have zero your Source like what your Source was for that so we know like is it you know was it Wikipedia was it like some kind of like scholarly resource that we could actually you know take this information and get like a ballpark estimate of of what that may be like that's what I'm asking yeah I I don't have a reputable source to go off of which is why we need further information from the vendor to clarify because if it's wrong then it's it's very simple to say it's it's actually more of a 100,000 a year instead of 357,000 and then we can have that conversation so we can know is
072is this in line is the free shuttle for the Middle School in line with the amount of money they'll be saving so these are just assumptions rather than facts I just want to clarify I I made that very clear in my statement director chz thank you so Pat just to confirm this isn't increasing any taxpayer dollars though correct that is correct um as attorney for stated earlier this comes at no cost of the district and the shuttle services um are as part of this uhou would be uh at no cost as well and again if we insured our own buses and we had our own Fleet it the max liability we can have is $500,000 correct that is correct significantly still higher I think the point that um director Fox was tring trying to make
073is this is a is a contract that's paid for by taxpayer dollars so as directors um we did request I think pretty basic information from our vendor and their their response was we have provided you with enough information and you should simply put the request to a vote so I I have to think that if any other vendor came to us and said we're going to lower you know our insurance limits if our if our construction manager did that um I think it would be a reasonable question to say say well what is the savings that you're going to incur and perhaps we could have a a very civil discussion about how that savings could be passed along to our taxpayers and to our students so I think that's the point um and correct me
074if I'm wrong director Fox that you you were forced to go to look up this information on your own because we're unable to obtain the information from the vendor and it's something that as soon as they came to us with this request I asked for it so we've we've repeatedly asked for it so yes thank you for clarifying I just want to that's my my final thing is is just to clarify that yes um this contract is changing um as it was made very clear in the deposition that we had back in 2022 um as was said by Pocono Transportation Insurance costs money sure we can do whatever you want but it's going to cost money so a 10 million liability umbrella is going to cost more than a $5 million umbrella I'm not an
075insurance broker I don't know any of this so I need the information given to me but know it's going to cost less that that that sounds like it makes a lot of sense to me and I just want to know what that amount would be so that our taxpayers could realize some of those Savings in the in the meanwhile because at the end of the day it is their money this was awarded with a certain value and it is now going to have less of a value and I think the the the least in terms of Transportation in the Scranton school district is that we should be as transparent as possible so it's entirely possible just because I'm just thinking about I deal with insurance all the time in my business life they might be
076waiting for and I don't know what they're doing um or if they've even looked they might not know because they might want to go out and get quotes if they get permission it might not be it might just be information they don't have but um it sounds like and correct me if I'm wrong do you want to reopen the contract and try to get some of their savings is that what you're you're saying if they're going to save money we need to get some of it I mean I think that that makes sense that they're going to pay less for a contract that they bid on and that we pay less for a contract they're paying less on I don't know why we would approve them saving money on a taxpayer funded contract and not
077us I don't I don't understand that I I think it's it's not knowing that dollar amount um I mean one of the first correspondents we got from attorney Rothenberg he stated that this that maintaining the 10 million liability limit was a 30% increase in insurance and that that amount I believe his words were would put us out of business so to me that puts off a red flag like okay then we need to look at this because we certainly don't want our transportation vendor going out of business but we do want to have a reasonable discussion regarding that savings to see how we could work that out so I do understand that there's there's they're going to give us a shuttle but again as as this is a taxpayer funded contract I I think um
078it's reasonable for us as directors to ask for that information and that if we were not able to get it from our vendor and our vendor tells us put the request to a vote with the information you have um I struggle with that so Pat I just have a question I'm just trying to clear my memory on it did they say they struggled getting that coverage the 10 million like when they went around looking for it is that is that true yeah there was only one one company only one so when that coverage expires God forbid they can't get it then what happens to us right like what if that you know their insurance company say it's a six-month policy or a year policy and they come back and say you know what we're not
079going to cover it for 10 you know $10 million and then what if that's during the school season and Stu like we would be in in a pretty tough tough pickle right there right well they'd be out of compliance contract requirements right but they wouldn't be able to still deply transport like provide transportation then correct well I think they they would but they they'd be out of compliance if they can't they can't get the 10 million then they can't get the 10 million it's essentially what they were saying that this was an extraordinary change unanticipated change in the market okay 10 million is currently in place correct correct based off of the certificate insurance that I have on file yes and do we know the term of that policy I wasn't there a discussion of
080month month to month that we're carrying wasn't that month to month I I don't recall let me the certificate I have in front of me here um showing $10 million of coverage has a policy effective date of March 26 2024 policy expiration date March 26 2025 yeah but um I think they said that you know they were going to they could adjust it they were going to deal with it month to month that's that was what we but they do have a policy in place for one year they have okay accordingly yeah but I think they only paying monthly right but to direct mcandrew's concern they they would know they that they are we would know they're covered for a year under this so Arrangements could be made in time if they were to maintain
081the $10 million liability limit I believe we have mentioned this at one time before but one concern in the discussions with the representatives was um related to safety checks by the insurance carrier John do you recall um and potentially if an on-site visit was to to occur and they were um concerned with some safety issues um potentially could could it affect our our coverage during during this current policy period you recall yeah I did recall they were very concerned about that and that's eliminated they were concerned about the tenu the tenuous uh nature of that continuing coverage and still still hard to hear down there sorry safety the safety concerns are are or the discipline concerns or whatever the appropriate term is are eliminated when we move to $5 million I I understand that the
08210 million they're saying was only offered by one company is what they're saying and so now they have to drop to the five million so they have more options out there for carriers and such and I completely understand all of that and it's but the the my issue at hand is that the contract has now changed since it was first bid on so what what do you what what do you do to get your number of what you're going to charge for your daily rate your expenses your expenses are now going down so again that's fine I'll leave it at this but I all the points um are valid and they make sense but my nothing mutes the point of they're going to spend less now and we're not going to realize that for our
083taxpayers and that's it thank you attorney FR um so like if there is a savings that legal for the district to say that we want to benefit from that savings I'm sorry to say that again like if there is like a savings with going from the the 10 million to 5 million um and the um the company gets a savings because of that is it legal for the district to say we want a part of that savings well it's it's certainly legal to say it uh whether or not that would be agreed to on their part I you know without the in without the information um it's impossible to say whether they in fact are actually saving anything because of the precipitous increase that they experience that's that's what their position is got it okay
084um thank you and wouldn't that like wouldn't that change the entire contract to like if we were to go that route they you know not really I mean it's it's a relatively innocuous change okay and overall this this revision um is it common or uncommon for this to happen with vendors like these sort of contract revisions well you I wouldn't say that I wouldn't say that it's common but certainly you know it's a was it a five or sevene contract I forget it's gone up to is it five now yeah I know sometimes sometimes there as much as seven years you know over the course of a contract that long you know things change and that's all I can say and you know you know your partners with uh a vendor and um uh I
085think as conditions change that it's uh certainly appropriate for you know both Partners to recognize that that some modifications be appropriate okay thank you through my research um the last time Pete's garage had our contract they did amend it a few times um and some were agreed upon and some weren't by the board so the last time in the 80s when they had the contract they wanted to increase the years of the bus from six years to 10 years because they had some buses on the road that were a little older and that was approved by the board another request was to drop the performance bond but that was not approved so it is I mean it has happened before and again that's like not my point at this moment um but it has happened
086with them and with the school district in Prior Services M Yanni yes if everyone had their opportunity to speak to this I'd like to call for the vote okay I'm going to check right now is is there anything else on the question I just have one more question how much longer is the contract three more years is on it 5e contract it goes through 2027 okay2 Happ is there anything further on the question okay then as director Casey would like we will call for the vote uh miss good Martin no Miss Merkel no Mr mcandrew yes Mrs Johnny no Mr borwick yes Mr Casey yes Mrs chesik yes m Fox no four affirmative four negative motion fails okay we will move on then so we have a motion to approve the neiu Chromebook contract motion
087to approve technology agreement with the neiu number 19 the agreement will provide eight hours a week of Technology services at a cost of $640 per month second on the question on the question I'm just interested to get the data back I know we're going to see how much are how many Chromebooks are fixed every month so interested to see how this works um but I'll be voting yes to try it out and forgive me if I missed this but what is the term of this contract the length of it one year okay okay anything further on the question all right roll call please M Merkel yes Mr mcandrew yes Mr borwick yes Mr Casey yes Mrs chesik yes Miss Fox no m g Martin yes Mrs Yanni yes seven affirmative one negative motion passes Miss
088I'm Sor just gonna say is there any new business did you want to me I was just going to ask if there was any new business would you like to speak um Mr Fry is it too late to change my vote on the busing uh resolution I'd like to change it from a yes to a no we're at the we're at the Mee the motion failed in any event so but I no I'm asking if I can change my vote it's not typical but I think under Robert Turles I can seeing that we're in this seeing that we're presently in this could you research that and let us know I I will but it's me I think it would require a vote of the board to let you change your vote yeah then I asked
089for a vote of the board to change my vote which he must have changed the bus vote from a yes to a no I I would prefer to get some research on that and perhaps you could bring that back to us attorney for I mean I will yeah will I'm not comfortable I I don't know Robert's Rules enough to understand how that works I believe under Robert's Rose because we're presently in this meeting I'm allowed to change my vote and um I'm asking uh uh that it be due noted that I change my vote from a yes to a no I I'm not comfortable presiding over this until I have a turn I think the appropriate time would be when the minutes of this meeting are up for approval and then can look at whether
090or not the board agrees to change change your vote okay is there anything else under new business Mr poy uh I respectfully I'm not an attorney but I disagree with your opinion and let it be noted in the um minutes of the board I thank you thank you did did you want to say something I just have something that a member may change their vote up until the chair announces the result which we did that that okay okay you may change your vote up until the time the vote is announced which it's already been so that pass I can correct that's what I okay I'm sorry thank you Mrs or for clarifying that okay then I will make a motion to adjourn thank you thank you all