001I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Roll call. Mr. Asciutto. Here. Mr. Alexander. Here. Mr. Yatsko. Here. Dr. Blake. Present. Mrs. Geier. Here. Mr. Grabiec. >> Here. Mrs. Moore. Here. Mr. Wilson. Here. Mr. Thomas. Here. Okay, executive session. The board met at 6:30 to discuss personnel log and finance. Citizens comment agenda item only. Mr. Kiefer. >> [snorts] >> Uh my name is Jan Kiefer, East Stroudsburg Township. I have some questions for the uh selection of the special education um position. I'd like to speak on behalf of the students. Um I think it'd be in line for an explanation for the that this person and the committee would give for the increase in the number of students we have in these programs
002now. Um the cause of this increase would determine the uh treatment policies, and it would also determine uh the student curriculum and what you're teaching the students. Uh so, in the ideals of uh pub- um uh transparency, I ask that and and I'd like to know, second question is uh what what in a school setting contributes to the uh uh to the conditions of these students. That's not saying what in the school setting helps these students, that's a different subject. But what I'm asking is what what what in the school settings again and again we uh we need to have this um made public so that I know that you understand the subject. Um and uh and and and where I'm going with that is the cliche that we're medicating to conform to the classroom.
003Uh almost done here. So if um I [clears throat] would like you to state a holistic view of this issue. Um address the challenges of the uh alignment that I give you all the time about uh being with the the school board and with the medical community, with pharmaceutical community in in particular. And and the structure is built into this into the uh into the school district with your wellness committee where um they would give a report on this type of on this subject. So I'm interested in what the wellness committee has to offer on this uh on on this position. Uh So in in closing uh more money to uh cement in policy that has been uh challenged, refuted, and um extremely uh the the the mean um is uh not not the right
004pro approach. And again, students can't speak for themselves, so I'm asking for those questions to be aired before you vote. And if it takes another month so we can have these discussions, I think that would be in line. Thank you. Any other citizens' comments, agenda item only? Yep. Okay. Our next section is reports, and we will start that out. Um once again by our student recognition Scotty Spotlight. So, if you follow me down. Good evening. At South Monon High School, we take great pride in recognizing students who exemplify excellence in both in and out of the classroom. Each month our faculty committees nominate and select two senior students for special recognition. The Scotty Scholar Award honors academic achievement, dedication, and commitment to the educational excellence while the Spirit of South Monon recognizes students who embody
005the values of service, pride, integrity, responsibility, and tenacity. These awards allow us to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of the character of our seniors throughout the school year. We'll be recognizing the students for the month of April and May. Unfortunately, our April or not awardees are not here tonight, but I will still continue to read them. Um the Scotty Scholar for April is presented to a student recognized for outstanding service to both the school community as well as academic achievement. The Scotty Scholar for the month of April is Addison Jordan. >> [applause] >> Addison is currently a member of the track and field team and has participated for the past 3 years competing in the 300 meter meter hurdles and 100 meter hurdles. She was a member of the soccer team for 3 years, played the
006forward position and joined the wrestling team during her senior year. She's actively involved in several organizations including NHS, Interact Club, 4.0 Club, and Sports Council. Addison has been accepted to WSCC where she plans to study nursing with the goal of becoming a PIPICU nurse. In addition to her academic and athletic involvement, Addison has volunteered her time in Reading Buddies and the Scott Dell Fall Festival. Congratulations to Addison Jordan. >> [applause] >> The April Spirit of South Warren is awarded to a student who exemplifies the qualities of service. The recipient for the month of April is Jackson Rager. >> [applause] >> Jackson was selected for his many contributions to both the school and the community. He's actively involved in BotsIQ, marching band, National Honor Society, Debate Club, and Pep Band. He served as president of the
007SHS BotsIQ program program for the past 3 years. He plays tenor saxophone in both the marching band and the Pep Band, has participated in school musical for 2 years, and is an active member of both the Debate Club and NHS. Congratulations to Jackson Rager. >> [applause] >> Our two May awardees, the Scotty Scholar, is awarded for the month of May to Zoe Welling. >> [applause] >> ZOE IS AN ACTIVE AND DEDICATED LEADER WITHIN OUR school community. She's a member of the National Honor Society, serves as student council vice president, and represents the student body as a school board representative. She's also involved in Interact Club, Champions Club, and Y A. In addition to her leadership role, she is a committed student athlete. She's a member of the volleyball team and has lettered 4 years of
008high school. Zoe service extends well beyond the classroom. She's participated in numerous events and initiatives including Buddy Day, Reading Under the Lights, Scotty Scottdale Fall Festival, Penn State 4.0 Club, Rise Against Hunger, Early Act, and the Bible Club. Zoe plans to attend Slippery Rock University to study exercise science on a pre-occupational therapy track. Congratulations to ZOE WELLING. >> [applause] >> THE STUDENT SELECTED FOR THE MONTH OF MAY is Audrey Miller. >> [applause] >> AUDREY WAS CHOSEN FOR HER MANY ACTS OF SERVICE and dedication to the school community. She's a 4-year varsity cheerleader, student council president, licensed cosmetologist, class representative, and school board representative, member of the Penn State 4.0 Club, scholar-athlete, SkillsUSA participant, NHS Champions Club member, and a YEA Daily Courier Teen of the Week recipient. In addition, Audrey volunteers at the Scottdale Public
009Library. After high school, Audrey plans to attend Robert Morris University to major in marketing and minor in sports medicine. She will also continue her cheerleading career at the Division 1 level. CONGRATULATIONS. >> [applause] >> GOOD EVENING. I AM I've quite a list. Um I'm here to represent and announce the students that um achieved academic excellence and outstanding citizenship awards for the elementary and the middle school. So, in our middle school, we would like to recognize Alexis Stewart. >> [applause] >> BRADEN LEITNER >> [applause] >> AVERY EMERSON >> [applause] >> Carter Emerson >> [applause] >> Cassidy Blackham >> [applause] >> Logan Hawke >> [applause] >> And those are our outstanding super Scotties for our middle school. >> [applause] >> And in our elementary, I will be announcing the students that were awarded for the month of
010April, as well as a student who could not attend in February, so he'll be receiving his certificate as well. Aubrey Yurenic >> [applause] >> Stella King >> [applause] >> There she is. There she comes, Miss Stella. LUKE TRUSKA >> [applause] >> CONNOR LENDER. >> [applause] [applause] >> CHARLIE SMOUSE. >> [applause] >> Dwayne Freund. >> [applause] >> Maya Showers. >> [applause] >> Brooks David. >> [applause] >> SUPER SCOTTY FOR THE MONTH OF April in art class, Maddie Van Orsdal. >> [applause] >> Super Scotty for the month of April in computer class, Emmalyn Danner. >> [applause] >> Super Scotty for April in library would be Lexi Olary. >> [applause] >> SUPER SCOTTY FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL in music class, Arden Newhouse. >> [applause] >> Super Scotty for the month of April in physical education, Elijah Wetzel.
011>> [applause] >> SUPER SCOTTY FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL in STEM, Levi Shallanberger. >> [applause] >> And student of the month from February, Nash Lewandowski. >> [applause] >> Good evening, folks. Thank you all for attending. So, at South Mulan Primary Center, similarly as they do in the other buildings, we nominated our students for character trait recognition of of the months of the school year. For the month of April, we recognize the students for the character trait of fairness. Our Super Scotty student of the month for the month of April from kindergarten for fairness, let's hear it for Ariana Black. ARIANA? >> [applause] >> ALSO FROM KINDERGARTEN, super Scotty student of the month for the month of April for fairness, let's hear it for John Yutzy. >> [applause] >> Moving to first grade, our super Scotty
012student of the month for April for fairness, let's hear it for Jackson Noder. Jackson? >> [applause] [snorts] >> Also from first grade, super Scotty student of the month South Morgan Primary Center April for fairness, let's hear it for Monica Weinman. Monica? >> [applause] >> Let's hear it again for our youngest super Scotties. >> [applause] >> I need to grab something. Still fogged. Do you want to say I'll say something. I got it. We just want to recognize that this is the last Give it to me. Yes. Actually, I'll do that at the very end. You know what I mean? I'll allow it. >> [clears throat] >> I see the the community has gotten into the rhythm that uh they are more than welcome to leave right now before we get going. So, good job, guys.
013>> [laughter] [snorts] >> Yeah, I'm surprising. Okay. Um our next part of my report is a little update from um we'll get a summer food update from Mr. Malavite as well as a Scotty Snacks um program update from Mr. Malavite regarding something we have going on at the high school. So, um the floor is yours. Just tell me kind of give me the look and I will make the presentation go or click whatever you want. Okay. Perfect. Thank you. Uh So, we're going to start with summer food community posting. It's pretty standard. Typically, I steal a few minutes going into summer with the board meeting just so that I can have an opportunity to kind of address the board and thank you again for the opportunity for us to continue serving on summer meals. This
014year, nothing has changed from last year except for a few small details. We're still offering Laucks Park. We're still offering Barkley Park and Everson Centennial Park. Those are our three public parks that we offer. One of the new changes this year that happened in um the the census mapping is that Scottdale has been redesignated as a rural non-congregate zone, which allows us some flexibility in how we're able to serve meals in the parks. So, the parks, although an open site, one of the new things this year we're going to be able to do is provide a shelf-stable breakfast pack to all the students that are also coming to take home with them for the next morning for breakfast. So, just providing more meals to more kids during the summer months when maybe, you know, they're
015they're not having that opportunity at home or, you know, parents are still going to work, things of that nature. So, just a little bit more outreach as far as those programs are concerned. Additionally, with summer as always, we are doing the YMCA still. Dr. Bin, if you'd like to switch over to the YMCA hybrid. So, YMCA this year, we have a different looking flyer for them, but we are doing both the YMCA summer camp program which has students from South Moreland that we have in that program, as well as our Y-Tots program. We're doing that Monday through Friday this year. One of the things that's really great about that program is we're actually starting our summer program on June 1st to capture the summer summer kids at the camps. Typically, we begin right when our
016parks open, and we noticed a little bit of um maybe inconsistency in that site. So, we're trying something new this year. I spoke with the coordinator over there, and we're going to start on June 1 for them and run all the way through August 14th for them Monday through Friday. So, we're going to do our best to feed those kids Monday through Friday at the parks there. Uh the last part uh is obviously the ESY program, which we also run in conjunction with the learning piece. Uh those three sites that will be the uh Scott Dale site for both the uh elementary primary students as well as the middle school Scott Dale site for the middle school students. And then we have the high school kids. We did adjust uh ESY slightly this year to
017provide an opportunity for the students in the Scott Dale campus to go down to the park to get lunch. Uh we've coordinated with that with the the ESY uh support staff uh to make that possible for those students to also grab lunch uh during their days. The high school as always will still get breakfast and lunch each day whenever they're here since they're further out in Albertson. Uh but that's kind of the summer program in a nutshell. Um nothing has really changed. It runs pretty well. Uh we're hoping this year though with the changes to roll on congregate giving the ability for uh children to actually take meals offsite at the parks not having to stay and eat. Uh that'll really impact bad weather days. It'll also impact heat advisories where we had to do
018some alternative service models. They'll be able to still come, pick up, and then go home and eat if they like. It's also a public park, so they're more than welcome to still sit down and open up their meal packs and eat if they choose to do that. Uh but we are anticipating to see uh potentially almost closer to in the realm of between 9 and 10,000 meals served as opposed to only the 6,000 that we typically do. So, one small change hopefully we'll get to see more impact to the kids uh in the homes with the summer meal program. And that's all I have for summer, Dr. Ben. Uh so, if you'd like me to do the snack update, I can do that now as well. Absolutely. So, Dr. Claire and I um uh we
019started this program in conjunction with uh a very large uh team of people. Um so, we we dubbed it the Scotty Snack Program. Um it's one of the things that kind of uh came out of a an opportunity uh that I don't think a lot of people necessarily realized was there initially. Uh so, you know, what is the Scotty Snack Program? So, what happened was is that uh Dr. Clara and I had attended a summit for uh nurturing uh future children. Uh it was a summit that was hosted by the American Dairy Association and it was uh held in Pittsburgh. And um it was specifically called Fueling Futures. Uh and one of the things that they were really preaching was about nurturing the whole child, not just, you know, in you know, from an educational
020standpoint, but, you know, how how can we better um service a student's needs through different different ways. And and obviously with nutrition, it plays a very large role. Um so, one of the things that we kind of took away from that was there was a large gap in time when we could still be servicing the student through a nutrition standpoint that we were really missing out on. Uh so, we kind of sat down and we had some discussions about what it would look like uh if we could put some kind of program in place for after hours for students that maybe are still here. Um they either have after-school curriculum pieces that they have to do. They maybe have drop-in athletic groups that they're practicing for. Um plays, study groups, projects. All of those kinds
021of things fall under this umbrella. So, we kind of put our heads together and we discussed the opportunity of within the wellness committee when we had our meeting last year uh in the spring when we brought this to the wellness committee, it seemed to be a really nice piece of moving nutritional education into something that could also provide meaningful nutritional guidance for students outside of the hours of the school day. Um so, what we did is we kind of set toward planning that and we built a committee around kind of how that would look. So, within our planning committee, uh we had a couple of different people. Myself, obviously, Dr. Clara. Uh Mrs. Colebank was a part of the process since it was going to be in her building. Mr. Fritz was a part of
022the process because we really wanted to make sure that we understood what was going on from an athletic standpoint, what students were in the buildings, what students were moving through the buildings from a drop-in, drop-out athletic standpoint. Um Miss Farrell, Mrs. Rock, Miss Yutzy, and Miss Hickson were all a part of the process in getting it kind of off the ground and how it would be doing be doing distribution and providing some different um options for the students. So, Dr. Ben, if you want to slide past uh to the process, um that's the committee team that I just spoke about that worked on it. Uh but then from a process standpoint, so one of the things that we want to do is we wanted to identify where the resources were. So, the after-school snack program,
023it is a part of under the national school lunch program and meal programs that we already operate, and it provides an opportunity to serve meals uh after the school day in conjunction with like tutoring enrichment. Um and that's the main piece. So, it can't just be something that just happens because we just want to feed more kids. There has to be some curriculum-based reason why the students are staying that then also allows us to provide them with nutrition education and nutritional um you know, sustenance in that aspect. So, we looked at curriculum and and logistics with that. Uh we identified the teachers, the time slots, the structures, the processes for students that could be attended and supported, and we chose the student union as our area where we'd be able to kind of pilot this
024program and see what the response from the student body would be and how it would impact the students. Um so, part of that process was basically allowing them to have tutoring, group projects, they could meet for club meetings, um team meetings, and even other school activities such as extracurriculars like choral practices, band practices, play, uh musicals, if it fell within the time slot and they were able to be there, they could participate in that program at no charge. Um so, then we were looking at practical applications for that like now that we know the high end of it, how would it look? So, you know, we ended up getting uh Miss Farrell's team involved with their life skills support group, and we actually had them helping us pack snacks and putting the nutritional information in
025the kits for them. So, we were teaching them uh distribution, we were teaching them counting, we were teaching them cross contamination, uh food safety handling, everything shelf stable and prepackaged. So there was a lot of processes that they were able to sort of work with. And then we had um all of the foods that we served were in my opinion more nutritious than what's available for a kid to maybe DoorDash or run over to Sheets or hey, I got an hour before practice. I'm going to shoot over to Wendy's and grab a Biggie Bag. So we really try to think about how we can provide, you know, more whole grains, more fruit servings and you know, more protein >> Mhm. >> I don't want to speak for the entire board, but I'll speak for the
026administration. We want to thank you for what you've done. Wish you success. Don't forget us. Let us know if you need something. We're always here. I'll give you the whole parent speech. Um be safe, have fun, do well, work hard, but we're always here for you and thank you. And we all want to thank you, too. Definitely. Right. Speaking of students report. >> [laughter] >> I want to congratulate the student council elections for the 2026-2027 school year. They took place in the beginning of May. The student council officers are president Leila Thomas, vice president Liam Smith, secretary Cassie Loop, treasurer Kelsey Kabika, and historian Isabella Ferrari. For the class of 2027 officers, the president is Kira Bryson, vice president Leila Thomas, secretary Audrey Poole, Treasurer Liam Smith, Historian Sydney Pucky, and the new school board
027representatives Askey. Historian is Will Drzazgowski, and the student council representatives are Gemma Brown, Kyra Brozowski, and Teagan Ware. The newly elected student student school board representatives for the 2026-2027 school year are Juliet Ice and Kaylin Raymond. President Layla Thomas will also attend meetings as needed as an additional student school board representatives. The student council will finalize this year with passing of the gavel ceremony held during class day where the students current senior student council president Audrey Miller will pass the student council gavel to the newly elected student council president Layla Thomas, who will accept the gavel on behalf of the class of 2027. Interact Club holds its final meeting of the school year after school Thursday, May 21st. During the meeting, members will vote on the next year's officers and reflect on another successful year
028of service and leadership. Interact Club's final donation project of the year will support Heroes Never Alone, an organization that provides deployment packages for local so- soldiers. Students are encouraged to donate such as gum, mint, sunflower seeds, gum, gum, mint, sunflower seeds, drink packages, beef jerky, toiletries, puzzle books, playing cards, and other comfort items. Each donated item will earn students a raffle ticket for a chance to win a large free pizza. If any member of the board or community would like to donate, please contact Ms. Hickson. Interact Club members are continuing to support the Roads Cancer Foundation charity bingo on June 4th at the East Huntington Fire Hall. The event raises money for cancer research, scholarships, and support through the Roads Cancer Foundation. Students are currently helping collect raffle basket donations, sell tickets, and recruit volunteers
029for the events. All proceeds will benefit the Roads Cancer Foundation. If anyone would like to attend or donate, contact Ms. Hickson. As an impromptu fundraiser for the South Morland student Taylor Chambers, Interact Club will be hosting a bake sale on Wednesday, May 27th. To make a donation of cookies or a financial contribution, contact Ms. Hickson. National Honor Society concluded another successful year dedication to the four pillars of scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Throughout the year, NHS students volunteered countless hours both within the school district and throughout the community. Members participated in numerous service initiatives including the Whip Appeal food drive, Over the Count Country Christmas, Adopt-a-Highway cleanup, community donation drives, leadership activity and collaborative with Interact Club at elementary and middle school students. NHS students have also helped organize school-wide events, continue to serve as
030a role model for younger students through our mentoring and leadership opportunities. Members also participated in National Student Leadership Week activities, encouraged leadership and service throughout the district. The chapter celebrated another successful induction ceremony this year and continue to recognize students who exemplifies academic excellence, excellence, service, leadership, and strong moral character. South Milan NHS remains committed to building a culture of kindness, scholarship, and servant leadership within the school and community. Thank you to all the students, staff, parents, administrators, community members who supported NHS initiatives throughout the year. The class of 2028 is currently hosting a fundraiser to make more events at a lower cost possible for their junior and senior years. Anyone willing to donate can find the link for the fundraiser on the South Milan High School Facebook page. The AP Lang and Comp exam
031was given on Wednesday, May 13th. This year, all 42 students enrolled in the course completed the exam and were extremely optimistic in its completion. Congratulations to the following sophomores for winning events in the Keystone Lit prep for the Keystone Lit exam. Haley Fox, Isabel Ryan, Emily Blaze, Natalie Stafford, Bree Clary, Marie Clary, Randy Keffer, Dallas Myers, and Jason Wilson, Kevin Green, Silas Beckett, and Christopher Baker. Student Council would like to personally thank our school board administration for the following [clears throat] students to be representatives at South Milan school board meetings. We have greatly enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity you've given us. That is all. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you both. And as always, and for the last time, you're free to head out if you'd like. We'll say thank you. All right. Solicitor's information.
032I have no information tonight, Mr. President. Thank you. Business manager, transportation director information. I'm going to defer my report until we get into finance regarding budget. Thank you. And finally, reports others as listed in the agenda and available online. Okay. Our next section is school board. All right. Meeting minutes. The board is asked to approve the following meeting minutes from April 21st, 2026 discussion voting meeting. So do. Second. Discussion? I can't vote on that because I can't read the minutes. I was lied [clears throat] to about getting uh internet access. I don't think you were lied to. >> I can't read I can't couldn't read over them, so I can't vote on them. Okay. Have Have Have you reached out to get that corrected? >> I did. I uh send her a email text. I
033can look the date up couple weeks ago about asking when I was going to get an appointment to get Armstrong [clears throat] cable or something and a router and that, but didn't hear nothing back. >> access to email, but you don't have the internet? On my cell [clears throat] phone only. You can I read the agenda on my cell Oh, go ahead. You can read it. I can't read that. Okay. We'll We'll circle up with you. We'll get you a password >> I didn't I was just letting you know that it's possible. Okay. We'll circle up with you. >> to handle You're going to handle a an appointment. We'll get a password after the meeting tonight. Get a what? We'll get a password and figure that out after the meeting tonight. Mr. Youtzy >> I
034can't really vote on anything because I >> Mr. Youtzy, there is a a device and internet access at his seat for him. Okay. I cannot vote on this side of me either as I have no clue what it says. >> Remember, I did ask for a screen bigger than 12 in. And I was not no objection on that. Okay. So we'll We'll take a vote. All those in favor? I. >> I. I. Opposed? I cannot vote because I have not been informed of the content. Understood. Okay, election of board treasurer. The board is asked to appoint a nominee to the position of board treasurer for the term of July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2027. I need a nomination. Who is your current board treasurer? I am. Is Mrs. Mondock willing to continue her service?
035Yes. I I make a motion Mrs. Mondock be appointed to the treasurer's position. All right. >> [clears throat] >> Any other nominations? Any other nominations? All right. We'll close nominations. So, the board is asked to appoint Ms. Mondock to the position of board treasurer for the term July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2027. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? A pars. The board is asked to approve the 2026 through 2027 renewal with the Pennsylvania Association of rural and small schools for a cost of $975. So moved. Second. Discussion. I cannot vote. I I cannot vote. I was not informed of it or anything about it. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Pass. A school dentist. Uh I guess pass is like abstain. Board is asked to approve Dr. Jeff McCloy of McCloy's Family Dentistry as
036the school dentist for 2026 through 2027 school year at a fee of $10 per exam. So do. Second. Discussion. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Pass. Cannot vote. Next section is policies. No items for this month. Next section is personnel log. Uh personnel, the board is asked to approve the personnel log for May 19th, 2026 as attached. All salaries are included and all clearances are current and on file with the administration. So do. Discussion. All those in favor? I. Opposed? The house. I cannot vote. Number two, director of facilities and operations. The board is asked to approve the hiring of Daniel J. Kramer as the director of facilities and operations effective to be determined with a salary of 75,000 and benefits as per the academic administrator Act 93 agreement. All clearances are up-to-date and on
037file with the administration. So do. Discussion. I am concerned about this because I want the public to know that the South Moreton School Board is voting to pay double salaries for 3 months. So we will have the current director of facilities and and another director of facilities for 3 months to pay double salary and double benefits, which I feel are is a significant expenditure to our district. Yes, and Dr. Feick is correct. We will have a 3-month turnover period with Mr. Trader and the oncoming director. All those in favor? I. Roll call, one yes. Roll call. Wish a roll call. Okay, roll call. Mr. Osipitan? No. Mr. Alexander? Yes. Mr. Yatsko? Yes. Dr. Feick? >> No. Mrs. Geier? Yeah. Mr. Grebioc? Yes. Mrs. Moore? Yes. Mr. Wilson? Yes. Mr. Thomas? Yes. All right. Administrative assistants,
038the board is asked to approve the two adjustments to the previously approved pay rates in the administrative assistants agreement as reflected in the attached documentation. I'll make the motion. Second. Discussion. Yes, I want the public to know that both of these positions are currently covered under an official agreement. And this board is raising salaries capriciously because they simply feel they want to give somebody else more money in violation of what I consider to be our formal agreement. Miss Geyer. That's not true. But she can say what she wants. That's not true. And it's an insult to the people who's are filling these positions. I'll second Miss Geyer's comment there. Thank you. All right. We'll roll roll call. Mr. Alexander. Yes. Mr. Yetsey. Yes. Dr. Feig. No. Mrs. Geyer. Um I don't think I can vote
039on this. >> Yeah, you have to I have I can't you need to redo the motion cuz I made the motion. I have to abstain from this. We need to redo the motion or She she just abstains from the vote. Yeah. Can I still make the motion and abstain from the vote? >> Yeah. I'm sorry. Do you have a conflict or >> Yes. Okay, but do you benefit personally from it or >> No. Okay. I think you can still abstain you know, without needing to have somebody else make the motion. Okay. Miss Geyer abstains. Okay. I have a question. In the past where we've had an abstain vote, you have to fill out a form. Yeah, we should >> We still have that form? I'm sure. We have that form. She'll fill out the form.
040I would love to fill out that form for you. Yeah. Continue with the roll call. >> mean I have to have them fill it out for every time they're abstaining? Well, it's abstentions related to conflicts of interest. Mrs. Geyer's abstaining. Mr. Grabiec. Yes. Mrs. Moore. Yes. Mr. Olson. Yes. >> Mr. Thomas. Yes. Mr. Ruscitor. Yes. Sorry, I forgot. Okay, it's fine. Yeah. Okay, creation of new positions. The board is asked to approve the crea- 612 Oh, I apologize. I'm jumping. Number four. Number four. CAA school board HR specialist. The board is asked to approve an adjustment to the previously approved pay rate for the confidential administrative administrative assistant to the superintendent school board secretary HR specialist O R O position as reflected in the attached documentation. So do. I'll make the second and I can
041vote on this one. Thank you. Discussion. I have not seen any attached documentation. I cannot vote. All right. Roll roll call. Mr. Yetsie Yes. Dr. Feick I want my vote recorded as I've been denied the information I need in order to vote. Therefore >> not actually a category in Robert's Rules. It's either a I nay abstain. So those are your three options. Give me the reasons why someone abstains, Mr. Lucas. Give me the official reason for abstaining on a vote. I don't think that's actually relevant at this point. You want to abstain, abstain. Give me the reasons why we >> We are in the middle of a vote. What is your vote? >> I vote as I have not been given the information I need in order to cast a vote. Therefore, I've been denied
042the right to vote. >> That's non-responsive. I nay or abstain. Or we'll go with refused to vote. Okay. Mrs. Geyer Yes. Mr. Grabiec Yes. Mrs. Moore Yes. Mr. Wilson Yes. Mr. Thomas Yes. Mr. Acipiter Mr. Accipiter? Okay, we refuse to vote. Refuse. Mr. Alexander? Yes. Motion passes. Okay, now number five, creation of new positions. The board has asked to approve the creation of the following new positions, special education director under Act 93, and working foreman under the SEIU agreement. So moved. Second. Discussion. Did you lump those two together? They're both under the same motion, yes. How can you do that? I want to object to one and not the other. So you can vote no on one and yes on the other. >> No, I want to object I want to object to one and
043I want a different vote on the other. I don't know. >> I think I think legally you have no right to put those two positions in one agenda item. I've been through this before. >> How about roll call vote and tell me one or two. Yeah, we could do that. We could do a roll call and you could vote for one, two, neither, both. Okay, well then I want to speak to the director of special education. There was a public meeting the other night when this position was brought up. This is another administrative position in our school district that will cost approximately 100 to 125,000 dollars. Some of the rationale that was put forth at that meeting was that right now we spend about 40,000 dollars a year on what is called due process hearings.
044So this 40,000 dollars is going to be considered a a part of this salary because apparently someone has a crystal ball and they can say that if you hire this person at a hundred and some thousand dollars, there will never be a due process hearing in South Moreland. That is ludicrous. You can hire somebody as an as a director of person of special ed and you can have 10 due process hearings and you have no way to predict them. I feel that since we have at least two administrators here who feel that they're going to they have a crystal ball and they're going to save forty thousand dollars a year on due process hearings and I think those two administrators should sign a paper saying that if there are two admit if there are due
045process hearings after this person is hired, they'll pay for them out of their own pocket. This is ridiculous. Thank you, Dr. Blake. Dr. Bloom, do you have any Yeah, I have a couple things. This This is an administrative position that we are recommending for our students and for our families. We are the only district in West Moreland County to not have this position fully filled as it's only position and it's only responsibilities. We are looking at a situation where the last time this district had this position filled solely by one person was 2015-16. So, you're talking 10 years. Uh 10 years ago whenever this happened, we had 292 students identified for special education. Currently, we have 416. Um additionally, we had two low incidence programs in the school district at that point in 2015-16. Now,
046we have eight. Um It's easy to say no to an admin position although we have cut two in my time here. Just want to remind you, we've cut two admin positions in my time here. I'll repeat again, we have cut two admin positions in my time here. >> they? Um but I will tell you that the value that this position brings to our administrative staff and more importantly our students [clears throat] and our teachers in terms of support for kids, um is paramount. And if you had a student who needed special education services, you would understand how essential this position is and why I'm advocating for it. When I was hired here, one of the things I said to the school board at the time was um when I come in here, I'm going to
047advocate for what I think is best for kids. This is a position that I think is essential for children. >> [cough] [clears throat] >> Okay. Ms. Moore? What were the two positions that were cut? >> Dr. Feik, Ms. Moore has the floor currently. So, I interpreted the due process a little bit differently. Um I didn't take it as this position was going to completely eliminate any issues. It is just being created to advocate for the students and the families and fill the holes that we are unable to um fill by moving people within positions and missing things. So, this is to make it more [clears throat] complete and not necessarily get rid of all the due process, but alleviate some of it as it can. Ultimately, when your supports are better for children and families,
048those cases Correct. diminish greatly. Dr. Feik? What were the two positions that were cut? Uh we had a director of custodial services and we had a director of technology. Of what? Technology. Okay. He was fired. Yeah. So, now we'll move to a roll call vote. But I'm not done. What else would you like to say? I'm not done. So, are you telling me that up until now we have not had sufficient management of our special education program. I would not be recommending this if I didn't think this was essential for our kids and our families. Please answer my question. Are you saying that up until now we have not had sufficient supervision and and implementation of our special ed program? I would like better services in our special education services and support. >> answer's yes.
049Okay. Okay. Let's roll call vote. Oh. Yes, Ms. Seymour. So I don't think he was saying we were inadequate. I just think he's saying that the numbers have grown significantly and to keep on top of it is why there's an addition. I Once again, there there's often times where I sit up here and I have my superintendent hat and I have my parent hat. As a parent of child who needs services, I would advocate greatly for this position. How is this position going to change our program? >> Call for the order of the day, please. Call the order. I have questions. >> Okay. That's How will this How will this hiring improve our program? How will it not? How will it? I felt like I've properly answered it and had it in the job description.
050No answer? You already have that information, Dr. Feik. You said that our program was not being handled sufficiently to your to your >> That's not what he said. >> Well, except >> Not what I said. Okay, we can do better. So how will it How will it be How will it >> please move on? Yes. Let's move to the vote now. We can roll call. Either you can say both or if you're choosing to just vote for one, say which one you're choosing for. Just like we do the policies. Dr. Feik? No to both. Mrs. Geyer? Yes. To both? Sure. Yes, thank you. Dr. Grabiec? Yes, to both. Mr. Grabiec. Good [laughter] doctor. She just called you Dr. Grabiec. Congratulations. Yes, to both. Mrs. Moore? Yes, to both. Mr. Olson? Yes, to both. Mr. Thomas?
051Yes, to both. Mr. Acipiter? Yes, to special ed? But no to the other one? Mr. Alexander? Yes, to both. Mr. Yozzi? Yes, to both. Mr. President, can you have the audience refrain from commenting? >> Yes. Okay. Please. Both of you, please. No comments currently. Wait for citizens' comment. I think she's Back off to Mr. B? Mhm. B? I think so. He clapped at one point. as well, the same thing. Okay, can we move on with the board meeting? Okay. I don't think there's any reason for anybody to have to leave. No. This is a public meeting. Okay. SEIU sick day donation program. The board is asked to approve the sick leave donation agreement with SEIU local 32 BJ, allowing eligible SEIU members to voluntarily donate accrued sick days sick leave days for the benefit of
052employee 3524 per the attached agreement. So moved. Second. Discussion. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? I'm just curious how some members are not voting on things that they weren't provided information on, but they are voting on other things that they weren't provided information on. It just seems very strange. I'm not I'm not sure. Okay. Let's stick with the agenda and on to number seven, MOU Can I just clarify just to make sure I get the minutes right? Cuz there were two times that no one said anything for the no part when they said they were going to vote no. So, was that a yes or a no? I would record it as a yes unless you hear no specifically or abstain. We can do roll calls moving forward if need be. Good point, Stephanie. All
053right. >> Can't have it both ways. >> [clears throat] >> Number seven, MOU for working foreman position. The board has asked to approve the memorandum of understanding with the SEIU Local 32BJ as attached regarding the working foreman position. So moved. So do. Got a motion and a second. Discussion. Would you explain that to me? >> [snorts] >> Yeah, this is needed since this is a new position that is not currently in the CBA with SEIU Local 32BJ. Um, an MOU is needed to address the creation of that position. Will there be a train Is it a different salary than the individuals getting now? Yes. An increased salary? Yes. For additional responsibilities, yes. Okay. We're roll call vote. Mrs. Geyer? Yes. Mr. Grabiec? Yes. Mrs. Moore? Yes. Mr. Olson? Yes. Mr. Thomas? Yes. Mr. Ospital? Can't
054vote, didn't have enough information. Mr. Alexander? Yes. Mr. Yozzi? Yes. Dr. Blake? You can't vote. I don't know what you're going to pay. All right. Number eight, MOU Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The board is asked to approve the memorandum of understanding with SEIU Local 32BJ as attached regarding a paid holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This was inadvertently omitted from the most recent final version of the CBA with a term of July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2028. So moved. Second. Discussion. All those in favor? I. I. Opposed? Abstaining? Number nine, food service rates. The board is asked to approve the following food service remuner- I hate that word. Remuneration. There we go. Thank you. Rates for the summer of 2026 extended school year. Kitchen staff, $17. Driver, $16. Site supervisors, $15. So
055moved. Second. Discussion. All those in favor? I. I. Opposed? Abstaining? All right. Next section is education. Student discipline agreement. The board is asked to approve the following student discipline agreement 2025 through 2026 10. So do. Second. Discussion. I have no knowledge of this and I think it's a very, very serious issue and I I we will not vote on something that I don't know anything about. All those in favor? I. I. Opposed? Abstaining? Number two, student service agreement. The board is asked to approve the following annual student service agreements: Westmoreland Case Management Inc. Merakey Pennsylvania, Adelphi Education Inc., Intermediate Unit 1, and New Directions. So do. Second. Discussion. I have absolutely no idea what those agencies have to offer. And nor have I been informed. Okay. All those in favor? I. Opposed? And vote. And
056abstaining. Number three, social social student curriculum realignment. The board is asked to approve the realignment of social studies curriculum grades 4 through 12. So do. Second. Discussion. What's this consist of? I've no clue. Uh we discussed it the past two committee meetings, but what this is is it's a realignment of our social studies courses because at the high school level the requirements have changed. Um so they wanted to realign the courses kind of backwards mapping it so that all of our students >> current affairs and I'm sorry, what? Going to be like more on current affairs? There will be some courses that have some current affairs in it, yes. And And they're all right now as well, so that that part doesn't change. It's just a change in terms of sequencing and pacing so that
057our students get what they need by the end of 11th grade uh and then have some elective choices as a senior. Thanks. All those in favor? I. Opposed? Abstaining? Okay. Teacher laptops. The board is asked to approve the purchase of laptops for the professional staff for a cost of $101,656.40 per the attached quotes, paid for out of adequacy funding. So do. Second. Discussion. Who are these laptops for? Our teachers. All of our professional staff. They don't have them now? The last computers they received were in 2020 when COVID hit. Were there bids taken on this? I mean Um this isn't a bid kind of I I Apple is the only I would guess that those products are probably on a bid list. >> Yeah, they're they're sole source. >> Yeah. What is the purpose of
058these laptops for the teachers? They teach from them. They teach from them. They teach from them. Mhm. I thought so. Put their grades in on them, stuff like that. Communicate with parents. Pretty much I'm I'm looking at three teachers right now in the back of the room that are looking at me and holding their laptops up like this is what we do. >> [clears throat] >> It's 2026. My concern is the exposure of screen time on our students. They're These are for teachers. They're for teachers. Unlike one of our board members, none of them demanded large screens. >> you said they teach from them. They said you teach from them. Let's let's get back to this discussion. Can I jump Yes, Dr. Recipient. I direct the board members to refrain from comments. Yes, I concur.
059Please wait your turn to be recognized. Especially comments against other board members. My apologies, sir. Okay, not accepted. All right, let's move to the vote. All those in favor. I. >> I. Opposed. >> No. Abstaining. Okay. Number six, LinkIt K-through-12 assessment. This is number five. Yeah. I'll do this. >> Skipping ahead. I'll do. Number five, technology refresh Chromebooks. The board has asked to approve the purchase of new Chromebooks as part of the district's technology refresh plan for a cost of $82,899 per the attached quote, paid for out of adequacy funding. So do. Second. Discussion. Explain adequacy funding for me, please. So adequacy funding is uh extra grant money that schools are allotted based upon their um socioeconomic status uh that was part of the uh state's the Commonwealth's Basic Ed um Basic Ed uh lawsuit
060regarding schools being underfunded. So if you remember 2 years ago there was a big lawsuit saying that schools were underfunded and actually that Par vote that we voted on earlier was a huge group that brought about that legislation. Um but the adequacy funding was extra block grant money that was added to our um Ready to Learn block grant over the course of uh this is now our third year of adequacy funding to bring our funding up to a level that best supports our students. Okay. It can only be used for certain things. That money's already in this year's budget. Yeah, but it can only be used for certain things. But I mean we already have this money in the 25-26 budget. >> reason we're we're purchasing now is so that we get the devices in
061this summer we can have them ready to go whenever school begins. And remind me what's the rotation on devices? Right now it typically a device lifespan in terms of their battery life um last close to 60 uh 6 years. Um so we we have it right now we're on pace for a 6-year cycle of a refresh of our devices. All those in favor? I. >> I. Opposed? Abstaining. Okay. Now number six, LinkIt K-12 Assessment Management System. The board is asked to approve the purchase of a LinkIt K-12 Assessment Management for a cost of $18,777 per the attached quote, paid for out of adequacy funding. So moved. Second. Discussion. Is this for the cyber school thing? >> No. This is for our teachers This is for our our staff in our buildings and our principals in
062our buildings right now um to work with our kids and help uh identify groups of kids and skills gaps. That cyber school was under uh section I. This has nothing to do with cyber school. It's This is not associated with verifying where our students live. No. >> No. Okay. No. That's a different one. >> That's That's coming up under buildings and grounds. Yep. Oh, all those in favor? I. >> I. Opposed? Abstaining? Okay. Number seven, WIU Master Service Agreement. The board is asked to approve the following annual Westmoreland Intermediate Unit Master Services Agreement for the 2026 through 2027 school year as attached. So moved. Need a second. Second. Thank you. The discussion? Is this This isn't the same thing we discussed last month, is it? No, this Master Services Agreement is something we have to
063do every year so that we choose what options we want from the WIU. We really don't get much from them. That let Last month I believe was the budget. All right. Thank you. Um All those in favor? I. >> I. Opposed? No. No. Um abstaining? Okay. All right, our next section is finance. Monthly Finance Report. The board is asked to approve the following monthly financial reports, all attached. The treasurer's report, General Fund Board Summary Report, Fund Accounting, Capital Giza, Food Service Check Summary Listing. So moved. Second. Discussion. Can you read me these items? The three we're voting on? Mhm. It's the Treasurer's Report. Financial Report, mhm. The General Fund Board Summary Report. And then the Fund Accounting, Capital Giza, Food Service Check Summary Listing. Mhm. Can you read them to me? Each one? No. You
064refuse? Okay. Go to vote. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? I am not I'm voting no because I've been refused the information I requested. I'm abstaining. Okay. Number two, School Nutrition Program Procurement Plan. The board is asked to approve the School Nutrition Program's Procurement Plan Procurement Revision 4.2026 as attached. So do. Second. Discussion. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Abstaining? Okay. Number three, awarding a multi-purpose paper bid. The board is asked to approve the awarding of the bid with the WIU Joint Purchasing Consortium for a multi-purpose paper with WB Mason. So moved. Second. Discussion. How much is it? Cuz paper's have been important item in South Moreland. How many bids is there? You just go that one bid or what do you do? Got them pulled up behind you, I believe. Can I
065look at this one here? These are read. >> Who do you prefer to bid on? I'm W.B. Mason W.B. Mason I guess what we used last year. Worship Yes. Yes. Yes, this is actually what the consortium recommended. It's part of the Westmoreland County Intermediate Unit through the consortium. All districts um go together get pur- get prices on paper so that it's more competitive. How much does a pack of 500 paper end up costing you there? Can you break it down? No, they have it I believe per case. How many is in the case? I don't know that off the top >> 10. 10 per case you said. For $3 a pack. $3 and some cents a pack for 500 sheets. But we cannot afford to do agendas. Okay. >> Curious why people are allowed to
066just speak out of turn and not be recognized by >> talking to the president. >> Right, let's weren't recognized Let's move for a vote. All those in favor? I. I. Opposed? No. No. Okay, ordered. Two no's. Abstaining? Okay. Thank you for the clarification, Ms. Guyer. You're welcome. Number four, awarding of the wastewater treatment plant RFP. The board is asked to approve the RFP for the operations and maintenance of the wastewater treatment plant contingent on our solicitor approval. So moved. Second. Discussion. And I believe this was the sole bidder. Yes, um we did receive a additional bid the following day. So it actually was less competitive and obviously since it did not meet the the time frame of the RFP, we couldn't honor it anyhow. Um All those in favor? I. I. Opposed? Abstaining? Yep. Tax
067appeal Crossroads Town Center. The board has asked to approve the tax appeal settlement on parcel 47-14-00-0-154 and 47-14-00-0-160. I make a motion that we table this till next meeting. And we have a motion for a table. I'll second that. Second. All those in favor? I. Opposed? Okay. So, this motion's tabled till next meeting. Number six, proposed final budget. So, the board is asked to approve the 2026 through 2027 proposed final budget with revenues in the amounts of $38,830,359.15 and expenditures of $38,830,359.15. And then there's several options listed. I need a motion and a second. I make a motion that we have a zero tax increase. I second that motion. Okay. Well, so we're on the table. Ms. Mondok, do you have some information to share with us? >> Yes, I do. Um we want to
068show you the um tax increases and basically what we would have to remove from the budget um dependent upon no tax increase, one mill increase, two, 2.5, three, 3.5. And what I can tell you is some of the um things that have from last board meeting or last meeting of the whole on Tuesday, um I got some direction to remove a couple things from the budget. So, therefore, you'll see things a little bit differently stated this time. So, um So, what is cut with a zero tax increase? The working foreman, large capacity student van, ELA curriculum, building budgets each cut by 13,106 dollars, bus camera upgrade, contingency fund is reduced to 68,953.20. We do get um I can tell you what was also added to the budget since our last meeting of the whole was
069the director of special education and the HVAC preventative maintenance contract. With one mil, what would we have to cut? Large capacity student van, K to 5 ELA curriculum, bus camera upgrade. So, this one we would get the working foreman, building budgets 100% funded, and the contingency fund now would be 137,000 dollars. Two mil increase, what would we have to cut? Large capacity student van, bus camera upgrade, contingency fund would be reduced. What would we gain? The ELA curriculum in in in two mil increase. 2.5 mil increase, what would we have to cut? Large capacity student van, contingency fund would be re-reduced to 86,000. What would we gain in this one? We would gain the bus camera upgrade. Three mil increase, the contingency fund would be reduced to 80,912.96. We would get the large capacity student
070van in this one. 3.5 mil increase, we would have no cuts. We would be able to add 38,000 dollars to the contingency fund. Now, if you look up up on the top part of this display, you'll see what the average increase per month is for these for these increases. We I know Dr. Fyock had asked last month if we could also look at the average amount, which we did. Um as you can see, there's not much difference. We did um 1 mil increase. At the median, it would increase the tax by 98 cents a month. At the average assessed, a dollar nine. 2 mil, a dollar 96 at median. 219 at at the average. 2.5, sorry, my screen just went dark there. 2.5 is $2.45 per month with the median. Average is $2.73. 3 mil
071is $2.94. The um average is 328, and 3.5 is $3.42 per month, $3.83 per average. Okay, so let's now go to the analysis. Since we got the average information from um Mr. Shoop at Westmoreland County, we were able to go in and see um some additional data that we could provide to you. So, 25% of the property owners that will have an increase less than 53 cents at 1 mil. 106 at 2. 132 at 2.5. 3 mils, a dollar 59. 3.5, a dollar 85. The median, 50% of the property owners will have an increase less than at 1 mil, 98 cents. And these are all per months. $1.96 at 2 mil, 2.5 mil, $2.45, 3 mils, $2.94, 3.5, 324. The average property owner will have an increase less than for 1 mil, $1.08, $2.16 per
0722 mil, 2.5, 270, 3, 324, 3.5, 378. And finally, 75% of the property owners will have an increase less than for 1 mil, $1.48, 2 mils, $2.95, 2 2.5 mils, $3.69, 3 mils, $4.43, 3.5 mils, $5.17. And this is all per month. Mr. President, if I may, the current motion on board eliminates the curriculum that both of you already approved. All we want is a vote. Okay. What we're asking is a vote, Mr. Thomas. All we That we The motion's fine on the Please, as we have this discussion, raise your hand if you'd like to speak and you'll be recognized. Are we Just we allowed to speak on the budget now? Yes. Please raise your hand and you'll be recognized. Dr. Feike. Okay. When you look at this budget, it's 39 million. What is that
073number, Pam? It is not 39 million anymore, Dr. Feike. 38 Yes, it has been reduced to 38 >> 38 million 900 and some thousand. 38.8 now, yes. So, that's 100,000 under 39 million. Okay. I look at some of the things I have I've yet to see a cut. I've yet to see a cut. And when I talk about a cut, I talk about an existing thing that is removed from the budget as as a savings. I look at our debt service, which is first of all, the school district is and a half million dollars in debt. Our debt service payment is 3 and a half million dollars. Salary increases have gone up $675,000. We are creating a new administrative position that will be a hundred and some thousand. We're going to pay double maintenance supervisory
074salaries for 3 months. We have existed salary increases beyond the agreements that are now in place. And I think the thing that bothers me the most in the question is, what do we get for our money? My research shows that the overall rating of the South Warren School District in the state of Pennsylvania is two stars out of five. We are in the lowest 40% of all schools in the state. I do not understand why we are increasing these expenses when we are not providing the service obviously that our kids are getting. If you look at the the last loan that was made, not one copper penny was for education. Not one penny. It was all for, we're going to fix this and improve this and and do this and better this and so forth.
075Uh we are not honoring the debts of the past. There was money borrowed in 2009 to build the middle school and the elementary school. We still owe 16 and a half million dollars on that. That was never paid off and that was an obligation that we had and instead we've doubled it now to 33 and a half million dollars. I do not know how much more the taxpayers in this school district can absorb. I think it's outrageous that they are being to ask to be paid more. If those numbers are so small, then they're very insignificant and you don't even need that amount of money because it's such a teeny tiny bit. Thank you, Dr. Feick. Any other comments? Okay, so the motion on the floor is for a zero mill increase, no increase. We'll
076do a roll call at Okay. Mr. Grabiec? No. Mrs. Moore? No. Mr. Olson? No. Mr. Thomas? No. Mr. Osipiter? Yes. Mr. Alexander? No. Mr. Yutzy? No. Dr. Feick? Yes. Mrs. Geyer? No. And So, motion fails 7 to 2. Now, I need a new motion. I'll make it option for motion five. Second. Okay, so motion five is a three mill tax increase. Let's do a roll call vote. Mrs. Moore? No. Mr. Olson? No. Mr. Thomas? Yes. Mr. Osipiter? No. Mr. Alexander? Yes. Mr. Yutzy? Yes. Dr. Feick? No. Mrs. Geyer? Yes. Mr. Grabiec? Yes. Hey. Five to four. Motion passes five to four. Okay. Next section is buildings, grounds, and security. Roll call vote. Okay. Uh clear residency accuracy program. The board is asked to approve the purchase of the clear residency accuracy program at a cost
077of $15,422.40 using PCCD grant funding. So moved. Second. Discussion. And this is the verifying the ability to verify cyber students. Correct? Okay. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Okay, abstaining? Abstain. Thank you. Next section is athletics activities. No items? And our last section is closing exercises. Citizens comments. Okay. We'll move to adjournment adjournment. I need a motion to adjourn. I would love to make that motion. Second. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Okay.