001Good evening. Welcome to the Springford Area School District board meeting. Today is Monday, November 24th. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. >> Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge 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. >> The spring board of school directors believes the community has the right to bring before the board issues and concerns they may have about items on the agenda or about items in general which affect the district or their children. Because of this belief and philosophy, the board will schedule a time at the beginning and conclusion of every meeting to have an opportunity for community members to share their concerns with the board. At the start
002of the meeting, members from the public may comment on agenda items only. The school board will move through the meeting agenda. Then at the end, when prompted, there will be a time for public comment. This meeting is being filmed to be broadcast on community cable channels and online. Individuals intending to make public comments should be aware that they are being filmed. Speakers will be asked to state their name in the area in which you reside before your comment. >> Good evening. Thank you for being here. Mishm, can we have a roll call, please? Tonight in person, we have Mrs. Herman's, Dr. Wright, Mr. Lackey, Mr. Jackson, Mrs. Goldsmith, Mrs. Wearten, Mrs. Westwood, and Dr. Chararma. Not present, Mrs. Dearorf. >> Thank you very much. Okay, moving on to announcements. Don't have any announcements for today.
003Dr. Scanland, do you have anything? >> I do not. No. >> Okay, wonderful. So, then we'll move on to public to be heard. And this is on agenda items only. So, if anyone wishes to speak, please approach the podium with your name, township of residence, as well as the agenda item for which you're referencing. Seeing as though no one is approaching the podium, we'll move on to our first of two presentations for the night. And we're going to start with a little celebration for our outgoing board member, Mr. Clinton L. Jackson. So, Dr. Scanland, when it comes to the podium Good evening everybody. Um, tonight, uh, Clinton, I have a a few words to say about you and for you, uh, and thank you so much for your service on the school board. And while
004I've only had the pleasure of working with you for a few months, I can see why you're so respected in the community. You always put students first. And in my first meeting with you, we spent some time speaking about the years of knowledge that you've had as a a tenure board member. And as a new superintendent to the district, I really wanted to learn as much as I could from you about the history. Uh, and you were very serious and you were analytical in providing me some much needed data about Springford. It was in a way that I thought was beneficial to my current role. Then the conversation switched to your family and you lit up like a Christmas tree. Uh, and we have your wife Barbara and one of your daughters, Sierra, here tonight
005uh for your final school board meeting. Barbara tells me this is 30th meeting you've attended. >> Like third. >> Third. Sorry. Third. [laughter] >> Got to be honest. >> Yeah. I didn't pay attention to those numbers you gave me earlier, Clint. So, third meeting. and we we we spent a great deal of time talking about your family uh and the wonderful story about how you and your wife met and how she was in part the reason that you relocated to Springford. I heard all about the successes of your children. In fact, earlier tonight, we were we were just talking about that again as they were going through Springford. It showed me that the decisions that you made for the school district and its thousands of children each year were decisions being made for your own
006children. Also, I always respect the person who puts family first, and you have certainly done that. I had a chance to look back at some videos of previous board meetings. Your comments are always people- centered, and you were able to take a very complicated topics and simplify them in an easy to understand way. Your insight and wisdom will be missed at the board table. Thanks for your service to the students, the staff, and the community in Springford. All the best with your next chapter of service because I know you're not finished. I do hope that you're going to take some time, especially this holiday season, to spend time with your family and your friends, knowing that you made a difference in the lives of others with your service to the school board. On behalf of
007the administration and staff, congratulations and thank you. And now I give you Mrs. Herman. for those watching at home, he did just get out an audible oh no. Um, so let me put this out. I will say that generally speaking, I'm pretty good at speaking off the cuff, but um, I did not anticipate that that would be the case tonight for you, Clinton. Um, so I did have some prepared remarks and I'm glad that we're only celebrating one because I feel like this will probably take as long as it did two years ago when I did this for three different people. So, um, first I just want to say to the community like obviously we're here to gather and honor a great board director and his 11 years of service, leadership, and if I'm being
008completely honest, plenty of spirited debate, Clinton L. Jackson. So, of his 11 years on the board, I had the privilege of working alongside him for four. And even in that short span, Clinton, you made a lasting impression on me. But I'll be honest, our relationship did not start with mutual admiration. In fact, I'm going to add lib here a little bit because as I was telling Mr. Jackson this before the meeting, his exact words to me were, "I didn't hate you. I just didn't like you." So, um, I said I was going to make sure I inserted that in my podium here. So, going back to my my written remarks here, our relationship did not start with mutual admiration as we are two very steadfast individuals in our opinions. Um, but you know, Mr. Jackson,
009I think in fact my first interaction with you happened before I even imagined that I would be sitting here on this board when I stepped to the podium and I made public comment as a community member. And if my memory served me well well, my exact words to you were, "Mr. Jackson, just because you can doesn't mean you should." And that motto, as it turns out, became somewhat of a running joke between us over the years. And I'm so glad that uh through time something meaningful grew between us because obviously that interaction could have led to a contentious relationship but what grew was respect, friendship and ultimately trust. So for me, I think it became very apparent that it was easy to find common ground with you. Uh because what became very obvious is that
010your heart was always in the right place, even if we didn't always agree on the manner in which to get there. So, um, if you had told me four years ago when we were both on the campaign trail together that you and I would have served alongside each other as board president and vice president, I would have thought you were crazy as that would have seemed like bordering on dysfunction. And you are shaking your head. Yes. Um, and I know that there were some in the community that questioned you becoming vice president of the board alongside with me. After all, you're a registered Republican. I'm a registered Democrat. And for some folks, that is drama enough. But I will say this very plainly and very simply. Appointing you to vice president in that year where
011we had so much going on with Spring City, Giza, property overall was probably the best decision that this board ever made. And it was my privilege to work alongside you because in the end, party lines do not determine integrity, do not determine commitment, and they certainly do not determine the quality of someone's character. Actions do. And you, Mr. Jackson have proved that to me time and time again. There is no doubt that at times you could be perceived as a polarizing figure on the board. Maybe that's why I liked you in the end. Maybe that's why we got to to have that mutual respect. But I will tell everyone that you brought reason, cander, and a deep sense of responsibility to every discussion. You challenged this board. You supported us. and you reminded us that
012good governance is about showing up, doing the work, keeping the center at what you do, and building relationships. Working with you on the personnel and finance committee and working closely with you on the project oversight committee as we renovated Spring City, probably spent more time together than typical for most colleagues in a year. And in that time, I will tell you that I learned a lot from you. Everything from Terzo flooring and exactly what that means, value engineering, the importance of perimeter fencing and signage, this is very important, municipal zoning regulations and school impact studies. And I could go on and on. So I will say that yes, we will miss your institutional knowledge, but more so I will miss just you and your presence on this board. So, as you step into your board
013retirement, I hope you carry with you the pride of knowing your 11 years at Spring For truly mattered. You made an impact. You left a legacy. And you've left us with, according to Mrs. Goldsmith, some soon to be trademarked lines because I think she just handed you a certificate to actually trademark your choice, whichever of your famous lines that you want to trademark. the three Ps. Simple math, simple question, and of course, you could always trademark, thank you, Madam President, because I loved hearing that before and after every committee read out without fail. Clinton, you have shaped this district for the better, strengthened its mission, and perhaps most importantly, shown us all what it means to lead with integrity, humor, and heart. Congratulations on an extraordinary board career. And I will take one more opportunity
014to say that just because you can relax doesn't mean you should or you will because somehow I still think that you'll find a way to keep us on our toes. So thank you Clinton. And before I turn it over to the board and of course Mr. Jackson to give some remarks, I know Miss Crew, you had created a video. So let's play that for everybody. I'm a real simple guys. Call it the way I see it. So, where do we go from here? I mean, it's nine of us. So, we need to come up with options for where we're going to go from here because otherwise we're not doing our jobs. Call it a job of volunteer duties of fiduciary administrative >> property. Mr. Jackson, >> I want to try to bring this back to
015construction. Apologize for my bias whether it's a building to me. I just don't see if I look at it from an engineering perspective for me. It's a building. I go back to none of us at the table can answer. Well, I can probably answer them, but um not even addressing the building. I went out there. I went down to the township. So, I pull out the um engineered drawings and use my own background to look at what should be there based on the documents. And unfortunately, this is part of who I am. It's a building. It's just a building. In my business, we would call that a mockup. I just think it becomes a hard sale. We're sitting here talking about a building. I don't want to talk about property right now, Mark. Really don't.
016as chair of finance. Let me break this down for you. >> What we're going to come back to is cost. >> My tenure on this board, I've been on the finance committee or chair of the finance committee every year, seven 7,900 kids, which comes 16,000 parents or if we have a class of 700, that's 1,400 parents. So, there is no million dollars. >> Well, we we can't save money we haven't spent yet. But I I appreciate the approach. The mercury here is a million dollars. Parents here a million dollars and there's no million dollars. Um I'm really thankful that this board is engaging tonight regarding finance based on my math here and Mr. Fink correct me if I'm wrong. I don't see the reason to spend any money on that. >> Probably be on my
017tombstone. It's projects, personnel, programs. >> I think the I think the clarity is going to be defined by the interpretation of what we're doing. This this little tit for tat. I want to get on my soap box. Burn. We can start kicking the can down the road and doing something. I'm okay with that. I mean, we can sit here and thump our chest and see whose shoe is bigger than wh. I just don't want to sit here and keep going around the malberry bush. Okay, as we say in the south, clear as mud. But let's let's just let's go with this for a second. Okay, we're we're all big boys and big girls and I just want to hear this is what we need. Okay, I'm I'm happy that Mr. Pettit agrees with me. I
018feel good. >> Clay, you were going to say something and Mr. Sesi cut you off. Two things will happen. Either we will vote for it or we won't vote for it. Bring the data and we can evaluate it. >> I say this quite often. I'm just going to say it again to the community. Please come to the meetings. We do it all the time in finance and property. We be more than happy to show you how to do it. >> If there is no school, there's no meeting. >> If there's no school, then there is a meeting. Those are the only two options. >> We do our best to balance the needs of the community. We do our best to balance the needs of the district and we will continually continue to do that. Thank
019you. We don't have to agree with each other. We don't have to like each other. We don't have to have a cup of coffee at Starbucks, but we need to sit here and at least listen to the other person. We can disagree with them. You know, there's no reason to talk over them. Um, we just need to be more respectful of each other. It's a kumbaya moment. But on a serious note, we got to come up with a resolution. We we got to come up with something like now we're all colleagues with different backgrounds, but the common goal here is that we're spring, you know, we're the board for Springford School District and I just ask that we respect each other. That's my report. I rather be home playing on my laptop or something. Wonderful
020job. So, uh, I'm going to turn over to the board, but I do just want to take note since the three Ps were mentioned in there. You'll notice that your fellow board directors, uh, are wearing, and we are officially part of your fraternity, the PPP. Uh, and I give all the credit, and you have your shirt. Yes, we have your shirt. Um, give all the credit to Mrs. Deerorf for spearheading that idea. and unfortunately she had a medical emergency tonight and is very distraught about not being here for you. So, thank you. With that said, I'm gonna turn it over to the board to see if anyone else would like to speak. Oh, yes. >> Um, I won't repeat Clinton's long list of achievements. Others will cover that. I want to speak to something different.
021Um, serving with Clinton over the years was always stood out to me as his intention. He shows up wanting to do the work, wanting to represent people honestly, willing to make decisions he can look back on and be proud of. Even when we disagreed, I never doubted that motivation. On the property and finance committees, this was especially clear. He asked real questions, push us to think harder, to justify choices, and to consider the long-term responsibility that comes with every decision. His presence consistently move the conversation forward in meaningful ways. I've learned from that. I've appreciated his willingness to engage, to challenge, and to be challenged. And on a personal level, I'm grateful for the guidance he's given me along the way. Clinton, thank you for the time, the effort, and the sincerity you brought to
022this board. I'm glad to have the chance to work alongside of you. >> So, I was trying to think about when I first met Clinton. [laughter] It was at Wegman's, and I was just a parent who would come to the podium with a friend, and we would talk about healthy start times. It was something I was really passionate about and we would show up every week and the first week we showed up and totally nervous missed public comment at the end. We sat through a two-hour meeting and completely messed up. So, this is a long long time ago and Clinton um said, "Hey, I'll talk to you." We were we kept coming to the podium coming to the podium not really sure what to do next. and he was nice enough to meet with us
023and talk to us about what to do, how to gain uh support from other parents, how to get the message out there. And little did I know that I would end up here a few This is long before times of COVID. So I think my kids who are now in college were in elementary school when I started this. So little did I know what an inspiration you would become and I am grateful for the leadership along the way, the advice, the friendship and especially uh the laughs after our meetings. So thank you Clinton for everything. Appreciate you. Is it okay? So I'm going to say something because we go back a long way. We go back even longer than the other people on this board. So my first introduction to Mr. Jackson was when I
024called in on Zoom to very I rateate with him because he had voted against settlement agreements for kids with disabilities. This is back during COVID. He goes, "Heidi, call me." So I did. [laughter] I called him and that man picked up the phone. Some random person who had zoomed in to yell at him. He picked up the phone to talk to me and we had a lovely conversation. Um at the end of it, I joked with him. I said, "Hey, maybe I'll run for school board someday." and I'll sit next to you." And he's like, "You do that?" [laughter] Little did he know that I actually do follow through with threats. And uh a couple years later, a year or two later, he had to sit down at Lake View Cafe next to me and
025I'd be like, "I want to run." He was like, "Oh my goodness." So, I think your words were, "You ready for this?" And I was like, "I'm ready." He's like, "Okay, we'll see." And so, through the process of running, I got to hear great advice. And I have got to tell you, as someone who has received a tremendous amount of advice, I hate to say it, but he's usually right. Even when I wanted him to be wrong. Um, even when I fought for him to be wrong. Um, and it is through that advice and then when I actually became a board member, he was actually my mentor during that first year when he sat at WGMAN's for hours with my little list of questions answering them with great patience. So uh unfortunately for better or
026for worse I am sitting here in larger extent for because of you and I am the board member I am because of you and I thank you for that. I'm not sure you're [laughter] grateful for it but I am thank you. >> I'll go Clinton. I won't say a lot because I wrote you a card because I'm better writing things down. But um it sounds like a lot of us were influenced by you. Um, the first time I met you, I also came up to the podium and spoke about something finance related and I think I saw a spark in your eye because you and I both like numbers. Um, I also sat down with Clinton at Wegman's and some other places. I think Clinton likes going to Wegman's and having breakfast as my uh
027takeaway from this conversation. But in all seriousness, Clinton, um, you know, thank you for everything over the years. I think um, it sounds like you've been a mentor to a number of us, certainly to me as well. Um, thankful for your guidance. I'm thankful that you're a street shooter. I never have to wonder if you have an ulterior motive because you don't. Um but you've always been um willing to pick up the phone and answer questions and talk to me. And um your mentorship as I came onto the finance committee and then this year became chair was um instrumental and I'm incredibly thankful for it. So you will be missed. There's nobody that has more better oneliners than you do at this table. And um I hope you do get to relax and enjoy your
028free time, but um we'll still bug you if we have questions. Mr. Jackson, we do have some awards to present to you, but first I want to turn it over to you to give you an opportunity to speak if you so choose. Okay. Um, I did just get word from Mrs. Deerorf and let me just make sure I'm getting in my my uh Yes, here it is. She emailed me something to read to you just now at at the start of the meeting. Um, so for Clinton, when I joined the board during one of the most tense and divided times in our district, Clinton and I were not exactly aligned. H I'm seeing a theme now. Imagine that. [laughter] We had our disagreements and they were subtle. It would have been easy for us just
029to say strangers on opposite sides of an issue. But that's not who Clinton is. At a time when very few people were willing to sit down and actually talk through differences, he reached out. He said, "Let's meet." And he meant it. He invited me to breakfast, which I now know is Clinton's way of building bridges. And that conversation changed the tone of everything that came after. And what strikes me now, almost five years later, is how rare that still is. It is so much easier for people to type comments on social media than to talk face to face as neighbors and community members. But Clinton showed up in person when it mattered, and that made all the difference. From the first breakfast on, he slowly became a mentor. Even though, if I'm being honest, I
030wasn't totally sure what to make of him at first. But Clinton kept showing up with honesty, patience, and a willingness to guide without ever pretending to have all the answers. He taught me one of the most important lessons of this job. When you serve on a school board, it's not just about you who serves, it's your entire family. and watching him over the years, the way he supports his daughters, shows up for them, and beams with pride when he talks about them, that taught me more than any policy discussion ever could. Somewhere along the way, through disagreements, debates, late night meetings, eye rolls, mostly mine, and moments where we simply leaned on each other to get through the tough stuff, we became friends. Real friends. Serving as a school director is a very unique kind
031of experience. It can be isolating, overwhelming, and sometimes downright exhausting. You think you understand it from the outside, but then you get here and realize you had no idea. But Clinton's steadiness, humor, and willingness to connect made the hardest moments easier and the good moments even better. Clinton, I say this with full love and full honesty. You have absolutely been a pain in my I'm not going to say that on the mic. You have absolutely been a pain in my you know what at times. And I know you take that as the compliment it is. But you have also been a mentor, a teammate, a constant source of truth for me. You've taught me so much, and even though I know I can do this without you, I'm not entirely convinced I want to. Your
032retirement is well-earned, but your absence will be deeply felt. You leave behind a legacy of connection, compassion, and courage. You leave behind a board and a district that is better because you were here. Congratulations, Clinton. Thank you for the lessons, the laughter, the breakfast, the arguments, the growth, and the friendship. We will miss you more than you know. Okay, Dr. Wright, I thank you. Not sure anybody can top that after listening to those words, but Clinton, I do want to take them the opportunity to thank you for the privilege of being able to work beside you all these years. I first met you as a parent when I taught Sierra in sixth grade and I later met you, we had a long discussion once because I was an employee and you were a board member
033and you called me and it was a very you reached out to me and it was very impactful and very meaningful to me that you had done that and um and I think like so many people said those are some of the things that shaped my view of the importance of school board and relationship and community. So, um it has been you you've been on the board every time every year that I've been here. So, and I I certainly will miss you, but truly it has been a privilege working beside you. So, thank you. So, last comment I'll say is simply thank you. I don't have a lot of words uh where we have interacted a lot but however taking everyone's feedback when my school kids will start the school district I will definitely reach
034out to you and get your advice. Thank you so much. It was privilege to work with you and uh just like others I've learned a lot and really appreciate that. Thank you. >> I'm going to turn the microphone over to Dr. Scan again to present the awards. Uh Clinton, can we ask you to come come to the podium, please? >> Clinton, once a ram, always a Ram. We have a uh a RAM statue uh to present to you on behalf of the school district and thank you for your service to the board. We also have a u a gift from uh some of our some of our high school students and um under the coordination of our our department chair for for techhead in engineering uh Jake Marishek. I don't know if you know Jake
035or not. uh he worked with some of his students in class and the and the lead student designer of this was Hayden Ang, a junior uh working on a 3D printer uh to present you a uh a 3D design frame 3D design of the high school uh in your honor for your service on behalf of all the students that you've served in the school district. We hope you'll hang this in your house and think about all the kids that you've you've made a difference for over the years. What? >> I feel like that needs to be shown. >> Open it. >> Where's all this love during co [laughter] >> you've grown. >> And then I will say there's also one more thing here, Mr. Jackson, as you're opening up that for the community to see,
036which is you are now a lifetime gold club member. So, uh, this has nothing to do with age. This is a lifetime membership to uh for you and your spring for family to all of our you know events and we hope that you come back and celebrate as a member of the public. >> Wow. >> Here you need to go up front and show everyone this. >> Smile. Smile. [laughter] Signed by the kids. >> Oh, it's also signed by the students. Oh, designed by the students. >> Wonderful. >> Okay. >> Can I sit down? >> Yes. Well, I'm going to do one more thing before you sit down. Uh, which is PSBA also has their uh honor role for schoolboard service. And this uh award celebrates school board directors for their long-standing dedication and service
037to the district and communities. Now in its 41st year, the honor role recognizes school directors at 5-year service intervals uh starting with five years and every 5 years thereafter. So you might have gotten one way back when, but we are going to give you your official 10year although you've served 11 years on this board and you didn't share how you got here, but I'm sure people know. Uh, and there are two of them because one does not have the L in your name and I know that's very important to you. So, I wrote the L in uh in the second one. >> Yes, you may now sit down. All right. And with that said, I also do want to recognize another board director who had reached her uh five-year milestone last year, yet PSBA just
038sent this to us. So, Dr. Right. Thank you for your many years of service since 2019 on this board. You bring a wealth of experience, you know, in your educational career and uh we are very lucky to have you. So, Dr. Wright. Yes, you may sit down and I will sit down as well, Dr. Scan. We will take a a seat and we will introduce Mr. Jim Frink, our CFO, to do our second presentation, the proposed preliminary budget. All right, let's keep the excitement going. Congratulations, Mr. Jackson. All right. So, uh, we're, uh, we're going to talk a little bit about the, uh, 26 2026 2027 preliminary budget, proposed preliminary budget. Um, how many times everybody's heard me up here say that, uh, we uh, we have a timeline uh, as as directed under the
039law, act one. Um so these are the things that we have to do. Um it's been an interesting start to this year 2526. Uh you recall first it started uh with the uh questions about federal programs and how that was going to go. Um whether the amounts from title were going to come through, if they were going to come through at all, what the amounts were going to be. That seemed to settle down uh nicely. Um and then of course um we uh had uh the budget impass here in Pennsylvania for about four and a half months. Um, so of course that uh uh that has now come to a close. So, so we know we are where we are now. And then a couple months from now we're going to we're going to hear
040from the governor again to do a presentation on what next year's budget is going to look like. I'm glad we got this year's budget done before that came. So, uh, kudos to everybody on on getting that done. But, um, so these are the uh, the items that we're going to look at here are, uh, you know, there's our agenda. I meant to have that up as I was talking, but I didn't. Um, so those are the things we're going to talk about as we always do at this time. I'm going to just quickly go through the uh our our budget timeline at least the points that um uh that are that are were upon us right now. Um you know, first we're going to hear tonight we're going to do this again. Act one says
041that this is something that we need to do. We're going to check that box. And then come January uh at the uh Janu January 20th work session meeting, uh the board will vote to adopt the preliminary budget, thereby checking that box fully. Um and then we'll go through a bunch of other things that we're going to do. But ultimately, what we're looking to do is have a final budget done at the end of May at the at the May board meeting. Um and then uh and then we'll be all all set and running. Obviously, there's a ton of work to do between now and then. Um, and some of the challenges, of course, that we're going to see are the challenges we see every year. You know, it's it's uh it's four months into the
042current fiscal year, two months into the school year, not a lot of traction on how this budget is doing, but and we're and yet we're preparing for our next year's budget. Um, so there's going to be a lot of questions. There going to be a lot of ups and downs uh uh going through everything. Um, you know, we've only have a little bit of budget versus actual data to go through just now to see how we're how we're doing. We do talk about this at finance every month, at least where we are currently. So far, things seem to be going as planned. Um, but obviously changes can happen at the state budget level. Um, I had on here not yet approved, but we did just get it approved, so that's we can cross that one
043off. Um, but the unknowns for the 2627 year will be, you know, again, what's the basic education funding going to look like? what's the special ed funding going to look like? Um, you know, we didn't get a terribly large bump in the 2526. So, we're going to see uh what Governor Shapiro and the legislature have for us next year. Um, and of course, the questions that are always up there, will there be charter reform? Will there be tax property tax reform? All the things we don't we don't know yet. Um, but the things that we do know are where we currently stand on some of uh on some of our major items. So just looking at where we are today and as I'm projecting this through a lot of this uh certainly in salaries and
044stuff is done a lot through contract some things we can quantif excuse me quantify now however you know we do know that they're going to there's going to be some give and take as as time goes on um wages and related taxes and benefits all amount to about 70% of our overall budget. Um and these are the changes that we're looking for uh at least that we know of right now. Professional wages will increase by about 5.3% uh or three and a half million. Admin and support wages about almost two and a half percent or about almost a half a million dollars there. Um so that's going to be have an impact to the overall spend. Taxes and benefits of course that's uh 30% of the overall personal spend. Um the two biggest contributors there
045of course are are the peasers retirement contributions that we have to make by law. Uh and then of course health benefits has been health benefits has been uh has been a rodeo over the past uh past couple of years. So um one good thing to to note on both of those things. Now on the peasers we have an estimate of moving from 30 po 34% of payroll up to 34.8%. That's based on the independent financial offic's original projections from a year ago. Uh those new numbers will likely come out in December January time frame. So then we can nail that down pretty well. um health benefits. We did uh Mrs. Lease and I Mrs. Braithweight, we met with our consultant at Ruskini. Um and the good news coming out of that meeting, unlike the prior
046few years, has been uh it looks like where we're tracking right now about a 4.6% increase year-over-year as opposed to last year it was about an 18 to 20% increase. Um so we're hoping that that is going to uh is start to quiet down. We've had some big increases in that section u over the past couple of years. So it looks like you know hopefully that's settled down. We'll know more in the March April time frame when we have our second look. A lot more data to look at at that time and then we'll uh and then we can make a real good uh uh budget determination there. Payroll taxes again that's just as Mr. uh Jackson would say simple math doing the multiplication of those changes. Um, some of the items here that are
047non-personnel related that we're looking at that are are going to change year-over-year, transportation costs, our current contract is up at the end of end of this year. So, I certainly wanted to put something in there, bake something in there, uh, for that number and at least uh, the year-over-year uh, which we've had the past few years in our contract about 5%. So, I wanted to bake that in there. Charter schools, this is something we've been chasing for some time now, as you all know. Um, we'd love to see some uh some reform here, some further reform. We did see some a couple years ago. I do know that there uh there's been talk about doing some other things on this. Hopefully with uh loud voices, we can help push some stuff forward. Um, but we're
048looking at about a half uh one and a half million. We spend about $5 million on charter schools right now. The interesting thing, and just to go off on a tangent just slightly, the interesting thing there is that, you know, for every student that, you know, the decision is made that they're going to go to a charter, if it's a non-special ed student, it's about a $17,000 uh year annual tuition for the district. And you'd think, well, if you know that if I'm paying them, then I can take it off my main budget here, but I really can't because there's no synergy there. I still have to maintain my buildings. I still have to keep all the all the kids in the classroom that I have and I still have to teach them. It really
049doesn't impact the load doesn't shift when I send a when a student decides to go over to a to a charter school. Anyway, so we're looking at we're looking at that and of course that's increasing every year. Substitutes um you know thinking about three and a quarter increase there. Facilities uh about three and a quarter there. uh just en energy and uh additional projects uh you know the costs of paving and those types of things does not decrease year-over-year special ed we've seen some big increase excuse me increases in that area not expecting as much this year so that's a good thing uh I met with Dr. Dr. Gian Batista early today. We're expecting um some good moves there with some of the great work she and her t team are doing to bring students
050back into spring forward u at a much higher uh value uh and a much less less cost as well. So um legal uh appeals are are really the big thing there. It's it's not the legal bills themselves. It's more of having to contract with an appraiser for more and more commercial uh appeals that we we're getting to value properties. uh to make sure that you know we're we're able to to negotiate well with the with those sorts. The debt excuse me, the debt service we spoke about uh a lot last year in the springtime. We know that we're we're at the debt service cliff. So, we know we can bring we're going to bring that number. That's part of our plan. But keep in mind year-over-year we're going to have to be disciplined to make
051sure that we're building that back up so we can do the other capital things that we know we need to do over the next few years. All other I was talking with Dr. Wright about this uh earlier. It's a it's a million different small things that go up and down about 40 about $40,000 worth of with ups and downs. A very um small piece of that. So when I put all that together on the expense side, that's kind of what it looks like. So you can see overall, you know, uh my my eyes go always go all the way down to the bottom right hand corner where it says 3.44%. That's what we're looking at expenses to increase year-over-year, at least at this point in the process. If I switch over now to the revenue
052side of the ledger, you know, we'll look at um uh our local first. I'm looking at very little growth organically on the on the property tax side of things. And that's because while we're seeing some residentials come online, we're also seeing those commercial appeals that are kind of negating a lot of that. Um so that's that's where that stands. A very nominal increase there. earned income taxes uh as as we've spoken about in uh in finance committee, they're doing well. Uh increased that about 450,000. Real estate transfer taxes are I'm I'm expecting to be relatively flat until we have some meaningful interest rate decreases there. I don't expect that number to move much. Um we have seen some interest rate reductions and that's why you see the next part which is the interest earned uh
053a declining there as those interest rates do come down. short in short-term interest rates will have a bigger impact on that than they will on increasing transfers. So, you have to have meaningful interest rate decline in order to get those uh properties to start moving. Delinquent taxes, we're expecting that to go down simply because the inventory for delinquent taxes is way down. Uh not a bad thing. That really means that people are paying their taxes on time and that's great for them and it's great for us as well. Uh on the state level, again, I'm expecting some nominal increases for the basic education and this uh special education subsidies. Transportation that goes along with cost. You spend more, you get a little bit more of a subsidy back. Um and then pasers and FICA, that's
054the 50% subsidy that the state gives us to do that. So again, the more we spend, the more we get back. So, uh really just an offset there. Not really expecting any changes at the federal level at this time. Um, so if I put that together in one uh one slide here, you can see relatively flat organically. So again, my eyes go right down to that lower right hand corner where it says 01%. And when I flip back to that expense slide again, we saw that growing at 3.4%. And there's your disconnect. So those are the those are the things that we're going to have to tighten up over the next number of months. Now, let's put them on a chart together and we can see uh what our budget gap, preliminary budget gap is
055currently about $5.8 million, $5.9 million in total. Um the index uh the act one index which is about which is three and a half% this year. If I take that into account, we're about a slightly over a million dollars from a target of meeting the index. So somewhere in there achievable. I don't think that's going to be terribly hard to figure out. However, uh keep in mind a lot of data yet to come uh and a lot of movement yet to come there. Uh I just mentioned that the three and a half% was the act one index referendum uh exceptions. I'm expecting a much smaller number this year simply because uh again Dr. GM Batiste and the special education uh department have been doing a great job of bringing that special ed cost, you know,
056lower and keeping the quality of the product really high. So that's going to that's going to uh pay dividends both financially and to the students as well. So next step obviously we'll do a deep dive I'm not going to read all that but we'll do a deep dive into everything. Uh we'll do our uh get our budget books out at the beginning of the year. We'll do our personnel walks with the principles to see what the needs are and all the different buildings. Um, and then again, we're looking to uh adopt the proposed preliminary budget, this preliminary budget uh on the 20th of January. And with that, that's fancy, isn't it? I will take any questions you might have. I had a question. If you could go back to slide seven, I just want to
057make sure I understand. When you have the arrows up, I understand that that means an increase, but is it $490,000, for example, transportation costs over last year, so it's $490 plus another amount, or is 490 the total amount? >> It's four the it's actually $420. You're looking at the the the draft version I sent out over over the weekend. Yeah. So, um >> I'm just trying to understand the arrows. Yeah. >> Yeah. The arrow means that the the uh expected expenditure will be about $420,000 over what last year's final budget was. >> Okay. So these are not final cost numbers. And does just so I'm on the same page like because you use the arrows again down like in slide nine. Are those is that consistent? So those those arrows mean that that is the
058total increase over last year or and none of these are total costs? >> If yeah if the arrow is going up then it's an increase in from budget to budget. >> Okay. So that's the the difference basically upper >> the delta. Yeah. >> Okay. Great. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Hi. My question is a little bit off topic, but I think it's very relevant to this. Did we So with any of the funds that were delayed, did we have funds that were delayed because of the delay in the state budget? And if we did, what was our loss of revenue for interest? Like did we I >> I'll have to calculate that out. The answer to your question is yes, there was a delay. Um, without the without the budget and the appropriations bill
059that goes along with it, those monies were not flowing. So, yes, that's something I plan on talking about at finance in January. >> Great. Thank you very much. >> You're welcome. >> All right. Uh, Mr. Frink, I don't think I have any questions. I just want to echo what Mr. Jackson had said last week. I just want to say like phenomenal job by you, your staff, administration, Dr. Scandlin, Miss Westwood as chair of finance because you know this time last year we were anticipating a lot of challenges and not to say that what you presented here, you know, public funding is always a challenge. Um, but when you look at where we were last year at an 11 million gap versus here being only a million dollars above index, that's very manageable. And I know
060that there was a lot of work that you guys did internally to figure out how we can do that with as little impact to students in this district. So, thank you so much for that. Okay. Thank you. All right. Moving on to committee reports. So, we'll start with uh me as personnel. So, uh given that personnel is generally covered under executive session privilege, there isn't a lot to share. However, what I will say is that um when the personnel committee met last week, we did a 10-year look back on our um on our meet and discuss with various support groups. So, uh we know that, you know, we regularly meet and this year for example, we'll be meeting with secretaries, act 93, um tech support as well and some other groups. But um we wanted
061to make sure that you know the ask of the personnel committee was for Miss Lee to come forward and really kind of document where has the district been as it relates to supporting our support staff. And so I do believe that was included in the memo for all board directors to look at. If you didn't have a look, feel free. Okay. Uh moving on to policy. Mrs. Goldmith. >> Yes. The policy meeting uh met on November 10th this last month or this month and we discussed a lot of policies. Policy 113, policy 105, policy 2.9.2, policy 210, policy 823, policy 240. All of those policies, oh I'm sorry, and policy 702 were discussed and recommended for solicit review and then first read if there no substantial changes. We did also discuss policy 113.3. However, that
062one is going to be coming back to committee after legal consultation. Um, our next meeting is to be determined in January after our reorganization in December. >> Thank you, Mrs. Goldmith. Questions or discussion? >> Okay, moving on. Mr. Jackson Property. I'm going to savor saying that. Mr. Jackson Property. >> Well, thank you, Madam President. Well, this is my last report [clears throat] and um I've enjoyed property. Property to me is always the most important meeting as it tends to really encompass the district as a whole. So, with that, we'll get started. Uh property met on November 11th. There was old business covered by Mr. Dan on the Spring City Elementary construction update, which we're down to a couple items on the punch list. There was also an operational update to review the maintenance department work
063to date. There was also an update on the FY2526 capital project review being access control. Um under school police and safety update um there was an all hazards plan at the district builders and classroom levels and we are working through the process of review. That's an inprocess item on the new business. So there was discussion regarding this facilities master plan update and moving forward um for the next committee agenda which I will not be a part of unfortunately was approval of the 2026 2031 5-year camera systems support plan. And with that that's my last committee report for property. Um, my only comment is property has to stay front and center with everything we do here. This is a driving force. [cough and clears throat] These are the folk that keep the buildings cool when it's
064hot outside. These are the people that clean the snow so our teachers and administrators can get in along with the school buses that carry your precious cargo. So please, I implore you to always put property first. Not to say you haven't because we have. And if I look back during COVID time, we made I think, and I'm a little biased here, the best decisions within McGomery County. Um when I meet with some of our our colleagues throughout the out the county, they talk about their cost that they incurred um during COVID for buildings. But what we were able to do since we kept our buildings in such great shape, we really didn't have to put the amount of money that many other districts put into their buildings. And some of that money went toward other
065pressing needs at the time. I can remember talking with Madame President and we [clears throat] would talk about some of the other school districts in the county and surrounding areas where they would have heat days because there wasn't sufficient air conditioning throughout the district because the facilities were not maintained. So I leave her knowing that under the leadership of Mr. Dan and his fantastic team and this board that please put the efforts into property across the board. And one last thing about property, we have an employee, and I'll just use her first name, Raven, that is a part of the facilities and maintenance group. Raven will take this district places you will never think of. She's a highly talented individual and please invest in her. Invest in all of them, but Raven, I expect, will
066take Mr. Dan's place. And Dan, Mr. they want you to stay here, but Raven is someone who I think will lead this district within the next 10 years. So, that is my last report and I thank you for giving me that honor, Madam President. >> Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Any questions or comments? Mrs. Wearten, Western Montgomery Career and Technology Center. >> Thank you. The JOC met on Monday, November 7th at 700 p.m. It was an interesting meeting. You know how every time I present I talk about one of the good problems they need to solve is how could we expand? We have a lot of students who apply to programs and we don't have room in all of those programs. We don't have room in the facility. So what we've been doing is talking about
067how could we evolve? What does the future of the Western Tech Center look like? So at this last JC meeting uh we had a future planning presentation uh from two architectural firms GKO and Crabtree and we talked about how could we how could what would this building look like in order to be flexible in order to expand as programs change. For example, you know what if we decided we wanted to um add a large equipment training section or night school or a um separate entrance to the salon for the public in terms of safety. There were a lot of really good conversations about this. So, we had um initial an initial conversation about what's possible, what are we looking at costwise? And this is not something set in stone by any means. It was a
068first meeting and very good presentations by uh both of those firms. So you'll hear more about where this could go in the future. Um our next meeting is in January to be determined the time and date. It will be assigned after reorg in December. Any questions? No questions. I will just do one other quick plug Mrs. West uh Mrs. Wine Garden, which is um as a parent of a student at the Western Center, there is their open house on Thursday, December 4th. Um I believe it's open to public beginning 6:00. However, it might even start at 5:00 for prospective students. So um if you have a six, it's never too early, 6, 7th, or especially someone in eighth grade who might be considering um a field in the trades, go out there. It's a great
069night. And and I do it's worth mentioning and I do believe um in the efforts of exposing students to the idea of the trades or doing this when they get to high school earlier and earlier I believe it's as young as fifth and sixth grade now they put it in their heads and show them you know what does it mean to do you know um welding what does it mean to be able to do all of these different trades. It's pretty remarkable how they've um started promoting the plan earlier and like I said, it continues to grow and grow, so that's why we're having these conversations. Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay, moving on. Mrs. Westwood, Legislative Committee. >> Good evening. The legislative committee met on November 5th. Um the majority of the meeting discussed
070the then budget impass, but now it's since passed, so I think the majority of the notes are probably not as relevant. um from the actual meeting, but I'll give a couple of highlights momentarily. Um the one thing I'll note before I go into that is that and some of us have attended this in the past, but March 27th, if you're interested for other board members or administrators, is the legislative breakfast um that's held every year. We usually have a variety of different speakers that come and talk on different topics. It's a valuable um event. So, if anyone's interested in that, I'm sure we'll get more details as the date gets closer. Um, for the legislative report, I'll just give a couple of updates. These came ad hoc after the meeting, but I think they're um,
071relevant. First of all, um, November 18th, the US Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, announced new inter agency agreements to break up the Department of Education. There's a number of different agencies specifically, I won't list them all, um, but this is an expected, um, uh, move. Um, you've probably seen some of this in the news. It is expected that the Office of Special Education will also be moved to Health and Human Services, but this hasn't been formally announced yet. Um, we know that on November 12th, our government was reopened. Great news. That also happened after the meeting. Um, state budget, just a couple of quick um numbers in case you didn't see these for key education funding line items. These were modified. fully funds a second installment, which is about $565 million increase of adequacy and
072tax equity payments to meet constitutional obligations to public schools. 105 million or 1.3% increase in basic education funding. 40 million or a 2.7% increase in special education funding. 28.5 million or 6.7% increase in early interventions for children 3 to 5 years old. 178 million or 14.6% 6% in estimated savings to school districts from cyber charter school reform um which is 100 million cyber charter transition um that is eliminated 125 million for school facilities with 25 million set aside for solar for schools 100 million for school safety and mental health grants 9.5 million increase for prek counts which will be used to increase the per student reimbursement rate for full-time students from 10,500 to 10750. Um I think that was the main summary. I know we have a state legislator in the audience. I'm sure Joe
073can keep me honest if I miss anything. Um, our next meeting will be held February 4th at 6 PM. Any questions? >> Thank you, Mrs. Westwood. Mrs. Goldmith, PSBA. So, PSBA, just two quick updates. One, um, we are heading into reorg and PSBA does offer a tremendous amount of free resources for school boards in that process. So I encourage everyone if they have questions or want to look at anything to look at the PSBA website. The other is an opportunity um that the PSB is running an international study group. Um it is the application deadline is November 28th but it is focusing on vocational training. It is open to school directors, superintendent, business managers and CTC administrators. And it's a trip to Germany where you would be able to for I think it's a week
074go in and look at how vocational training is done in Germany. And the costs are all covered except for $500. But again, you have to apply by November 28th. But it is an opportunity if anyone here on the board or the business manager or um superintendent uh or our local CTC administrators are interested in participating and learning more on an international level of how vocational training is done. That's it. >> Thank you, Mrs. Gold Smith. Questions? Mr. Locky, Spring City American Legion. >> Thank you. Uh the Legion does not have a meeting scheduled for November. Their next meeting is December 11th. I've got no other updates to bring back to the board. And that concludes my report. >> Thank you, Mr. Lackey. Dr. Scanland. >> Uh, yes. I have a few things to say about
075um some retirees, but I'll wait till the personnel agenda for that. But I I I do I'm happy to announce that we do have a second state championship at the high school. Uh we received word last week that the spring forge soccer concession stand won the PIAA PA beef council's best fall concession stand in the state of Pennsylvania. Uh it's there's an award ceremony that's going to be held on December 6th uh during the high school football championship game at 1 p.m. at Cumberland Valley High School. Uh and that's ironically the same place that our girls volleyball team won its state championship uh last week. So, there's a $250 cash prize that the crew of the concession stand is donating on behalf of the outgoing varsity seniors. I want to congratulate and thank our staff
076member Dan Kenny for job well done. I understand it was the Kenny burger that put it over the top for the uh concession stand. So, yes, we do have a second state championship here at Springford this fall. And finally, as we bring this month of November to a close, just a reminder that our schools are closed until Monday, December 1st, uh finishing up some conferences and for our Thanksgiving break. And on behalf of the administration and board, I wish all of our staff, our families, and our community members a very restful and relaxing Thanksgiving. That concludes my report. >> Thank you, Dr. Scanland. Questions? I am personally sad when I don't see a concession stand open at an event. So I understand how important that is. Uh let's move on and we have our last
077committee report which is solicitor's report. Mr. Fitzgerald. >> Yes. Uh two things. Um first we we received a uh a decision from the Supreme Court today on a case that I'd mentioned I I some point uh involving the Sunshine Act and agenda changes in real time. Uh as backstory, this is a case that uh my partner Tim Gillsbach um was handling in representing the Parkland School District where they decided to add to their agenda within 24 hours and actually at the the meeting itself a new collective bargaining agreement with their teachers. Uh a member of the community then filed a Sunshine Act lawsuit claiming that that was illegal. Um the argument of Parkland School District was there's an exception that allows for the adoption of a new agenda item. You just have to go through
078various processes to post it and and announce the reasons why you're you're uh adding the agenda item. So the case progressed through trial and that was in um in Lehigh County. Then it went to the Commonwealth Court where the Commonwealth Court reversed the decision of the trial court. Then we found our way to the Supreme Court where they reinstated that exception. So that means, and I'm not suggesting we should do it because we've kind of gotten used to a a a good way of not adding to the agenda. You can add to the agenda again. So, um, it might create some bad habits, but but you can do that again. >> I like to air on conservative, but, uh, yeah, let's let's just >> So, so, so there you have that in your back pocket.
079>> Put in the back pocket. I like the idea of saying you can't add to the agenda. Um, the second issue, um, I I just want to uh note uh the, uh, the final meeting for Mr. Jackson. Um, I've I've had the privilege of of being at the table with him for the better part of the last 10, 11, 12 years. Um, those videos gave me a little bit of post-traumatic stress. I will I I will say um and I will I will also say that o over those 12 years whenever there was a crisis, I I I'm I'm sure that he and I were on on a phone call sometimes for a prolonged period of time. These were not PG related or or rated phone calls, so I can't speak to them here and
080they they they are privileged. Um but but I will say that that as a board member, Mr. Jackson kept me as a solicitor on my toes. Um and I think it made me a better solicitor and and I appreciate um the interaction, the the perspective uh that he he brought to allow my representation to be more zealous for for this board. So, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Fitzgerald. Okay, moving on to the voting portion of our meeting. This uh was discussed at the work session last week and then of course in committees, but if there are any questions, feel free. So, we'll start with section five, letters A and B and of course I'll pause to see if you want to separate anything. Do I have a motion? >> A second. >> Questions and discussion.
081All those in favor say I. I. >> Any opposed? >> Motion carries. 8-0. Moving on to personnel section six, letters A through H. >> Do I have a motion? >> A second. >> Second. >> Any questions or discussion? Dr. Scan, I know you wanted to make a comment. >> Yeah, just a couple comments for the retirement section. We have we have we have a lot of really impressive retirements here. In fact, we have a combined 191 years of service to children on this agenda tonight. uh some January retirement. Susan CS, middle school intermediate uh teacher, 27 years in the district. Deborah Snyder, instructional assistant, 18 years in the district. Uh the junior retirement's in there. Katherine Cabrera, speech therapist, 19 years of service in Springford. Uh Chris Anonsky, a teched teacher, 19 years. Jennifer Smith,
082speech therapist, 23 years of service. We have two uh two administrators on here. Jeff Kohler, senior high house principal, 32 years of service in Springford uh as as a uh in the school district. And Jackie Havilla, elementary principal at Evans, 24 years of service with Springford and over 53 years of service in public education to students. So 191 years of service and uh you know, congratulations to all of those those people. They're going to be hard to fill. And I just I just want to say that I I've worked with many of these people and they are amazing, wonderful educators and really committed to spring forward and um yeah, it's really it's I'm I'm kind of heartbroken for our loss but thrilled for their their future. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Wright. It
083isn't fair to cherrypick, but I I will just say one thing because um for for one of the names on here, they did specifically impact my family. Um Mrs. cost you mentioned at the 56 center when I told my son that she was retiring. I swear when I tell you he was incredulous. He was in disbelief. Um and I know I share that only to say that I know that there are many other students that are probably feeling the same way about a lot of the names on here. So congratulations to everybody on your well- earned retirements. C can I just and I I hate to do this too, but I will tell you there was one name on here and it's probably the only name I will ever make a comment about retirement, and
084that's not a reflection on anyone else, but Katherine Cabera was my first introduction when I was moving from early intervention to sitting at the district transitioning my oldest child that entered the district. And I cannot tell you how an amazing speech and language therapist she was. Um, an amazing person that she is. is this warm, bubbly person who you walk into her office and she's a national guardsman and full military regalia. So like she's a I can't I won't say it, but she's a strong woman. Um and when I tell you I've always said it takes a community to change a people's life and I've always said the best thing about our district whenever asked is our staff. She is for me that that example that I can easily go to as someone who truly
085cares about kids and truly honestly changed my kids' lives um and worked with all three of my kids and she again I don't normally call out but in a not so reflection but I cannot let that one go. >> Kind words never never not a moment for kind words. So all right those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries 8. Moving on to finance section seven letters A through G. Do I have a motion? >> A second. >> Second >> questions and discussion. Um I do just have one thing that was in board memo. So I'm sure everyone is aware. Um but I do want to point out to Mr. Jackson in particular, I think it's very um fitting that one of the last things that you'll be voting on in
086finance is the geothermal IRA rebate. Uh how much time did we spend talking about that in project oversight committee? So, uh a 40,000 investment to get $900,000 back. So, a good news story. All right. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. 8-0. Moving on to programming curriculum letters A through C. Do I have a motion? >> A second. >> Second. >> Questions and discussion. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. 80. Property letter A 10A. Do I have a motion? >> A second. >> Second. Questions and discussion. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed. Motion carries. 8 Z. Section 11. Other business. Letters A and B. Is there a motion? >> Second. >> Questions and discussion. All those in
087favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. 80. And then that leads us toformational items. Tenure of course for your FYI and board comment. Is there any additional comment tonight? I'll like to go and I'll keep it brief because it's [clears throat] been so much stated already that's not true. So I will [laughter] so you know this this adventure started I think the math is off someplace here. Um I had 10 years madam president has 11. So we're meeting and a half way point for 10.5. When I came to the first properties meeting, I think it was properties meeting and had no intentions of running for school board. Zero. So I had kids at home. I worked in New York. My wife was down at Penn. The kids were stuck in the middle.
088We have no intermediate family immediate family here. So that was the last thing that was on my mind. But I I I went to the meeting and I guess felt like we weren't doing it right. At least in my quirky head. I'm sure we were doing it fine, but in my head we weren't doing it right. And that's where it sort of started. And when and and I'll name one person here to say thank you to without because over 10 years there are a lot of people, but there's one person and uh Mr. Sesi will appreciate this. If it wasn't for your current in upper province, your current um tax collector, Julie Mullen, that stepped down, I wouldn't be sitting here right now. So, um some days I love Julie and some days I didn't
089love Julie for stepping down. But that was that that was my start. And Mr. Fitzgerald made reference to um my arrival on the board. And unfortunately there's nobody here at this table other than Mr. Fitzgerald, my dear friend in the audience, Mr. Sesi that was that was here at the table um when I started and it was a totally different board at the time when I sit here and I think about um the last 10 years because we used to have a lot of people in the audience. That's hard to believe but that used to be and it wasn't all Mr. Will, one of our um esteemed board past members back there, but we used to have a lot of people in the audience and that changed over the years. >> That was before the
090internet. >> Yeah. Yeah. The internet. Um but you know, things are never what you envisioned they would be because I figured I would come on to the board. I was coming from other organizations where I was involved and I figured this was this was a cakewalk. I fig it was pretty easy. It shouldn't be that complicated. And I was totally wrong. Um it is very complicated. There are guard rails um that work for you and work against you. And sometimes you have to learn to work with what you have. And at times that was a challenge for me because coming from the vertical industry or the building industry, you know, we're fullboarded. The design is there and we got a time schedule we have to meet and a budget and you have to move. And
091I know I had to adjust um my mindset, my thought process, and how I could get things done with this with the various boards I served on. And over a 10-year period, a lot of people I won't name any of them because it wouldn't be fair. I wouldn't I can't remember everybody. But where else can you go and serve on school board and become a part of COVID, which they never talked about? And Mr. Fitzgerald was here and that is when some of my interactions started with madame president and madam vice president >> and she is absolutely correct. We could not stand each other in the beginning and at that we just >> we didn't like each other [laughter] >> and now we love each other. Imagine that. And you know, where else could you
092get death threats but on school board during COVID time? But a serious note, during COVID, um, and I've said this before, I think this district did extremely well taking care of our kids. Um, we tried to do the best we could. I I can remember many of us would get together and Google words that we didn't understand because the information was coming out at such a rapid pace and we tried to address the needs of the parents who went from parents to being teachers you know within their homes during co and our beloved teachers which two of them are sitting out there now the struggles they went through but the district as a whole I think we did very well from a financial perspective and staying within our means um as Mr. think can remember
093I was very particular about grants because grants can give you a false sense of security and you you know a million dollars is there but there's not a million dollars the following years and sometimes you get in spending trouble and you know throughout these years you try to learn as you go you you look to existing board members for guidance but some of it's just simple trial and error you make mistakes you figure it out. Um, you have a four-year term and it takes you two years to figure out what you're doing, at least from from my perspective. Um, but it is a time that you meet people in the toughest of topics and you sit there and you look at folk and it's like, how can you vote for that? But if you would
094take the time to just talk to that person, they'll tell you why they voted for it. And at the end of the day, that is part of our job here. Um, we're not a rubber stamp board. And one thing about this board, I love the interaction. I love the engagement. I love the lively conversations because it makes you think outside of your comfort zone. And that's what I've tried to do with all board members and also with myself is think outside the comfort zone because at the end of the day and as an engineer we will always say this we can have we can all have the a different design but the objective is still to get there as madam president made reference to sometimes on sitting on school board we all want to get
095to the same destination and we just have a different way of how we want to do it and I just en encourage others in in this board and future boards just to listen to each other. You might learn something. I would like to thank the many boards and administration that I've served with over the years. And to this board, I wish you well and the challenges that are forthcoming. I am sure you would do what you think is best. And at the end of the day, that's all we can ask for. As I always like to say, if you run for school board, I'll give you a point. you sit on school board, I give you a hug because sitting on school board, it's not easy because unfortunately with social media and everything else now,
096your family becomes part of what you do. Your family becomes part of your votes. But I think this board is a very talented group of individuals from many different backgrounds. Um, which I think will support you in the long run. You do have challenges, but every board has challenges. Every two years, four years, there's something else that's coming down the pipeline. And you're not going to please everybody. So, please stop. Don't try to please everybody. Um, I always say to the community, come to the schoolboard meetings. Don't you know if you have an issue about the school district, don't go on Facebook, Instagram, your neighbor. You are representative by dedicated individuals sitting at this table. Talk to them and if you're really in doubt, call the school district. That's where you're going to get your
097best information. Um, and I say that all the time. In addition to that, and this board [sighs and gasps] knows how I felt about this, engage with your townships. Engage with your townships. You see the constant building. Even though we're like 95% built out um in upper province, I can speak to. Please engage with the townships. Parents, go to the townships. Voice your concerns about the building. I support the building, but at some point our transportation is is impacted by population growth and one's a benefit of the other, but at times it's a problem. Um, so I do encourage this board to continue to have interactions with the various townships. And to Rachel, I'm going to mispronounce her last name. Y >> um she'll be taking my seat for region two. Um I wish her
098the best. I think she's coming into a very welcoming um board and you guys will do a great job with showing her the ropes and letting her learn. So I I reach I um congratulate Rachel on um on her achievement. Region two is a tough region, but I'm sure she will do a good job. And thank you for the good days. Thank you for the bad days. But today is my last day. And from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely thank each and every one of you for being a part of my life. Um, please feel free to lose my email address, my phone number, my address. [laughter] There will be no more breakfastes. >> What does your hat say that you have? You have to read the hat. >> So, there's a hat
099here. in the hat says, "This awesome legend has retired. It's officially no longer my problem." So >> there you go. That's for the community. Officially no longer his problem. >> I would gladly pay my property taxes. Um and with that, I would like to say goodbye, but one one thank you and that is to the gentleman sent to my right, Chief Boyer. Um he came about I think during Mr. Reese's tenure and my tenure and I think it was one of the great decisions that we made as a district um and the great job that he does and as far as I'm concerned he will remain he is and will remain the grant king. So thank you Chief Boyer for all you've done for this district and the monster that you've created here. So with
100that I say thank you and goodbye. Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Public to be heard. If there's anyone that wishes to speak, please approach the podium with your name and your township of residence. >> Joe Sesi Limrich Township. Now, the clock is on. Let's see how we go over it. So, you know, when I came here tonight, I saw all the cars in the parking lot. I knew something big was going on and uh I realized the band has something in the gym. Um, so that was to explain that. But on a serious note, you know, I reflected back on how I met Clinton and our first meeting was not a good one. I'm not proud to say what I'm about to say, but I voted no to appoint Clinton to the school board. Was probably
101one of the votes I uh think I shouldn't have made. Um, we may have started out on a little bit of a an issue and we ended on a great great friendship and relationship. And what Clinton said is 100% true. Is to know the people you serve with before you make judgment of who they are and know what they stand for and why. And Clinton, I want to thank you um for all the years you did serve here because I know the commitment that you made to this district. And a lot of people may not know how much time and energy you put into this other than those who are sitting here and maybe work in this district. But you took this job seriously. Um you loved every day of it. You did it for
102your children and for all the children and residents here in Springford. You took over property after I left. You did an okay job. But um seriously, you you will be missed and I want you to know that I always speak about you in the highest regard, not only through the district, but to my colleagues too that I serve with now. And when I talk about service on the school board, I talk about those who I served with who gave the time and energy and really believe in it because all you hear is a thankless job. And it's far from a thankless job if you do it right and believe in it. Uh and being able to serve, especially during CO, which I was thrilled I wasn't here for. Um it was a little different where
103I was, but it wasn't here. And to be able to do that every night, but um I want again want to thank you. I did get a note from Mr. Deello who said he's sorry he couldn't be here but he never liked you. So uh he wanted you to know that. Now Tom Tom apologized for not being here but he said to let you know how much um he appreciated your time and and wished you well. And we do look forward to breakfastes not being able to talk about the school board. We'll still talk about everybody like we always do. Um, but it still uh will be a good time. But your commitment to Spring Forward and the greater area will not go without being recognized. And I hope that members of our community will
104stop you. And thank you for the time you served, the big salary that you got while you were here. Um, I think it's also important to thank Bob and the girls for the time that you put up with him not being home and the aggravation you took when he did get home from being here at the school board meeting. I definitely know how that is. I heard all about it when I served and continue to hear about it. So, um, I got 13 seconds left now, 12. I'm going to use every second I have to once again say Clinton, thank you. Thank you to the board for the years that you put in. Um, and thank you for everything you do for Springford. Not you, Mark, but everybody else. Uh, thank you very much. >>
105Thank you, Mr. Sharesi. Does anyone else wish to speak? Okay, I say is there a motion to adjurnn? >> So move.