001Good evening. Welcome to the Springport Area School District board meeting. Today is Tuesday, October 21st. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. >> Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge alce 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 Springford 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 of
002the 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 everyone. Miss Schmidt, can we have a roll call, please? >> In attendance tonight, we have Dr. Wright, Mr. Mr. Lackey, Mr. Jackson, Dr. Chararma, Mrs. Weine Garden, Mrs. Goldsmith, Mrs. Westwood, Mrs. Deerorf, and Mrs. Herman's. Thank you. Uh, as far as announcements go, I'm actually going to call an audible and I'm going to
003defer it to Dr. Chararma. >> Thank you, Madame President. Um, I would like to wish everyone happy Diwali. Um it's a Indian festival that we all celebrate and technically it was spread out among two days so I can still say happy Diwali to everyone tonight. Um thank you for the opportunity. >> Thank you and happy Diwali Miss Gupta look lovely and thank you for the treats. So the community knows Dr. Chararma brought treats in for everyone. I think he even shared with maybe some people in the audience or in the back of the room the administration. >> Yes. Uh did share it with everyone but I was not aware that we'll have bigger audience. I would have gotten more. >> We have a pretty big audience tonight. >> These are special suites from New Jersey.
004So that's where the Indian hub is. So um got them specially from there for you. >> I hope you enjoy. >> Thank you. Thank you. Dr. Scandan, do you have any announcements? >> A couple things. Yeah. First of all, thank you Dr. Chararma for those those treats for Dwali and and happy Diwali to you and and everybody else who celebrated. Uh couple couple reminders. We have a on November 12th uh a community forum coming up about our capital plan. In fact, we'll have some information going out uh to our staff and to our parents later this week uh explaining the process. It'll be a time for to hear uh where we are in that process and to gather some some feedback from our community about that that capital plan. Again, our goal is to have
005a recommendation to the board sometime in March uh for for a decision about capital planning for the next 10 years. State budget still in a stalemate. Uh in fact, I was uh talking with some legislators today to kind of see where we are with with all of that. I understand the Senate uh did um put some they did put a a proposal up. I don't know. Did you hear Mark? If that went through 106 now and I haven't heard anything, >> so that probably didn't make it. But, uh, they're they're they're trying to get a budget finished and, um, I don't know that we're going to have anything this month. Uh, so they'll be back to the drawing board probably next week, uh, to try to get our our our state budget. >> Uh, National
006Merit Scholars are out here tonight. And, uh, I'm going to go right into those guys. I think they're next on the agenda. Or, you want to wait? I'll wait. We have public to be heard. >> We have some We have our National Merit U Scholars out here. We had 11 uh, semi- finalists and 20 commended students. So, that's that's quite a great turnout for Spring Forward. And congratulations to all the students and staff and we'll get to you in just a few minutes to recognize your accomplishments with um one of your principles and house principles are here tonight, too. >> Okay. Thank you, Dr. Scanland. So, that we can quickly get to the presentations, let's move on to the next item on our agenda, which is public to be heard. This is on agenda items
007only. 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. Okay, seeing as though no one is approaching the podium, we'll move on to our presentations. So we have uh Dr. Edwards and Mr. Jones here to present our National Merit Scholarship awardes. >> Yeah. And this National Merit Scholarship for those who aren't familiar is uh some is based on the PSAT scores from the I guess the previous two years. uh we have students who finished in the top 1% and top 2% in the country uh on those scores. So uh Dr. Edwards and Mr. Jones, thanks so much for coming out and recognizing these uh these amazing students. Good good evening. Um Springford Senior High is pleased to announce
008that 27 of our senior students have been named commended students in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program. These commended students have placed among the top 34,000 students who entered the 2026 competition by taking the preliminary SATs in their sophomore year. Although they will not continue in the 2026 competition for National Merit Scholarship Awards, these scholastically talented seniors have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success. We are extremely proud of these students and we would like to call them to the front to be recognized for their achievements. I'm going to read the name of all 27, but all 27 are not here tonight just to recognize them. Um, Abby Atilli, uh, Jacob Balky, Arena Bichara, Hansini Shalamula, Grayson Dryberg, Emily Garrett, James Ginstead, Sedarth Gi, Krithy Gurugar, Regis Gurang, Joseph Hannah Alla, Jacob Henen, Ashi Jenna, Adith
009Kadiala, Rashmika Kumar, Annabelle Marts, Sydney Molnar, Matri Nonpali Holly Patel Vidy Patel Scarlet Ren Sam Ray Musfini Sai Arav Sha Cartik Thiagi Ashanaki and Shireen Zang. So if all of our committed students could come forward and please be recognized. Thank you. [Applause] Uh, Springford Senior High School is pleased to announce that 11 of our senior students have been proclaimed semi- finalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program. These students were among the 16,000 highest performers out of more than 1.6 6 million students in the country who took the preliminary SATs in October of their sophomore year. These high-scoring semi-finalists represent less than 1% of high school seniors. In order to continue in the competition and be considered for a monetary award, these semi- finalists had to take the next steps and fulfill several requirements to
010advance to the finalist level, submit a detailed scholarship application, be endorsed, and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT scores that confirm their earlier performance on the PSATs. They will be notified in early February if they have advanced to the finalist stage. Monetary scholarship winners will be notified in March. We are immensely proud of these students. We would like to call them to the front and recognize each of these students for this amazing achievement. Uh once again, not all of them are here tonight, but I'm going to read all the names so we can recognize them. uh Nif Atahar, Neil Atili, Khloe Chen, Anak Gupta, Max Labarbara, Alina Lee, Barav Maidasani, Nyamya Pam Bam, Benjamin Rael, Arouche Sha, and Andrew Yu. If our semi-finalists could come up front, please. [Applause]
011Thank you, Dr. Edwards, Doc, and Mr. Jones, and congratulations to all of the students. Um, I continue to say this in board meetings and every opportunity I have that I am constantly amazed at the achievements of our students academically, musically, athletically, and there's so much um, you know, the outcome is wonderful, but I know all of the skills that go into being able to do what you all just accomplished. You know, the perseverance, the dedication, the hard work um, is going to serve you very well in life. So, congratulations to everybody. And then of course to the parents who are there and the families that are there along the way to support your children in their endeavors. Thank you very much. >> Okay, that's it. Dr. SC. >> Yeah. And they're and they're welcome to
012you guys are welcome to stay and watch the board meeting, but I know that uh some of you said you have some homework to do tonight. So if you need to get going, go ahead. and parents, thank you so much for for bringing your your children out and sharing them with us tonight. Uh congratulations to you, too. Uh you should be very proud and uh best of luck with your future decisions, guys. >> Okay. Well, that was wonderful. Let's move on to board and committee reports and we will turn it over to Miss Gupta and Mr. Drover. >> All right. Good evening everyone. Um, this is our October rep report. And before I start, I just also want to extend the happiest Dvali. Um, I was really excited to celebrate it yesterday and stay home
013and celebrate it with my family. My sister even came home from Boston. So it was really a great time to be able to do fireworks and do our religious ceremonies and everything. So happy the volley to everybody. Um this is our October rep report. So starting off with our past events, we had no school for students on September 23rd for Raj Hassana and then the district was also closed on October 2nd for Yam Kapoor. And then we had SAT testing being administered on October 4th here at the district and then PA PSAT testing was also administered here at the district on October 8th. Um, and that happened during the school day for 10th and 11th graders. And then we moved into we're going to move into some really fun homecoming festivities. So, we had spirit
014week from October 6th to October 10th. Um, and then following that we had the powderpuff football game on October 10th, which was a Friday. The seniors unfortunately lost. Um, and then that same night was the 9th and 10th grade homecoming dance. And then later the next day, we had the homecoming parade, football game, and SFA picnic on October 11th. And I just want to thank the spring forward education um association for hosting that p that picnic. There were a lot of families there handing out free pizza and I'm sure they got an an incredible amount of donations for all the work that they did that day. Um and then that later that night on October 11th we had the 11th and 12th grade homecoming dance. And then on October 14th we had the Spring City
015Elementary School ribbon cutting. Um which is so exciting. I'm really excited to see how um everything rolls out at Spring City Elementary with the new renovations. And then finally, we had no school for students yesterday um on October 20th for the Voli. And now I'm going to pass it over to Jason for our future events. >> Thank you, Anukica. Um for our future events, we have Unity Day on October 22nd. The end of the first quarter is on October 29th, so everyone make sure you have all of your assignments done. Uh the Halloween parades on October 31st. There is no school for students on November 4th because of election day. Uh the AMC math test will be administered on November 13th. The fall play um the fall play gold card showing is on November 13th
016at 4 pm and the fall play November the fall play is on November 14th and 15th at 7 p.m. We also have the fall play matinea on November 15th at 1 p.m. Thank you. >> All right and then moving on to some reminders. Continue to read the weekly update for districtwide news and then for all students please keep up with your weekly assignments. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you Miss Gupta. Mr. Drover. Um, I will say, you know, just one thing because as I heard you talking about your family traditions and your sister coming home for Dewali, it made me reflect on the fact that it hasn't been that long since the board and actually the administration came forward wanting to promote a more inclusive calendar. And to hear um exactly what that means
017to you is very heartwarming. And I think it just um goes to reinforce that our district calendar should work for as many families as possible um because it is so important. So, thank you. All right, with that said, any other questions or comments? All right, let's move forward then and we'll have community relations with Mrs. Wearten. >> Thank you. The community relations committee met on October 7th at 6:00 pm. We began with updates from RCTV. Over the summer, the team upgraded the AV equipment at Upper Providence and Oaks elementary schools, and plans are already in place for additional upgrades this uh next summer, 2026. Mr. Rothermell led an in-depth discussion about the current state of Springford's educational channels with Comcast and Verizon. Both of those channels have been offline uh since May due to the
018failure of a key piece of equipment originally installed in 2008 that basically reached the end of its life. So he proposed replacing this outdated system with Cablecast, which is a modern platform that will not only restore Springfor's traditional cable broadcasts, but also allow RCTV content to stream on smart TV apps like Apple TV, Roku, and Fire Stick. Mr. Mr. Rothermal shared that he plans to fund this project through his capital reserve which he has a plan to replenish a annually. You'll see this item on the agenda this month for approval. He also revisited a previous discussion about the feas feasibility of monetizing RCTV content on YouTube. After further research, he confirmed that due to various limitations, it is not really a practical option for us. And finally, Mr. Rothermal outlined a year-long plan to promote
019Aramark's school lunch options. He even shared a now viral video in which he used his best Delco accent to highlight the fresh Boris head hogi served at the high school. So, you might want to tune in for some of those. It's really a lot of fun. Miss Crew then provided updates on the Parent Square platform, including recognition for the first 55 staff members named as Parent Square super users. This new program celebrates staff across the district who are leading the way and using the platform effectively. She also gave an update from the Spring Forward Educational Foundation where Miss Crew is now the executive director. Last year, the foundation awarded 13 teacher grants and has already raised over $3,500 to fund new grants for the upcoming school year. She also announced that the foundation will once
020again host senior residents at the November 12th gold card performance of the Wizard of Oz. The next community relations committee meeting will be scheduled in the new calendar year. Any questions? Thank you, Mrs. Moart. Mrs. Goldsmith, policy. >> Yes, the policy uh committee meeting met on October, I think 13th, and we had kind of two separate discussions. The first part of our meeting, we discussed board communication protocols, and I believe that's going to be an ongoing discussion um and may also involved uh bring it to the full board as well. The policies that were discussed were policy 223, which is use of m bicycles and motor vehicles and skateboards. That was recommended for first read. We also discussed policy 815.2 which is the district social media policy that was also recommended for first read. We
021also discussed policy 718 and 17.81 which is service animals and then emotional support animals. Um my understanding is we're going to have review those and then they're going to bring those to the first read. Uh we also uh saw implementated recently at homecoming the 7.02 which was discussed 0.1 which is naming of district property. Uh that review date is going to be updated and it's going to be brought to the board for first read. Policy 114 gifted education was reviewed with no changes recommended. The review date will be updated and it's also recommended for first read. And lastly, the uh AED policy 822 was also discussed recommended that the legal review and then bring it for first read. Um our next meeting is on November 10th at 6 pm. Any questions? Thank you, Mrs. Goldmith.
022Mr. Lackey, curriculum and technology. >> Thank you. Curriculum and technology met on October 13th. Um, a number of actually really exciting items were presented. Uh, Dr. Reinhimr uh provided an update about the technology education program. The proposed changes to Project Lead the Way program would include four courses that would be direct replacements for four other PLTW courses. Um, an additional course was proposed and will be on the board agenda for approval. Um, the name of this course is the electric guitar building and uh, there was a kind of a presentation or a demo uh, with what some of the kids will actually make if they go through this course. Seems pretty neat. Um, Dr. Gardy provided information regarding the PTE requirement related to personal finance that becomes effective during 2627 school year. Um, Dr. Guardi
023also provide information related to the renaming of four high school art classes. Um these are being renamed to more accurately reflect the course content and to provide clarity for the expected sequence of courses. Dr. Murray shared information related to the feasibility of full day kindergarten. Uh Dr. Gardy provided information related to the work that is being completed related to a middle school model. Um and let's see uh Dr. Dr. Gardy also provided information about title one parent and family engagement newsletters and recommended renewing the resource. There was also information around the turn it in product and recommending reviewing the product or renewing rather. Uh Miss Angeluci provided information around the I Ready open house for K to4 families which will be held Monday, November 3rd from 5 to 7 in the district office uh conference
024room. Um the next uh curriculum and technology meeting will be on Monday, November 10th at 10 at uh 7 pm at the district office uh conference room. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Lackey. Any questions or comments? >> Okay, we'll move on to finance. Mrs. Westwood, >> good evening. The finance committee met on Tuesday, October 14th in the district office. Um we started with ongoing business. Just a couple updates. Executive monthly reports. These numbers are through um September 30th. For cash, we have 160.5 million cash on hand. Um the prior month was 145.5 million. For revenue, our local revenues are where we would expect. Um our state revenues, as um Dr. Scanlet alluded to, are below expectations given we have not had a budget passed yet. For expenditures, um things are looking good and as
025expected with only minor variances given where we're at in the year. Transfer taxes, we're about 300k better than the prior year, and we're covering about 40% of our revenue goal in the first quarter of the fiscal year. For earned income tax, we're almost 200k better than prior year to date, reflecting a 5.3% year-over-year growth. Um self-funded health insurance, uh first quarter was better than we expected. Um it's a little too early to gauge um the outcome as we continue through the year, but we'll provide updates as we have more information. Food service is also a strong start. So year to date, we've served about um 111,000 meals versus 103,400 in prior year. Growth in alcart sales are also up about 30k over the prior year. Um we shifted to new business. So we talked about
026the 2026 2027 budget planning update. Um we talked about the staff utilization analysis that'll be me and right now meeting with the buildings and the departments to review that. Um also discussed different approaches to doing business and bringing programs back to our buildings if we can find additional efficiencies. Um Dr. Scanland gave a capital plan update. I know he already alluded to the meeting that's taking place in November. Um we discussed the maintenance items. GKO gave a presentation on the timeline and some of the options that we have going forward. And then the board members that were present had some good discussions about some of those options um along with our um public who was present and was available to comment if they so wished. Um Royersford free public library lease. This is on the
027agenda um to vote on next week. Um we had our own library manager um there um in our audience to discuss a longer lease term of 15 years to take advantage of a capital improvement grant that's being offered by the state. Um, the grant does require the library to show evidence of having a deed or a lease of the property of 50 years or life of the assets requested. Um, just for context, the grant will allow for upgrades to the flooring in the windows and the library and the burrow will fund the other 50% that's required. Um, we have another, we talked about this at the meeting, but the spring for youth football and cheer that won't come on the on the meeting until November, so stay tuned. That contract is still being reviewed, but
028we'll take a look at that in November. There's also an assessment appeal that is on the agenda for voting next week. This is an office building in Upper Providence that is um currently 36% vacant. Um the implied market value is 20 million. The owner estimated the um value at 10 million. Our appraisers estimated um future value is 10.85 million. Um we are settling at 13.15 with a tax impact of a reduction of $71,000 per year. Um the next meeting we'll have is November 11th at 6 PM in the district office. Any questions? No, thank you. Comprehensive as always and uh I'm sure we'll be talking more as we head into November and the preliminary proposed budget presentation. So, all right, moving on. We'll go to property. Mr. Jackson. >> Thank you, Madam President. Property committee
029met on September 10th. We started out with old business. There was an update on the Spring City Spring City Elementary School construction project. That was an operational update. There are five pump replacements at the administration building is complete. Preventive maintenance for all the HVAC systems was completed in the summer months. The transfer switch at the flex building has failed and a temporary rental unit is in place. There was discussion regarding the 2526 proposed capital project review. Pavement at Limmerch and Upper Providence is complete. Boiler and pump re is complete at Brookke generator at Royersford is complete and operational. Access control districtwide the installation at Spring City Elementary in the district office has consu successfully been completed. There was a update for the school police and safety update. The school police and our min administrators investigated
030seven say to say something tips for 8 for August 29 25. Phase four camera projects at Brook UPE and the district office installation and integration is completed as of August 25th. On the new business, the facility master plan update uh physical assessment infrastructure and equipment review was discussed and for the next board meeting that will be facility master plans update. And that concludes my report. >> Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Any questions or comments? >> Dr. Wright, MCIU. >> Thank you. The MCIU um board met on Wednesday, um September 24th at 6:45 p.m. Our next meeting will be in November on the 19th at 6:45 p.m. as we do not normally have a meeting in October. um much of the the notes haven't come through back from the meeting normally that we get from the the
031board secretary but I can tell you that much of what we discussed has to do with the state budget and I know also that there was a meeting of all the superintendent were invited to a meeting at the MCIU which again is one of the wonderful things that being a part of the MCI that you that we can do to for the resources and I know Mr. Dr. Scanland was there and can speak to that, I'm sure. Um, but they did want, you know, I did want to make you aware that, you know, the budget delays at the Pennsylvania um state budget delays continue to affect um our funding streams there. And if you are familiar with the the IU, some of the things that we really uh focus on are is the early intervention
032programs and the Head Start programs. Um, however, we do also provide the services that have to do with special needs. a patent center is funded through those um for um a variety of sources and again other people at this table could speak more to that from our administration but the shutdown does impact and the federal funding um does also impact us but the IU also they closely monitor the situations and the work to mitigate any disruptions that they have encouraged their departments to be mindful of spending and to delay non-essential purchases until further notice. um to sustain operations in support of the programs. They've taken the following actions that we have had to get a loan approval so that we have money to pay this the staff to continue to m to be open. Um
033and but this will only take us through so much. other IUs and school districts are struggling in the state of Pennsylvania and do not have access to or the ability to borrow money and so they are having to if not yet soon consider shutting down certain services. Um we also had they the IU um sent an advocacy letter to Governor Josh Shapiro and the state representatives outlining the urgent need to advance key education issues and pass the state budget. um idea funds um were partially released. So um the business office at the IU was able to get uh 7.4 million in IDEIDA funding that that will help to carry them through. Um and then also the advocacy connect. So over the past few months many staff from the IU have um asked how they can
034support the advocacy efforts and that they have launched an advocacy connection. It's a new site available, the SharePoint, which has sample letters for legislators, tools to locate and contact your legislators, and additional uh content is going to continually be put up there. The idea being that some of these services for our special needs students will potentially if our state budget is not um approved have to, you know, change um and people may be impacted and do not realize that the IU is very aware of it and their staff. But they're hoping that our school boards will continue to kind of spread that message um and that the community members for each of the districts uh have access to where how they could help through um what we're doing to show them through that advocacy and
035that the ability to reach out to your um congressman in Harrisburg to get this budget approved. So that was the main thing that we really are focusing on at the IU at the moment. We do also, there's a budget delays. We do also um have our trivia night for our educational foundation for the MCIU coming up on Friday, November 7th at 6 PM in Blue Bell. If anybody on our board is interested in being on my team for trivia night, I would love to have you come and be a part of our team. So that is my report. >> Thank Thank you, Dr. Yeah. Thank you, Dr. Wright. And um I know Dr. Dr. Scandlin, you were part of that meeting and we even talked about it in finance committee in terms of the impact
036to spring forward because Dr. Wright, you are you are absolutely correct when you look at other school districts, I use CTC's. It's something we even talked about at the Western Center because CTC uh budget and financing is a little different than how it works here at Springford. They can't carry a cap reserve like we can. So, um there is certainly um impact in terms of tightening belts until this gets passed. So, I don't know if it's if if it warrants, you know, just maybe confirming some of the things that we talked about in finance in terms of the impact of spring forward. >> Uh, yeah, a couple things and and we did have an opportunity to speak with uh Dr. Sherry Smith from Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators at the at the superintendent meeting to
037outline, you know, some of the some of the issues with the budget. And she is she is in touch on a daily basis with uh legislators on both sides of the aisle out in Harrisburg. uh the House goes one way and then they they send bill to the Senate and the Senate changes it, sends it back to the House. So, we kind of got House and Senate fighting with each other uh out in Harrisburg to try to get things to get things through. Uh the latest that that we heard was uh the Senate was trying to pass a flat funding bill uh and then send that back to the Senate, which would be current 24 level funding. Um, and I don't know that the House wanted to do that because the House had had increased
038some of the funding as part of the 11 billion fund balance that the state has. So, so, so we heard a little bit of more detail about that. Uh, we did receive today at the superintendents around the, um, around the Commonwealth information from the governor's office about the stalemate. uh for us uh I know that we met with a technical school director uh two weeks ago and uh technical schools are are not funded the way that school districts are and uh they we pay them monthly payments and they have concerns about monthly payments because they get a lot of state funding through through some of the state grants. Uh they are not getting that right now and they're concerned about how much longer they can make payroll at the technical school. So it is starting
039to have an impact here in Montgomery County. Uh and and those are some talking points and information that we can put together as this goes a little bit longer to let our community know some of the impacts of of the budget stalemate out in Harrisburg. >> Thank you for that, Dr. Scandlin. Okay, so we will turn it over to our assistant superintendent, Dr. G. >> Good evening. Ironically, my first report for this evening is in the area of early intervention. So early intervention services for age for children three to five provide specialized support to help young learners develop essential skills in such areas as communication, motor development, social emotional growth, and early learning. These services are designed for children who have developmental delays or disabilities and are delivered through an individualized education plan in partnership
040with families. The goal of early intervention is to prepare children for success in preschool and kindergarten by addressing their unique needs as early as possible. So the early intervention transition process is now underway here. Currently we have 86 students who are preparing to move from early intervention programming into kindergarten for the upcoming school year. At this time last year we had about 77 and we concluded the year with 93 students. So based on that trend, we anticipate this year's total to be approaching a 100 students transit trans transitioning um from EI. Our teams are collaborating closely with families and the McGomery County IU, our early intervention provider, to ensure a smooth and supportive transition for each child as they begin their educational journey here. Stay tuned for more updates on that in the spring. My
041second topic for this evening is in the area of sports. Uh, congratulations to our girls volleyball and girls soccer teams on capturing the the pack conference championships. Both teams showed incredible skill, determination, and teamwork throughout the season and brought home the pack titles for spring for volleyball defeated Pope John Paul II with a 3 to1 victory and our girls soccer dominated OJ Roberts 5 to zero. We are all so proud of these student athletes and coaches for their hard work and dedication. So way to go Rams. And just one more looking ahead, our football team will take on Upper Park this Friday night for the pack championship as well. So come out and cheer them on. Go Rams. Game is at seven. And that is the end of my report. >> That's not a home
042game. It's at at Parker. >> Up at Parker. >> Yes. Yeah. Usually have a good eye on those home game schedules, but yeah. >> Okay. Wonderful. Well, good luck to them. All right, Dr. Good evening. The first marking period is coming to a close very quickly on Wednesday, October 29th. Students are encouraged to connect with their teachers and stay on top of their work as the marking period does close. Report cards are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 12th by 4:00 via Skyward. Additionally, um coming soon, families will have the opportunity to sign up for parent teacher conferences. Conferences will be held for K to2 on Thursday, November 20th in the evening, as well as all day on Monday the 24th. And then following the following day, kindergarten and grades five and six will
043also be holding conferences on Tuesday the 25th. Communication will be coming soon to families and will include opportunity and information on how to sign up for a conference with their child's teachers. We encourage families to sign up early because this provides teachers with enough time in advance to prepare and make the conference time as meaningful as possible. We recently had a few special events in the district that have come up a little bit tonight. First, on Saturday, October 11th, among the excitement of homecoming, a special ceremony was held to rename the arboritum at the 9th grade center to the Gail Wellington Memorial Arboritum. Among the beautiful space was sculptures, a patio, garden, and water features. guests and family of Gail joined us in remembering a woman who had a deep impact on our district and
044our community. Thank you to everyone who is part of making this special moment and a beautiful tribute to someone who gave so much to Springford. Additionally, on Tuesday, October 14th, we held the Spring City ribbon coming cutting event. After a long year-long renovation, the Springford community was invited to attend this event to officially mark the completion of this project. After a few words, guests were invited to take self-guided tours of the building and catch a sneak peek of the beautiful learning spaces that our Spring City students now have. Thank you to those who work to make these two events su successful and special for our community. As part of our ongoing commitment to support students, Springford has started implementing an anal universal screener. In grades two to eight, students are participating in a universal screener
045designed to support students social, academic, emotional, and behavioral development. The universal screener is a brief questionnaire that all students complete during the school day. Very similar to how academics are assessed to help us identify instructional needs. The screener will help us identify students social, emotional, um, and behavioral needs that may impact academic success. A family letter has been shared with with families to ensure they have all of the necessary information. But additionally, we have resources on the district website in parent square weekly as well as on RAM RAM cast. Yesterday, our staff participated in a full day of professional development. A snapshot of our sessions included I Ready math training, MTSS training, department collaboration and curriculum writing, safety care, instructional assistant training, and CPR to name a few. Thank you to all of the staff
046for their engagement and participation and to all of the staff members who organized each session. I also want to take a minute to recognize Dr. Gardy, Dr. Jen Reinhimr, and Brienne an Angeluchcci who meet for weeks, if not months, before each professional development day to plan and prepare for engaging sessions. With a district our size, it is an immensely large task to coordinate and putting all of the puzzle pieces together. They do a fantastic job for each day. Um, And on November 3rd, families are invited to attend an openhouse style parent night to support and understand our new math curriculum, the I Ready math curriculum for grades K to 4. Families are encouraged to stop by anytime between 5 to 7:00 p.m. at the district office to browse materials, learn more about the program, and
047ask questions. I'd also like to thank our curriculum supervisors, Brien Brianna Angeluchcci for hosting this event as this is one of the several events that the um several examples of curriculum transparency that our department has been doing over the last several years. And finally, looking towards next month, our department will be presenting our annual data presentation. Dr. Gardy always does an excellent job of sharing the district data trends as we look forward to that upcoming presentation. And that's my report. >> Thank you, Dr. Murray. And I will echo what you mentioned about the um curriculum the curriculum nights. Um I remember when we had adopted the structured literacy program CKLA a few years ago. My kids were in elementary school and I really wanted to better understand that and I thought that was very successful.
048So I love that you've continued to do that with the other curriculum rollouts. It's very important. Thank you. >> Could I ask a question to um Dr. G? would you uh take a moment to just explain a little bit about early intervention and what what it is that that how that helps our district or doesn't I mean the role that it plays and what it is because I'm not sure that everybody understands that role of early intervention um for us. Thank you. >> Certainly. So early intervention really starts it runs from birth to two and then three to five. Children who are typically born with uh developmental delays or have physical handicaps are um provided services through agencies um like the MCIU and private services or hospitalized instruction if they are birth to two. Once
049they transition transition from two to three then they enter the the elementary the intermediate units for that support. they there they receive if they need speech and language um occupational therapy most of the time it's related services but they also do education as well. So, if a child is in a daycare center and they need um specialized instruction for portions of the day, the IU will go to that daycare. And once that student turns five or six, because sometimes parents hold them back a year and they're entitled to do that, the IU will enter into um a collaboration with the local school district and then we'll go through another evaluation plan. Sometimes a student doesn't require services anymore and they're dismissed. Um, honestly, a lot of the students that require services moving into school districts
050are often in the area of speech and language and other related services. But since we've seen a lot a sharp rise in students with multiple disabilities, autistic um this autistic spectrum disorder and even social emotional needs, we're we're seeing a rise in the number of students who require more services that than just related services. They really need educational programming. So basically once once the students hit that transition period, they're re-evaluated again by us by our school psychologist and then determine if they're still in need of educational services in special education. Then an IEP meeting occurs between um the district and the parent and there we develop an IEP so that they're ready to come into spring forward with um services needed to, you know, start their kindergarten year off with supports. Thank you, Dr. G,
051and thank you, Dr. Wright, for raising that because I do think it's important to bring that type of transparency to the community in terms of, you know, we live and breathe this every day, but it's important to make sure that um there is kind of consistent understanding with that. So, thank you. >> If I could just add just because again, it's different in every even within the state of Pennsylvania. In Springford, we are not responsible for the early intervention portion. Philadelphia school district is, but in our district, those type of services occur prior to children entering here, just in case there was any confusion within the community. >> Thank you, Mrs. Goldmith. Pure the uh poster child for lives and breathes this as a special education attorney. So, thank you. Any other questions or comments?
052Otherwise, we'll turn over to Mr. Fitzgerald. >> Good evening, everybody. Uh nothing spring spring forward related this evening, but yesterday um myself and a number of individuals from my office attended the PSBA solicitors conference uh up up at Kalahari up in the Poconos's um uh to address and and speak on a number of of really hot topics both statewide and nationally. There was discussion about Supreme Court trends from decisions this year. the the -ate decision came up most mostly on a on an issue of balance of power and and how Washington is working nowadays. Um discussion on parents rights cases that have come and gone and the court has has ultimately expanded parental rights um under the constitution. Um there there were discussion on on a number of of IDA cases that have come before
053the before the court and and the trend of the court with regard to freedom of religion in schools which which continued during um during this past um session of of the Supreme Court. They're forecasting into next year there are two very significant Title 9 cases that will be brought forward. One um out of Idaho and another out of uh West Virginia. both deal with athletic eligibility um and participation. So, we we'll see and finally have a decision uh from the court uh by the end of the of the session in in June. Uh another topic that came up and this is something that nobody really specializes in, but it's something that happens in districts all the time, and that is the intersection of of family law and and and education. And especially we see it
054at the start of a school year when uh a parent has a court order or there's a protection from abuse or there's some sort of cease and desist order from the courts and it puts our educators into just very difficult situations uh in terms of you know we don't like to side with with one parent over the other but it puts us often in the middle. So we were we were working through and workshopping a number of those scenarios and what people are seeing in their various districts because it seems certainly uh this has always been there but but the trend is that things are becoming more latigious in that front and it's often putting principles and paraprofessionals and and and teachers kind of in the middle of those disputes. Uh we see it here
055we see it in a lot of places. So that was discussed uh in great detail too yesterday. >> Thank you. Any questions or comments? Okay, moving forward, we'll go through the voting portion of our meeting for next week. If there's any questions or comments um that might have stemmed out of the committee meetings where we've discussed these things, feel free to ask. So, section five, minutes, letters A and B. Personnel letters A through H. Actually I have a question on on um number one on the personnel uh and this is just regarding the there's someone who is resigning as the math 24 club and I used to be a part of doing all that. Are we going to be continuing I think this is for Mrs. Lee. Is there interest in pursuing the continuing the
056club? Do we have that ability? >> I believe so. >> Thank you. Good. I'd hate to see that end. Thank you. Any other questions with personnel? Okay. Section seven, finance. I have a question regarding the agreement for the Warriors Ford Free Public Library lease, page 13 of their So, oh yeah, just regarding that, I know that, um, my understanding is that the library, which I'm a huge fan of, and I think everybody up here is, that goes without saying, is um part of like three agreements that we have with outside organizations within our um that fall under our realm. You know, those being the the baseball this um Spring City Baseball League, then the um Spring Forward Youth Football League, and this this one. And we have been looking at as a board because it's
057been a long time. We've had these agreements and um about about those agreements coming up and the youth football league. We have a continuence this year and the and you know Mr. Frink is working on that agreement uh after board input for that one. So hopefully we can get that one all renewed and in place for their next season. And um but one of the things that we had talked about uh that had come up in some of the discussions because Mr. Lackey and Mrs. Goldmith and I were part of the original group that were working on that was when we took feedback in from board members was having um a member of our board that would be a non- voting member of their boards like we are with Spring City uh baseball. So, I
058didn't know because normally the library is a one-year renewal that automatically renews. if this was an opportunity, were there any other changes that we wanted to look into or have in this agreement? One of them being did we want to consider having uh I don't and I don't even know how the library board works, but consider being the having one of our members there. I know it's nice that we have the input from the librarian comes into our meetings which is so wonderful because we actually changed a policy so that we could allow her to come and speak at the podium because we are big fans of the library. But if that was something that we wanted to look into having with this agreement also. So I'm just putting it out there. I'm not expressing
059uh an opinion one way or another about it. But I do know from the meetings that we had that that was something that we had talked about. One of it was to bring information back at the table that could be shared with the community. So, >> I'll just speak for me. I mean, I think what you just said at the end is is kind of my feeling like as long as we are getting feedback from these organizations um have line of sight into uh you know the activities and the events and what is going on. I personally feel comfortable. I think that, you know, we to your point, we've had these one-year contracts with the Rersford Library. Um, that frankly I feel like has been very successful. I don't know that we've had any any
060necessary like I'm looking at Miss Addie in the audience there any issues. I think that she's done a great job with communication. I you know, for me personally, I don't feel like it's necessary to to have a seat non- voting or voting or otherwise on their board, but I'm one person And I think the long-term agreement was uh being recommended because the library is applying for some grants and they need to see a long-term agreement as part of that part of that grant. Um otherwise it would be an annual renewal. Uh I think as far as other particular pieces now, it's important I think for the for the library to have this approved in October because of the timeliness of the submission of their grant. But we could certainly have conversations with with the library
061about um other other information, other ways to get information from that. I think that they would be open to that. >> Is it possible to attach the lease so we could review that? That was not an attachment that I saw. >> Yeah, we we can send that in the board packet. Yep. >> All right. Yes, the deed versus the contract. So, okay, any other questions? Thank you, Dr. Wright. Any other questions with finance? Okay, then we're moving on to programming and curriculum. Okay. Conferences and workshops, property, other business. >> Can we have a board stem guitar class, too? >> We do it as part of our like January. >> Yeah. Or PD maybe. >> So, we're going to lift and shift that from curriculum and then put that in other business for the board. Yes.
062We want to know about that. >> All right. So other business, we have some policies of first read per Mrs. Goldsmith's readout and then um school board communication protocols. Dr. Scland, I don't know if you want to give a quick update on where we are. >> There's there were three uh three edits that we made uh at the policy meeting. I can just briefly go through through those edits. Uh one was in the internal board communication protocols uh where we we rewarded the the no surprises section about what the intent of that is is to make sure that uh the board has information that it that it needs and that you know the administration can prepare for that. So we rewarded that for the superintendent board to be prepared for discussion questions about a board
063topic should be sent to the superintendent in advance of the meeting. I know that uh since I've been here, the board has been doing that so that we can prepare responses and and get information to the board if there's questions uh prior to the board meeting. Another one was uh we had a section there about email communications, making sure that it's one way over email. You can't really have discussions as per the Sunshine Act. And we had some discussions at the policy meeting about what about other forms of communication, which was a good point. So, we just made that as uh all communications must follow uh the Sunshine Act. Um so that any any communication is is under that. And then the final was uh about a simple statement a draft of a statement for
064public comment. Uh some people asked can we include the language in our policy 903 which which we did in terms of who is able to speak uh at a public board meeting and we did we did change that and that was highlighted. >> Those were the changes. >> Thank you Dr. Scandlin. And again, while I think the board has talked about this um in policy most recently and then you know this kind of stemmed from our conversation professional development with the MCIU um earlier in September, you know, this is as much an effort in you know ensuring that like what we are practicing is memorialized um and memorialized for future boards right so uh this is an election year and we have you know that Mr. Jackson, you are three meetings away. Three meetings away
065from your final meeting. So, you know, as we bring on a new board member, want to make sure that um everything is documented and, you know, things can be as seamless as possible. So, >> that's that's where he wants to have his last board meeting, but we'll talk about that. >> All right. All right. >> Okay. Any other questions? All right, moving on from other business. That takes us to someformational items around tenure and then we'll go to board comment. Is there any board comment tonight? >> I have a couple of things if no one else wants to go forward. I'd like to congratulate Anna Anuka. Um quite the celebration of you. Um quite the achievement and is calling your name. >> Okay. Um second item again I will stress for the community to go
066to your townships and attend the proper meetings being the commission meetings being the development meetings being the regular monthly meetings because that is where all the information is kept until there's until it's passed. Uh third item is parents, stop taking information off of social media about the district. Um if you have questions about the district, there are a host of people that you can contact to get actual information. Um I actually had a parent um in my development asked me a question and I gave an answer and she said, "Well, that's not what I saw on Facebook." So, I can only stress after 10 years of saying this, I will stress this again. Please contact the district if you have questions. Facebook is not your friend. Neither is Tik Tok or anything else along those
067lines. Thank you, Madam President. >> Thank you. Tik Tok is not your friend unless you are highlighting the events, celebratory events of this district uh like we regularly do in RCTV. Yeah. What uh just to clarify uh Mr. Jackson's comment, AnuKa, it's UPUP's medicine school. So specifically that school is calling your name. >> Miss Gupta, you can be the one in control of your own destiny. Do not listen. Take in, as I always say, take in the feedback, but you have the final D. So any other comments tonight? just that does have an excellent school of vegetation. >> Oh my goodness. >> All righty. Well, then we'll go to public to be heard. Is there anyone that wishes to speak? Please approach a podium with your name and uh township of residence. Hello, Addie Maggarford
068Free Public Library branch manager. Uh, echoing congratulations, Anukica, and fantastic work. Um, thank you very much for making us a part of your journey to the top. Um, also, thank you very much to the board and all members sitting for your consideration of the 15-year library lease. It means a lot to us to have such a wonderful relationship with Springford, with the board. We very much appreciate your consideration in this and we really appreciate that you've taken the time to go over all the documents that I provided to you as well as Mr. Fake back there for taking all the time to chat with me. So, thank you very very much. >> Thank you. Anyone else wishes to speak? Okay. Motion to adjurnn.