001e e e good evening and welcome to the February 24 2025 regular meeting of the tradan Easttown School Board we'll begin as always with a salute to the flag regular Schoolboard meetings are business meetings that are open to the public during which we provide several opportunities for public comment on items before the board the first comment period is reserved for announced additional agenda items and items on the consent agenda only additional public comment will be heard for the actions listed under other actions under consideration the final comment period near the end of the meeting is reserved for all other matters of concern official action or deliberation which are or may be before the tees board of directors and which are not covered by other comment periods each public comment period is reserved for residents and
002taxpayers additionally the board will accept comments from sitting public officials for non- campaigning purposes and by agreement with the tea and teneg the board will accept comments from the union presidents all comments should be directed to the board as a whole or to the presiding officer no comments or questions should be directed to individual board members all public comments and responses should be in the spirit of civil public discourse also please be aware that intentionally disrupting a lawful meeting or the administration of a government function is a criminal offense in Pennsylvania the school board values the opportunity to hear from the community in person and appreciates your cooperation in advance so with that introduction we will move on to our next item on the agenda which are reports from uh student Representatives we'll hear from
003our student Representatives Ian Kumar and Maggie Neri hello everyone oh sorry about that uh good afternoon it's good to see everyone again at another school board meeting I'm really excited to be here and to talk about a little bit about what's going on in Koga from the student perspective as well as some of the activities that are going on in this past month of February and what we're looking forward to first just to talk about Student News as a reflection of what's happened in February course selection for the uh 2025 to 2026 school year is finalized so now all freshman sophomores and juniors and even eighth graders at the te middle school or Valley Forge Middle School are set for what courses they'll be taking and now they just have to get excited maybe they
004have to check if they have some summer work to do and just get excited for this next year now I want to talk about some of the activities that have been are happening right now first the musical which is Chicago and I was told to emphasize that it's a teen Edition so please don't worry about that it's happening from Wednesday to Saturday at 7 p.m. and on Saturday there's two shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and tickets are at stoga theater.com these tickets generally always sell out so I recommend that if you're interested to check it out as fast as possible I would also like to talk about minithon which I've mentioned in some past meetings before which is essentially an activity at conestogo where we fundraise money for Pediatric cancer research via Four
005Diamonds and organization and currently we're continuing this effort and tomorrow with the take care Tuesday event we are spread uh spreading information and making sure that people around are informed of what is minithon and why we do it and why we encourage people to donate additionally to everyone that's listening to this meeting right now whether it's an individual donation or maybe a donation from the company you work at uh we really encourage and are always looking for support next I'd like to talk about the rose sale which is an event that student council had in February where essentially students are able to buy a note or a rose or candy and deliver it to anyone in the building whether it be another student teacher or any staff and this is a really great opportunity to
006you know really feel the spirit of Valentine's Day and have Community come together it's definitely a great event and we sold around 100 uh roses and candies and this is not only bringing profit to student council but is also definitely fun and spirited event and then lastly I like to talk about Deca which is essentially a business competition that a massive amount of students participated uh 250 kids this is a a record high uh participants of people that have qualified from the district to State round and then 57 people qualified for the International Conference which was this past Wednesday the Friday so congratulations to the students who qualified and to the students who were fortunate enough to compete at the sports uh at the states competition thank you and I'll hand it off to Maggie
007to talk about sports thank you aan that was a great update as you said I am back with your sports update wrestling recently competed in districts and seven wrestlers including one girl are headed to Regionals swimming also recently had districts and some SOA swimmers qualify for states which takes place this March at Bucknell both basketball teams are also in districts and have qualified for the state tournament also in March the boys have District semi-finals at Coatsville tomorrow and the girls have District playbacks at Downingtown East on Wednesday and this weekend six remaining winter track athletes will travel to Penn State to compete in the state championships good luck to all those stoga athletes still competing this winter season and as this winter season winds down spring Sports season picks up with the first week of
008spring Sports officially starting next week March 3rd that is all from me thank you for listening thank you aan and Maggie before we begin the Highlight which is the best part of every school board meeting I'd like to draw attention to the student artwork which was supplied by Valley Forge Middle School for this evening's meeting sixth grade students created Sunset paintings after studying the landscape of the Serengeti during their African art unit they focused on creating silhouettes of animals and acacia trees against the warm color schemes in the sky fifth graders created hieroglyphic carou and portraits in profile view after studying Egyptian art they learned about the process of print making and drawing facial features in proportion as well as adding color ful embellishments to make their work pop out now please join board members
009Dr Yolanda Allen and myself and Valley Forge Middle School principal Matt Gibson in greeting students and staff during the Highlight session of tonight's board meeting special education supervisor Lisa Snider will be our reader for the evening welcome everyone I'm so excited to be here this evening as we recognize our amazing students from Valley Forge Middle School students when I call your name please walk up this way you see Mr Cal and then walk around where you'll greet our board members and principal Gibson and then finally to Dr Torres to receive your certificate each month the board of school directors invites te students and staff members who have demonstrated outstanding achievement to attend the regular school board meeting to be recognized for their efforts the board invites parents and teachers to accompany their students this evening
010as the board recognizes them those unable to be here tonight will receive their certificates at their schools Valley Forge Middle School students support community service Club Valley Forge Middle School's community service Club known as the Builder Club has been very active this year Luca trovich aland porv vabi and Katherine Armstrong Have Been instrumental in helping the club flourish and contribute in various ways the Builder Club is sponsored by Allison inch thank you all for your service Valley Forge Middle School student supports school basketball team Wyatt campus is the Valley Forge Middle School basketball team manager and has done an excellent job helping the coaches and players during practice and this way yeah and supporting the team during games Valley Forge is grateful for Wyatt's contributions to the school awesome work Wyatt Valley Forge Middle School
011best buddies program enhances School Community this year best buddies is a new club at Valley Forge Middle School that aims to provide students with intellectual and developmental disabilities with increased opportunities to make friends and engage in social interactions 39 students from grades 5 to 8 participate in the club that meets at least monthly eighth graders Jackson Patia m Emma [Applause] Patterson Caroline Bosler Riley Estes Wyatt campus Genesis Harps and hatif sahi have taken the lead on organizing monthly activities that include events like craft making hi Jen this way craft making Sports challenges and community service projects Katie bransky is the faculty advisor to best buddies Club great job best buddies great job Valley Forge Middle School student council supports School Community the Valley Forge Middle School student council has been busy this school year from
012Spirit weeks to fundraisers student council members have been working hard to promote school spirit and Community the eighth grade officers include Awan abuan president Jackson Patia vice president Kimber Kimberly Wong secretary Ray woo Treasurer Jaden aasum Communications and Victor Wong Outreach student council facult faculty advisors are mancy capadia and Briana Dayton thank you student council [Applause] thank you [Applause] everyone okay great job everyone uh so now this is the part of the meeting we take a brief pause to let folks who are less interested in the business part of our meeting to leave and go do more productive things like homework or studying for the next test or pretty much anything else so uh feel free we'll take a little break here and uh we'll be back but you all are I'm being a little
013factious encourage to stay if you want to see the rest of the meeting thank you e e e okay thank you everyone we'll reconvene our meeting next item on the agenda is announcements of additional agenda items of which there are none the next item on the agenda is public participation from District residents and District taxpayers regarding any items on the consent agenda only if you would like to make a comment on the consent agenda please line up when you come to the microphone state your name and Township of residents we will end comment with the last person in line all public comments this evening will be limited to 3 minutes again this comment period is limited to the consent agenda only to help with the timing please make your entire comment and the board will
014determine an appropriate response okay seeing no comments on the consent agenda next item is announ action on amendment of agenda to include additional agenda items as mentioned before we have none so now we will turn to the consent agenda although board action is required it is generally unnecessary to hold discussion on these items with the consent of all members they are therefore grouped and approval is given in one Motion in the event a board member wants to discuss any item the board president will move it to an appropriate place on the agenda a board member may vote nay or abstain with respect to a consent agenda item without the need for removing the item from the consent agenda the action under consideration is that the board of school directors approves the following recommendations on the
015consent agenda as printed on page six of the agenda do I have a motion so moved do I have a second second okay a proper first and a second so I will call for a vote all those in favor signifi by saying I I any oppose signify by saying nay I have at 90 I will now turn to vice president tii who will talk about uh the gifts that are indicated on the consent agenda thank you president contorsi uh every month the board is very happy to receive some gifts uh from our community members and this month is no exception uh a Community member by the name of Sue Ellen Larin has contributed three conastoga yearbooks from the years's 2010 11 and 12 and two Val Forge Middle School yearbooks from the years 2006 and
0167 to the Conestoga High School library the value of these books is $300 and we'll create a nice archive for us there so we thank Miss uh Larin and our board secretary will send her a thank you note soon thank you thank you Miss Titi and thank you I will Echo your appreciation of the gifts and generosity of our of our community we do not have any priority discussion this I this uh this meeting so the next item on our agenda are committee and Ambassador reports and our first report will be of policy committee Miss Susan Ain thank you um the policy committee met on February the 4th 2025 the following policies and their accompanying regulations were discussed for review on a second reading basis and are on tonight's agenda for adoption policy and regulation
0171123 public access to school district records policy and regulation 1330 tobacco smoking products and electronic smoking products use general public policy 1341 one restrictions on use of electronic devices general public in addition the following policies and regulations were discussed policy and regulation 1124 distribution of promotional or other types of information there were no suggested revisions to the policy so it will be marked as reviewed and posted the regulation was revised to specify any promotional information is included on the electronic bulletin board of the District website the regulation will go into effect immediately policy 13113 accident reporting there was a non-substantive revision to the policy to indicate the administrator's title director of safety and student services for reporting injuries of visitors occurring on school property the policy will be marked as reviewed and posted policy and
018regulation 5414 electronic devices use by students there were no suggested revisions to the policy so it will be marked as reviewed and posted the regulation was revised with an updated definition of electronic devices the regulation will go into effect immediately further details will be provided later in the meeting regarding the policies listed on tonight's agenda for approval on a first reading basis the next policy committee meeting is scheduled for March 4th at 700 p.m. at the district office on um West Valley Road thank you thank you Miss Ain our next report will be on the diversity committee and Dr Robert Singh thank you the diversity committee has not met since the last board meeting and has a scheduled meeting at 700 p.m. on April 22nd and any changes or updates will be posted on the
019website thank you thank you Dr s our next report will be on the finance committee and it's chair Dr Roberto hinski thank you uh so we met on uh Monday February 10th uh in at the teao uh and as usual we reviewed the monthly Financial reports um overall revenues are higher this year than last year by $8 million the difference um Coming primarily from real estate tax uh real estate transfer tax and investment income which are all high higher this year than last um also state and local Revenue categories are higher than last year total revenue as of January is a little over $157 million instruction expenses are higher this year at 92% uh of budget the increase in this expense category is due to regular and special education programs however we are still within
020budget um at the current time this year the overall expenses and incumbrances compared to budget are almost the same similarly similar to last year uh percentage wise and 47.1 2% of the budget has been expended the total general fund expenses and incumbrances as of the end of January are1 154 m615 154 mil 615,000 they will be changing throughout the spring as a reminder we don't pass a final budget until June uh so we have work to do in between now and then uh changes we're anticipating uh may come from healthc care expenses budgeted uh After we receive our second look projection from our consultants and also future Debt Service decisions will be based on our projected uh capital expenditure schedule and we um applied for an act one exception for special education it's been submitted
021to the Pennsylvania Department of UC education and we're waiting approval on that uh next we had a capital uh projects funding projection discussion so Mr McDonald reviewed the district's um plans for funding our upcoming infrastructure projects including the athletic fields project in new elementary school as well as the work we continually do throughout the district um for maintenance and improvements uh he re reviewed a possible funding scenario um which is similar to what we presented in the fall with contributions from the general fund combined with borrowing through Bond issues um which is consistent with the district's uh past practice in the way that we've we funded our capital projects over the years we will continue to discuss the funding plan um as part of but devel as part of budget development um throughout the spring
022as we um as we plan for for funding those um those Investments uh we also discussed the key dates for the 25 26 um budget through the end of June 2025 and uh we will be reviewing those in two budget workshops which will be happening next month and in April so um the future meetings of the finance uh committee are right before those there will be abbreviated meetings Monday March 10th here at Koka high school so we'll have a finance meeting followed by a budget workshop and then Monday April 7th um short Finance meeting followed by a budget Workshop these are great opportunities to um get some background and we have a lot of context provided about um past and and future expenditures and uh what drives the district so I'd encourage uh anyone who's
023interested to attend and participate thank you thank you Dr hoinsky and now we'll go back to Dr Robert Singh for a report on the facilities committee thank you the facilities committee committee met on February 11th this was a short meeting due to inclement weather that evening so committee business is focus on the approval of a change order regarding regulated soil removal at the athletic field project this uh change order resulted in an increase due to regulated soil needing to be placed above the water table and this meant it had to go to a different facility overall though the project uh remained about 2 and a qu% above its contract uh its uh budgeted uh amount a second change order was also approved that evening for the new Elementary School VES vestibule deduction for glazing and
024a wood door removal this actually resulted in a net zero change order finally there was a short discussion on Capital sources and uses including closing out previous projects such as this beautiful Koga expansion and network upgrades the meeting was adjourned and our next meeting is scheduled for March 11th 700 p.m. at the tealo all are welcome to attend thank you thank you Dr Singh now we'll get a report on the education committee from Miss suti thank you the education committee meeting on February 13th began with a presentation by Dr P Patrick gatley supervisor of language arts he updated the committee on the elementary Reading support program and included a review of the structure of the program as well as developing changes to the responsibilities of our current elementary Reading Specialists he noted that best practices
025for improving reading achievement begins with a rigorous education program and extra instructional time for targeted interventions given the growing responsibilities of the reading specialist providing extra instruction outside the 90-minute language arts block to students who require extra support is limited as a result the Administration has proposed the addition of two reading specialists in the budget for 2526 this would mean that four of the elementary schools would have one and a half reading Specialists and Valley Forge the largest ele elentary would have two reading Specialists during the coming year the committee supported maintaining these positions in the budget at this time along with a rigorous educational program and extra instructional time social and emotional supports to help build student achievement are important Dr grappy the director of safety and student services presented the committee with Statistics
026Su summarizing mental health specials Mental Health Services provided to our students he noted that currently there are six Mental Health Specialists who are providing a growing number of clinical interviews and other positions they also provide Counseling Services they facilitate hospitalization placements and oversee student attendance Improvement plans they are charged with ensuring that the district is in compliance with the mckin vento law which mandates support to students who are defined as homeless Dr grappy reported that currently there is one mental health specialist serving all five element elementary schools the district has applied for a grant to fund an additional Elementary mental health specialist for one year that Grant was approved for the 2526 year and Dr grappy assured the committee that if a second-year extension becomes available the district will apply for that extension finally Dr
027Oscar Tes director of equity and public programs presented the district's comprehens comprehensive plan this plan is required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education once every 3 years the goal is to provide continuous Improvement in The District in order to facilitate Student Success the committee reviewed the plan and noted that it will be available to the public on the district website for more than a month approval of the complete plan by the full board is required at its meeting at the end of March this concludes my uh report and our next meeting will be March 13th at teao and and we welcome all uh interested community members thank you thank you Miss Tedy next we will turn to miss maranne Pichon for an update on the ad hoc legislative committee for your information uh the federal
028house Ways and Means Committee released a Reconciliation Bill list of options that included eliminating tax exempt status on state and local bonds an advisory publication noted that this would be detrimental to communities throughout the nation as tax exempt bonds provide a crucial tool that enables state and local governments to fund essential infrastructure projects efficiently and affordably please contact Senator John fedman Senator Dave McCormack and congresswoman Chrissy hulahan for comments and questions thank you thank you Miss pit y uh next we will have an update on the ad hoc public information committee from its chair Dr Yolanda Allen thank you the ad hoc public information committee has not met since our last meeting however we do have a meeting um coming up next month the meeting uh will be held at uh 7:00 p.m. on March
029the 18th 2025 at the teao building and at this meeting again we will be discussing the naming of our new the process of naming for our new elementary school thank you thank you Dr Allen and finally we'll go back to miss Maryann Pichon for an update on the Intermediate Unit technical school the Chester County Intermediate Unit board of directors held its monthly meeting on Wednesday February 19th uh included was a review in the first reading of the draft 2025 26 categorical core and occupational education budg budgets key points in the presentation were as follows no increase in proposed core budget contributions by districts proposed 4% increase in occupational education tuition rate the goal for our Marketplace program prices for chest County school districts is to limit to the Act One index 4% and categorical budgets
030do not require local funds um a second item I attended a panel discussion presented by children first discussing an advocacy report titled a decade of stalled progress uh Dr George fii of the cciu was one of the panelists state representative Dan Williams was the moderator and finally the next cciu board of directors meeting will be held on Wednesday March the 19th at 7:30 at the Technical College High School Pickering Camp campus in Phoenix pH that concludes my report thank you Miss Pichon and thank you to all the committee chairs for your reports and your work in shepherding our committees where a lot of the work of this board gets done so thank you all for that next item on the agenda are other actions under consideration policies recommended for first reading the action under consideration
031is that the board of school directors approves the following policies on a first reading basis as ready for adoption at the next regular meeting policy 1125 complimentary admission to events policy 880 acceptable use of technology and those are them do I have a motion so moved do I have a second second Mrs Ain could you please provide some additional context for the board yes as uh time passes sometimes uh our policies need to be updated uh to be consistent with current practice so policy and regulation 1125 complimentary admission to events is one such uh situation so um the administration met with uh the uh staff that were responsible for um the uh admission processes um for the different uh School theater Productions and they refin the policy uh so that it's clear um how an
032individual who may qualify for attending an event is able to uh uh obtain free admission so that um really is a lot of uh work to update that policy and uh policy and regulation 880 the accept exception acceptable use of Technology uh was revised to uh be updated to include the use of drones uh in our um School District so that concludes my comments thank you Mrs audrain do we have any comments or questions from the board seeing none the board now invites members of the audience to comment on this item if you have comments or question questions please step to the microphone and identify yourself seeing none we'll go back to the board are there any further comments from the board okay seeing none we'll go ahead and take a vote all those in
033favor signify by saying I I I any opposed signify by saying nay eyes have it 90 we are now at the point of the agenda for public part participation from District residents and District taxpayers regarding non-agenda matters of concern official action or deliberation which are or may be before the board residents and taxpayers may address the board now on matters not included in the agenda as a reminder uh comments are limited to three minutes please when you come up state your name and Township of residents and state your entire comment and then the board uh will determine if there's an appropriate response so any comments evening wh hello tting yeah there we go okay evening my name is Gina Arland I'm a 30-year resident of trevan Township proud mother of a 2020 Koga high school
034graduate I also happen to be a volunteer with the 501c3 nonprofit defense of democracy just on the side uh first I'd like to thank thees Town board teachers and staff members for creating a climate of inclusivity in our family's case as it pertains to my special need son who by the way recently graduated from Westchester University with a vocal performance major one of the great strengths of our community is that we're made up of people from all abilities religions cultures gender identities sexual ual orientations in all walks of life I encourage you to keep up the good work which is needed now more than ever to that end I'm addressing you today because I'm concerned by the recent reversal of the federal Ice immigration policy that now allows IC officers to arrest students at sensitive
035locations such as schools it's a direct violation of article 26 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and could have a devastating effect for immigrant families and their children or any child at school who find themselves suddenly exposed to raids and arrests of their friends school should be a safe place for students teachers and families and visitors so I'm just asking if faculty and staff have been trained in how to handle ice Presence at our schools please help reassure that me that students will feel safe attending school in our community and thank you thank you for your comment and for your your question um we're also keeping up with these sorts of things but I will turn to you Dr gusk to talk about some of the actions that may or may not be
036occurring on the ground thank you uh so up to this point we've had no contact from any of the members of the uh ISU organization um the uh information has been shared with our schools that should someone arrive they would the process basically is they would contact us and in the central office we would attend we would review credentials Mr Roose our solicitor would be called there's certain uh conditions that would be required such as a Judicial warrant um that would uh be necessary for any further School cooperation but um our principles have all been informed of that practice thank you Dr gusk uh do we have any more questions or comment from the public okay seeing none the public comment periods for this evening are now closed this is the point in our meeting
037when we may make Ann when we make any announcements required by the Pennsylvania Sunshine act our solicitor this evening is Ken Rose and he will make any required announcements yes the board met an executive session prior to this meeting tonight immediately prior uh regarding uh potential uh identifiable litigation complaints thank you Mr Roose future meetings Monday March 10th 2025 budget Workshop 1 7:30 p.m. at Conestoga High School uh then next meeting Monday March 24th 2025 regular board meeting 7:30 p.m. once again here at Conestoga high school next meaning after that Monday April 7th 2025 budget Workshop 2 the sequel 7:30 p.m. here again at kast stoga high school and after that Monday April 28th 2025 regular board meeting 7:30 pm. once again here at Koga high school I will now this is the point in
038the meeting when I turn to other board members to see if there any other General announcements seeing none uh I'll just make again another plug for the musical uh if you don't have your tickets yet go get them it is always an excellent performance every year always amazed by the talent of our student and the dedication of our staff to put on these sorts of of Productions if you have not been I cannot recommend it strongly enough great these uh how great these performances are so with that uh correspondence that the board has received is on page 128 of your agenda and then I will call for a motion to adjourn so moved do I have a second second all those in favor signify by saying I I I any opposed you're welcome to stay
039eyes have it 90 thank you very much for