001e e e e e e good evening apologies for the slightly late start uh but I see that every we got everybody signed in so which is great welcome to the May 2028 2024 regular meeting of the tradan Easttown school board will begin as always with a salute to the flag regular school board 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 priority discussion the final public comment 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
002be before the tesd board of directors and which are not covered by the other comment periods each public com period is reserved for residents and taxpayers additionally the board will accept comments from sitting public officials for non- campaigning purposes and by agreement with the tea and ten 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 comment 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 event in Pennsylvania the school board values the opportunity to hear from the community in person and appreciates your cooperation in
003advance we'll move on to our next item on the agenda it's our reports from student representatives and other invited speakers uh next so we have we will hear now from our student Representatives Lex Shaw and Ian Kumar but before we get started everybody should recognize that Lex has been with us now for a couple years and this is Lex's last meeting here on the on the school board giving the the update as he goes off to uh areas up north and east of us in Boston to Boston University we uh are fortunate to have had Lex and his enthusiasm uh here for the past couple of years and we will surely miss him but wish him the best as he goes on to uh bigger things out in the in Boston so thank you [Applause]
004Le thank you that was very very nice um hello everyone my name is Lex Shaw um this is my last time doing this for the past two years so uh you know we're both pretty emotional Ian may start crying during his speech but please have some respect for him he just cares about me way too much so it's okay um as you can tell by my relaxed attire I'm not in school right now I'm not stressed at all besides the fact that I'm interning with the kindergarten class at Valley Forge Elementary um it does get pretty stressful there but our seniors are currently on senior internship uh again you know you can intern wherever throughout the area I chose to intern with my old kindergarten teacher at my elementary school but it's just a great
005program we have to end for seniors to end the year as we close the year we have senior Awards this Thursday in the auditorium uh you had to RSVP to that event uh Monday we have um on June 3rd we have senior Reflections at the dalesford ABY uh it's a very nice event where students kind of reflect on their time at high school and then the next night June 4th is our graduation on teamer field uh again so those are events for seniors most of them I believe you at the RSVP for uh but graduation will be June 4th at teamer field uh today I kind of was move up day um for the eighth graders to Koga uh tomorrow will be move up day for the parents um when it comes to sports I
006see M Mr peachin in the back over there so I know he's going to be very happy to hear this our Varsity tennis team won the state championship they are actually here so if everybody can clap it up for them is a great accomplishment I want to make sure everybody knows it was the varsity team cuz ion here is on the JV team and so he did not contribute but it was only the varsity team okay not Ian just to make it clear um our girls lacrosse team has their District Championship tomorrow night at hord high school at 7:00 um our softball team season came to an end they W lost in the second round of the playoffs but they had a great year and our crew team's currently getting ready for Nationals which will
007be next week uh lastly our school band went to Memorial Day Parade in DC and performed uh at uh at the Mall of America uh there as well and so that's all I have to say for my last speech again I want to thank like this district and every up here so much for the great opportunities it's giving me I had a great time highlighting our school in our area here and yeah that's all I have to say thank you guys so much hello everyone I'm aan Kumar you know for Lex's final meeting I was told that I had to have an official commemoration speech to Lex and I promise you this wasn't official because it came from Lex himself he told me comes funny from the guy who stood me up to dinner tonight
008so Lex student council and the school has brought us pretty close over these past couple years and I thank you for the opportunities and the friendship You' provided me you introduced me to the school board and I'm really thankful for this opportunity that you've told me about and made seem so fun uh even though I'm going to you know commemorate you Lex has always tried to one up me when he found out I had my own club he wouldn't even want to join it cuz he just couldn't see me as president but I promise you all inside he just little teddy bear and so I thank you Lex and I we'll all miss you so [Applause] much so to get to the real business of tonight uh right now school is in the home stretch
009all exams were done this past month we had the AP exams and keystones so students across the entire Koga District are feeling really happy right now and school is pretty chill we had our Unity fair this past Friday which is basically a free day for students to participate in all sorts of activities and we had a new time today where there was a pep rally at the end of the day and lots of students engaged in this event and it was really exciting there was a lot of great highlights such as musical chairs and it was really fun to see so many teachers and students get involved thanks to student council and P mediation for this effort uh junior awards were last week where 23 Juniors were recognized for their efforts and contribution to the
010school and they were given awards for the selection of the awards committee Junior Prom was also this past month which was organized by junior class student council it was really successful night a lot of students had a lot of fun it was at the hotel Sheron in King of preia and it was overall such a great experience and lastly we just had our student council elections this month where all officers for all grades were elected and will be introduced into our home room this upcoming year and upcoming freshmen have the opportunity to run for Student Council in September thank you [Applause] thank you for that report so now we'll move on to student and staff highlights but before we begin those highlights I'd like to draw attention to the St student artwork uh behind me
011which was supplied by Koga high school for this evening's meeting the ninth grade Studio Art one class created Still Life paintings students learned how to use the color wheel to create a color palette students then sketched still life objects from observation and experiment exp mented with how varying color palettes could can be used to create illusionistic depth in a painting the lolium print portraits on display were created by the 10th grade Studio Art 2 class students photographed themselves in high contrast and learned how to use Adobe Photoshop to alter their image into shapes of dark and light using these expressive photos as reference the Young Artists learned to carve a lenium block in their likeness when the blocks were complete students printed the blocks and experimented with different inks and papers now please join board
012members Sue Titi and MaryAnn Pichon and Conestoga High School principal Dr Amy misinger in greeting students and staff during the Highlight session of tonight's board meeting curriculum supervisor Dr John mle will be our reader for the evening all right thank you very much we have a number of highlights for this evening when I call your name we invite you and your family to come on up this side to Mr cataldi you'll come on around uh shake hands with Mrs TTI Mrs Pon and Dr minger and then if you head over to the table over here Dr Torres has a certificate for you to take home thank you 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
013for their efforts the board invites parents and teachers to accompany their students this evening as the board recognizes them those who are unable to be here tonight will receive their certificates at their schools middle school students excel at math competitions the te Middle School team of eighth graders daen Han and fashi ra and seventh graders Ethan Chi and Asher Wong placed first in the county math counts competition Ethan won both the individual written round and the oral countdown round Asher placed fifth in the written and sixth in the countdown round these four students represented Chester county in the state math counts competition in Harrisburg where they placed seventh [Applause] Valley Forge Middle School seventh grader Kimberly Wong took first place in the lightning round of the County math counts competition additionally eighth graders dij gar
014Sophia Q Andrew Lee and seventh grader Raymond woo took second place in the team round at the county level granting them the wild card to participate in the state math csil competition dear Raj took eighth place overall te School District middle school students also took place in the Pennsylvania Math League competition the te Middle School 8th grade team consisting of daen Han mateline Lan fashi Mishra Jonah neeb and Ethan OA placed second in the State team competition dchen and fashi tied for first place individual with perfect scores the seventh grade team of Lucas Chen Ethan Chi Asher Wong Jason XA and Sophia Yao tied for second place in the state Ethan placed first as an individual with a perfect score followed by Asher in sixth grade the sixth grade team consisting of rooming I rajika
015Basu Kevin Han Adele he Ray kazuba captured the third place team spot in Pennsylvania ring led the way as the Seventh Place individual in Pennsylvania valy Forge Middle School's eighth grade team of dij gar Sophia Q Andrew Lee James luau and danou marab bathula took first in both the state and the County Pennsylvania math competitions diage placed first in both state and County individually with the rest of the team tying for seventh in the state the seventh gr team consisting of Victor Wong Raymond woo Robert spec and ubed subahan tied for second place in the state and first in the county Victor and Raymond both tied for sixth in the state and second in the county the sixth grade team of George Zang Alexander how a joh Ethan shei and VI gar placed first in
016the state and the county George placed second in the state and first in the county individually te School District middle school students also competed in the amc8 math competitions earlier this year at te Middle School seventh graders Ethan Chi and Jason sha placed in the top 1% nationally eighth grader Ethan O'Shea and sixth grader ring I scored in the top 5% nationally Valley Forge Middle School had six students who scored in the top 1% nationally eighth grader divot Gupta seventh grader Victor Wong sixth graders Maxi xang George xang and Lewis zuu and fifth grader Andy Wen additionally Valley Forge had eight students who scored in the top 5% nationally eighth graders Andrew byon danou marab batula dij gar and Andrew Lee seventh grader Patrick xang sixth grader amay Rajan and fifth graders Daniel Ding and
017Alex how te middle schools te Middle School teacher Lisa stower and Valley Forge Middle School teachers Craig Gratton and Michelle Mone are the advisers to the math competition teams congratulations to our exceptional math leetes te Middle School teacher is finalist for 2024 Citadel heart of learning award te Middle School teacher Katie oxenfeld was selected as a finalist for the 2024 Citadel heart of learning award each year Citadel receives thousands of nominations for this nationally recognized award which honors Educators who make a difference in their Community go above and beyond and truly build strength in education Katie has been a math teacher in Te schools for two years and it's been teaching for 13 years she also serves as a school Equity guide Koga high school students selected for 20 24 pmea All State Choir Orchestra
018and band The Following conastoga students were selected to All State music groups pmea All State band Joshua Beck on horn Yen ho trombone Frank Lou clarinet Ethan Marshall percussion Ruf Tang horn Eric Shu alto sex pmea All State Orchestra Sharon Beck OBO Audrey Kim violin Hannah Han violin Isabella florendo violin Suri an violin Lauren woo violin leway Tony Tong violin and Daniel Loa cello pme State Choir Zach cus Bas and Matthew ma accompanist Koga music teachers are Chris Nation Nathan suer and Casey Hess [Applause] Koga High School senior named student journalist of the Year Koga student Ben Shapiro has been chosen as the 2023 24 Jane bstone Pennsylvania student journalists of the Year by the Pennsylvania School press Association the competition was three times larger and more rigorous than any previous year Ben was also
019a runnerup at the Scholastic press Association National High School journalism convention he's a four-year staff member and editor-in chief for the spoke the spoke awarded top prizes in PA high school newspaper the spoke is the recipient of the 2024 Clyde F liol All State award given by the PA School press Association to the top high school newspaper in Pennsylvania each year in addition the spoke received 20 2024 first place in excellence in reporting on diversity equity and inclusion from the Keystone Scholastic press Awards the spoke editor-in Chief is Ben Shapiro and the managing editors are Abigail Bagby and Shrea V naan The Faculty advisers are laara Howard Nicole Zachy and Allison fola [Applause] Koga High School junor receives recognition at National History Day in Pennsylvania competition Koga student Reeves lucens placed third in the junior
020paper category of the National History Day in Pennsylvania competition with his individual research paper from words to wounds the attack of Charles suner and the Prelude to the Civil War Reeves was also awarded the Mayflower prize which is given to a student that best illustrates the values of the Mayflower passengers religious freedom Economic Opportunity self-governance and Multicultural respect the national hist day competition adviser is Aaron Lockard conastoga High School robotics team represents Pennsylvania in World Championship the members of the Koga robotics team represented Pennsylvania in the 2024 Vex robotics World Championships in Dallas Texas all six teams of kogas qualified for the state championship for the first time in the history of Koga robotics team 612a finished 14th and team 61-21 C finished 24th at the world championship team 6121 C was named the state
021skills Champion team captains are aditia Qatari and Amil agrawal team 6121 a was the state think Award winner and its captains are Mary McDonald and William Juan team 6121 F was named the state innovate Award winner the team captains are Adam song and arnov chowy Team 61-21 B was the state build Award winner and its captains are Samy PanAm and Rohan Ane and once again team 6121 a finished 14th and 6121 C finished 24th overall at the World Championships conastoga teacher Noah Austin is the adviser for the Koga robotics [Applause] teams Koga high school students recognize that de International competition 35 Koga students were among the 23,000 students from around the world who competed at the 2024 Deca International Career Development conference in Anaheim California Jeffrey Wong grade 10 received third place in the world
022in Business Services marketing category and was recognized for his high exam score the team of tanvi basetti Jang Lee and oia ignasi was a finalist in the hospitality and tourism operations research and placed in the top 20 in their category Xander wangle professional selling and Carter Pew principles of Finance were recognized for their High exam scores the conastoga DEA advisers are Jeff Connors and Ashley [Applause] Carter Koga High School boys tennis team win state championship with a 20in one season the conastoga high school boys tennis team finishes their season as Central League champions District Runners up and state champions the team members are Ethan Sun Rohan raal voen marovic basil luoni Francis chin Ralphie luoni Derek chin Ethan Davidson Jake song George bosovik Lucas Montello and suria namana the team's coaches are Britney Amon and
023Mara [Applause] fo Koga High School teacher named the coolest teacher WMMR radio hosts Preston and Steve named Allison f the coolest teacher in Koga High School the contest highlights special Educators that are named by students to be quote a little cooler than the rest end quote congratulations Allison congratulations to all of you for your outstanding efforts and your achievements we commend you for your accomplishments congratulations thank you everyone uh these end of the year meetings uh usually come with lots of accolades and honors and this year's certainly did not disappoint in that regard it was great to see a packed house here for for all of those Awards so now is the time of the meeting where those folks who are were mostly interested in the awards and highlights uh we'll take a break and
024you all have an opportunity to leave you are welcome to stay and listen to the rest of the business meeting but I can understand why some of you might go to do more important things like uh go to bed do homework pretty much anything else so thank you all we we'll resume in a few minutes e e e okay so we'll bring this meeting back to order uh one thing that I failed to recognize at the outset of the meeting was that we do have one board member who is uh uh attending remotely which is Dr Robert Singh who is represented here by this electronic device thank you you're welcome Robert okay so the next item on the agenda is announcement of additional agenda items of which we have none next item is public participation
025from District residents and District taxpayers regarding items on the consent agenda uh if you would like to make a comment on the consent agenda only 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 then the board will determine an appropriate response do we have any comments on the consent agenda okay seeing none we'll with next item on the agenda is the board action uh regarding ing amendment of agenda to include additional agenda items we have none of those so we get to move forward to the
026consent agenda itself 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 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 consent agenda as printed starting on page 10 of the agenda do I have a motion so moved I have a second second hey I have a proper first the second we'll call for a vote all
027those in favor signify by saying I I any oppos any oppos signify by saying nay hearing none eyes have it 90 uh with that we will now turn to vice president Titi who will uh graciously accept the gifts on behalf of the district thank you uh actually we have so many uh wonderful gifts that occur throughout the year we're appreciative of all of them uh we have many booster clubs in our uh School District especially here at kosa high school and this gift is a gift from the conastoga high school track and field booster club they have given 140 drawring bags 11 lanyards five conastoga track and field logo t-shirts and they've donated them to the TR different Easttown School District ele Elementary physical education program at a value of $780 so we thank them
028very much for the generosity I'm sure that the elementary schools will put those things to good use and we will be sending a thank you note from the secretary of the board thank you vice president Titi again uh reiterate always grateful for the generosity of our community when it comes to the school district so thank you our next item on the priority discussion uh actually our next items are priority discussions and we will turn to our first one on the priority discussion which is the action under consideration is that the board of school directors approve all students who have met the requirements for graduation as the class of 2024 Kaho stoga high school as submitted by Dr Amy misinger principal that the final list be included in the official records of this meeting do I
029have a motion so moved do I have a second second do I have a third we have a proper first in a second so I will now turn to Dr minger Who will now present on the Koga High School class of 2024 Dr minger thank you very much this is certainly an exciting time at conastoga as Lex mentioned earlier we're in the final lineup of all of the senior activities we have three board members with seniors graduating so I see you wanting to first and second the motion and I know why so proud parents watching their kids graduate as well so I'm very proud to present the board with the graduating class of 2024 this is the largest class we've had at Conestoga so it's an exciting Milestone that we'll have um on June 4th
030so we'll be issuing 667 diplomas and 15 certificat of attendance for a total of 682 students to be recognized so it will be an exciting evening for sure um I would like to thank the board I'd like to thank all of the staff administrators parents uh it certainly takes all of us to get to this culmination of of schooling for kids as they reach the end um I look forward to seeing everybody as I said on June 4th that is weather permitting we will be on team or field it is uh not a ticketed event so it is open seating if you choose to join us the gates will open at 5:00 and you can come right in and grab a seat I'd also like to extend a public thanks to Dr Patrick Bole he
031is our 12th grade assistant principal and he really ushers them across the final stages in their senior year so I want to thank him for joining me this evening as we present his class so to speak so um again uh thank you all for the first and second and we look forward to seeing you on June 4th weather permitting thank you Dr minger we are all looking forward to it uh Koga High School graduation is one of the best days of the school year and so we are very much looking forward to it whether or not we have our own kids who are walking across the stage but with that I will turn to the board and see if anybody on the board is any comments or questions for Dr misinger okay seeing none uh
032turn to the public any comments from the public okay seeing none we'll go back to the we'll go back to the board all right so with no more comments I think we're ready to take a vote all those in favor of the motion signify by saying I I I any oppose signify by saying nay all right the eyes have it 90 look forward to seeing everybody on June 4th so our next priority discussion uh concerns a resolution for the district educational program specifically the action under consideration is that the board of school directors authorizes the following operations and programming for the district schools one an additional K to4 Elementary School shall operate on the site located at 1200 West swedesford Road burwin Pennsylvania area code 19312 with a projected opening date of August 2027 two
033all district elementary schools shall provide full day kindergarten programming for all kindergarten age students in all district elementary schools beginning in August of 2027 and three all students in grades K to6 shall receive additional targeted instruction aligned with the required Pennsylvania Steels which stands for science Technology and Engineering environmental literacy and sustainability standards effective which are effective uh what this will be effective August this part of the resolution will be effective August 2025 so with that background and the motion do I have have a motion so moved do I have a second second hey we have a first and a second I will now turn to Dr gusk Who will present the resolution for district educational programming Dr gusk thank you president kantori it's my pleasure to speak with the community this evening and the
034board regarding uh the sixth elementary school and when I look at and hear you read those words and the resolution they are of significant consequence uh and also the culmination and particularly the first two items of uh many years of study deliberation communication at the board level directly with schools directly with parents in our community and can culminate in a formal vote this evening to solidify the timeline regarding the opening of the additional Elementary School um also most recently an education committee this will be I'm sure part of the report that we hear uh after this is done but um there are changes that are going to be impacting Elementary instruction prior to the opening of that school particularly in the areas of steals and you you'd read that that was science technology engineering environmental
035literacy and sustainability so um there's also with that while we're addressing Elementary School programming we've taken this one resolution and an opportunity to address all three so this evening we will share information about uh I've highlighted the resol olution we'll talk about the areas of focus that we're going to need moving forward to if this resolution is approved realize it in terms of programming for our elementary schools and then some more specific dates tied into that timeline just this quick background and there's a picture of the property as it looks right now and will not look um as we move forward but on April 2nd tesd became the owner of a 15 acre property located at 1200 West swedesford Road um that building has the capacity for full day kindergarten we we we described several
036drivers for the need for the additional school one was full day kindergarten which we estimating in itself will take 15 classrooms um our enrollment at the elementary level is high enough and stable high enough to uh make it such that we're not going to have the those the space for that within our existing CL classrooms and we also have an expanding population of students uh with special needs who require instruction in particular spaces as well we have aggregated a lot of the work that the district has already done with respect to the uh Elementary School on a district enrollment site we're going to be retiring that site because we're looking as we're looking forward we're going to have a new Elementary School site and per uh well we won't retire it we'll leave it there
037but um the operative site will really be What's the progress on the development and opening of the new elementary school so uh we expect to have that launched by the end of the week so the resolution has the three parts um opening a 6th K4 Elementary School the the composition of the school has been discussed in public meetings uh a sixth neighborhood School of K through four grades is is the recommendation to open August 2027 with full day kindergarten in place uh as recommended by our education committee formally and also subject of many public meetings in addition to that um we in order to provide particularly in the areas of Technology and Engineering in order to be able to provide instruction that will meet the level of these new standards going to have to create
038some additional space in the elementary school blueprint and Middle School blueprint in particular um in order to prepare the students adequately um for the assessments they're going to receive regarding these standards um I will explain a little bit more about that uh as we move forward uh to agree to terms uh Steels is the term that you'll see both these terms used steals is the term that refers to the standards um that we are expected all of our students to receive instruction uh aligned with Steels standards stem is what we will be calling the special that's really in particular for certification reasons the the Department of Education is is very specific about who can teach a stem course and since that will primarily focus on both Technology and Engineering appear in both steals and stem
039um we're calling it stem because they're very particular about who can teach a stem course and it's less certain who could teach a steel course so they're going to accomplish the same purpose so if I say stem it means that special period that we're talking about adding into the instruction if it's steals it's the state level standards that th that stem course will be aligned with so this slide by design shows that A lot's going on because if you look at the bottom we're in 2324 and we need to have that new school opened by 2728 so there are going to be many simultaneous functions taking place at the district level and in the schools certainly we have to build the school we have to pay for it we need the resources to be able
040to pay for the school we have to make the adjustments to our constructional program that will include stem uh stem special as well as full day IND kindergarten with the resultant impacts that might have on Staffing and the scheduling of all of the grades K through four we have to ensure continue to ensure that all of our students with special needs uh have a space in that school as well as all of the five are currently in place that all of their needs can be met instructionally when the school school is designed we need to keep Safety and Security in mind as well our district has made a commitment to equity certainly that would be part of any discussion with opening a new school um one of the things that we've received some early questioning
041on is uh right now if you look at our enrollment areas of course with that new school area there are no students assigned to attend that school so we will need to redraw the attendance boundaries at our elementary school in the wisest way Poss possible so that not only we'll have uh students attending that school but better balance aligned with the facilities of the existing 5K four schools we have um we're going to have to build brand new staff uh in combination of teachers that may need to be hired but also teachers that move from our existing elementary schools and then as well the bus routes we have they're going to need to be redone if you're doing this much realignment of uh students to different schools and to this new school um that has
042to be done as well so we've got a lot of major functions that will need to adapt and change between the 2023 24 school year in which we're currently ending and being ready to open that school in August of 2027 so the goal with the rest of the document first there's there two documents we're going to be placing on the web this this is to provide just an overview about what that work means that I just very broadly outlined um this document is a visual basically looking at all of those functions and then some specific breakdowns and broadly speaking yellow means we are gathering information we're doing research we're getting ready for um a lot of critical work planning is the period of time when you the shirt sleeve are rolled up and we're meeting
043in committees and we're making decisions as to how something might actually look and then green really means that it's implemented it's like in it's it's taking place it's in place um these documents when they appear on the web will be date stamped and I invite the community to think of them really as living documents because we're going to almost certainly need to make revisions if there are adjustments if we're ahead of schedule or behind schedule with construction if there other changes that take place these are targets that we've set in place now but will be adjusted as needed and then the following slides in the presentation give a little bit more detail on what each of these things will look like on a year-by-year basis the goal is we we had a number of public
044meetings on whether or not to purchase the property and they were well attended and we've got a lot of feedback and I thank the community for participating in that uh process it was very valuable to hear the input of our residents as that decision was being made and what's going to happen from a real standpoint is then that school will open in 2027 for a good period of time you're not going to see any activity at all on that site and we certainly don't want to convey to anybody that a lot of work and planning is being isn't taking place to ensure that that school opens as successfully as our other schools so with construction for example we are already underway developing space programming meeting with the educational experts the principes teacher representatives to determine
045the best use as that building is renovated to meet the needs of the educational program uh as well um when you do a project of this nature it requires a approvals so um we're beginning in the beginning stages of getting uh Township approvals and we're needed state level approvals for different functions of the of the school we had revealed a basic financing plan uh which includes a combination of moving money from our annual operating fund into our Capital fund to help pay for the construction and renovation of the new school in addition we also have discussed the need to borrow bonds and that's also been addressed in Prior board meetings already this year there will be several Bond issues that have taken place and one of them was already approved for this current year with
046our elementary blueprint for instruction we are going to need to determine the time and we we've already done that we've made a determination on how um a stem special would look to address these steel standards and we are also in constant uh communication Gathering best practices regarding what full day kindergarten would look like that work has already begun special education we continually Ro monitor room utilization numbers of students in our early intervention programs so that we can be prepared to meet the needs of those students in terms of our facilities um special education has been an important inclusion in the design process to be certain that when this school opens all students could be educated there as well um that carries down into Equity because we certainly want accessibility and belonging to be an important
047part as this school is built with respect to Safety and Security we've already done preliminary walkthroughs with representatives from Chester County Safety as well as our local police to make initial recommendations on the layout of the building and we share principles with our design team to ensure that the latest thinking on safe schools are Incorporated when the school's built and we won't need to recommend renovation projects then after it's built to uh make the school safer next year in particular what we'll be um looking at is moving forward with the construction timeline we probably will not by by a year from now have broken ground on that project the design process and approvals process and uh the design of documents that can be used for public bidding takes a considerable amount of time and that
048a lot of that work will take place behind the scenes over the next year we'll continue to um design a budget that allows for movement from funds from the annual budget into capital and come to you with the consideration of further bonds as necessary in the next school year with the elementary blueprint for instruction we're going to need to reconvene the blueprint committee to determine now how full day kindergarten will be scheduled how much time for each instructional unit for full day kindergarten what impact that might have on the rest of the school we'll need to have staff involvement on that level as well as developing a schedule for a new stem rotation at the elementary level we're looking at a special that would meet once every six days and that needs to be incorporated
049into an add an existing array of schedules we've already presented some details to the board on that last Thursday night and uh thank you and we'll be uh continuing that conversation about incorporating that additional spem stem special so a big topic then a question is least with redistricting um there are many ways the district can go about redrawing the lines for attendance areas what at least in conversation with um the board thus far we have time to do this we have time to do this to inform everybody and to do Transition needed to have that in place by 2027 for next year what we're going to create is an ad hoc committee on uh Elementary redistricting that will really address the parameters that is what are the what are the priorities the board will have
050what considerations will the board set um for any new attendance lines we expect that work at least to begin in in the spring of next year um with special education we'll continue to monitor space and weigh in on how that needs to be incorporated into design Staffing is something as well because we have to create a brand new staff um so we need to we can't have that new staff and again this ties in uh well with Equity we can't have that new staff be all brand new teachers or all teachers from existing schools who want to go to the new school we don't even want by grade level there to be um all the most experienced teachers from one grade level and then other grade levels having inexperienced teachers or leaving an imbalance in
051the schools that we have so we'll begin a very careful consideration on how to build a uh a staff with varied backgrounds and experiences as well as uh we have to determine numbers because it's to know until you know exactly how many people you're moving um what your target is and then also um kindergart positions so I imagine so we we will probably need in the area of 15 additional 10 to 15 additional kindergarten teachers um it is challenging to in one year say we want to find 15 really amazing kindergarten teachers in one single year so beginning to identify who on our current staff might not be teaching kindergarten who could be interested in moving into full day kindergarten or ways of building or are new hires coming in could be assigned to other
052grades now but moved to full day kindergarten when that becomes a a reality these are the considerations that will go in place for next year uh we'll continue to make sure as well that Safety and Security are incorporated into the process in 526 um you should see considerable action over at 1200 West swedesford Road um because we intend at that time to have the process moving forward and construction taking place at the school we will continue to to need to move money from the operating budget into the capital budget to finance it and we'll keep the board updated with respect to what other additional bonds might be necessary to fund the project um steel standards won't wait for our new school to open so we do plan part of the plan and part of the
053resolution this evening is to implement this stem special in our five existing schools two years prior because that's the date that's required for Steals and steel standards instruction across the state um in as far as full day kindergarten we'll need to involve our staff members in and part of that development of the world's best full day kindergarten we're going to have to involve our staff members in that process in detail in that year with redistricting we want to at that point make sure we have all parameters finalized and then at least begin the development of new enrollment areas map it doesn't take three years to draw up a new map you definitely want to allow for at least a semester if not more for transition for families to move in another consideration is as soon
054as you draw up up and finalize a redistricting map the next day it starts to stray from what you intended so the earlier you do your redistricting map families will move in and out kids will move through the grade levels and you want to to strike a balance between giving people adequate notice but also not deciding those lines too early that they're already a year or two out of date when when you open them so at least we want to be in that process of developing map in the 25 26 year and then in special education in in addition to monitoring the student numbers and where they are the same with full day kindergarten we want to ensure we have staff who are skilled at providing uh instruction in five buildings we need to make
055sure we have staff that can provide specialized instruction in six so we'll need to make sure already in advance people being brought in we keep in mind who's going to be the the one who's going to deliver that service in the new school similar um then with Staffing the greatest need will be in for kindergarten instruction so we're going to be looking on how we could onboard staff ahead of time not necessarily as extra staff members but in our staffing Matrix that we can keep in mind that some of these folks would be excellent candidates to teach full day kindergarten when it opens similar with Safety and Security as we get closer we need to have more and more involvement from individuals and this goes into 2627 then develop very specific Safety and Security plans
056what happens in an evacuation what are the egress levels what how do how do the vehicles depart what's the emergency access um for vehicles to come in and also for individuals to leave it's a lot of work and consideration and we want to draw on our local expertise to make sure those plans are very strong particular with Equity we want as we're reaching out bringing all staff members in that we've brought in a a group that has varied backgrounds and experiences now with Transportation the first step will be for transportation to Aid in the redistricting process because um the transportation department works very closely to make sure that the new attendance areas lines are workable make sense from a trans uh from a transportation standpoint you don't want multiple buses going on the same neighborhood
057if NE Neary so um the inclusion and involvement in the development of the map by the transportation department is very important in the final year then before opening we would complete the the construction which uh would be probably in the summer of 2027 and then have a punch list and close out necessary items in order to be ready to open that school that August um we hope that by that point we've issued all the bonds that we need to and then what we are doing as well would be beginning the process of moving transferring less money over from the from the operating fund to the capital fund and instead converting those allocated Monies to the actual expenses it will take to operate that school once it's opened in August um we will then be presenting
058the full day kindergarten plan for the education committee and the full board and finally izing the El Elementary blueprint as a whole um redistricting at the latest we'd want completed by January of 2027 so there's at least a semester of an opportunity for families to adjust to the new school this is adequate time for teachers to share information about students for families to visit the school for students to have move up or move over days um all the activities we would want to ensure as smooth a transition as possible um then likewise with special education it starts to then become real as these classrooms are finished let's make sure they're furnished in a way that they can provide all the students for the numbers of students that need those Services um that will be a
059year of uh where the staff is notified will'll certainly be have to begin with at least early in that year identifying who the principal would be ahead of the start of school there'll be considerable work for that person to make sure that school is open anybody who's been a principal knows how much work there is opening a school in a regular Year let alone opening one that has never been open before so we will want to have a principal like likely as well support staff for the principal at least the main office secretary identify what uh support staff in terms of Maintenance custodial um other support work Food Services need to be assigned to that building um and then also make sure we've got a a recruitment and hiring timeline so that all of our
060schools are fully staffed by that time and finalize any decisions about transferring staff members to that new building that would likely happen in the 26 27 school year we'll have a full Emergency Operations plan developed on a Safety and Security level we'd like to work with our County to do an audit of the building for safety prior to the opening of the building um and then also when it comes to inclusion and belonging we want all of our families to feel welcome at that building and that the staff as well um feels that they've had a chance to connect with each other and it feels like a like a natural opening for everyone um and then at that point it will be for the bus Department redrawing most Elementary bus droughts K through four so
061that will be a consider considerable amount of work for that department as well so that's just a little bit more color the the chances of some of those moving from one year to the next are pretty strong so anytime we make a revision to that we will post an update but the community would be able to see this document which is intended just to to provide broad brush Strokes on where we might be from now until when that school opens and as well as to convey an understanding that we're committing significant human resources to the uh the execution of this plan so that I can open as as smoothly as possible but going back to the main question at hand it is a formal approval for the creation of a k through K4 neighborhood school
062on the 1200 West swedesford Road Site the establishment of full day kindergarten for all students and not just the new school but all six of our elementary schools at that time and two years prior to the opening the creation of a uh stem special at the elementary level K through 4 um we are it says K through six in the resolution because currently there is no teched instruction in grades five and six we will be bringing you more specifics on what that looks like at the beginning of next year but it's an understanding that we're making a special in those grades that we don't currently have that point I'll turn it back to the board and president Kent torsi thank you Dr gusk for that that presentation certainly a lot of work between now and
063fall fall of 2027 so we're looking forward to it I will turn to the board and see if folks have any questions first for Dr gusk yes Miss Titi uh not a question actually just a a comment I I want to say that uh I think our district has a a history of always starting with our students first and we have adapted facilities we've uh added on to facilities we've done a lot of things in the last 25 years to make sure that we had the room for for everyone and a space for every program that our students needed and I think this project is um it's a culmination of all that work as well as the fact that we know to put our students first and in order to give them the programs that
064they need and to meet the special needs of an increasingly large group of children this was a step that needed to be taken and it's obviously an all Hands-On deck project uh it's an exciting one it's h a lot of work already when you look at all those different uh kinds of uh considerations it's it's been a lot of work and really the work is just beginning but I don't think um there's a staff an Administration or a board that would be happier to do this work in in the name of providing what we need for our kids and I um I look forward to it and and I thank everybody for what they've done so far and and uh I know that we'll have a lot to do in the future but I I
065think uh it it's great work to be done thank you Miss Titi uh one thing I I'll add just real quickly at that that this point in terms of every in terms of redistricting right just to just to clarify with with folks who may be listening now or later uh to this to this meeting we know that redistricting is a was on top of a lot of people's minds as we went through this process is obviously that uh there's some displacement that goes on there and and lots of public concerns so I want to reiterate that there are going to be plenty of times and opportunities for public input as that process moves forward including starting as early as next year as this board will have its own ad hoc committee a smaller committee that
066will meet um on an announced basis that will talk about some of the parameters that we will use in order to be able to come up with a plan for redistricting the last time we redist we did some Elementary redistricting uh we followed a similar process um that started with a board a smaller board committee um and that really that process took almost a year and a half if I remember even almost two years if I remember correctly so um and at every step of the way there was a lot of opportunity for for public comment so so be uh you know be look on the lookout for that and and uh we welcome that public comment because uh those are those are some significant meetings the last time we did it and I think
067we got some really good ideas from those public meetings in order to be able to shape how we did it the last time um so that's my comment for now just to make sure everybody's aware of that I'll turn again to the board see if anybody else has any public comment I mean any public any comment from the board before we turn to the public okay seeing none uh I will now have public uh comment period on this presentation the board now invites members of the audience to comment on this item if you have comments or questions please step up to the microphone and identify yourself okay seeing none I will turn it back to the board any additional comment or questions from the board yes Dr atinsky I just want to say am planning
068to support the resolution I'm I think the Administration has done an excellent job uh presenting it and um given us all sorts of background for why and and how much it's going to cost and I heard very positive feedback from the community about the presentations and about the school in general and uh we've heard also about you know all the other districts that are moving forward with full day kindergarten and we're going to be the last in Chester County so I think it's it's time we've considered it very carefully for many years and I think between the enroll the space needs and the benefits of Phil day kindergarten it's time to move ahead so thank you for all the presentation and yeah I'll be voting yes any other questions or comments from the board okay
069well seeing none I will now take my prerogative to offer some last comments for for folks I mean this has been this is the culmination of a of a long time time and involved effort by a lot of people uh we'll start with the public the public has been involved from the start and as Dr gusk highlighted earlier in his presentation has providing has provided meaningful input in guiding this process into how we got to where we are today likewise the professional staff here at uh the district has provided uh significant guidance and input as to their needs uh going forward in terms of Elementary education uh we've had a lot of assistance from outside uh folks uh both on the diligence side construction side and acquisition teams that includes folks like Andy spard folks
070like Ken and and his shop um we've had our Architects heck andorn and shiles um have put in countless hours and folks like uh P Mike Kissinger and at penon who have put in a lot of time in detail and and in effort in order to be able to get us where we are today couldn't uh say these thanks without turning to the administration uh as well who have put in countless hours educating not just the the public but us here on the board uh in terms of some of these these processes and have fielded a lot of difficult questions uh and challenging questions from the public and from from the board with respect to that and and I want to in particular highlight folks like Dr Mike simera art McDonald Dr Wendy tol uh
071and of course Dr gusk uh over here who have put in more hours than I think anybody knows to be able to get us to this position and finally I want to thank the my my fellow board members who uh have themselves put in countless hours on this more than I think uh folks thought they were going to have to when they signed up for this job on a volunteer basis uh but I think everybody on on this board has taken their job very seriously when it comes to looking forward for this district and our community and how to to to best serve our community from a public education standpoint not just at the elementary levels because that then ripples up all the way up the to culminate in what we've got coming up next
072week in terms of graduation so I want to say my personal thanks to uh my fellow board members who have spent like I said countless hours cussing And discussing uh this this topic uh for the past you know we we started talking about this this topic you know 3 four years ago at at this point at least so with that I I want to say that I look forward to seeing this through and opening those doors in the fall of 2027 so with that um we're going to take a vote you know what let's do a roll call Vote for This one Absolutely I'll um I'll start with Miss Pichon yes Miss W yes Dr Allen yes Miss audrain absolutely yes Dr hoinsky yes Mr Hong yes uh Dr Singh Dr Singh yes thank you
073vice president tii yes president Kent torsi yes motion passes motion pass is 90 thanks very [Applause] much okay next item on the agenda will be our committee and Ambassador reports we will start with policy and Susan Ain thank you president Kent torsi the policy committee met on May the 7th and the following policies and regulations were discussed and our on tonight's consent agenda for approval on a second reading basis policy 2121 to 2140 administrative and athletic director job descriptions policy 4020 conflict of interest and disclosure disclosure of confidential information prohibition Trine Easttown School District employees policy and regulation 4031 volunteers voluntary separation from District policy and regulation 4120 extra Duty responsibility positions policy and regulation 4222 employee leave policy and regulation 4340 electronic communication devices used by employees policy 4480 to 4490 classroom teacher and
074other tea job descriptions policy and regulation 4813 transfer between non-instructional positions and classifications repeal of policy 6191 staff telecommunications because that detail is provided in other policies the policy committee meetings for the 2024 25 school year will be determined at a later date and will be posted on the district website I just want to sh give a shout out to Dr Anthony Stevenson who work so d ently to help complete the 4,000 series which deal with personnel and Human Resources policies countless hours that he spent on all of these policies thank you that concludes my report thank you Miss Ain uh next is diversity and Dr Robert Singh committee will be meeting all the next school year no report since the last board meeting thank you Dr Singh next we'll turn to finance and Dr
075Roberto hinski oops thank you president contori uh so we last met on Monday May 13th and we started with our usual uh Financial reports Mr livergood our assistant business manager uh reported on April revenues that our local revenues are a little over 98% of the budget mainly because of the increase in real estate tax collection as well as investment income which is $2.2 million over last year uh real estate transfer tax is down a million dollar compared to last year overall Revenue overall revenue is a little over 158 million or 92.5% of this year's Budget on the expenditure side our instructional expenses are somewhat higher this year um and overall with 96.5% uh expended and overall expenditures and incumbrances are at 90.7% % as compared to 92.7% last year as at the end of April
076uh Mr liver good also stated that Transportation reduced their incumbrances by $130,000 and that they should end this year under budget which is good news while maintenance is continuing to review their anticipated expenses so we'll continue to um watch watch these um numbers as we get to the end of the year here um we then had a student services update um Miss Roy stated that our student services are over budget in three major areas due to changes in student need um tuition is over $120,000 uh over budget by over by $120,000 for outplaced students expenditures uh by the CCI IU are over by $450,000 due to student outside placements that have increased and overall the student uh Services Services Department anticipates going over budget by 750,000 to 1.2 million for the fiscal year 2324 we'll
077be keeping an eye on these expenses um moving toward the end of the year as we set our final budget and review any budget impacts uh then next uh our sort of main event was a bond issue discussion throughout the spring we've been discussing um a borrowing plan uh as Dr gusk touched on um that involves multiple Bond issues to fund our upcoming capital projects including our athletic fields project and a six Elementary School in addition to all of our ongoing uh annual infrastructure projects the board had approved a parameters resolution earlier this spring and at the meeting May meeting we discussed the final plans for the first bond issue of $40 million for $40 million we were joined by John Fry from pfm and Lou verelli and Ali Mackey from Raymond James who are
078our bond Bond Underwriters um Miss Macky outlined the first bond issue and explained the ratings calls and metrics um as well as the borrowing schedule in the next threee and timing of events for the 2324 release uh she also stated that Moody's had confirmed the school district's AAA rating and said that a the district is in a strong fiscal position and and displays excellent Financial transparency Mr verdelli added that only 10 of 500 school districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have a triaa bond rating which of course lowers our borrowing costs uh the bond sale took place on May 22nd and uh apparently went well and in accordance with our parameters resolution so we'll discuss the details of that Bond sales at our next next uh Finance meeting which will hopefully be on June 26th
079and um the closing date uh after June 4th uh on the closing date we'll have that $40 million in our capital projects fund to move forward um with our plans uh let's see then we had a food and nutrition services report um Mr David Preston supervisor of food and nutrition presented on um a the need for a price increase in breakfast and for breakfast and lunch for the 2425 school year he noted that food costs and supplies have increased by over 7% and supply chain issues continue alth those although staff recruitment has improved um additionally he said that school districts were recently notified that the supply chain supply chain assistance federal aid would not be distributed to schools in 2425 that we had received before um so that would therefore reduce the food and nutrition
080Revenue budget by $163,000 um and would leave a significant hole in that budget uh Mr Preston said that a 90 increase in breakfast and lunch prices would cause this budget to break even with even without the continuance of the supply chain assistance he also spoke about the lunch and learn program and possible um impacts to food service costs uh and also State reimbursements Mr Preston compared uh our school district to others and said that we compare compet competitively in pricing even when considering the increase um and our business manager Mr art McDonald recommended bringing a price increase range to the next finance committee of 50 cents to 90% 50 cents to 90 cents apologies depending on whether we receive that supply chain Assistance or not um and stated that he also stated that food service
081surpluses um go to the repair and placement of capital capital assets and depreciation so the committee asked that the Food Service pricing and budget be placed on the June 6th um finance committee agenda to be discussed at that time so we update then um then finally we talked about uh more budget development um we are in late in that process and we will um be moving on to uh our final budget meeting June 6 in the in the event well in the event that we can have it we should it's scheduled for June 6th um we uh it's that's three two days after graduation so we have rain dates for graduation graduation should be on June 4th and should we have need two two rain dates dates I guess then um then it might be
082that we don't have the finance meeting and we go on to the the full board meeting on um June 10th yes uh so um but hopefully we will have one more Finance meeting to discuss some of these issues um but as we were discussing the budget uh we went over um the latest projection and also um budget strategies that had been discussed in previous years and not taken um i' recommend anybody who's interested go back and and review slides um uh it's for sort of a a nice review of of some of the the strategies that we've thought about before and decided not to not to take and why um Mr McDonald mentioned that the state property tax allocation went uh up to almost 3.3 million which will produce a reduction in the assessment for
083any eligible property um resulting in a tax savings of approximately $33 per dwelling um so that's the new for now we hopefully will reconvene on January 20 January June 6th I apologize June 6th to uh further discuss the budget and we hope that um that that will take place and then finally uh Mr Mcdonald had mentioned that he was in talks with the two bus our two bus contractors in uh regards to a new contract and satisfactory terms were reached with both contractors and three-year extensions um were included in the consent agenda here on pages 15 um 8 and 163 so we're glad to know that that's resolved moving forward so we hope we'll be able to join us on June 6th um if that meeting takes place we will provide notice if it will
084not um and all would be encouraged to attend thank you thank you Dr hensy next we'll have facilities with Dr Singh Mr Hong will be giving my report Dr Mr okay so then we'll be all right it's my honor to uh present this report on behalf of Dr Singh uh the facilities committee met on May 15th there were several discussions and update items on the agenda first we discussed the distributed antenna system and enhancements to the emergency radio service systems for Bowmont Devon and Hillside Elementary and conastoga high school this is part of our ongoing technology infrastructure commitment the district received two bids with one bid except from Atlantic Coast Communications for $527,000 this was below budget and this vendor has done prior work with the district and the system will be installed this summer
085second item was temporary modular classrooms at Valley Forge Elementary School for the fall of this year this is meant to bridge the gap of enrollment and space requirements that is needed at the school as we prepare for the building of the new Elementary School these modular units will will be leased and installed this fall Rising enrollment at Valley Forge Elementary necessitates this step these modular units will be special rooms that all students will rotate through the zoning board meeting was scheduled for May 23rd where additional storm water requirements for these units will be addressed the committee agreed to the leasing and installment of these temporary units to align with the district goal in educational programming third we discussed the six elementary schools at 1200 Sweetser Road as design plans are underway there are several discussions
086that will need to be made along the way two major ones discussed were the size of the gymnasium Auditorium and the uh HVAC systems in anticipation of full day kindergarten and reviewing our spacing at the other elementary schools there were several design options presented the size of the gym Auditorium was discussed in detail of the three options for size discussed the committee decided to move forward with a middle school size gy that would give us about 1,200 more square feet than the base plan this would allow for PE programming including full day kindergarten it would also allow us to rent the space to outside organizations currently rental space generates about $24,000 per year also as this will be potentially be one of well it will be the largest Elementary School of our existing five elementary
087schools it will provide the additional space for those additional students we also know that there's additional expansion space so should we expand the uh the footprint further um it will provide space for those students as well the HVAC systems were also discussed in detail of the options presented a VFR doas that is variable refrigerant flow dedicated outside air system was chosen for several reason including lowest first cost and yearly savings and yearly maintenance cost over the other systems discussed it is also consistent with other systems in other schools these two systems gym siiz and HVAC are needed in this early phase of design because of technical requirements that will require that will occur throughout the rest of the school design athletic fields update show that the removal of trees and clearing of the ground as
088the project has begun and we expect ongoing updates as this project continues we expect construction bids within the next several weeks and will be having a special board uh facilities meeting this summer to approve discuss these public bids this meeting will be posted when scheduled Valley Forge Elementary School playground update was also discussed and this project will begin at the end of the school year no changes in the timeline were made finally the summer of 2025 infrastructure infrastructure projects were discussed Renovations Replacements and upgrades in the hfac systems at Bowmont new Eagle te middle school and Koga High were discussed along with interior and exterior items for these schools the budget for these items was was $5.7 Million those were the items discussed at this meeting there will be a special facilities and school board
089meeting this summer and we'll update the uh District site when that meeting is scheduled it is tely scheduled to be held at 700 p.m. uh July 24th 2024 all are welcome and encouraged to attend thank you Mr Hong next we'll have a education committee update with Miss Sue Titi thank you the education committee met on May 23rd the meeting began with a report from Dr Kim Morris along with Mr Mark cataldi detailing the district recom recommendations for the implementation of the new steals curriculum required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education after more than a year-long review of the new standards by the science standing committee and district teachers and administrators it was recommended that a new stem special be introduced in the 2526 school year to provide the Technology and Engineering instruction required this means
090more science for more science instruction for elementary children students will continue to have science with their Core Teacher but they'll also receive an additional 30 sessions of instruction as a stem special the committee endorsed this program and the work that will be done at the middle school as well next year to include the new Technology and Engineering standards at that level as well this evening as part of the action that Dr gusk presented this resolution was approved by the board Dr gatley then provided a summary of the oral reading fluency benchmark assessments for the 2324 school year he reported that the I ready diagnostic assessment was used this year in grades 3 four and five and provided useful information to drive instruction its use will be expanded to sixth grade reading classes next year because
091teachers felt that it added so much value to the your instruction the letters training which has begun a few years ago has now been completed with all our elementary core teachers par of Professionals in both reading and special education have also received this training the slides for Dr gle's presentation are all available on the district website and show the results of the tests by grade level finally Dr tol provided an update on full day kindergarten it was noted that by the 27 28th school year every surrounding School District in Chester County County as well as Montgomery and Delaware Counties will have replaced halfday kindergarten with full day programs Additionally the board had numerous discussions of this topic in the education committee and in full board public presentations over the past two years the community has
092voiced support for this opportunity for their children the committee recommended that full day kindergarten be provided in our district when the sixth Elementary School is opened in 2027 and I'm happy to say that the board just approved that earlier in this meeting this evening this concludes my report and the work of the education committee until the fall thank you thank you Miss tii next we'll turn to ad hoc legislative Miss Maryann Pichon the ad hoc legislative committee uh hosted a forum for several board members and for state senator Carolyn Kida and state representative Melissa Schusterman and their staff on May 3rd at the administrative offices topics that were discussed special education funding proposal Transportation mandates funding state budget update Charter School Reform voucher programs and Asian studies curriculum inclusion State uh Senator Carolyn Kida shared
093insights on these State programs the grow your own education Educators Bill uh foreign language teachers School mental health screening program with an opt out provision grant funding may be provided for this program solar for schools grant program and the student teacher stiens program the Chester County Schoolboard legislative Council met on May 5th at the cciu Education Service Center in Downingtown topics included the um special education funding proposal a um uh Transportation cell phone use in schools solar for schools Grant and the junior rooc program sponsored by congresswoman Chrissy hulahan that concludes my report thank you thank you Miss Pion and now we'll turn to ad hoc public information and Dr Allen yes the public information ad hoc public information committee has not met thank you thank you Dr Allen and finally we'll go back to
094miss Pichon and the Intermediate Unit technical school R uh update report well since this is the night for awards our um younger Tradin East Town School uh student uh who is now graduating from the Technical College High School Pickering campus uh his name Nigel cook uh was awarded the American Legion leadership and service award and the good Citizenship Award sponsored by the state senator Katie MTH uh Mr cook received these awards at the Pickering campus senior reception and award ceremony on May 16th the Chester County School Authority met on Wednesday May the 15th at the cciu Learning Center in Coatsville to discuss building projects the Chester County School Authority is a legal body that is the owner of all school buildings operated by the cciu these include the child and Career Development Center the three
095technical college high school campuses at panx Bridge Brandy Wine and Pickering The cciu Learning Center and the Stanley K Landis building the authority uh board can issue bonds enter into contracts solicit bids etc for school construction projects uh the authority meets three times a year in Jan January May and September at 6:00 p.m. just prior to the Chester County Intermediate Unit board meeting and with that the Chester County Intermediate Unit met on May the 15th at the cciu Learning Center in Coatsville uh the uh Coatsville Learning Center highlighted some accomplishments uh uh they serve 170 students from 30 3 districts offering behavioral support through the options program and prevocational training via the Career Academy the cciu has been named as one of the top workplaces in the entire region by the Philadelphia Inquirer this prestigious
096recognition is a testament to the positive work environment and supportive culture that the cciu team has uh cultivated together the next cciu board of directors meeting will be held on Thursday June the 20th at 7:30 p.m. at the Educational Service Center in Downingtown thank you thank you Miss Pichon that concludes our committee and Ambassador reports we have no other actions under consideration so we will move right to public participation from District residents and District taxpayer Affairs regarding non-agenda matters of concern official action or deliberation which are or may be before the board this is the time when residents and taxpayers may address the board on matters not included on the agenda if folks have any uh public comments please come up to the mic okay seeing none the public uh comment period uh for this
097evening is now closed this is the point in our meeting 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 thank you um the board met an executive session April 30th 2024 regarding um group labor agreements again on May 14th 2024 regarding group labor agreements and tonight May 28th regarding special education litigation other threat and litigation and Personnel matter thank you Mr Roose future meetings of the board Monday June 10th 2024 regular board meeting 7:30 p.m at Conestoga High School um and as alluded to we don't have a a firm date yet but there will be a meeting of the board in July please keep on the lookout for that the focus of that board meeting will be the field
098product and project and bids associated with the fields project with that uh and I don't we have don't have any other General announcements that are in the agenda so I'll look to the board and see if anybody has any other General announcements for the good of the order yes Miss audrain yes uh the Middle School advisory committee will meet on June the 5th to begin planning for the technical and Engineering components of the steel standards at the middle school level thank you Miss audrain and I saw Miss Pichon with her hand up yes thank you um the visiting hour which I conduct at the East Town library on the third uh Thursday of the month at 4 to 5:00 uh will resume in September thank you thank you any other announcement General announcements okay seeing
099none we're at the best part of the meeting I'm for a motion to adjourn so moved do I have a second second right all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed you can stay here eyes have it meeting's adjourned e