001Good evening everybody I'd like to call to order the February 26th 2026 central bucks full district general board meeting if everyone would please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance thank you mrs. Radcliffe will you please do roll call here present here here here here here okay and with that mr. Amuso would you please announce any executive session yes madam president as we know the district is currently in the process of a superintendent search there have been many executive sessions related to that search in particular on January 27th on February 2nd on February 4th on February 5th on February 16th on February 19th on February 20th and on February 23rd the board met in executive sessions personnel matter specifically related to the search for a new superintendent and then on February 17th the board met executive
002session to discuss litigation matters on February 25th the board met an executive session to discuss labor relations and tonight before this meeting the board met in executive session to discuss litigation and personnel thank you thank you mr. Amuso before I turn things over to dr. Malone I just wanted to give a quick update on the superintendent search so at our last meeting Rebecca Roberts Malamus from the Bucks IU outlined the superintendent search process for everyone want to briefly update the community this evening the board has conducted interviews with candidates and we continue to work closely with the IU as the process moves forward this remains a thoughtful and thorough search we will share additional information as soon as we're able to do so thank you for your continued interest and engagement and thank you very
003much thank you for for attending today in such a large venue we appreciate your flexibility and bearing with us on that before we get started let's start out with our see the good be the good that leads us into our first recognition of the night our lock screen winner I believe we have a repeat winner mr. Jaffe yep testing the mic all right thank you let me switch the slide to our lock screen evening thank you dr. Malone this evening our lock screen winner is David Martinez Cortez seventh grader from Tammany Middle School if you want to stand up in front of this group give a big round of applause also so let me read a little background while he's standing there and dr. Coggi would you like to stand with him so he's not
004by himself as well we're doing a photo up as well a couple things let me let me read this so this month's theme was see the good be the good in challenges and our winner David reflect his resilience and pushing beyond a limit in his own word he sort of gave us his team here my drawing was inspired by a documentary I watched about a man climbing Mount Everest he faced so many tough challenges but he kept pushing and finally reached the top it shows how determination can help you push past your limit David thank you for doing this he's our second first second time winner as well so he's done this place shown on every device in our entire district which is 20,000 devices and each year each month the winner gets to select
005a restaurant and he has selected Chick-fil-A so congratulations David thank you back to you dr. Malone okay for our next recognition we are also proud to recognize the CB East girls soccer team as state champions first state title in team history just want to add believe the team defeated CB South a little bit of a rival and you know we're sad about that but congratulations girls championships reflect culture preparation discipline teamwork and leadership sustained over time I want to acknowledge the coaches managers and each of the student athletes listed on the screen and standing here before us I'll announce their names one by one but hold your applause to the end if you don't mind it's a raucous crowdy Paige Doherty Kaniya Kaba and I apologize if I'm gonna pronounce your name Skyler lip Aralyn
006Patterson Brooklyn Plank Lena Dan Mia Forney CC Hayes Addie Langlos Riley Leedy Ava Mignone Mackenzie Peters Ella Rumi Taylor Rumi Kira Schleicher Maddie Thompson Nora DeLorenzo Cameron Esposito Riley Fleming Liz Mooney Quinn Riley Brooklyn Jagoda Delaney Ralph head coach Jake Nesterook assistant coach Emily Grove assistant coach Paul Lichter assistant coach Madison Strakas assistant coach Gabby Learn manager Maddie Williams man manager Maggie Williamson please give our state champions a well-deserved round of applause I believe coach you have the the certificates to give to the girls at some point here congratulations girls our next recognition we have PBIS recognized schools we're also pleased to have teachers and staff from Linden Elementary School and Lenape Tamanin Cohican and Unami middle schools with us tonight to honor them for being recognized by the state for their strong implementation of
007tier one positive behavioral interventions and supports for PBIS they are joined by Casio Shinsky our supervisor of MTSS federal programs data and assessment I think she's here in practical terms the recognition means clear behavioral expectations explicit teaching of those expectations consistent reinforcement of positive behavior regular use of data to improve school climate this work is foundational when students experience predictability and support academic engagement improves I'll now invite each school to the front to show off their banners they received from the state from Linden teacher Michael Donovan teacher Amy Logue teacher Tanya Vasos teacher Lauren Woolley secretary Denise Dempsey principal Dan Eastep now for Lenape teacher Jill Weller Riley principal Dave Hoffman from Tamanin Dean Larry Werner principal dr. Brian Coggy I don't know if we have two he can hear but they also won the
008the first award as well and from Unami and from Unami assistant principal Matt Powell and Dean Jess Silverstein and if we could give a round of applause to Casio Shinsky she's over there please stand up congratulations to those group those group next we have the draft draft comp plan update for you we have posted our materials for the 2026 2029 plan for public review as per the guidelines from the state for vision 2030 is what we're calling our plan this plan reflects months of collaboration and outlines of our priorities in academic excellence technology and innovation health and wellness and community engagement we encourage stakeholders to review the materials and remain engaged as we move towards anticipated board approval and submission to PDE in March thank you everyone who worked on that plan on tonight's agenda
009we are seeking approval of our calendar adjustment for 2026 27 related to no kindergarten class on September 4th 2026 it was not indicated in a previous version this allows our teachers time to review information gathered throughout the week and thoughtfully placed students in classrooms most conducive to their success we have a cell phone resolution on the agenda in support of Senate bill 1014 this legislation co-sponsored by Senator Santacero who represents much of Bucks County would prohibit student cell phone use during the school day beginning in the 2027 28 school year the bill includes important exceptions allowing for the use of related or relief use related to medical needs special education accommodations and specific teacher approved instructional purposes the bill passed the House Senate on February 3rd and has moved to the house governor Shapiro also
010voiced his support if approved tonight this resolution would formally express the board's unified support for the bill respectfully urge our local state representatives to support its passage and signal our readiness to implement a bell-to-bell policy consistent with the law once it's enacted students deserve time at school that is focused on learning building relationships and developing the academic and social skills they will need in life by supporting this resolution the board is affirming a clear priority maintaining focused distraction reduced learning environments for students and teachers we're also seeking approval for the pre-purchase of replacement playground equipment for the 2026 renovation projects at Doyle and Linden elementary schools this item also includes new equipment for Butler Elementary funded through a donation from a family honoring their late son a former Butler bear we thank them for their
011generosity and support we also have an item related to a proposed new high school elective culinary and cultural roots travel abroad very exciting I think some of us are going to volunteer to chaperone this credit bearing course would combine classroom instruction and family and consumer sciences with immersive international travel students would study food science nutrition sustainability and cultural traditions tied to a host country then apply that learning through guided experiences such as cooking workshops and cultural tours it represents a thoughtful expansion of our elective offerings and provides students with meaningful real-world application of their learning lastly we have two policies up for second read policy 121 field trip and policy 820 use of scanning equipment to detect weapons and prohibited items before we end I would like to congratulate Angela Hendershot pending board approval tonight
012she'll become our new supervisor of education technology effective July 1 taking over for Lindsey Smith who will be sad to see leave us Angela has served CB for 10 years as coordinator of kelp a k-12 health and phys ed congrats to Angela and welcome to the act 93 group and that's it for me thank you thank you mrs. Reynolds we're gonna move on to public comments so before we get to public comment let me read the brief statement okay mm-hmm persons wishing to make public comment we're required to register prior to the start of tonight's meeting if currency be students register to speak they'll be permitted to do so first please note that the first period of public comment is for agenda items only except for our students who may speak about any topic public
013comment is not intended to be a question and answer session when you begin your comment please indicate which items you are speaking about regarding the minutes that appear on the agenda comment is limited to approval of the minutes not their content if your comments are not about agenda items you will be asked to stop speaking and you will be permitted to speak during the second period of public comment if a question is posed the individual may be referred to the superintendent for follow-up when your name is called please approach the podium and begin by stating your name and municipality each speaker is allotted three minutes you'll be asked to cease your comments at three minutes we kindly ask that all comments be directed to the board as a whole rather than to individual members we
014appreciate your cooperation in maintaining a respectful environment please be considerate of all speakers and their opinions including those that differ from your own thank you for understanding and with that well I had okay Ed Mack house Buckingham Township well I'm in Mac house from Buckingham Township a physicist engineer scientist math teacher who sometimes thought students that needed special help and my comments are deal with the students with disability and the district shall provide a copy of its administrative regulations procedures for behavior support in accordance with the special education plan yeah there's a lot of responsibility one-third of the fences of the school board go to special education now due to negligence and stupidity America although spending two hundred million dollars for for medical stuff who leads the world American Kennedy in in the problems with
015children getting the autism has been doubling every five to ten years and so we have dedicated workers trying to help autistic students special education students but if the trend continued we didn't have President Trump and Robert F Kennedy jr. acting to stop the mandating of these vaccines which cause autism I had a son three febrile seizures I had a good doctor to cooperate with me and I brought his fevers down if we didn't bring his fevers down and it reached 105 he would have brain disorder a lot of the schools should educate parents and teachers that they could have multiple children with autism and if the trend continued and we didn't have Robert Kennedy and Trump acting we would have one in every two children by the age of three or four would have autism
016already in New Jersey we have one in three children with some amount of autism well American Canada lead the world in the rate of autism the democratic states of New York and Savannah not New York California and New Jersey lead America and the rates are children have autism Pennsylvania is a little better and so we need to realize that we can't keep increasing the autistic students we have to educate the parents and not force parents to take these vaccines in New York for example the doctors can't stop the them from mandating the vaccines in any way in New York they can keep the children from getting autism from mandating vaccines as homeschooling we need to support public education and not force parents to go to private schools so I hope all the people here will
017work together to make deep central books great thank you thank you Denine dry president CB ESPA thank you good evening Denine dry president of central buck support professionals speaking to agenda items under sections 8 and 14 first thank you for accommodating our request for a larger venue in January nearly 300 support professionals came out in support though only about 100 were able to be seated we appreciate this opportunity last month's meeting was emotional for us because of ongoing concerns about dismissiveness and lack of respect reported by our members in our workforce so any frustration or visible anger was not directed at you the school board directors but a reflection of those continuing and growing concerns turning to section 8 on the agenda the board is approving significant capital expenditures across multiple buildings we are not
018opposed to infrastructure investment our students and staff deserve safe functional facilities however when projects of this scale are approved internal oversight must be just as strong as the accountability as we impose on outdoor vendors outside vendors given that most of the significant capital investments follow through the operations department and giving the can't given the continued concerns raised by operations employees who report feeling unheard undervalued and dismissed we're asking that the same level of accountability be applied to out as outside vendors also be applied to the leadership level within operations the work is getting done the question is whether it reflects effective collaborative leadership or whether it's being done by our dedicated and skilled professionals despite continued concerns about operations leadership and its relationship with its workforce under section 14 another 15 support professionals are resigning
019or retiring directing impact directly impacting our schools and our students tonight the board will be approving another supervisor $135,000 that salary is not aligned with other supervisors currently serving in similar roles combined with last month's $140,000 that totals $275,000 for two positions that amount could fund approximately 14 vacant our professional positions directly serving students we are often told certain requests cannot move forward because they are not budgeted yet we continue to see significant financial commitments approved that contrast deserves their own review this is about priorities especially as support professionals maintain every main I'm sorry short staff and absorb additional roles and responsibilities in closing as you know we are currently in negotiations our proposal is not solely about wages it is about consistency fairness professional respect and rebuilding trust we will continue to approach negotiations
020respectfully and collaboratively if we want stability for our students we must provide stability equity and respect for the preferred professionals who serve them every day thank you for your time thank you to Jeanine and I just wanted to take a moment say so many of you are here tonight in a strong show of support it's really great to see faces and and people here who represent our district and who work with ours our kids maybe not directly but we know how important you are you are valued and I just wanted to take a moment on behalf of the board and the district to recognize the essential role that you all play in our schools we know our district can't function without you so from you know just well it's okay it's fine it's fine though
021the words are not meaningless or vapid they are they are truly from from my heart so I just want you to know that that it's it's true I mean I know you are all the backbone of our district and we see it and I know some of you don't even live very close and you left work and then you came back here just for tonight so it's not lost on me and it's not lost on our board so I just wanted to take a moment to tell you that and that's okay if you have other feelings because that's okay too but we thank you so okay um I'm looking for approval of the minutes from the January 22nd 2026 school board meeting and I get a motion so moved by mr. Herring and seconded by
022miss Gibson maybe or Amanda okay miss O'Connell okay all in favor aye any opposed any abstentions oh okay Dana so the motion is eight zero one right okay oh no you're okay moving on to the school board reports education committee that would be mrs. O'Connell thank you mrs. Reynolds on February 3rd the education committee met to discuss a few items first of all we had a wonderful presentation from the central block education foundation this foundation was set up to support different projects in our school it was organized to support and enrich educational experience of CB students the foundation has benefited all 15 of our elementary schools through an innovation kit called Mackie Mackie that is used in the stem or in the quest program and the teachers were there to talk about that this foundation
023offers grants up to ten thousand dollars to our teachers for different programs that they want to do inside of their classroom and they take applications for grants twice a year so for all of our teachers they want you to know that they are there as a resource and to please apply for the grants because they do have funds there to help with classroom instruction second item we looked at was a digital wellness committee update from dr. Zelinski and she discussed that our digital literacy and wellness group is looking at screen time we're trying to find a balance between screen time in the classroom as well as children's elementary our children development and so right now currently in our elementary schools and middle schools there is no phone we have a no phone policy in those
024and in the high school the phone policy is up to the discretion of teachers we also had a presentation that is up for board approval tonight which is the culinary and cultural roots travel aboard program this would be an opportunity for students to travel to Italy over the summer as was discussed earlier with dr. Malone the students will be learning all different cultural and food elements and the cost of this program was discussed which is about five thousand forty nine dollars per student EF tours is the organization that we are going with and they do offer scholarship opportunities for students who qualify so that would then make this program open to many more of our students that would want to apply and we are lastly we looked at and we're bringing to the board tonight
025textbook approvals for Spanish one through four levels and French one through four with honors in there as well and so we are given a presentation by the ELD supervisor Stacey gray where she presented these textbooks to us for and our next meeting will be this upcoming Tuesday March 3rd so please come out and join us for that thank you thank you miss O'Connell policy committee mrs. Smith okay at our meeting this month we had several policies for first read the first was 126 class size the changes in this policy just align the new school grade levels in the AR and the chart was moved from the actual policy to the AR then there were two policies 805.1 relations with law enforcement agencies and 805.2 school security personnel both of these policies are there's some new
026suggested policies for PSBA and we are already really doing everything that's in the policy and implementing this policy will just codify what we've already been doing in practice then we looked at 910 community relations this these changes will modernize the communication practices that again that the district is already undergoing and includes the title of the communications department which is now communications and community engagement department and then the AR includes some specific communication techniques then for our second read we looked at the 121 field trips the changes in here make it so board approval is only necessary for trips to New York DC or overnight trips but the board is still tracking all trips all field trips in a monthly summary that we will receive from Dr. Malone policy 820 use of scanning equipment to detect
027weapons and prohibited items this is just a minor change to include the phrase and definitions for prohibited items then we got some information about the AR for policy 907 school visitors this AR includes details on Megan's law when we may have visitors to our school that are either parents or community members who who have been found guilty of sexual assault Megan's law and we just needed more details and protocols to help our principals have clear guidance on how to handle those types of visitors in our school and we we met on February 12th and our next meeting will be March 12th thank you mr. Smith for finance and operations although Rick or mr. Herring is the chair I think mr. Kimikata is doing it are you doing it that's correct yes okay thank you at
028our Finance Committee meeting on February 12th with a district audit report for the 24-25 financial year our auditor Melee LLP confirmed the district had a clean audit with no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses with there was also an informational presentation on responsible contractor ordinances policies by the Philadelphia building and construction trades council the presentation highlighted the benefits of hiring contractors who meet training requirements for their workers through apprenticeships this would be to ensure that contractors the district hires for capital projects possess the skills and training necessary for the work they are doing operations staff also presented several grants they are applying for related to pending capital projects for HVAC repairs and roof work at several of our buildings those applications are on the agenda tonight for approval we also moved a proposal to the full
029board this evening for an overhaul of the wireless equipment and network switching in all of our buildings our current systems are out of warranty and this upgrade will allow our students and staff to use the latest technology for many years and that work was already budgeted we also reviewed a new administrative regulation on emergency preparedness for extremely extreme weather and hot and cold temperatures in buildings and finally we reviewed an update on the 26-27 budget and while administration is still putting together the final numbers for revenue and expenses for next year they have been looking for ways to reduce the anticipated deficit as previously mentioned they are applying for capital grants to cover planned construction projects for next year the value of those grants are right around eight million dollars they are also proposing to
030move some less critical capital projects value over two million to future years to reduce the financial impact next year district-wide the finance department has requested all building budgets to be cut by at least 5% for next year and finally there is fund balance available to be spent on realignment when the finance department determines what district expenses are tied to realignment they'll be able to calculate how much of that fund balance can be spent next year all this will help reduce the anticipated deficit and one more note an update on the real estate tax rebate program to date we've had 143 applications accepted if your household qualifies for the state property tax rebate you qualify for the school tax rebate and more information on how to apply can be found on the district's website our next
031Finance Committee meeting will be March 12 thank you mr. Kimigata moving on to the Bucks County intermediate report mrs. Foley the Bucks County intermediate unit had their February meeting on February 17th and marked another significant milestone in its steam education efforts with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to launch a third mobile fab lab on January 20th funded through a 2025 PA smart grant the new fully equipped and staffed mobile lab allows the Bucks IU fab lab program to impact more schools in Bucks County and expand its reach beyond Bucks County into carbon in Lehigh counties the Bucks IU's commitment to steam programs is reflected in its exceptional growth of our fab lab program the continued growth of the fab lab responds to the increasing demand for a skilled workforce in steam related field I should also mention
032that the Bucks IU emergency response teams are being created at all Bucks IU locations these teams receive first aid and AED automatic external defibrillator training in preparation to respond helping to make our learning environments even safer for all kids and staff also covered was a presentation from the Bucks IU ambassador program updates from their transportation department services and a robust legislative update on the proposed state budget and how districts and intermediate units across the state could be impacted meeting dates for the coming year were also voted on and approved there was also a special meeting called on Tuesday February 24th at 630 p.m. to approve the award of bids for the early childhood renovation project the next meeting is on Tuesday March 17th 2026 thank you mrs. Foley MBIT is that mrs. Smith or mrs.
033Filiato it's me again sorry thanks so February was a big month at MBIT February is career and technical education month where we celebrate and recognize both the students who attend a career technical center and also the value of career and technical education at MBIT we had a t-shirt sale I'm wearing the shirt it says support the trades so many of the students have the shirt and the staff all have it and they have a couple days where everybody wears their t-shirt and has a good time with that also this month we are celebrating the fact that nine of our students advanced to the state level and the skills USA competition a competition and that was a good number for this year so we're proud of those students thank you thank you mrs. Smith moving on
034to item 6 finance mr. Mattis yes administration requests approval of finance items 6b through 6 so moved second okay so moved by mrs. Foley seconded by mrs. Smith all in favor aye any opposed any abstentions item passes nine zero moving on to item seven other board action items is that you mr. dr. Malone sorry sorry administration is seeking approval for other board action items 7b through 7d motion for items 7b through 7d second by it was Dan oh it's gonna be kind of okay I'm sorry motion made by mr. Herring seconded by mr. Kim Ikata both any questions or comments actually because I wanted to say something about agenda item 7d anyone else okay um so item 7d tonight I am proud to share that our board is bringing forward a resolution expressing formal support
035for Senate bill 1014 which passed the Pennsylvania State Senate as dr. Malone shared by a bipartisan vote of 46 to 1 is now under consideration in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives the legislation moving through the PA House would establish a statewide bell-to-bell policy limiting student cell phone use during the school day with defined flexibility and exceptions in districts as a board this resolution allows us to publicly state our position in support of efforts we believe that will strengthen student focus support healthier social interaction and reinforce a positive learning environment and with that I'd like to turn it over to mrs. Foley who has been a passionate advocate on this issue and has worked closely with parents and community members who have thoughtfully and persistently championed policies that prioritize student attention connection and academic success much
036other you're welcome as some of you know this is an issue that's very near and dear to my heart and legislation that I personally fully support I want to also thank one of our community members and central box parents Kirsten McGowan for all of her advocacy work as well as her collaboration and support on behalf of PA unplugged and ensuring our board has the most up-to-date data and resources to share with our community and help keep us informed of all the important work advocacy groups do on behalf of our kids here I wanted to just take a moment to talk about the background and rationales as to why the board feels it's important to commit to this resolution and why we believe adopting a bell-to-bell phone free school environment in our schools is best for
037our students it's becoming increasingly apparent the negative impact that access to cell phones has on kids when they're in school the negative impact it has out of school is not business for the board but certainly something I hope parents in this community are tuned into even when phones are away in a bag or in a backpack research shows their presence distracts students and reduces their cognitive capacity socially it inhibits their ability to build critical social skills during the entire school day and allows for no break from potential cyber bullying social pressures or mental fatigue additionally teachers are policing cell phone use and that can be exhausting and waste valuable instructional time not only does it support children's academic success their mental health and create a safer school environment but it's extraordinarily important initiative as it
038relates to our goals as a school district a few statistics that I'd like the public to consider provided to me from PA unplugged 97% of students use their cell phone during school teens spend nearly five hours a day on social media apps 50% of kids get 237 notifications per day on their iPhone and some receive as many as 4,500 per day with 23 of them occurring during school 23% of them occurring during school since 2010 we've seen a hundred and thirty four percent increase in anxiety a hundred and six percent increase in depression and adolescence 35% of teens admit to using their cell phone to cheat 87% of teachers said bullying is a problem in K through 12 schools and 34% of middle school teachers called bullying a major problem adolescents who experience cyber bullying
039were more than four times as likely to report thoughts of suicide and attempts as those who didn't and each additional hour of total screen time increases the odds of suicidal behaviors research shows that there was a reduction of 46% in girls and 43% in boys who experienced bullying after a bell to bell no phone policy was implemented so all that to say it is well researched and well published that cell phone use during school is associated with bad outcomes for kids across the board and our goal as a school district is to improve outcomes as it relates to academic achievement student safety and the mental health of kids we want our teachers focused on teaching and not having to police device use and combat constant threats to academic integrity or manage highly distracted kids research
040shows excuse me research shows us that true focus is really only possible when devices are completely removed from the learning environment as it helps to maximize focus on increasing academic achievement thank you thank you mrs. Foley anyone else wanna make a comment I don't know dr. Zaleski if you wanted to speak to the district work on the digital wellness committee I know we've sidebarred about it and great timing Kirsten yes out out to you no internally here at Central Black School District we created a digital wellness committee this year and we've met regularly throughout the year with employees of the district but who often are also community members and parents and so we are working together with the board and with the state on what I believe is a passion project for me too as
041I've been an educator for many years and has seen what has happened with the implementation of cell phones and schools so I continue to work from my seat within Central Black School District but working with the passionate parents community to work to support students in this new way of doing things was just actually an old way of doing things thank you thanks mrs. Foley so just to refresh the motion was made for 7b through D by mr. Herring seconded by mr. Kim Ikata all in favor aye any opposed any abstentions motion passes 90 moving on to operations mr. Spencer I'll kick it over to you trusses rental opera administration seeking approval operations items 8b through 8m so moved second motion to pass items 8b through 8m motion made by mrs. Foley seconded by mrs. Smith
042anyone want to make a comment or ask questions okay all in favor aye aye any opposed any abstentions item passes nine zero moving on to special education is that dr. Malone or dr. Solis that's me yeah just wanted to make sure I didn't want to overstep administration is seeking approval for special education items 9b through e can I get a motion to approve 9b through e so moved by mr. Herring seconded by mrs. Gibson anyone like to make comments hearing none all in favor aye any opposed any abstention motion passes nine zero student services okay dr. Malone administration is seeking approval for student services items 10b and C motion to approve 10b and C move by mr. Herring seconded by mrs. Smith yep okay any questions comments okay hearing none all in favor aye any
043opposed any abstentions motion passes nine zero and moving on to education dr. Zaleski right yes thank you administration is seeking approval for items 11b and C oh okay sorry I missed that who said so moved Dana okay second okay so moved by mrs. Foley seconded by mrs. Smith no mrs. O'Connell yes any one would like to make comments okay hearing none all in favor aye any opposed any abstentions motion passes nine zero thank you thank you moving on to policy dr. Malone administration is seeking approval for policy items 12b and C motion for 12b and C so moved so moved by mrs. Smith seconded by mrs. Gibson anyone like to make any comment on these okay hearing none all in favor aye any opposed any abstentions motion passes nine zero moving on to field trips
044okay dr. Malone administration is seeking item for field trip or seeking approval for items 13b through K okay oh okay so who was so moved who was that is that okay move by mr. Kim we got a can I get a second second second by mrs. O'Connell okay 13 okay so anyone like to make comment on these hearing none all in favor of 13b through 13k aye any opposed any abstentions okay motion passes nine zero okay human resources mrs. Rossi or seeking approval 14b through G and I get him okay second by motion is okay motion by mrs. Gibson second by mrs. Smith anyone like to make any comments should we read the retirements yeah we have a number of retirements here starting with Linda Buchanan a personal care aide at Cold Spring Elementary Colleen
045Buchwald fourth grade teacher at Berkeley Kevin Collie social studies teacher at CB South oh I didn't read the years let me go back Linda Buchanan six years of service Colleen Buchwald 35 years of service Kevin Collie 21 years of service and then Donna Farah a personal care aide at Mill Creek 17 years of service Marilyn Holly well community school group supervisor at Buckingham two years of service Barbara lower louder back school counselor at Holly Kong 35 years of service Beth Madden science teacher at Holly Kong 33 years of service Susan Perez comp confidential assistant 11 years of service Laurie rep stock general assistant at the Ed Center 19 years Chris Rittenhouse special ed teacher at Holly Kong 33 years of service Katherine Schmoyer fourth grade teacher Bridge Valley 26 years of service Keith sin chemistry
046teacher CBE's 33 years of service Adam Walter fifth grade teacher at Berkeley 19 years of service Robert Zimmerman science teacher at CB South 26 years of service for a combined number of 316 years of service to our district we are so grateful to all of you wish you well on your next stage and I will just say personally and if anyone has a personal person on here I'm grateful that our son Ethan had a chance to be in mrs. Madden's science class in her last year and to have mrs. Lauder back as a counselor at Holly Kong I have experience with those two personally anyone else want to make comment you're welcome to do so thank you to everything I don't think I knew Marilyn at the community school but my daughter spent a lot
047of time there I worked long hours as a nurse so I utilized the community school and they couldn't have been more wonderful to my daughter so thank you Marilyn for her service and miss outer back over at how come you will be missed very very much so and to everyone on this list thank you for everything you give and for your years of service it's truly admirable your dedication and devotion it's very much appreciated by us a lot of years thank you again and I forget who made the motion I'm so sorry okay so the motion was made by mrs. Gibson seconded by mrs. Smith for items 14 B through G all in favor aye any opposed any abstention okay one abstention so motion is eight zero one it passes moving on to reports and
048information who should I pick that to is that just just information we don't need to talk about it okay and then we're gonna move on to the second period of public comment so I'll just read a brief statement and then I will call the names up to the microphone and podium persons wishing to make public comment were required to register prior to the start of tonight's meeting if students register to speak they will be permitted to do so first please note that public comment is not intended to be a question and answer session if a question is posed the individual may be referred to the superintendent for follow-up when your name is called please approach the podium and begin by stating your name and municipality each speaker is a lot of three minutes you will
049be asked to cease your comments at three minutes we kindly ask that all comments be directed to the board as a whole rather than to the two individual members we appreciate your cooperation in maintaining a respectful environment please be considerate of all speakers and their opinions including those that differ from your own thank you for your understanding first on the list Clinton basilic support staff employee thank you good evening my name is best look I'm a professional and I am speaking as a member of central bucks educational support professional association let me start by asking a few questions how many of you have had to sprint after a client or customer to keep them from running into danger have you been punched by a client kicked headbutted bitten at a desk or chair thrown at
050you these are all things many paraprofessionals face or even expect daily so why don't we walk away you ask because we are present we reduce the risk of a situation escalating into danger most of us put the health and well-being of the students of this district above our own every single day but heart and soul do not pay mortgage or rent dedication does not cover groceries or gas we have families too we deserve financial stability so we can protect and provide for our own families the same way we help and protect the students in this district on top of the physical we face and have to have come to expect daily many of us feel that we are working under microscope we question every decision we make we worry about things being misunderstood we are
051asking for respect we put our hearts bodies and souls into our jobs we sacrifice ourselves not for recognition but to be valued to be compensated fairly based on the reality of this work we love our jobs we are dedicated to our jobs and most importantly we love the students we work with thank you thank you thank you Stacy McBride employee hello my name is Stacy McBride and Clinton spoke so elegantly about what we also experience I have been an educational assistant in central bucks for the last 13 years and I just want to take a moment to shine some light on our dedicated support staff in our building alone this past year we've had over a hundred incidents of staff injuries caused by students whether it's been three staff members who've had concussions just this
052year or we have a staff member member who was bit multiple times multiple times a day and this happened over the course of several weeks and we also had a colleague who had a leg broken and she was unable to return to work these remarkable individuals most of them still keep coming back to put this into perspective a new paraprofessional at central box school district makes as much money as a target employee just imagine now also that your babysitters you pay them more than you are paying some of our support staff members so just let us know that you see us and that you respect us and that the work that we do is valued thank you thank you Rob Rogers employees CB ESPA good evening my name is Robert Rogers I'm a building utility
053worker at Tohiko middle school I would like to talk about something that I feel is felt by everyone here with me today and that is the absence of quality leadership in our operations department in any school system operations is the engine behind the mission when that engine is guided by strong leadership schools run smooth when it is not everything begins to stall a lack of quality leadership and operations doesn't always look dramatic at first it looks like confusion it looks like inconsistent decisions it looks like the emails that go unanswered and problems that linger longer than they should over time it looks like frustration is becoming the norm without strong leadership priorities shift constantly staff don't know what matters most there's no clear vision no steady direction departments start to blame one another and accountability
054becomes unclear quality leadership sets expectations it communicates clearly it empowers staff while holding them responsible when that leadership is missing small operational issues become major disruptions operations staff are often hard-working skilled professionals who want to do their job well but when leadership is reactive instead of strategic absent instead of engaged or defensive instead of transparent employees disengage high performers leave institutional knowledge walks right out the door those who remain feel unheard and undervalued and often morale plummets and here's the reality when operations struggle instruction suffers teachers cannot teach effectively in buildings that are unsafe or poorly maintained students cannot focus when basic needs are not principles cannot lead when they spend their days chasing down unresolved operational issue quality leadership and operations is not about micromanaging it's about clarity it's about consistency it's about creating
055systems that work and fixing them when they don't it's about anticipating problems before they escalate it's about communicating honestly when challenges arrive most importantly it's about remembering the purpose operations are not just logistics it is service it exists to support schools so that educators can educate and students can learn without leaders who understand that mission and act with urgency integrity and accountability the entire district feels the consequences strong operational leadership builds trust trust weak leadership erodes it if we want excellence in our classrooms we must demand excellence in the systems that support them because leadership especially in operations set the tone for everything else and when leadership rises so does the entire district thank you thank you thank you again Kim Devlin Doyle township support staff hi good evening I'm actually I'm also an employee
056at Linden Elementary I'd like to say good evening and thank you for taking the time to not only listen to what we have to say but to actually hear what we have to say my name is Kim Devlin and I've worked at Linden Elementary for the past five years I'm not going to cry I'm here to express my deep concern regarding the current pay structure for educational support staff within our district as an educational teaching assistant with emergency certification I take great pride in the work that I do to support our students and teachers every day I love my job I love the students and staff I work with however the compensation we receive does not reflect the level of responsibility dedication and expertise required for this role nor is it even comparable to the
057pay skills surrounding districts offer or even an acceptable living wage our positions demand a wide range of skills including academic support behavioral management emotional support and individual instruction often for students with unique needs beyond these responsibilities we regularly face emotional strain physical fatigue and even verbal and physical confrontation at times we are subjected to physical aggression and sometimes abuse from students these challenges take a significant toll on our mental health and physical well-being yet the pay we receive does not even come close to compensating for the risks and demands of the work that we do adding to these concerns our district is severely understaffed this means those of us who are behind me who stay are stretched even thinner taking on additional responsibilities without any increase in compensation this is this situation is unsustainable and
058places both staff and students at risk there are positions within and outside the district that carry far less responsibility and liability yet offer higher pay this disparity is hard to ignore and sends a message that the critical work we do every day work that directly impacts our students success and safety is severely undervalued the combination of low pay high stress and unsafe working conditions sorry working conditions makes these positions unattractive and turnover continues to rise this district this directly affects the quality of education and support our students receive I urge the board to align compensation with the realities of the roles that we all play if we want stability in our classrooms and consistent support for our students we must invest in the professionals that you see standing before you thank you for your time
059and consideration thank you thank you thank you all again before I met Ed I'm gonna call you up but I just wanted to say another thank you and to hear your words and your stories we know them but we put to hear place to hear them directly from you to see the passion and the heart that you all have I think it oh did you if I can just get to the next two people you can go right after that's totally fine yep absolutely okay so Ed Mack house Buckingham Township come on up Ed Mack house Buckingham Township a former teacher physicist I taught for ten years in the 70s I I spelt taught some special guidance students I broke up a lot of fights but I never saw an autistic child there was one
060in ten thousand children had autism they only had seven vaccines there was one vaccine for polio then they changed it so there's 70 vaccines three three they changed one safe polio vaccine to three unsafe polio vaccine so it's all about money on honey so we didn't have we didn't have all this money 200 million spent on autism research which results in America and Canada having the highest race of autism in the world and we have Frankenstein and billionaires that's sponsor this woke stuff where the democratic people didn't stand up when President Trump spoke President Trump and Netanyahu destroyed the capability of Iran to build nuclear weapons the Frankensteinian educators write these books that a nuclear war would destroy everybody it doesn't if you know any basic physics you know that the blast goes off as
061a square the distance so there well hundreds of millions of people could die to the delight of the Frankensteinian billionaire that to support the woke people that don't stand up for America the countries like in Latin America and Africa would lose less than ten percent of their population so people should go into physics science that we can defend ourselves but no defense is a hundred percent that we cannot afford to allow China Iran and Putin to threaten us with nuclear weapons so that is the environmental fact that we would have a lot of look a lot like the moon and as a man I was able to break up a lot of fights women are not that effective and they need to be protected by men and Cheltenham High School ten people were sent to
062the hospital because trying to break up a fights involving four girls it was a man assistant that broke it up so you the people here suffer because they put children first not the teachers and parents the complaints from the children end up getting fired from professional education administrators know how to protect people so the safety is most important you have to teach to the weakest student when you put weak students criminals in the classroom the teacher has to protect it by keeping that person busy too so you so try and address the problems thank you thank you Rebecca Cardi Herring Doyles on Township equal pay cases and the EEOC support of women and teachers this update is more for the community than the board since the board has not sent this information now this month
063the E the equal employment Opportunity Commission an independent federal agency filed a friend of the court brief with the Third Circuit of Appeals in support of the women's arguments in the Equal Pay Act litigation involving myself and others the EEOC wrote that central bucks school district appeal argument was quote inaccurate wrong and flawed a jury ruled twice that CB violated the federal Equal Pay Act and the EEOC wrote to the court to uphold that ruling the EEOC's involvement signals a significant the significant implications of this key case for employment practices beyond CB and beyond teachers the Third Circuit's ruling this spring could impact every woman in the state of Pennsylvania New Jersey and Delaware the EEOC points out that the Equal Pay Act holds that a man and a woman who have similar prior experience
064and are doing substantially equal jobs should be compensated the same the EEO stated quote except for emphasizing unrelated duties as a football coach for which the district separately compensated him the district did not offer evidence that he had different responsibilities or necessary skills or the different or additional tasks make the work substantially different the EEOC also pointed out that just because some women are fairly compensated it doesn't excuse the district's unfair treatment of other women women should not have to work over a decade to make the same salary a man with similar prior experience made on his first day of teaching in central books I believe this community cares about equal pay and while of course this is about money it's also about right and wrong it is about caring about women and the families
065they provide for and the children they care for inside and outside of the classroom it is about recognizing that women who work are not just making bonus money it's about valuing women for the work they do equally it is about creating financial success and independence that isn't determined by sex it is about rectifying the past mistakes even when it's difficult we appreciate the kind words questions and notes of support and encouragement of many in the CB community to the community I ask you to ask yourselves what you want for your own daughters sisters and wives don't just hope that the future will see them as equals it hasn't happened yet not even in a female dominated profession like teaching ask the board to prioritize a resolution for the other 380 women waiting in the next
066lawsuit to my amazing and talented fellow plaintiffs I know this has been long slow emotional and often an insulting process but I believe we will succeed I see you I hear you I appreciate the community we have built together around this issue I will continue to advocate for you because this fight is too important to walk away thank you thank you Doug willing Jason did you get that up there nice use the microphone what is the microphone you want to talk to them right oh you want to shout well we just want you to talk on the mic so that people at home can hear you too because I apologize I really want to just recognize the educational support staff I may walk right by you guys but I see you thank you very much
067and with respect to some of the things I've heard you guys say tonight such as your focus on cell phones I applaud your effort I mean it's an addictive device and we all have them thank you some of the other aspects of what you were talking about this evening I applaud your efforts to provide a safe supportive environment for our students this community is here the same purpose we absolutely applaud those efforts we appreciate your thanking us for our efforts sometimes it feels a little hollow and an example back in the day I spent about seven years on grounds and I had my truck with all my tools and all the things that I had this one time I was asked to clean my truck so I cleaned my truck and an administrator came back
068and basically yelled at me for cleaning my truck he wanted me to get rid of all the tools and all the things that I needed to do my job I think anyway thank you very much I applaud your efforts we applaud your efforts for providing the environment for our students to thrive and we just would like to be recognized thank you for letting me speak thank you gonna move on to board comments is there anyone on the board tonight that would like to speak Becky I hear you and see you the 380 other women I hear and see and I hear and see all you in the crowd tonight so thank you for coming thank you anybody else want to make comment okay hearing none motion to adjourn so moved by mrs. Smith second second
069by mrs. O'Connell meeting adjourned oh wait all in favor