001the November 20th 2025 Central Buck School District School Board meeting and with that we'll rise for the pledge. Ms. Ratcliffe will call please. Mr. Herring. Here. Mr. Pepper. Here. Here. Mrs. Zdanowicz. Here. Mr. Amuso, announcement of any executive sessions. Prior to tonight's meeting I believe I don't think we've met in executive sessions since. Other than just. Yes. Right. Just tonight. All right and before we get started I just had a couple of comments about things that you'll see on tonight's agenda. So on tonight's agenda you'll see that the board is officially naming Dr. Malone as our interim superintendent. Now that we have parted ways with Dr. Yanni, Dr. Malone is no longer serving in a substitute capacity. He is formally our interim leader and tonight's vote will codify that. We are deeply grateful to Dr.
002Malone for stepping forward to support the district during a challenging period and for offering his steady leadership and commitment to our students staff and community. Additionally on tonight's agenda is our proposed engagement with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit to facilitate the superintendent search process. More information will be shared soon regarding opportunities for stakeholder input from community members parents staff and students. We anticipate gathering feedback through surveys as well as three regional town hall style sessions typically geographically located from each of the high schools before we begin drafting the job description or posting the position. And with that I will turn it over to Dr. Malone for our superintendent's report. Thank you Mrs. Gibson. Good evening everyone. This month we again took time to see the good be the good across the district. Here are some
003highlights. Honored to honor all of you on this fairly special day. I thank you so much for all the love and heart that you bring to our buildings. This past month we again took time to see I'm sorry. With those comments with those good moments in mind let's celebrate our see the good be the good lock screen winner for the month. I'll turn it over to Mr. Jaffe. Okay thanks Dr. Malone. Today in the audience we have Mabel Romano. Would you like to come up Mabel and stand in front of your lock screen so we can honor you. Let's give her a warm welcome first of all because it's hard to go up in front of a large group. This month for November Mabel did the theme for Thanksgiving and just to let everyone know
004and Mabel for you to know as well I just looked at some numbers. This was placed in 1,300 classrooms on clear touch panels and 18,600 laptops across the district so it was seen from 20,000 people across the district on a daily basis. So very nice job and we really appreciate the work you put into it. I'm just going to read what you did to explain your picture in your own words. You chose to draw this picture sorry let me go back one level so you can see it. You chose to draw this picture because you think it's really nice to be kind and help others. When I think about Thanksgiving I picture mashed potatoes, turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Then I start thinking about kindness and how places like soup kitchens give food to
005people who need it. Helping others is important because someday we might need help as well. We're really happy to present for you today your certificate from Dr. Malone as well as a gift certificate to your favorite restaurant which is Panera. So thank you very much for giving us that place. Let's give you another round of applause to Mabel. Thank you so much Mabel. Congratulations to Indian Ami and Mr. Powell thanks for coming to support her tonight. Speaking of kindness our farmers market at Barkley Elementary has been helping community members in need of food since 2019. Twice a month neighbors from each of our schools can register to pick up various items. Volunteers distribute about 10,000 pounds at each market. We also welcome food donations. It is clear this effort is needed and makes a difference.
006We sent an email about the market to the community last Thursday. Since then over 100 people have registered to pick up food and dozens have offered to help. The market's new webpage has more than 1,000 visits. Generous community members have come forward to provide 40 Thanksgiving meals to families in need and 10 community members have agreed to be grocery buddies shopping or giving a gift card to a family each week until winter break. Our district is remarkable. You can learn more on our website. We thank everyone involved in this critical effort especially Barkley principals Joe Brereton and assistant principal Madison Leach. Thank you Barkley. Just chime in a bit on the farmers market. I've been there a couple times to visit and it's truly an amazing opportunity that we're providing for our families that are
007in need and this new website is just really extraordinary how many people it reached. I went there that day and it had only been up for like two or three hours and Joe said we already have 50 more families who've registered and the market's been helping about 200 families since 2019-2020 and then to put it out there and then within a day to have already like 50 and then a hundred more families saying that they could need assistance. That was a powerful moment and I mentioned it to Dr. Malone. I said it would be a great time of year if we could feature the market because we you know we have families in need but then we also have many families in the district who may want to reach out and help and this is
008a great time of year if you want to do something and this is really helping families and children who are right here in your school district in your community and I also just want to plug Giant a little bit. Giant is a tremendous partner for our farmers market and if you're ever shopping and Giant and you check out and it says do you want to round up for the fruit for the food bank that's us like so yes you know that money is going right here to our students and our families so thank you. Thank you for those words. I just have one other comment on that. I too have been to the farmers market multiple times on Barkley People. Dr. Brereton and Ms. Leach do an amazing job there and the profound difference that
009they make to families in that community is unbelievable so I you know I just don't really recognize them and thank them for everything that they do and the hordes of volunteers they have they work so hard kind of almost around the clock in addition to their real full-time jobs to work with fill abundance to work with Giant to work with all other services try to get these people to help they need. That's great. Thank you very much. Another way we wish to help our community is through promoting digital wellness. Our district-wide digital wellness committee holds regular meetings and then last week we have provided a provided parents a way to manage their students internet use on district devices after school through the light speed parent portal. We hosted a screening of screenagers growing up in
010the digital age at Lena P Middle School and created and distributed a video and posters to remind students and families of the guidelines for student use of cell phones and personal electronic devices during school hours a personal favorite of mine. We will continue this work by hosting another screen sense panel discussion in the upcoming months stay tuned for those details. All of these initiatives relate to our mission vision and values. We operate under a comprehensive plan that runs through 2026. The state requires districts to develop a plan every three years. We are in the process of developing our next plan which we are calling vision 2030. It will run from 2026 through 2029. On November 11th our planning committee met for the second time to continue this work. You can learn more about our progress
011on our new vision 2030 web page. The plan must be submitted by March. Before I highlight some of tonight's agenda items congratulations is on its way to the CB East girls soccer team for winning the state championship last Friday. It was an all it's a big deal. It was an all CB final. CB South faced East in the game. We invited the team to be recognized tonight but there are important practices taking place for club tournaments this weekend so we plan to bring the girls back and recognize the team in January. Turning to tonight's agenda on the agenda we have contract with CB Transportation Association. We have a new contract with our bus drivers covering July 20 25 through June 30th 2029. These important employees are often the first and last members of our team
012that that students see each day. Their commitments on safety consistency and care is essential to the smooth operation of every school. We're pleased to have reached an agreement that recognizes the value of our drivers and supports the work they do for our students and families. Pending the board approval tonight we will officially dedicate the CB East natatorium to two legendary swim coaches Tom Kane and Ed Walsh. Together they devoted nearly a century of combined service to CB East swimmers and their families leading teams and individuals to hundreds of victories and many league district and state honors. On December 5th CB East will host a formal dedication ceremony. You can learn more about coach Kane and coach Walsh who unfortunately passed away in 2023 and still being honored and the dedication ceremony on our home page.
013Tonight the board will also review administrative regulations that establishes clear guidelines and processes for identifying and approving advertising opportunities across our high schools. This framework provides a structured way for companies to participate in programs such as digital scoreboards, live streams, gym and field signage and even facility naming rights. By putting consistent expectations and agreements in place the regulations ensure transparency while creating an important opportunity for new revenue that supports our schools and bolsters our budget. New programs of studies for our high schools and middle schools for next school year are up for approval tonight. These are important documents published every year but they take on added significance going into realignment next year. Full versions of these programs of studies are included with the agenda items and board docs. We will also make them available on
014our website and have plans to directly share with students and families. Our counselors have already met with fifth and sixth graders to begin this process. Lastly I want to congratulate a familiar face and welcome two new faces to CB. We are happy to recommend Lauren Dowd as permanent principal at Jamison Elementary School. Lauren has steered Jamison as interim principal during a challenging time and has done a fantastic job. We are fortunate to be able to make her role official. Welcome aboard. We will also benefit from two new additions to our human resources department. Jane Berzoza and Donna Shepis are on the agenda to join us as HR managers beginning December 1st and December 15th respectfully. We are excited to bring them on board to support our HR department and employees who value the HR services.
015Welcome aboard. And before I end my remarks I want to take a moment to thank our outgoing board members for their years of volunteer service to our students, schools, families, and larger community. This is their last meeting as board members. Rob Dugger served from 2024 to 2025 with roles on the Curriculum Committee, Education Committee, and Finance and Operations Committee. Jim Pepper served from 2021 to 2025 with roles on Finance Committee and Operations Committee as well as a liaison to the MBIT. Janine Zdanowicz served from 2024 to 2025 with roles on the Policy Committee, Finance and Operations Committee, as well as liaison to the MBIT. For their time on the board these committees and in all other ways Mr. Dugger, Mr. Pepper, Mrs. Zdanowicz have served the CB community and I thank them on behalf of
016the entire district. And we are proud to happily present a token of our gratitude and a plaque to commemorate their service. Mr. Dugger, Mr. Pepper, Mrs. Zdanowicz, it is Thanksgiving. Continuing the theme of gratitude, I wish the entire community a very happy Thanksgiving. Thank you to all our parents, guardians, teachers, staff members, students, and the school board for your support and partnership in making CB an excellent place to learn and grow for thousands of young people every day. That is my report for tonight. Thank you Dr. Malone. That brings us to our public comment period. Our first period of public comment is on agenda items only. Persons wishing to make public comment were required to register prior to the start of tonight's meeting. If current CB students registered to speak they will be permitted to
017do so first and we do have a number of students here that I will be calling on 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 comment 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'll be asked to stop speaking and you'll 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
018your 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 appreciate your cooperation and 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 and with that our first student to speak tonight is Kaylee Gray. Good evening my name is Kaylee Gray. I am here to speak in support of the CBE's cheer coaches. These coaches have made up such a special part of my life and the coaches mean so much to me and the rest of the cheer team. Without cheer I feel like I would be a disgrace. It just makes
019such a big impact on my life and being a part of cheerleading this program has built me into such a stronger person mentally and physically. My heart is so full and I can't imagine what I'm going to do when I graduate because this team makes me so happy and the coaches bring out our true potential to its fullest and we would not be as successful as we are today without them. I am beyond grateful for these coaches and the team and I feel like if I have a tough day at school or at home I just like when life just gets tough and crazy I go to cheer and it's like all my problems and stress just disappear and I'm just with my friends and my coaches. I strongly believe that the coaches deserve to
020have eligibility to coach us and my love for them continues to grow day by day. Thank you so much. Thank you. Bella Saylor. Hi my name is Bella Saylor and I'm one of the CBE's varsity captains and I've been a member of the varsity cheer program since freshman year. I have genuinely felt so incredibly welcomed and loved ever since I was a ninth grader walking into the first open gym of the season having no clue how much of a life-changing decision this would be for me. I walked into that gym with zero tumbling loose motions and low self-confidence and all of that got immediately fixed once I became part of the CBE's cheer program. This is due to my amazingly skilled, dedicated, caring, and talented coaches. They saw potential in me and saw an athlete
021in me that I would have never even thought of a possibility but here I am today being an athlete they saw in me all because of them. My coaches have taught me time management, accountability, confidence, communication, leadership, patience, resilience, and lots of responsibility. I can confidently say that all of those characteristics I have and the reason of those is my coaches. They don't only help you as an athlete but also as a person. They are genuinely such kind and loving people that care about each and every one of us athletes equally. Cheerleading has truly shaped me as a better as a person for the better and it makes me so happy because it is something I love so much and thanks to my coaches they helped me carry out my love for this sport and
022I get to prove it to others. I have achieved so many things I didn't even know were possible because my coaches see amazing things in all of their athletes and if the athletes aren't aware of that the coaches make sure they become aware of that. Cheerleading is a lot more than what others see on the surface. Everyone sees our excellent performances and our wins but it is so much more than that. We put in so much work to reach that and many people don't understand that. Our coaches are so dedicated and committed to helping us reach our goals. They take so much of their own personal time away solely for us because they do truly care that much. I take so much pride in the sport and the team because we are all great teammates
023to each other and our program as a whole is not only a team but a family. Overall it is sad to see how we were expected to be silenced during all of this but I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak up and to have our coaches reinstated during everything and continue our season where we got the opportunity to go to two regionals already and got first in our game routines at both competitions. If you want a team like that you will follow the truth and none of us ever said our talent was an excuse for anything. I will not be silenced thank you. Ella Ritchie. Hello my name is Ella Ritchie and I'm speaking in support of the CBE's cheer coaches. I'm a junior at CBE's and this is my third year as a member
024of the East varsity cheer team. Cheer is a fundamental point in my life and I would not be who I am today without CBE's cheer. In this time we've accomplished goals that some teams can only dream of including two-time SOL championships and game day and traditional divisions, first place in most if not all competitions and third and fourth place in the nation. We have received awards that other teams voted on that CBE's cheer is the team they aspire to be and not just because of our success rate but because of our work ethic, positivity, team spirit, team bond and so many more reasons and we are not stopping now. I have two more years ahead of me with CBE's cheer program and none of my goals and my team's goals will be accomplished without our
025coaches. Our coaches are incredible role models for me and other girls on the team. They are the reason CBE's cheer is well known and not only the state but the country. They have high expectations of us and that requires us to show up and put in the work. The coaches know that we are able to accomplish everything we have and more and they don't and they want it as equally bad as we want it. They don't dedicate more than half of their lives for nothing. They cheer with us when we are successful and they continue to cheer us on when we fall short of our goals. If we were to ask any person on our team they could explain to you in depth how our coaches have made such a great impact of all of
026our lives. Thank you. Thank you. Isabel Dematia. Good evening my name is Isabel Dematia and I'm a cheerleader at CBE's. I would like to say a few words about my coaches recent situation. Let me start by saying that these coaches have taught me more in that gym than I than I have ever and will ever learn in a classroom. Lessons that are not only valuable but actually useful for the future. I have learned discipline, respect, hard work, time management and goal setting which is more than I can say about all my school classes combined. These coaches lead by example. They embody what it truly means to be an East cheerleader. That being discipline, dedication, respect and time management. As an honors as an honors student at East I can tell you firsthand that managing all
027honors on top of cheer would not be possible without my coaches. They have clearly communicated with us the expectations that they have for us as both students and athletes. Failure to meet those expectations results in suspension from practice, games and competitions. Something we were fully aware of prior to the start of the season. I would also like to stress the discipline that I've learned from these coaches. As a flyer I'm quite literally putting my life on the line every time I go in the air. Without discipline this would be incredibly dangerous. Discipline is what makes us safe along with making us good at what we do. Our coaches plan various team bonding activities on their own time to make sure that we are on a team that we can trust and be ourselves around. Without
028trust we wouldn't get anywhere as a team. These coaches have been there for us no matter what. When someone is hurt they prioritize making sure that they are okay. Last year I obtained a serious concussion and it was my coaches emailing me every day to ask how I was. They put more effort and dedication into this team than any other coach at East. They are the reason we have brought home so many first place trophies. They have genuine care for this team and everyone on it. They are the heart and soul of East cheer and we honestly would not be who we are today without them. I hope you realize how much we love, appreciate and most importantly need our coaches. Thank you for your time. Lily Fisher. My name is Lily Fisher. I'm a
029Central Bucs East cheerleader and today I'm talking about the unfair subspection of my coaches. I started cheering at the age of nine years old and intentionally it was just a hobby to me but now cheering has changed my life. Cheer is my safe base and when I just need a break from the real world I can step onto the nine panels and feel at home. My teammates and especially my coaches have shaped who I am today. Every day this season I've looked forward to practice after school because it's where I can be myself without being judged. It plays where I can play the sport I love and get to be around my closest friends and teammates. Every time I step onto the mat to practice or to go full out I have my coaches on
030the other side of the mat cheering me on and telling me you got this. Because of the fate that the coaches have in me I actually believe I got this. They have been there forever win and loss and every time they would tell us how good we did even if we took last place they would make sure we all knew how proud they were of us and how much they cared for us. I don't know what my team would be without my coaches. They are the most caring, funny and enjoyable people to be around. They don't care if we win or lose they just want us to enjoy the sport we love. They can be tough on us sometimes but that's because they know how capable we are and just because they care. The coaches
031have shaped me today as a person. They have made me more confident, resilient and overall a happier person. I don't know where I would be today without my coaches. They put all their free time into our routines and everything they do for us is out of love. We love these coaches more than anything and we wouldn't be a team without them. Thank you for listening. Mallory Sexton. Hello my name is Mallory Sexton and I'm a sophomore at CBEast. I joined the cheer team my freshman year making varsity. This was a big transition from middle school cheer however it has brought so much light into my life. Throughout both seasons of having these coaches they've never given me a reason not want to go to practice or felt like I was not enough for the team.
032In the offseason I was thinking of not returning and they had a meeting with me. None of these reasons for me being unsure of the sport was because of the coaches. In this meeting with them they had given me full support and zero pressure to make me feel forced into joining back. At Nationals last year the entire team was upset after finals and even in that moment the coaches still told us they were proud of us and all the work that we had put in. They put their all into the sport to make the team as successful as possible and do everything that they can to do what's best for us. I know that they love and care about us because it is shown through their coaching and through the passion they have for cheerleading.
033In this sport you need to have thick skin as your spot is never permanent. That is something that everybody is made aware of as soon as they join the team. This sport is a huge commitment to anybody and it all comes down to if you're tough enough. This sport means so much to me and to all the other athletes on the team. I do not know where I would be without it since it provides me with a stress-free environment. At the end of the day the coaches are doing their job to ensure our success never to harm us and we love them all. Thank you. Alyssa Hathaway. Hello my name is Alyssa Hathaway. I'm a junior at CBE and I've been on the cheer team for three years now. I'm a second year varsity captain
034and I'm here speaking on the situation about the unfair suspension that the Central Books East cheer coaches faced. My two cheer coaches have shaped my life in so many ways that I will never forget. They taught me far more than routines and counts. They taught me confidence, discipline, and how to believe in myself even on the days when I didn't feel like I could. They pushed me to grow, to lead, and to show up fully for my team and for myself. Their encouragement has helped me overcome challenges both on and off the mat and the lessons they've given me will stay with me forever. These coaches are more than mentors. They are role models, supporters, and truly amazing people. They show up for us with dedication, patience, and passion every single day and it's impossible
035not to feel their love for the team and everything they do. I admire them deeply and I'm grateful. I'm grateful for every moment, every correction, every pep talk, and every laugh we shared. They have changed my life for the better and I love them for the impact they've had on me and all the rest of our team. This whole situation with our cheer coaches being suspended has pushed our team past frustration into absolute disbelief. It feels heartbreaking to watch two coaches who have always supported us suddenly pulled away from us especially knowing there are personal connections involved that make the whole process feel even more unfair. What hurts most is seeing how quickly decisions were made without hearing the voices of the athletes until after we sent hundreds of emails to you guys on the
036board and after we painted the rock outside of East. You as a board skipped over everyone who knows what goes on in our practices and it feels like the voices of the athletes, the people that were directly impacted, were thrown aside without a second thought. Especially when you guys have been sent those emails and your responses were copy and pasted emails from members of the board that are friends with the family that made these false reports. We are angry, we are hurt, and we are tired of decisions being made behind closed doors by people who don't see the reality we live every day with our coaches. They deserve fairness and we deserve to be heard. You as a board didn't just suspend our coaches, you exposed yourself. You may control the rules but we control
037the truth and today everyone heard it. Thank you. Charlize Reiske. Good evening members of the school board. Thank you for giving me a chance to speak. My name is Charlize Reiske and I am a freshman on the Central Bucks East cheerleading team as well as an all-star cheerleader. I'm here today because our coaches have had an incredible impact on me, on our team, and on our school community. I hope to share why keeping them in their positions is so important. When I first joined school cheer I had no idea how much it would mean to me but from the very beginning my coaches welcomed me with encouragement, patience, and so much genuine support. They have been extremely flexible with my difficult schedule. They didn't just teach me motions, stunts, and routines, they taught me confidence.
038They helped me fall in love with high school cheerleading in a way I never expected. Our coaches have created an environment where we feel supported, motivated, and safe. Cheerleading is a demanding sport physically and mentally and having coaches who truly understand us makes all the difference. They teach proper technique, prioritize safety, and ensure we treat the right way. Because of them our team has grown stronger, more confident, and more responsible. What I appreciate most is how they always show out for us. They are there, ready to help, ready to lead, and always push us to be our best. They go above and beyond not because they have to but because they care about us. Because of them, cheer has become so much more than an activity. It's a place where I feel confident, capable, and
039proud. It's become a family and that's because our coaches have created an environment where we feel safe to grow, try new things, and believe in ourselves. These coaches have built a program that students want to be a part of. They make the sport meet something meaningful, something that teaches discipline, teamwork, and pride in representing our school. That kind of positive culture doesn't just happen. It is built carefully over time by people who care. Consistency matters. Changing coaches risks disrupting a program that is thriving. It affects our training, safety spirit, and the overall experience for current and future cheerleaders. Our coaches know us, understand our strengths and challenges, and have created a stable supportive environment where we can grow. That kind of stability is crucial. I'm asking you to please consider the real impact these coaches
040have on students. They have shaped us into better athletes and better people. They are committed, knowledgeable, and deeply invested in our success. Replacing coaches like that would be a loss not only for our team but for the whole school community as a whole. Thank you for your time and for listening. Please don't take away our coaches from us. It's going to impact more than just a couple of girls. Thank you to all of the students that came here tonight and to the cheer team. I appreciate your poise and articulateness as I'm being inarticulate myself for coming up here today. It takes a lot of courage to come to a board meeting and talk to adults and your voices are heard, your concerns are heard. We appreciate you sharing your experiences and thank you guys for
041coming out tonight. Really appreciate it. Next on our public comment list is Edward Mackhouse. Edward Mackhouse, former teacher, engineer, scientist, and from Buckingham. I wish to honor the swim coaches Ed Walsh and Tom Kane and I congratulate you on giving them at the Torium. Ed Walsh was also a Marine. I have a son, two sons Matthew and Nathan were on the swim team through high school and they both did very well. They got scholarships, went to temple, got scholarships and doing well. They graduated, got good jobs and everything. And as a parent we appreciate the coaches. There was talking here about other coaches. They had a hundred years of coaching and apparently they didn't have any complaints that kept them from being suspended or something. I think no one's perfect. There's, you can always have
042competition. Some people, they had to pick like team captains and stuff and the team captains have ability, they have parties, they bring the people together. It's a cooperation between the coaches, the children, and the parents. So there's the team spirit. I can't imagine, you know, you have to, parents have to drive the kids back and forth to school until their senior year when they can drive. There's a lot involved and I had to make sure the kids got some sleep and did work and did academic things too. The parents have to do that and the coaches, as objective, you can judge the children by how well they do and stuff. I can't, I don't understand anyone complaining about this cheerleading coach. I know cheerleading, it's a tops sport, it's very competitive. Unless there was something
043danger to the children. I mean someone could get seriously hurt in sports and cheerleading but I don't hear anything that justifies suspension. I think the encouragement, I think we all can be coaches. We all should know about coaches. You have to say something positive and you make a suggestion and you encourage the children like you're saying what's the things. So criticism, it's easy to criticize. Everyone wants to be in control, the boss. So coaches that get along with most of the children and all the think the children need to be consulted. I don't think, I think people should learn. I had to take a coaching course at one time, Central Books, they said the parents could act bad and you should all take a coaching course. So that was an important course. I think everyone
044should take a coaching course and appreciate how important it is for parents. The sports, we want to be competitive, you don't want to say bad things. So I think we need to make the coaching better. Thank you. Good evening everybody. Thank you for giving me the chance to speak tonight on behalf of Central Books East swimming and diving community. I'm here in full support of the resolution to name the Central Books East pool in honor of Ed and Tom. To be clear, I'm speaking tonight not just on behalf of myself, I'm speaking on behalf of the thousands of athletes, students and families whose lives were shaped in their pool and in their classrooms for over five decades. My name is Kevin McCann. I am the current head coach at CB East, but also someone whose
045life is profoundly impacted by those two extraordinary men. Tom and Ed are the reason I came back to coach my high school swim team 27 years later. They gave everything to this program, decades of their lives, unwavering care for every swimmer who jumped in that water. They're combined 87 years on that pool deck together. It is remarkable on its own. If you go to their coaching record, 689 wins, 323 losses and nine ties. Yes, you can tie in swimming. You might argue that that alone deserves a pool named after you, but gosh that's a winning percentage of like 70%. That's bananas. Anyway, for the record we were like 10 and 2 last year, so by my math I feel like we should catch them in like 68 years. But their impact really went beyond wins.
046Well Tom and Ed taught at the CB East within the CB School District for five decades each. Their influence didn't stop within those lane lines. They followed their students into their classrooms, into their careers, into their families and into adulthood. Yes, they were absolutely amazing coaches. Coaches that you remember for a lifetime. They can fix your butterfly, they can help you with a 500 free, but they tell us all to be better human beings. They built a family, not just a darn good swim team. And because of that, those men stood at our weddings. They're godfathers to some of our children and they are the reason this 46 year old father of four put his career on pause to come back home and make sure this program continues to develop young adults the way it
047did under their leadership. I'm joined by our captains tonight who are sitting because their legs are shaking from a rough practice tonight. But they're here because they understand something important. We have one of the largest and potentially strongest rosters in school history and that didn't happen without standing on the shoulders of those two coaches and teachers who are already members of the Pennsylvania Bucks County and Central Bucks East Hall of Fame. So I've swam in some pretty big swim meets, US Nationals, US Open, Olympic Trials. None of those moments feel as special as this one to me because Tom and Ed taught me that swimming wasn't just about racing fast. It was about becoming the kind of person who lifts others up. So tonight we're asking you to help us out of those two men
048who spent their lives lifting up thousands. So on behalf of our athletes, our alumni, our families, the entire East Swimming and Diving community, we respectfully and wholeheartedly ask you to approve the resolution to name the Central Bucks East Pool for Ed Walsh and Tom King. Thanks everybody. Sean Wild. Evening everyone. My name is Sean Wild. I'm a stepfather of one of the most amazing students and cheerleaders that in my opinion exist, no disrespect to the rest. What I got a chance to see was both firsthand the bad and I'm not going to read this because the story is simple. I got to see the bad. Our child was injured, suffered traumatic brain injury. We felt like it landed at the feet of the coaches. We tried to get help. We tried to talk to use
049the chain of command. I'm an ex-prior service member. I believe in leadership. I believe in fairness, accountability. That's what we're talking about here today. Fairness and accountability. There was nothing wrong with having standards. Actually that's what we want. Those are these programs are supposed to instill. We couldn't get that out of the leadership of the program but not the coaches. I was looking at the coaches and I was watching very closely with my wife when she tried to come back to the program but we did see the emails. We did see the follow-up. We did see the coaches trying to remedy a situation. Things happen. Bad things happen. That's what you do afterwards that makes a leader or what I would call a program have character. These two coaches that remain were not the challenge.
050They were the solution. It was easy to think they would be the problem. So I'm sitting here watching them day in and day out and my daughter didn't get to go right back in and she didn't get to get plugged back in. She had to earn her spot. That's cool. I dig that. Everybody earns their spot and that's what they do. So when you have standards and you have to actually put grades first because that's what really should matter at the end of this process as we turn out people who are critically thinker, not a quickly think, not to make good decisions or not afraid to stand up and do what you see here today, that comes from leadership. That's what you're seeing from these coaches. I'd be the first one to point them out.
051They'd be my opportunity, my get-back. But they weren't the problem. The problem was the senior leadership. Had it not been for Dr. Malone, is that you sir? Amazing. Kudos to this gentleman. That was leadership who finally interceded and saved this district from a Title IX lawsuit. That's what we thought we had. But we got heard. That's all we wanted. We got heard. He stepped in. He showed leadership. We yielded and just wanted to see a process work. It did. All we really wanted to do is be safe. And that's what these coaches did. We watched them run up and down the field, making sure every one of these kids had support and got an opportunity to live out their dream, whatever that dream was. That's all we want. Now you're gonna take them away, potentially,
052because of a complaint. Oh, we had complaints. And they were unheard of. But look at the totality of the truth. Totality's here. You don't get this many people showing up and showing character without having character instilled in them. What's character? That's what you have here. That's what you want from leaders. I'm the next prior service member. You will judge a good leader by their troops. There's their troops. That's it. Thank you so much. Next on our agenda is approval of the school board minute meetings from October 16th. Do I have a motion to approve those minutes? Second. Moved by Mr. Pepper, seconded by Ms. Reynolds. Does anybody have any comments? Okay, all those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Aye. Any abstentions? Aye. So that motion carries with seven yeses, one no, and one abstention. Good
053math. And now that brings us to our school board reports. Ms. Foley, from our Education Committee update. Good evening, everyone. I'm sorry I can't be there in person. I hope you all can hear me. I'm taking a big chance calling in and trying to give a report. So just bear with me. This past month we met on November six. We had Cassandra Oshinsky, our K through 12 supervisor of MTSS, Federal Programs and Assessment and Data, present to the committee regarding assessments. This is Ms. Oshinsky shared the 2024 and 2025 results from the Pennsylvania School System of School Assessment, PSSA, Pennsylvania Keystone Exams, ACT, SAT, and Advanced Placement Exams. Ms. Oshinsky shared that there is significant evidence of sustained improvement in PSSA results and that growth results in math and the ELA are very strong. Ms.
054Oshinsky shared that there is also significant evidence of improvement in Keystone exam results and that growth results are very strong in all subject areas. Mary Courtney, our K through 12 supervisor of science presented to the committee regarding updates to course of study documents for K through eight science classes and AP chemistry. Steel standards, unit overviews, desired results, acceptable evidence and learning experience and instruction were discussed. And she also presented to the committee regarding the purchase of the new biology textbook. Also presented was the 2026-2027 Middle and High School Program of Studies by Richard Kratz, our Director of Teaching and Learning. Class schedules, courses and graduation requirements were discussed by his incredible team of supervisors who gave a fantastic presentation. Effective in the 2026-2027 school year, all Pennsylvania schools are required to implement a mandatory personal
055finance course. Personal finance one fulfills this requirement and is open to all students in grades 10, 11 and 12. There are no major changes to the middle school science course offerings as all courses have been updated and revised to align with the steel standards. Grade six science will be modified to adapt to the middle school schedule and will include additional instruction. Grade nine science has been updated to support a block schedule and will now be called environmental science. We will also now offer French and Spanish in seventh grade. In 2027 through 2028, we will offer French 1B and Spanish 1B for students in eighth grade who completed French 1A and Spanish 1A in seventh grade. And lastly, we will offer honors Chinese and honors Latin in 26 and 27. And that's it for education updates.
056It's a lot of content that was covered and I would strongly advise parents of future sixth and ninth graders that they watch the archive from the meeting if you have questions about courses for your learner with realignment on the horizon. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Foley. For policy committee update, Ms. Sendanowicz. Thank you. The policy committee met on November 13th. Five policies are on the agenda for consideration tonight as first reads. Policy 113, special education, has been revised and basically rewritten to reflect the recommendations of council to ensure that the district policy properly aligns with appropriate law. Policy 317, discipline procedures for staff, has undergone minor revisions to the direction of council to further clarify expectations and guidelines. Policies 246, wellness, and 918, title one parent and family engagement, were reviewed and there were no
057changes proposed. These were part of the mandatory review cycle. Every so often we need to review specific policies to make sure they're still current and relevant. A new policy was discussed by Dr. Malone and the administration. Policy, I think it will be called 800.2. And it really revolves around, it's a new policy which is proposed that addresses the guidelines for recording meetings between parents, guardians, and school staff. So they are on the agenda for consideration tonight. This is my last meeting as the chair of the policy committee. I wanted to thank our committee members, Ms. Gibson, Mrs. Reynolds, and Ms. Smith, members of our administration and the legal council who supported us for their dedication to providing clear policies, administrative regulations, which is a curveball we threw at you this year. You pretty much had
058to come up with ARs every time we asked about a policy. And the spirit of to provide clarity and transparency for teachers, staff, students, parents, and community. The next policy meeting will be scheduled as part of the board reorganization process after December 1st. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Sundanowitz. Finance and Operations Committee update, Mr. Herring. Thank you. Our last meeting for the Finance and Operations Committee was on Thursday, November 13th. We had nine operation items that we discussed and we brought forward to tonight's agenda. We then had three information items that were presented. One was on the capital projects update, all the projects undergoing right now, the CBE East turf replacement program that we're considering moving forward, and then an update on the realignment project and finances. We discussed the RFP for program evaluation of
059the People's Services Department, which we brought forward to tonight, which we'll vote on this evening. And then we looked at the 2024-2025 year in review and budget outlook. There was one public comment on that which we're looking into right now to get back to that person. And there are no committee meetings set in December for this committee. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Herring. And for the Bucks County Intermediate Unit update, Ms. Foley. Hello again. There was, this month I will share content from October and November's meeting, given October's IU meeting fell after our scheduled district board meeting last month. In October, the Bucks IU helped to address educator workforce shortages through a comprehensive pipeline of grow your own and apprenticeship programs that support staff members from high school graduation through advanced degrees in education. Current
060initiatives include a registered pre-apprenticeship for highly qualified teacher aides, behavior technicians, and both undergraduate and post-baccalaureate special education teacher apprenticeships. All programs are designed to prepare and credential highly qualified educators to meet the needs of Bucks County schools. Also discussed was a new program and group called the Bucks Youth Career Network or BCYN. It is a newly formed group being facilitated by the Bucks IU made up of organizations, businesses, and school district personnel sharing the goal of supporting youth career exploration, education, and experience. The assemblage met recently at the Bucks IU Fab Lab Center where information on what the Fab Lab offers and career experiences was provided. Presentations were also done by the Bucks County Workforce Development and both in school and out of school youth programs from the Bucks County Community College in partnership
061with PA Career Link and the Workforce Economic Development Force. Bucks County businesses can get involved and help inspire and prepare the next generation of their workforce. You can contact info at bucksiu.org to learn more if that's interesting to you. The Bucks IU Pearl Buck opened its doors on September 5th serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The school began with 18 classrooms and expanded to 25 classrooms in November of 2025 just this month to meet growing student needs. Pearl Buck provides a comprehensive educational environment tailored to support students with diverse developmental, emotional, and behavioral needs. Programs include enhanced autistic support, intensive autistic support, intensive emotional support, and the forthcoming Inspire PHP program. Each classroom is designed to foster academic growth, emotional resilience, and life skills development within a structured, inclusive, and supportive setting. Through specialized
062classes and multidisciplinary collaboration, Pearl Buck offers students access to academic and behavioral resources that promote engagement, independence, and success across all areas of development. For November, the big highlight is the state budget finally passing. On Wednesday, November 12th, after four and a half months without a state budget, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed the final 2025-2026 50.1 billion dollar state budget into law. Getting this accomplished was a group effort and the Bucks IU helped to facilitate and coordinate communication. The Bucks IU, along with 13 Bucks County School District Superintendents and Career and Technical Center Directors, worked together throughout the budget impasse to craft messages, contact legislators, and advocate for public education. On October 30th, Dr. Mark Hoffman, the Bucks IU Executive Director, joined more than 40 education leaders from across the Commonwealth to underscore the importance
063of this issue. Bucks County Schools and school entities rely on predictable budgeted state and federal funding to meet payroll, maintain essential educational programs, and support students with special needs. Without these funds, schools must make difficult decisions, securing short-term borrowing with associated interest costs, drawing down limited reserves, and delaying critical instructional and operational investments. The Bucks IU, together with the Bucks County School Districts, will continue to work diligently and collaboratively to advocate for students in public education. And lastly, in November, the Bucks IU honored hunger and homelessness awareness week, which was November 16th through November 22nd, goes through this week, which underscores the critical need for uninterrupted access to education. Communities across Bucks County observed this week and the Bucks IU ECYEH program, which stands for the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness, to help
064support school districts across our county and beyond to help families experiencing housing instability to keep their children enrolled, engaged, and connected to learning. The next IU meeting will be January 20th, 2026. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Foley, for our update from Middle Bucks Institute of Technology, Ms. Smith. Okay, yep. Tonight is actually Middle Bucks Open House, so hopefully they are having a packed house over there, lots of, yeah, lots of students and parents seeing all the wonderful opportunities at Middle Bucks. And if your student is interested in Middle Bucks and they were not able to attend tonight, you can also reach out to the school and arrange for a day where your student follows another student at Middle Bucks. That's a good opportunity for kids to learn a bit more about the school and see
065if they're interested. At this point, registration for 26-27 for Middle Bucks will now be open, so if your student is interested, get them filling out those forms. And we are also relieved at Middle Bucks that the budget impasse is over. It was more of an impact to Middle Bucks than it is going to be here, so it's fine. Thank you. Mr. Mattisbrough brings us to our finance. Yes, the administration is seeking approval of finance items B through E. Do I have a second? Second. Motion to approve items 6B through E. Sorry, moved by Mr. Pepper, seconded by Ms. Reynolds. Any comments on these items? I just want to make clear that on item E, we're not approving a specific vendor this evening for our RFP on the pupil services audit. We are approving the contract
066that will come once we have our interviews. We've narrowed it down to two vendors that we will be interviewing in the next couple weeks, and then this is to preemptively approve that so they can start their work without waiting till our next meeting. So there'll be a recommendation coming from that committee. The committee is including the board, Mr. Mattis, Dr. Craig, or is it Ms. Craig, Dr. Zaleski, Dr. Malone, and our three unions will all be participating in that interview process to make sure that we select the most appropriate vendor for the job. So with that, do we have all in favor of the motion? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Motion carries 9-0. Other board action items 7, Dr. Malone? The administration is seeking approval for other board action items 7-B through 7-I. So moved.
067Second. We have a motion by Mr. Pepper and seconded by Ms. Reynolds. Any comments on any of these action items? I just have comments on two items. Mr. Danowitz? First one, I want to congratulate Dr. Malone and thank him. He's put in a really tough spot this year and, you know, we really appreciate him stepping up and doing everything he needs to do to kind of get us through a really tough time. So we know, you know, we know you were swimming, swimming, swimming. You looked like a duck, right? You were really calm on the surface. You were paddling like heck under the water, so we appreciate it. The other thing they want to point out here is 7-F and that is the targeted, the CB South Targeted School Improvement Plan. That program really addresses
068second language learners and some challenges that we've had at some of our high schools. This one particularly south with, you know, believe it or not, when you come here and you're a second language learner, you still have to take like PSSA. You have to take all the tests, all the standardized tests in English and there may or may not be accommodations. So based on the increase in second language learners, specifically at South, Dr. Booker and Stacey Gray, who is our foreign language coordinator, did a really excellent job. I was actually able to participate in those meetings and I really wanted to thank them. They really were very student-focused and they came out with some great, great alternatives to really help the kids along. Thank you. I just want to say about the appointment of Dr.
069Mullen. He has done an absolutely fantastic job in perhaps the most trying of circumstances, certainly in the history of this district. We lost just about everyone and Dr. Mullen stepped into the gap and performed beautifully. So thank you, Dr. Mullen. Congratulations. I agree with those sentiments, Dr. Mullen. We really appreciate the support you've provided the board and the district through a very challenging year. 100%. Thank you. Thank you, thank you. Thank you, thank you. Thank you, Chuck. All in, from above. All in favor? Wait, can I just say, Ed and Tom seem like really awesome people and it's gonna be really great to be able to name the pool after them at East, so thank you for coming out and speaking about them. Mr. Herring, did you have something? I said aye. All in favor?
070Aye. Any opposed? Aye. I think that might have been a delay. It was, yeah. I have a delay. I'm so sorry. Thank you. Yes, that was a yes. That's okay. All right, motion carries 9-0. Operations, Mr. Spencer. Thank you. Administration seeking approval of operations items 8B through 8K. So moved. Second. Moved by Mr. Pepper, seconded by Mr. Kimakata. Do we have any comments on these items? All in favor of approving items 8B through K? Aye. Any opposed? Aye. Any abstention? Motion carries 9-0. Thank you. Special Education, Dr. Mullen. Administration is seeking approval for special education items 9B and C. Move by Ms. Reynolds, seconded by Ms. Smith. Any questions or comments? All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 9-0. And Dr. Malone, Student Services. Administration is seeking approval for Student Services item 10A.
071So moved. Second. Moved by Ms. Reynolds, seconded by Ms. Zandana-Witz. Any comments? All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 9-0. Education, Dr. Malone, or Dr. Valesky. Sorry. I've got that one. I apologize. No, of course. Administration is seeking approval for item 11B and C. Second. Moved by Ms. Smith, seconded by Ms. Reynolds. Any comments on these items? All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 9-0. Thank you. Thank you. Policy, Dr. Malone. Administration is seeking approval for policy item 12A. So moved. Second. Moved by Ms. Zandana-Witz, seconded by Ms. Reynolds. Any comments on this item? All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 9-0. Dr. Malone, item 13, field trips. We have quite the list in our new policy and procedures trying to front load those. I just want to put
072that out there. It's unusual to see this many even this time of year, but this is in an effort to coordinate better through our nursing and transportation services. One in particular that tonight just changed a bit was UNAMI's seventh grade trip. The date may not be 18th, but the board is looking to approve the the curricular trip that is there. The date may change. So administration is is seeking approval for all these items. 13B through, I'm gonna scroll, V. Do we have a motion to approve items 13B through V? Second. So moved by Mr. Pepper, seconded by Ms. Reynolds. Any comments on any of these field trips or questions? All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 9-0. Human Resources, we have a couple of retirements to name to call out tonight. We have
073Gregory Elzey from our building utility at CB South, 24 years of service. Linda Northcutt, a personal care aide at Gaiman with six years of service, and Jeanette Swanteck, a special ed elementary teacher from Titus with 24 years of experience, or service, I'm sorry, for total service years of 54 years. So thank you to those three retirees. We wish you all the best in your new chapter of your life. Dr. Malone for Human Resources. Administration is seeking approval for Human Resources. Items 14B through G. So moved. Second. Moved by Ms. Reynolds and seconded by Ms. Smith. Any comments? Questions? All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Abstain. Motion carries 9-0 with one abstention. I'm sorry, 8-0 with one abstention. And our reports and information, Dr. Malone, these are just for board information. Is there
074any comment that we need to address here? There aren't. There's just an updated job description for security and light and sound technician. Thank you, Dr. Malone. That brings us to our second period of public comment. Persons wishing to make public comment were required to register prior to the start of tonight's meeting. 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 a 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 appreciate your cooperation and
075maintaining a respectful environment. Please be considerate of all speakers and their opinions, including those that differ from your own. Thank you for your understanding. Mr. Mackhouse? Edward Mackhouse, Buckingham resident, teacher in the 70s, engineer scientist, discoverer of the element, B-particle structure, the electron proton and neutron. I'd like to speak about enabling students to succeed. When I was a math teacher, the idea was to make students be able to do something. Education should be able to make students be able to do something, deal with reality, hopefully the future voters be good. It is much easier to cause great harm than is to do good. It takes a lot of work, like almost a hundred years worth of the swim coaches to do things well. America became the greatest country in the world because of the hard
076work of everyone and the World War II and during that. The greatest danger of the world is in climate change. As a physicist, enable people to do stuff, the hardest thing in the world is to avoid a nuclear war. I'm not saying President Trump is perfect, but he's the only one at this time that can communicate with the leaders of the world and for 40 years Iran was allowed to develop the uranium to make nuclear warheads for hundreds of thousands of missiles that could annihilate billions of people. So Trump and Israel saved the world from that immediate threat of nuclear war. As far as this climate change hoax, Josipiro finally agreed with the Republicans that you need fossil fuels. Under the Green New Deal, the gasoline prices were doubling. This is putting people out of
077business. Under the COVID, people want magic solutions. Oh, started the vaccines. Under COVID, the United States with 5% of the world's population lost 20% of the world's death due to the COVID hoax. So the real science, we need the truth to support the real science, not to fight the climate changers. The fossil fuels, America and Canada have the highest rates of autism in the world. Although we spend more money on research, the research has been diverted. The vaccine Robert F. Kennedy Jr., he had some problems, but he overcame them. We need people who know how to solve problems. It's going to be all Democrats on the school board, but hopefully they'll listen to real science and to others, the taxpayers and Republicans and independents. So we'll continue to have a great school district. Thank you.
078Hi, Marianne Mass, New Britain Township, um, mother of three children who graduated from Groveland, Tohegan and CB West. So this is my very personal and public thank you to Dr. Jim Pepper for serving on the school board. And it's personal because as I was raising my children, I often looked to people that I could point to and I still do and tell them that these are role models. This community watched what happened to Jim's child. I'm only guessing, but probably Jim didn't want the community to know too many details of what he deals with all the time. I think it was hard for all of us. I feel like he persevered very well and that was already on top of being an amazing father and an amazing public servant on this dais. So my Children
079have heard about Dr. Jim Pepper for many years and I point to him and I've told them that he is a wonderful role model, not just here, but as a father and a family member and a very upstanding citizen with an incredible moral compass. It's very sad to me that there were people that abused his child, hurt his child and hurt other Children in the whole episode that happened. And it's very sad to me and it should be said to all of us that there were people that didn't help, that aided and abetted, that turned the other way and I find all of those people to be pitiable creatures. But I think all of us could take a look at Dr. Jim Pepper and point to him as a role model and I hope there's
080parents that hear this and think about what they want to tell their Children about who they'd like their Children to be when they grow up. Thank Kate Bowden. Hi, my name is Kate Bowden. I'm an assistant coach at the Central Bucs East cheerleading program. I'm here tonight not only as a coach but also as a CB East cheer alumni in support of the Central Bucs East cheer coaches. This year coaching I have had the privilege of watching them and seeing firsthand what I couldn't fully understand as an athlete of what goes into coaching. These coaches don't just coach cheer, they coach character. They show up early and they stay late. They balance strict discipline as well as expectations with compassion. They celebrate victories but they also teach athletes how to push through adversity, how to
081communicate and how to show up for each other. In a sport where athletes are constantly navigating pressure, change and challenges that matters. I've witnessed them mentor athletes who are shy, unsure and watch them become confident leaders. I've watched them handle not just skills and routines but tears, fears and self-doubt and real-life conversations that extend far beyond the map. Their influence doesn't end when the season does. It follows these athletes into their classrooms, their friendships, their goals and eventually their futures just like it did with me. As a coaching team they've taught me both discipline, teamwork, trust and respect. I am who I am today and I coach this program because of them. I am proud to be coached by them. I am proud to be a coach beside them and I'm proud of all of
082our athletes who came out tonight. Thank you. Vana DeArmond. Vana DeArmond, Plumstead. I just wanted to say Jim thank you for your service. Thank you for your moral compass. Thank you for your voice. I don't think words can really express. I don't have anything really prepared but I just wanted to be here in person to tell you how much I appreciated your service, sticking with it, through all of it. I really can't begin to fathom what you've been through and you've never given up and you've been a voice for us and thank you and I wish you well and you will always be in my prayers, you and your family. Debra Cannon. Debra Cannon, Warrington Township. In light of the ongoing and ever-worsening controversies whilst in within Central Park School District, I stand here once
083again. I stand to speak the truth and give my utmost gratitude to Jim Pepper for his sacrifice, stewardship and having the courage to remain among a brood of vipers despite facing the reality that his son as well as three other children were subjected to a classroom of horror and abuse while the sadistic administrators covered it up and his fellow board members invoked bystander apathy. My term on this board may have ended prematurely because I refuse to participate in blackmail and corruption but my obligation to the children of this community is not is not something that I just simply set aside. I've been a part of CB community for 24 years and I never envisioned it would become this much of a vile deterioration into dysfunction, chaos and public disgrace. Many of us believe that this
084district has drifted far from its mission of educating children with honesty, integrity and transparency. Too often it appears governed not by principle but by manipulation, extortion and those who are unmistakably power-hungry. For clarity, during my children's time here in Central Box there existed a faithful, honorable, remnant few educators who made lasting impacts on their lives. For their dedication and integrity and genuine care I am deeply deeply grateful for those educators but for those those good educators have been overshadowed by others whose intentions were far less noble. Rather than address our concerns honestly you labeled us extremists not because our concerns lack merit but because we could not be controlled, persuaded or manipulated. You attacked our character because you could not dismantle our convictions. Many of us who fought for transparency, stronger curriculum and the protection
085of our children endured public ridicule, intimidation and death threats. These reactions reveal profound truth. You were afraid. You were afraid of scrutiny, of accountability and you still are. We were never too much for you. It was that you were too small. With bought and paid for minions and media you created the divide, your actions alienated parents, your dishonesty poisoned trust, your negligence failed the children and your arrogance pushed this district to the edge of collapse. Some of you will brush aside my words tonight as a stupid fairy tale but this community knows better. They have watched decisions made in secrecy, rules bent for convenience and power uses not for service but for self-preservation. These are not accusations. They are patterns. They are facts. You people are a self-destructive suicide cult hell-bent on the ruin of
086children. I stand by my statement here that I said in 20... I will finish Mr. Amuso. My statement that I made here back in 2021 as a parent in this room at this podium. I said that there are demonic adults in this room and every one of you know it. Today there are more. The faithful of this community are praying on your behalf that God has mercy on your souls because our differences are irreconcilable and our time for compromise is over. You chose this. As for Mr. Pepper, no half measures. Mr. Pepper, no half measures. Thank you for everything you've done. Thank you. Lisa Ciccio. Lisa Ciccio, Warrington Township. Jim Pepper is one of the most faith-filled, kind, patient, loving and generous people that my husband and I have had the pleasure to get to
087know in our lives. Every family in this district, whether or not they have special needs children, owes a debt of gratitude to Jim. Even in the face of this incredibly broken system propped up by nefarious and frankly vicious board members, administrators, newspaper reporters, political operatives, and community members, community members who seem to actually get joy out of harassing you, endangering you, and your sweet family, but you never wavered. I think Matthew McConaughey, believe it or not the actor, said it best. There's a difference between a good man and a nice guy. A good man stands for certain ideals and when those beliefs are contested, a good man is not a nice guy. You're a good man Jim Pepper. I'm blessed to call you my friend and I pray that you and your family get the
088justice and peace you deserve. Thank you for everything you've done. Art Larson. Good evening everybody. Happy Thanksgiving. Subject is infiltration. You may have just read, for instance, that the Doyle-Stenberg says we're no longer going to support ICE. What is that? That's lawlessness. What's the next thing? They're going to give all the cronies the contracts? Okay. This issue here is the media. For a long time, my character was assassinated by organized crime of the Philadelphia Inquirer by people on the board. Okay? They were not fit for being a dog catcher, let alone being here. Okay? What else did they do? They supported the ACLU, supporting sterilizing kids. They supported the No Place for Hate program, the anti-defamation league. Again, part of organized crime that is still actively going on at CB West. This board and these
089people here need to realize, just like they supported Yanni, people need to be fired and they need to be held accountable. They cost us millions of dollars. They're not fit to be running as leadership in this community. Fire them. Pat Silverheart. I wanted to speak directly to the young people, less of the adults, and I'm gonna be blunt because the policy stuff I used to speak about I don't think had helped much. A lot of you feel forgotten and you're not wrong. There's been this pattern, this selective compassion, where certain groups get attention depending on the moment, depending on the headline, depending on who's talking the loudest. And when compassion becomes selective, somebody always ends up feeling left out. Somebody always feels invisible. And what's crazy is that almost everyone feels that way right now.
090It's not one group. It's not one identity. It's not one community. The irony, the painful irony, is that so many completely different kinds of people are walking around with the same exact feeling that no one sees me, no one hears me, no one cares what I'm going through. And when you're young and you feel that, that resentment can make sense. The anxiety, the frustration, it's understandable. Anyone would feel that way. A lot of this is happening because we've let group dynamics overshadow individual people. We stopped looking at human beings one by one. We started putting everyone into categories and boxes and labels. And when we do that, we lose sight of the actual person standing in front of us, their hopes, their struggles, and their story. But here's what I want you to hear, honestly,
091without any performance. Most adults in this community do care deeply. We talk about this all the time, how the world feels too loud, too angry, too divided, and how that affects you. We argue about it. We worry about it. And we stay up thinking about it. And not because you're a demographic or a generation, but because you're human beings we care about individually as people. A lot of what you're feeling makes sense in the world you're growing up in. And none of it means you're weak, it means you're paying attention. You are not forgotten, you're not crazy for feeling the way you feel, and even if we don't always show it the right way, a lot of us are trying truly to rebuild a way of living where every single person feels seen again. That's
092all. Just you matter as an individual and we're trying to figure out our best way to get back to that. Thank you. Thank you. As we come to the end of our meeting tonight, I want to thank our outgoing board members, Mr. Rob Duggar, Ms. Indenowence, and Mr. Jim Pepper for your service. It was an honor to serve with each of you, all three of you. I got to know a lot better through this process. Mr. Pepper, you and I got to know each other very well. And I thank you, Mr. Pepper, I appreciate that. And I appreciate and understand and support you and what we've talked about. Mr. Duggar, I know you did not vote for me to serve as your president, but I hope that you found me to be an okay leader
093of the board. I appreciated serving with you and the insight you provided along the way. It was invaluable at times to get through this past year especially. So thank you so much for that. Ms. Indenowence, your guidance on our policy committee and serving alongside you at MBIT was a pure pleasure and joy and I appreciated getting to know you through this whole process. Thank you all for your service and I wish you all the best. And if you do think there's anything you can provide in terms of insight to the board, please continue to be active community members, get in touch with us. I'm happy to serve you back in any way that we can. Thank you. Does anybody else have anything else they wish to say tonight? I just also wanted to thank our
094outgoing board members. Mr. Pepper, I thank you for your service. Everyone knows we did not agree on much, but we do agree. Karen, just so it's clear, you sat back and allowed people to traffic in information about my older boy. That is a fact. Continue. I was going to say we do agree that public service and public education are very important and I wish you and your family the best and I hope you enjoy a lifetime of peace and happiness. Mr. Dogger, your experience working in human resources was invaluable to us. You are always thoughtful, kind, and respectful in your decision-making and I thank you for your service. And Mrs. Zdanovitz, you have been a very dedicated and hard working board member. You're so thorough preparing for meetings and your attention to detail has caught
095many potential errors. Your heart is always with the students, but your mind is laser focused on the work that we have to do and I thank you for your service. Thank you. Mr. Pepper. First, thank yous to the many friends that came out and supported my wife and I over the last year. It's not easy coming out and speaking at a school board meeting, especially in this community, in light of the fact that there are people that enjoy doxing you and threatening your life and to the people that have threatened my family, two things. Number one, there was an election earlier this month. There is a literal new sheriff in town and there's also a new district attorney in town. You have left traces and I am hopeful that the new district attorney will take
096a look at the various people that have threatened my family. That's number one. And number two, and this is very important and I hope you understand what I'm saying here, I will not hesitate if you come near me or my family. I will not hesitate. What a great thing to say after four years of serving on a school board. So I said earlier, I think the world of some of the members on this board, I think they're very fine people and I also served with some wonderful people in the past and I've also served with some of the worst people I've ever met in my life. Stone cold liars. You know, I'm called a bully. You a bully. You're a bully. I am not a bully. The only time I got exercised is when people
097put my children in jeopardy. How ironic that it came to pass. How ironic. We should all stand together to defend the defenseless, all of us, but we did not. It is the craziest story. No one knows it better than Mr. Amuso and I complimented him earlier this evening because he found the smoking gun email and maybe he doesn't know lawyers or maybe Mrs. Gibson doesn't know lawyers that would have put it in their back pocket and disappeared it, but he didn't. He produced it and that's what you're supposed to do as an attorney, but not every attorney would. So I thank you again for being an honorable attorney, Mr. Amuso. It was a complete and utter systemic failure here to the point where it is really hard to grasp. A woman making $18.45 an hour
098stepped into the gap and her job was threatened. She was stalked and she was marginalized and I said at the time when I found out all this stuff, when I met her, I said they would have to literally kill you to keep you quiet and thank God she came forward and saved my boy and those other children in the classroom. It is the most unbelievable story and it's all documented and the reckoning is coming and the reckoning is coming for everybody that received that email. The reckoning is coming for the people that sat in on that November 15th, 2024 meeting with Gabby McDaniel and that includes union leadership and it's not going to be some Hamm and Egger lawyer coming for you. That I assure you. I hated coming here every single time. I hate
099being here. I came onto this board for one reason and one reason only for children like my boys. How ironic. How ironic. And you wonder, you know, how did it happen that it was my boy and those three children in the classroom with him that were subjected to this type of horror and I have a very hard time looking at this and saying well there's something good can come out of this. No. I'm never going to look at this and say well here's the silver lining because you still have people, number one, denying that it happened. Number two, denying any responsibility for their role in it. And number three, multiple people including my wife and I are staring down the barrel of a very long road ahead of us, not just with litigation because that's
100coming, but also dealing with what this has done to our boy and what it's done to our other children as well. And it's not just, and I make a point of saying this all the time, it's not just my family. There were three other families in that classroom and I had a very nice talk with a district employee earlier in this week about my son and she said to me, you know, I am student focused and I believe her. I think she's a fine woman. Ask yourself, did anybody who received that November 16th email think of the children in that classroom? Anyone? Did it occur to them? Maybe. Hey, maybe we should give these kids a break and put these people out on leave and how about this, call Childline? And when the police got
101the report on Christmas Eve, you think they could have thought this guy is a fairly experienced lawyer? He's a fairly successful lawyer. He's begging for me to look at the videotape. Maybe someone should look at the videotape. No. So this has been a fantastically unpleasant experience from the first night until tonight. I hate it and I question why people do it. I will never do anything remotely like this ever again and there will be people that will continue to harass and stalk and my family and I only hope that the new district attorney will take that harassment and that stalking and those threats more seriously than the current district attorney. It's been an absolute horror being involved here, though I've met the vast, vast majority of people I have encountered here are wonderful people, but
102that rump of people who don't care at all, don't care at all for the children, they need to be driven out. I want to thank Mrs. Reynolds, Mrs. Foley, Mrs. Gibson and Mr. Kimakata for playing a role from the very beginning and trying to do the right thing here. I want to thank Dr. Malone for stepping in at a very, very difficult time and doing a wonderful job and I'm very happy he's going to be staying in this district for hopefully many years to come, but know that service on this board has come at a great cost to me. I'm not looking for sympathy, but it's come at a great cost to me because I don't think, I know my son was targeted because I was on the school board. I know that and I
103cannot wait for the battle to be joined with these people. All of its talk now, all of its talk now, but when they sit down in court and face the jury, it's going to be very unpleasant and to all the people I've identified tonight, there's going to be tears. I can't believe he's coming after me. All the tears you shed are nothing compared to the tears my family has shed and the other families in that room. Nothing. Thank God it is over. Board members have any other comments? Do you have any, Mrs. Nenowitz? Please. Yeah. Over the past year and nine months, I've had the honor of serving on this board. During that time, I was thrilled to be warmly welcomed by administrators, teachers, staffs, and students as I toured every one of our 23
104buildings. I've served on Finance and Operations Committee, Chair of Policy, and proudly represented CBSD as a member of the MBIT Executive Council. I've embraced many opportunities to attend plays, sporting events, club events, and special committee meetings and other initiatives that make me proud to be a part of the CB community. I've appreciated this opportunity to serve. This has never been about politics for me. I've always worked hard to learn important details and make informed decisions on behalf of our students, teachers, staff, and community. We've certainly faced some challenges in CBSD, especially over the past year, and the road ahead will certainly present some challenges to our new board. I congratulate our new school directors and wish the new board nothing but the best as they work to support our students and community and keep CB
105moving forward. I'd like to thank our administrators and staff who have patiently answered my questions and addressed concerns that I've brought to them. These dedicated professionals work hard every day with the best interests of our students as a priority. I want to thank our teachers, support staff, transportation team members for their dedication and hard work. Some of the employees that our community members never even encounter make profound contributions to our students in district. My message to teacher and staff is never underestimate the impact of a good teacher. You can have a profound impact on the lives of your students. Thank you. Thank you. Do I have a motion to adjourn? So moved. So and with that we are adjourned. Our next scheduled meeting is December 1st for reorganization. There will be no business discussed at
106that meeting. It is simply our reorganization meeting where we welcome our newly elected board directors. Thank you.