001One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all. >> Um, attendance duty please. >> Mr. William Groom >> here. >> Mr. Don Clark >> here. Donkey >> here. >> Vivian Demco here. >> Dr. Dr. Laurel Erikson Barson. >> Mrs. Tracy Magnot >> here. >> Dr. Pax, >> I'm present. >> Mr. J. Santos >> present. >> Board President. Mr. Cedric Demar >> here. President absent. >> Thank you. >> Can I get a motion to approve the agenda? >> So moved. Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. I opposed. Motion's approved. We had an executive session tonight. We discussed an SVEA contract matter. Personnel, uh, we did not discuss the administrative assistant compensation and benefits plan. Can I get a motion to approve the minutes from September 23rd? >> So move. Second. >>
002Any discussion? >> Yes. Uh, I have a motion. You can I would uh move two items. Uh if they want to be separated by anyone, let me know. But I would like to move two items in section 14. Um uh item D and then item J, which is new business. Uh I move to strike the entirety of the comment and new business section. Um as I do not believe it accurately reflects what happened at the meeting and is superfluous. Uh the second motion is to modify section 15 citizens inquiries and comments to more accurately reflect what happened. I move that the language read uh M. Lammondino commented on the request by director Detmar to join an infernal informal working group exploring and then the rest can stay the same. Those are my motions. >> Yeah.
003Yeah. One mot one motion. >> One motion. Uh, can I get a second? >> Second. >> Uh, discussion. >> Yeah, we have discussion now. >> There's discussion. You can discuss just that motion. >> I just need one more time here to look. >> Yeah. Sorry. Um, it's page uh >> it's the last page of the minutes into it. That's that's a subsection J new business and then uh section 15. So striking all of section J uh and then editing correcting section 15. Do you need me to read those again, Bill? >> Yeah. No, I've I've had a chance to >> Okay. Any any uh discussion? Any additional discussion? >> So removing that from the we're removing all that from the record. >> No, no, we're removing section so the motion is to strike section subsection
004J. So that that that will be removed. Okay. And the the second part of the motion is to change section 15 citizens inquiry and comments to the following language. M. Lammenino commented on the request by director Detmar to join an infernal informal working group exploring and then the rest is the same as as the as is written. >> The reason for that bill is that the board did not request anything and it clarifies that it wasn't a >> Yeah, I see what you mean. >> Yeah. Yeah. So the board the board did not request anything because that would require an action by the board which we didn't take. though. >> Can you tell me why you're striking Jay completely? >> It's all it it it suffers from the same inaccuracy and it's also not required
005under PA code to put that in there because it was not an action by the board. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Um all in favor say I. >> I opposed. >> I'm abstain myself. >> I'm gonna either abstain or oppose which one will be. >> Okay. >> Same thing. >> It's the same thing. I just feel like I have or I'm maybe not allowed to say. >> Okay. Uh any opposed? >> Motion's approved. >> And now we just vote on >> now. Now we continue on to vote on the uh the corre the >> changed the changed uh minutes from September 23rd. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. Opposed. Motion's approved. Uh we have no recognition. Uh, no presentation. Uh, we have a high school representative report. >> Hi, my name is
006Christian Lucier. Um, for playoffs, the girls volleyball is moving on. Sen Valley volleyball upsets Notre Dame and will play in the semi-finals tonight at 700 p.m. at Katasaka High School. Krauss continues to dominate. Virginia Krauss finished in third at the gold race at Lehigh University's Paul Shortrun in a time of 17.12.2, the fastest time by a district 11 runner on that day. The the Dartmouth commit is a three-time PIAA champion. >> Wow. >> Girls soccer is moving on. Lady Panthers took on Banger High School last night at Palmer High School Stadium. And then the cheer team is hosting the Harlem Wizards. Cheer's biggest fundraising event is the Harlem Wizards basketball game on Thursday, November 13th. If you haven't heard of them, they are like the Harlem Globe Tro Globe Trotters, but travel the country and
007world helping schools raise funds through a fun-filled basketball game with faculty, staff, coaches, and administrators. The Harlem Wizards are renowned for their electrifying performances, mixing top-notch basketball with dazzling entertainment. This event isn't just a game. It's a chance to rally school spirit, engage our students and athletes, see our SV staff and coaches play, and help fund raise for the Saken Valley cheerleaders. We expect a sellout event. The Sen Valley High School Environmental Club is holding a fall fest on October 23rd 3rd from 4 to 6:00 p.m. at the Environmental Center. Join us for games, crafts, costume contest, haunted woods, pumpkin painting, a scavenger hunt, a bake sale, and more. This is a free event, but donations are welcome. Come by for some fun before you head over to the trunk or treat at 6. The
008Leo Club is hosting the trunk or treat on October 23rd from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. It will be held in the district offic's parking lot. There will be arts and crafts, games, and face painting, baits, goods, and trunking. You can buy tickets to vote for your favorite trunk and all proceeds will go to the breast cancer foundation. Thank you. >> Any questions? Um, so do I just want to make sure Thank you very much, by the way. I just want to make sure I understood. Uh, so we have a student who's um an athlete who's uh committed to Dartmouth and I Wow, that's great. That's that's fantastic news. >> A lot of good commits this year. >> That's great. Wow. Thank you. >> Yeah. I I I have a question also before uh Kristen sits
009down. So, Cristen, can you tell us uh who the homecoming king and queen were? And uh uh tell us a little more about that. >> Oh, yeah. Um the homecoming king and queen were announced last week. It was Kristen Lucier and Tommy King. >> Okay. And how did it go? >> Oh, it was really fun. And the homecoming dance was really good, too. >> Congratulations. >> We heard. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? Thank you, Kristen. Thank you. >> Okay. Um, superintendent report. Miss Velasy. >> Thank you, Mr. Demar. So, October has been a busy and exciting month here in Sen Valley. We've celebrated homecoming, n national fire prevention week, and hosted Rachel's challenge assemblies, all events that highlight our sense of community. A big thank you to everyone who attended the community pep
010rally and bonfire. And a special shout out to the first responders who helped make it a safe and memorable evening. Um, our senior athletes had a great time marching the parade to the elementary school before Friday's game. The marching band played as they walked the halls and the elementary students lined up to give high fives and it was a fun and heartwarming moment. Wish everyone involved had a a great time. Our Rachel's Challenge Assemblies took place over four days, two for the middle school, two for the high school. These sessions focused on connection, kindness, and empathy. All proving to make a real difference in supporting students mental health here in Sen Valley. And I want to thank all the students who engaged so thoughtfully. our teachers who led by example and everyone who helped make
011those days possible. Our elementary school students also had some exciting hands-on learning experiences. During fire prevention week, the local firefighters visited to teach important safety strategies and show our students their equipment, helping kids see that the firefighters aren't scary and they're there to help them. And in third grade, students had their annual science lesson on cockroaches, learning that not everything that crawls and hisses is bad. And there's photos from that lesson on our website if you want to check it out. Uh meanwhile, our older students, they were busy uh taking part in the 1776 style town hall debate and the AP science students were getting their hands into living ecosystems. Those are also on our online on our website if you also want to check those out. Um on the facility side, we've installed new
012locks on all of the classroom doors. These are for uh intruders. Um, and this is part of our safety efforts that are ongoing throughout our district. Um, there are also door shades that are next and they'll be installed very soon on all of the classroom windows and doors. Finally, we're thrilled to welcome Mr. Howser who is our new Sen Valley Middle School principal. Mr. Hower brings and Mr. Hower started yesterday, so you're very new. Mr. Hower brings more than decade of educational experience. Um he was a principal of Northern Lehigh Middle School and assistant principal in both Lee Heighten and Northern Lehigh. He's taught language arts in 7 through 12 and before working in education he was a park ranger in Carbing County. So we welcome you and we're excited to have you as part
013of our team. In November there's lot to look forward to. On November 13th, Chef Bill will be returning, as all of you may have seen on our social media, to work with our food service team, helping staff prepare for a delicious scratchmade Thanksgiving themed meal that everyone looks forward to in the district. His trainings have been a great source of pride and professional growth for the team, and we're excited to welcome him back. And then on November 20th, we're hosting a special wall of fame ceremony to honor two of our distinguished alumni. Mr. Ryan O'Connell is the music director at Disneyland Resort and a teaching artist for Disney Imagination Campus. He's composed and arranged and orchestrated music for Fox, Netflix, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney, NBC, and CBS, and has worked with artists such as B.
014Midler, Michael Boué, and Megan Hilty. And we also are recognizing Scott Sheriff, a Nashvillebased keyboardist and vocalist who worked with Carrie Underwood's band. Scott had a very big career performing, producing, and arranging for artists including Kenny Loggins, Kelly Clarkson, and David Foster. And it's a wonderful opportunity for everyone to join in. So, we're hoping to see and celebrate um our wall of fame nominees and hopefully see everyone there. And as we reflect on the past month, we just wanted to um say thank you for the hard work and teamwork that defines Sen Valley, uh during our communitywide bio boil water advisory. Um departments across the district came together, food service staff, custodians, maintenance crews, our principles, business office, tech teams, administrative assistants, they each played a vital role in making sure that we had our
0152,000 students fed and school was running with minimal disruption. So, I want to thank you and I know our community appreciates all of your efforts during the uh challenge that we we had the last couple of days. And that ends your report. >> Thank you, Miss Bl. >> Thank you. >> And welcome, Mr. Hower. >> Uh I had one um um question in comment. I I just want to ask uh um >> you you were a um ESU grad, right? >> Yes. >> And uh were you in the English department? >> I was. >> Okay. So, um I I didn't have any part in the process, but uh it makes me really happy to hear of English um someone from the English department. That's where I teach in the English department at ESU. And um
016I didn't want to say anything when I saw your name kind of coming around um just because I I thought it would not seem right to comment on that. Um and and I truth why I play no role in that in the hiring, but uh I'm really delighted to see you here. So, Okay. Um um courtesy of the floor to visitors agenda items only. Would anybody like to speak about an item on the agenda? Seeing no one. Uh we'll move on. Can I get a motion to approve a presentation of the bills? >> Some moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. >> Opposed. Motion's approved. Can I get a motion to approve the treasures report? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> I just wanted to like briefly
017comment on the treasures report because I know that there's a lot of um news about schools not getting their state funding because of the budget impass. And I just, you know, I know that probably most people don't sit here and scour through these sheets, but I just wanted to briefly assure the public that um because of our like strong financial standing and preparedness, we're not being super negatively affected by not receiving those funds and we're managing it. And if you want to comment, Dave, you could comment further. >> Um, currently we're probably about $3 million short from what the state normally gives us. Um, no federal money has been released to us either. Um, that's about total of $300,000, but that's over the the year, but it's about $300,000 at this point in time. But
018yes, we are okay at this point. Um, we're hoping that it ends in November. Uh, and we can start getting some relief and stop having to use our uh, >> but we're not in danger of needing to take loans >> right now. We're not in a danger of taking any loans like some other districts. Correct. Um, and we're not filing with the state for them to pay our debt service payments. So at this point we're we're okay. >> Thanks >> Mr. Deathmar. May I? >> Yes. Go ahead, Dr. Poxide. >> So this is just you know uh uh based on what uh both of you said, Mr. Carpenter and uh Mr. Bonenberger, uh is there anything that you think we should do in case the impass is prolonged? because $3 million is uh is a
019lot of money and I know that we have some money in the bank but uh at some point uh that is just not going to be sustainable. >> Um some districts have been looking at I mean obviously if it gets to that point we would have to file a tax anticipation note or a TR. Um other districts have been withholding or their uh cyber uh charter schools since we're not getting funding. Some schools have done resolutions and withheld uh that from payments to the charter schools. >> How much would that be for the same uh period that we have $3 million of uh shortfall from the from the state? >> How much would the the period be? >> No. How much would the uh the the charter payment would be for our district? So I
020I just want to know whether it's same order of magnitude or is it something much smaller or much larger? It's much smaller. I mean, total overall that we paid to the charters is $4 million for the year approximately. So, >> so for the for the comparable uh period uh you you would think something something in the order of like $600,000 would be the >> Yes. Yeah. More than likely the 600,000 because again it's 4 million overall for the year that we paid to them. >> So, but so so that 600k have you already paid that or uh you haven't? We've paid the charter schools for because they start billing. They get paid for July, August. Yes. And September. >> When is the next uh uh bill that you received that you have to pay? >>
021It would be um it we might have received it for October. I'd have to see. So, we probably either paid or would be paying October this month also. So I I I I think u you know obviously I don't want to sort of like uh uh transfer the burden if we can uh uh we can we can take it uh to another entity who has nothing to do with any of this but uh uh you know at the same time I mean I think it's uh uh you know one of those things that's something that uh is uh you know necessary for your home you are not going to uh uh kind of like gift that. So uh uh you know if this is something that would change our financial outlook I want to I
022want to make sure that we have the option to look into it uh uh you know uh I I I like your optimism about uh thinking that the budget impass will be resolved by the end of uh November but uh you know as we know there is no guarantee about that so uh uh you know I just don't want to sort of like find ourselves in a pay in in a in a place where we can't make our payroll uh and uh uh we we should do anything that we can to uh to prevent that. >> Um we're very I mean I I I really appreciate what uh Don said. Um we are in in really good shape and and and so we it's easier for us to absorb the stress but not without you
023know limits. All that said, um we're also part of a state and you know to quote George Castanza, we're part of a society, you know, and uh and it is really bad what's happening and um you know I I I would welcome you know our uh superintendent for example or our board president and uh talking with local legislators and ask telling um hey come on this is not good. It's not it's it's certainly um there's a lot of stress all over the Pennsylvania right now and and and I know in higher education it's it's it's a really bad problem right now. It's it's wreaking havoc with uh planning you know so it is you know even though it's not our immediate problem we're in a position to raise our voices you know and I personally
024I think this is a important thing to do. So anyway, thank you for thanks. >> Thank you, Mr. >> Mr. Demar. May I ask one more question? I'm sorry. >> Go ahead. >> So the the way that Mr. Boner, you've been making uh your uh payroll, is it uh are you are you uh withdrawing money from the undesated F fund balance or is it uh uh you know from another source? >> No, at this point in time um we are not tapping into our reserves. I mean obviously real estate's coming in. So, we have not had to take money that um we haven't reinvested some of it out just in case, but we have not tapped into the money um that we normally invest out and and hold. So, again, we're we're operating because the
025funds are coming in from our earned income tax, the funds are coming in from real estate. Um so, we have not had to uh borrow from any of the savings at this point in time. So if I if I can just sort of like uh explain that and make sure that I understand it uh correctly, please verify that uh the uh the the revenue the local revenue that we receive comes uh sort of at the beginning of the year which is September when uh the tax bills are uh due for the uh for the early bird and uh and that is what you're uh referring to that uh you you know we've received a lot of the income that is the income for the year but we perceived it sort of like towards the beginning
026of the year as a result of that that is not a uh burden for us at this point. Is that correct? >> Yes, we're receiving our in August the bills go out so we're receiving our collection and it's it's on target to what we've been receiving in the past so u we're not having any issues at this point in time. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you Dr. Pad. Um, any other comments on the treasures report? All in favor say I. >> I. Opposed. The motion's approved. On to education. Uh, we have an academic and personnel committee meeting summary from October 1st >> in the packet. Um, we have three items. Um, I'll read through the items and then ask for a motion. Um the item number one first reading policy 008 item number two
027conference item number three state golf tournament. Would anyone like any of those considered separately? Can I get a motion for items one through three? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor say I. >> I. >> Opposed. Motion's approved. On to personnel. We have no items. >> Um I'm sorry >> on that meeting. Um there was also a discussion um where we had a we had a discussion. It was a public discussion that was I thought was a pretty important there was no action um connected to it. >> Oh, are you are you talking Oh, I think maybe we can do that in new business. >> Okay. because I was wondering if if uh if I wanted to uh say something about that discussion, would it be a better time to do that now
028or or should I wait? >> Um yeah, it's not connected to education. So I think it would be better to >> No, no, I mean academic personnel. >> Oh. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, go ahead. Make make academic and personnel. >> Yeah. So we had a um pretty extensive discussion at the academic and personnel committee meeting which is a public meeting about the I about the the creation of a of a working group by um that was uh created in the last regular board meeting to discuss the possibility of a some kind of recognition connected to Charlie Kirk's uh public assassination and um the working group I was the leader of the working group. I was uh asked to serve. I I accepted that. I thought it was a good idea to have the working group
029for sure. Um the group was uh it com it it it com was composed of uh a bipartisan uh uh group of people from the community. Uh there were people at the board meeting. I'm not going to name them here because I some of them I I think would probably prefer not to be named. Um they didn't really have a choice which was sort of an unfortunate I mean they had a choice to say no and and they did participate but I don't want to spotlight their their individual presence in the board but it was bipartisan. So we had a um we had a talk. John Kandi was also uh on the the the working group. Um from the very beginning um uh I know that uh uh there was a a desire to keep
030whatever happened small. Uh it would not uh it would not involve any kind of intrusion on curriculum. Um but given the the history of um uh especially the you know of litigation in the district and um uh and also what I would argue was a suppression of um of um you know people having a chance to say what they feel and think in the community. I thought it was very important to um um at least talk about it, you know, and and we did uh the only consensus that we were able to reach was the idea of um Facebook post that uh would be a a recognition that was condemning all political violence uh that was uh named Charlie Kirk. Um it was a very fragile consensus and um we also discussed during that um
031quite a bit. We discussed the idea of a of a um omnibus kind of uh recognition that looked at all the recent victims of political violence. Um I'm you know I myself am a college professor and Charlie Kirk was murdered on a on a campus. It was a school shooting, you know. Um it was horrific and I felt personally uh horrified by it. Um um and um I think there was also um so that effort did not work. We tried to do that. We we thought we would do like a either free speech day. There were a lot of really great ideas from um uh from within the working group. Um but we could not reach any consensus ex apart from the idea of a a Facebook post that was a a kind of anodine
032um uh recognition of uh Charlie Kirk's death and it was in line with the um it was in line with today's October 14th. Um today's national uh recognition of that um by the the US Congress, it was bipartisan and it was unanimous in this in the US Senate. It it every Pennsylvania house member but one uh only one voted against it. um and that include those of of all the so that's only one person out of all the US House members voted against us. So we thought we were, you know, not, you know, fairly kind of in the middle of the bed on the issue in terms of just talking about it at least, you know. Um, uh, but the that consensus we, you know, it felt pretty vacated though because like soon after we
033we met um and arrived at a consensus about a Facebook group uh post um mentioning Charlie Kirk. um half the committee uh for various reasons which I really respect and and and and I understand where they're coming but half of not not the committee the working group uh felt that they could no longer participate in the working group and with that it pretty much you know to my mind at least uh that was the end of the working group and um you know um uh I want to say to in the last couple weeks um uh received quite a few uh really incredible letters from our our public. Um I admire the intelligence and sensitivity of the people in our community who were letting us know what they thought about um even talking about this
034as an idea and um you know I agreed personally with many of them and and the sentiments of them. Um I felt it was important we tal we talk in this working group. I thought that we did I thought there were some really great discussions. I feel like I I know my community better. I know uh some of the perspectives from in in the conservative parts of our community uh better. Um and even with like uh my fellow board member, you know, John, I feel a new sense of uh warmth and understanding about his perspective. I don't necessarily agree with that perspective. It's not my perspective. I guess I would be a better way of putting it, but um I see where he's coming from. So that's my and if you want to I did
035I articulated my own thoughts about this in the sock and source and uh overly long commentary and um and then I also mirrored that on my personal blog um uh which is called my private heler town, you know. And um I guess that's it. Yeah. >> Okay, great. Thank you, Mr. Brun. Would anyone else like to comment on the uh academic and personnel committee meeting? Okay, moving on. Uh personnel, we have no items for discussion. Um we have excuse me, we have uh eight items. Um I'll read through these and then ask if anyone like would any like any of them to be considered separately and then I'll ask for a motion. Item number one, food service worker. Item number two, mentors. Item number three, 2025 2026 day-to-day substitutes. Item number four, resignation dedicated building
036substitute. Item number five, dedicated building substitute. Item number six, afterchool programming. Item number seven, FMLA. And item number eight, resignation. Would any anyone like any of these items considered separately? Can I get a motion for items 1 through eight? >> So moved. >> Second. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. >> I. Opposed. Motion's approved. >> Uh we have no items uh for facilities today. Uh on finance, um we have no items for discussion. We have two items to approve. Item number one, fuel oil vendors. Item number two, high school play royalty fees. Can I get a motion for items one and two? >> So move. Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor say I. >> I. Opposed. >> The motion's approved. >> Uh, okay. On to community updates. Um, Mr. Ki, anything for
037the chamber? >> Nothing to report. >> Okay. Uh, u Miss Ericson Parsons is not Dr. I'm sorry, Dr. Ericson Parsons is not here today. Um, we don't have uh an update from the uh Northampton Community College today. They haven't met yet this month. Uh, Bethlehem VOTECH School. Uh, Miss Demco, do you have any items? >> Um, I do, but I wasn't at the last meeting, so you'll have to update that. But, um, there is an open house next Wednesday at Bethlehem Betch. It starts at 5:30 and goes to 7:30. The location is B at the B technical school and it's open for everyone, community members, parents, prospective students. I went last year. It's phenomenal. You get to meet the instructors. You go around and see everything. There's fun children activities. Refreshments are available. Um, so
038I highly recommend it. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um, as far as the uh uh Babbot's business, uh, one item I'd just like to point out is, uh, after the success of the European trip last year, they're planning another one this year for, uh, 36 students uh, to visit uh, Scotland, England, and France. That would be in the spring next year. um colonal intermediate unit. Dr. Pops said, do you have any update? >> Well, the nothing uh much to report. There is just one uh humorous thing I want to uh mention and that is that there is a new partnership that uh uh the IU has uh developed with uh uh with an entity that a lot of people in our town uh are really uh interested in and that is Chick-fil-A. So a Chick-fil-A
039of lower Nazareth and uh uh they they would provide real world learning opportunities for students through the cafe 71 which is the cafe that IU is running. So uh when I heard that at the meeting I thought of uh uh many Facebook posts that I have seen here in our town uh people asking for Chick-fil-A to come here. I uh wanted to uh report that for our community but nothing else. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, PSBA. Um, uh, Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Santos, >> I have nothing today. >> Okay. Uh, we have, do we have any new business? >> Yeah, I've, uh, I'd like to, uh, just read a statement that I prepared. Um, this is just for me to clarify. So, um, I just want to go over something in the interest of, uh, public
040understanding and transparency to go over some of the board's policies and my understanding of the law in an attempt to shed more light sort of on the situation that we've found ourselves in over the past three weeks. Um, so I want to first acknowledge and thank all the residents who took time to write emails to the board. Whether you were for or against the idea of days of recognition, you know, engagement is important and uh it's a needed part of our democratic process and uh when you have elected the nine of us to represent you, but it's I always still respect uh respectful engra engagement in the process. I do normally try to respond to every email that I received. However, I probably received, I don't know, 30 or 40 emails on this and it
041was impossible for me to respond to each one of them. So, I just want to right now recognize and thank all the people that reached out. No matter what you had to say, I appreciate hearing it. So, before our last meeting, we received an email that requested a day of recognition for a slain political activist. And the message didn't just request sort of a symbolic board action. was it was suggestive of actual instructional uh sort of topic on the topic to the to the student body. And while this board does uh have the ultimate approval of curriculum, we typically don't operate in a top- down method, right? We we typically don't uh tell the administration, the teachers how to do their curriculum or what to teach. It's usually a collaborative process where we're involved in
042more of an understanding role and an influential role, but there there's a lot of process involved in terms of community engagement, subject matter experts, and things like that. So, this isn't it's not normally the process that we would just initiate a curricular-based initiative from this board. I'm not saying it can't happen anywhere, but I'm saying it's not typical. So several board members after receiving that email were supportive of the measure, but our policy requires that either the administration supports a measure and puts it on our agenda or three board members do to put it on the agenda. And so that means that if you don't see something on the agenda, it mean and and let's say it's something that has been requested through email or something where a community member came up to the podium
043here and requested it. If you don't see it on our agenda, that means that not even a small minority of the board is interested in debating or taking action on that item. It's important to understand that sort of technical process so you can understand sort of like what's happening when we can't say something. So given that the item was not on last meeting's agenda and it was also not on this meeting's agenda, that means that three board members didn't support discussing and debating it. Um, so items not on the agenda can't be debated or acted upon by the board. That's law. Okay. So it requires the sunshine law requires that we our elected officials who represent a community, we have to debate and take action at meetings that are announced to the public and the
044topics that are announced to the public in advance. Um, there are some exceptions for like emergencies and confidential matters, but on the whole that's what has to happen. So the technicality about not being on the agenda is important because it showed that there wasn't support from the board for the motion. However, our current agenda structure and the discussion that kind of happened last meeting caused I think caused some confusion amongst the residents and maybe even the media. So like any board member is free to bring up any topic they so choose even if it isn't on the agenda as long as the board doesn't deliberate or act on those statements. And those kinds of proposals should be thought of not as a proposal but as a board comment. So one member of the board has
045no authority to act or make decisions for the district. Only a majority vote of the board can do that. And so right now as part of this statement, I could make a proposal that would never even garner two other supporters on the board, let alone a majority. Like I could I could make a proposal or suggestion right now that we like put red dye 40 in all of our drinking fountains, right? And that's clearly something that we shouldn't do and we're not going to do it, but I can say it. But if I say that and another board member casually agrees uh that we should put red dye 40 in the drinking fountains, uh that doesn't mean that the board as an entity is considering doing that. I know that's like technical language, but it's
046an important distinction. And I know that that example is silly, but I wanted to use an example that's not very politically charged so people can understand the point. So last meeting, two board members spoke in favor of adding the day of remembrance, but those were suggestions. That's it. And in addition, the board president asked them to take that idea and go workshop it along with a diverse set of community members. But that was also a suggestion, not a board action. And so uh it was merely the thought of one board member that would be helpful if that occurred prior to us even thinking about it. All involved were free to say no. there was no like request or or directive. Uh but because uh because the sunshine law, it wasn't really possible to debate all
047those suggestions. We can't debate each other's suggestions or comments. And so it kind of just stood as it was creating the impression that there was like a lot more deliberation going on than really occurred. And so I know I often come across as like the parliamentary rules guy, but sometimes the rules are actually key to like the heart of the issue. And it's important that everyone understands how they work. I do think that I am sort of in the process of of making what I think are some constructive changes to the committees which will come up in future meetings. And I think one of them is to probably label us a section called board comments so we don't get confused with new business because we weren't doing new business at that point. We were doing
048board comments. So I think that I'll probably suggest that in the future hopefully that will be more clear and uh concise for the public. I hope that helps ex understand the situation from everyone involved and I'm happy to talk further if you need but that's that's it. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Your your your microphone is not on Mr. Deathmar. >> Sorry. Thank you. Um um though first thank you uh Mr. Carpenter. Um, I'd like to just say that though other board members, including myself, would like to debate uh Mr. Carpenter, maybe not disagree with him, but even agree with him. Uh, we're just as he stated, we're not allowed to uh debate things that aren't on the agenda. So, other board members are free to comment, but we're not allowed to debate each
049other or comment on others uh comments. Would anyone else like to make a comment? >> Yes, I would. >> Great. Go ahead. So, I just want to clarify, excuse me, that the whole point of my recommendation to honor Charlie Kirk was not to promote his political philosophy to the Sen Valley community, but to recognize him for his support of free speech, civil discourse, and nonviolence uh in a democratic society. Although there are many in this community who do not support the political views of Mr. Kirk. I hope that those same people support his right to express his views in a peaceful civil manner so that the content of those views may be judged on their own merits. Some in this community appear to have chosen to turn this remembrance of Mr. Kirk into a discussion
050of his political views. This was never my intention. I view his assassination as a teachable moment to be used as a poignant reminder of our rights and responsibilities as members of society, especially regarding free speech, civil discourse, and nonviolence. Charlie Kirk espoused these ideas as bedrock principles of democratic society, and for these principles, he deserves to be recognized in my opinion. Thank you. >> Thank Thank you, Mr. Ki. Anyone else? Uh, sure. I I'd just like to thank the members of the community for being active. Um, and I hope to continue to see the same level of activity um, in terms of, you know, what's going on in the school district. I I find it very important for that sort of feedback, you know, positive or negative, against or for any topic, doesn't really matter
051to me. Um, I just like to see the community engagement. So, thank you for for reaching out. >> Okay. Um I would just like to say that um the reason that I um asked uh community and board members uh to participate in the working group um was uh because I feel really strongly uh about some of the things that others have said that that um our right to free speech um is really really important for all of us. Um it's especially important for people who want to speak out. Um when you speak out um that's when others might find what you say um objectionable. And so that's the time when free speech really matters is when when someone's speech seems vile to us and completely wrong. That's really the time when it matters when we
052have to think, well, if I find his speech vile, maybe there's somebody out there that would find mine vile if I spoke up. And it's so important that we feel free to speak when we have something important to say. And so that was that was the one of the big parts of the reason why I made that request. And then also political violence is something that can seem far away to all of us. Oh, it's something that happens to people in Washington or people like Charlie Kirk. But, um, you know, if you look back in the past, when people get when societies get very polarized, um, you know, political violence can reach right down into communities. If you're not familiar, when I was when I was young, um, I would hear, it seemed like multiple
053times a month about shootings and bombings in Northern Ireland. Excuse me. And um they actually created a wall to separate the two parties um so that they wouldn't kill each other. And they still every day they closed the gates on that wall and they call it the peace wall. And you know that's just I mean that's we're not there but that's where things can go if we let political violence get out of control. So, so tolerating even if you completely totally disagree, tolerating free speech and completely rejecting political violence is so important for for our democracy and our way of life that I would just ask that everybody think about that for a second. Um, you know, before we move on. Um, thank you. That's uh that's what I have to say. Any anyone else
054want want to make a last comment? Okay, moving on. May I >> Oh, yes. Go go go go ahead Dr. Pops. >> But since we are in the new new business, I wanted to uh bring up something u unrelated to to uh to the topic that you were speaking. Is that okay? >> Um yeah, you can raise any new business you'd like. >> Yeah. So, this is a um a community member and parent uh Dr. uh Matthew Green uh reached out to me and uh uh he's an expert in systems engineering and uh he uh owns a company that uh uh works in areas of electrification and u he's doing studies for uh different entities for uh understanding what the uh options are for the electrification of various parts of their uh system and in
055particular about uh uh transportation system and uh he he wanted to know whether uh our school would be interested in just basically getting a free u uh study of uh our transportation system and what's uh that would look like if uh at some point in the future it becomes u uh electric. the sort of a conversation that I had with him was with the understanding that this is probably not a viable option u uh now based on the pricing and the size and and so forth. But uh uh that that was the the request that I received and I uh I I told him that this is I think you know a valuable thing for us to uh to have uh probably will not uh change you know how we are uh operating our transportation
056system or uh the expenditures in the in the near future but uh I think it's a worthwhile uh you know effort on his part and he's volunteering to to do that. So I just wanted to bring that up uh to the attention of the of the board. Uh I I will if u you know unless there is there is a reason for me not to do that. I wanted to uh put them in touch with uh with the administration and uh there is I don't think there is anything that uh you know in terms of actions that u we need to do but uh um I I I wanted to share that with the board and with the community. >> Thank you Dr. Poxan. Thank you. Any other new business? Okay, moving on. Um any
057old business that anyone would like to raise? Hearing none. Uh citizens comments and inquiries. Uh you're now free to uh come to the podium and make a comment about any topic you choose. I see some extra faces here. I just want to make sure everybody heard. This is the time when you can speak if you want to. Okay. Oh, >> okay. Um, I have something I got to wrote, but prior to me saying anything, >> can you can you speak your name and your and your >> Maline Reed? I live at on Maple Drive in Hertown. Um, I have a real fear standing up here publicly about to share my beliefs. And anyone who feels differently than I do, I would ask if you feel the same fear of your children coming to this school
058um and being I don't I'm winging it so I can't even tell you what word I'm looking for at the moment, but ridiculed from their teaching staff or from peers or being left out because in my adult life, I have lost friends over my beliefs that directly affect my children because these are adult friends I've made in this district. So that is a fear of mine. Standing up here is scary and I don't feel that that it's always scary if you feel opposite of me. And I think that that should be taken into consideration as we move forward because what I am fighting for is that one day my children don't have to stand here and feel scared of their beliefs. Um and I don't feel scared because I think they're wrong. I feel scared
059because there's violence. Um so I think that that's worth noting before I continue. Um during a previous board meeting, a board member questioned why kids are leaving or not coming to Sulen Valley as it's generally a good school district. And um this is my take on why. It's now been made public that I am the one who asked the board uh to add Charlie Kirk Remembrance Day to the school calendar as it is a national resolution day and it falls under the same category um of many other days and months acknowledged by our school. I was hopeful that it would be honored and solidify that Sulen Valley is not an echo chamber and it has been made clear that this is not the case. I listened um to the head of the teachers union report
060that teachers would not only refuse to discuss Charlie Kirk with students but that the teachers would not show up to work if it was on our calendar for the day. And for that reason um this is my la my family's last year at Sen Valley. Um, that's heartbre. It's really heartbreaking for me and it's hard. But we have loved our time and experience at Sulen as we've only been in the elementary school. Um, but we did not go the public school route because what we wanted was for our children to be sheltered. Uh, we want them challenged and exposed to every side of an argument and not just a teacher's personal belief. We want an education and a well-rounded education. And through all of this, we now know that Sen Valley will not offer that.
061>> Thank you, Miss Reed. Would anyone else like to speak? Okay, seeing no one, we have uh um future meetings October 28th at 7 p.m. here in this room and again November 11th at 7 p.m. here in this room. We've reached the end of our agenda, so our meeting is adjourned.