I'd like to call the May 2nd 2022 special
meeting of the Derry Township School District Board of Directors to order
and announce that this meeting is being livestreamed and audio recorded.
This meeting is being conducted both in-person and virtually,
and I'll ask the board members please state your name when speaking. Mrs.
AG Rollcall, please. Mr. Bannon. Pressed.
Dr. Cronan here.
Ms.. Drew.
Here.
Mrs. Manning Here, Mr. Roselle. Here.
Mrs. Schmidt.
Here, Mrs. Secor Here, Mr. Singer.
Here. Eight present.
Thank you.
Please rise if you are able, and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Which was didn't sit for 5 minutes
and which it.
Stands. On motivation,
indivisible, with liberty and justice
for all.
May I please have a motion
to approve the May 2nd, 2022 Board of Directors Agenda.
So move to marry me. Second, Cathy Zucker.
Is there any discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor, please say I opposed the agenda
as approved.
There are no president communications this evening,
so we will go right into the recognition of citizens for agenda items.
This is an opportunity for residents and taxpayers
to address the board on matters related to the agenda.
Citizens wishing to speak should come to the microphone
and raise their virtual hand.
If attending virtually,
you must have registered
individually with your first and last name to be recognized.
Once recognized your immediate please state your full name and address
for the record.
This is a reminder that public comment is not a forum
for personal attacks, antagonistic behavior, or harassment.
Please be advised that you're accountable for any legal ramifications and liability
that may result from statements misrepresenting the truth,
defaming individuals or disclosing personal information,
not of public concern to provide other residents with an opportunity to speak.
Each speaker during the public comment portion is limited to 5 minutes
of speaking time once recognized and one are limited to one opportunity
to address the board during each of the public comment periods.
If necessary, the board may set a maximum time for the public comment
portion of any meeting, and I'll ask Board Treasurer, Mrs.
Decker to please keep time.
Are there any residents or taxpayers who would like to comment at this time?
Begin in the audience
or the in-person audience rather than in virtual?
Just think.
Stephanie
Shaw to 18 Elm Avenue here in Hershey.
I'm Kip's widow.
First, I'd like to thank you all individually,
as a board, as a community.
The support has been amazing.
Thank you.
I never fully understood Kip's call.
To do this.
But I tried to support him as best I could.
He felt strongly about this community and this process.
The reason I speak tonight is to ask the directors,
as you elect Kip's replacement.
To. Choose a person who will observe,
question and discuss all topics
in an unbiased and logical way.
I hope that you've already not made a choice,
but that you listen to every candidate.
This choice cannot be politically or ideologically driven.
I do support
Beth Schorr.
Her qualifications to fill the seat are outstanding,
and she has a strong desire to contribute to the community.
She has the education and experience that could positively affect this board.
She's already served on various boards.
Currently, she is vice president or vice chair
of the Derry Township Parks and Rec, said buys a reward.
It'd be great to have somebody who already knows.
How. A board works.
She was an active parent when her daughter,
niece and nephew attended Derry Township.
As a director, she'd be active in support
of student and staff activities and events.
I admire and appreciate all of you stepping forward tonight.
It takes a lot of time, patience, energy and dedication to do this job well.
I ask that those who are not appointed tonight
consider that next year
there are six open positions.
Kip. He truly
he looked at this as an honor and a serious responsibility.
I hope that moving forward, the board can embrace, embrace
that that responsibility
to work for the betterment of the children.
Thank you all.
Thank you.
Is there anyone else in the audience, Mr.
Davis?
White
Davis, 1524 Church Road here in Hershey.
The school board has a major choice.
Before them today, very similar to the one back in the summer of 2021.
Back then, there was a clear cut candidate, Mike Rizzo, who won both sides
of the ticket for the fall school board elections and had a wide margin of votes
over other candidates that had applied that were still on the ticket.
The three of you decide to disregard what the community said and voted
for your friend.
Further, additional bias has been documented, and there's
conflict of interest with Lindsey Drew and Kathy Seger voting in any context,
as they have already donated to Linda Kranz campaign.
Kip leaves a massive hole on this board.
It'll be difficult to fill no matter who is elected tonight.
But please listen to the community.
When they spoke back in November and voted for Shaw, Rizzo, Schmitt
and Bennett to fill the seats that were open,
this community had spoke.
So please lay aside
any personal agendas and listen
and vote for somebody like that, even though that's impossible.
Thank you. Thank you.
Is there anyone else in the audience
or anyone virtually, who would like to participate in public comment?
Please raise your hand.
Okay.
I'm not seeing any virtual hands raised,
so we'll move on to unfinished business.
The first item is school board vacancy applicants.
Each prospective employer
and appointee will be provided up to a maximum of 3 minutes
to introduce yourselves to the board by listing relevant qualifications and
describing the reason for your interest in serving on the school board.
Once everyone has had a chance to introduce themselves,
we'll move on to a round of questions
from each board member.
Where you will have up to one minute to respond.
I will ask Board Treasurer, Mrs.
Sikka to please keep time throughout the process.
We'll start in alphabetical order and then move through
for each round so that we rotate.
Who has to go first?
The prospective appointees for this evening are Susan Anderson,
Melinda Curran, Colby Hollinger, Lindsay Cook,
Paul Letham, Andrea mitchell and Beth Shaw.
We will begin with Mrs.
Anderson, If you would, please
start off the introductions by coming to the podium.
Madam President, if I have a question for the solicitor
before we begin, if that would be okay.
So my question is as well.
Is there any validity to the concerns in the community
about the conflict of interest with Mr. or Mrs. Pickering?
BARGER This as I sit here
wondering and wondering if we could get an actual answer from you, that would be
helpful.
Well, in terms of
we've evaluated and they've evaluated their roles
as it relates to this, and if they believe they can make a vote
that is unbiased, they're entitled to vote in the election
unless their voluntarily recusing themselves.
I think they can.
Okay.
Just so we're all on the same page. No questions later.
Okay. Thank you.
And just for clarification, a conflict of interest per ethics
standards is that a board member would have a pecuniary benefit
in any action they were taking, So
we're not compensated? US school board.
Directors, benefit nurse and private board member as a result of this.
Thank you.
I'm sorry.
Please go ahead.
Good evening.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you.
My name is Susan Anderson.
I live at two, four, six East Caracas Avenue in Hershey.
I share my home with my husband and my two daughters.
Excuse me.
We have we are very proud to have a Derry Township School District
2020 graduate, as well as a current sophomore.
I've lived in the community nearly 20 years.
I have a Bachelor of Science degree from the Ohio State University
and I have a juris doctorate degree from the Dickinson School of Law
of the Pennsylvania State University.
My work experience includes
working in the human resources department at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio,
where I was over the training and development office.
I was responsible for training and educating 3500 employees.
In addition, I was I oversaw the Educational Assistance program
and we evaluated, distributed and tracked the funds
of approximately $700,000.
I had the pleasure of practicing law
at the law firm of Mary Evans in Woodside in Harrisburg,
within the law firm.
I focused my work on estate planning, where I drafted wills.
Trusts helped to administer estates
through the probate process and taxation throughout my professional career.
I have had to use my ability to connect with
people and communicate information.
Often I find myself researching a subject solely to understand
and speak meaningfully on it.
I will bring my political critical thinking skills, my desire to listen,
to gain an understanding, a willingness
to to resolve issues.
I value honesty, integrity, compassion,
the ability to compromise and fiscal responsibility.
The reason I am seeking this position is to give back to the Derry Township
Township School District as well as the community.
I will focus my attention on the best resolution for every child,
and I will always endeavor to positively represent our district.
I feel I am in a position.
To give 100. Percent of my time.
The time and effort that you all put in does not go unnoticed.
I believe I understand the commitment required
and I willingly approach the challenge.
I will always conduct myself
with professionalism and respect for others.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you very much.
This is current.
Good evening.
Before I begin, I'd like to take a moment to publicly express my condolences
to the board and Dr.
Scholl's family.
Having lost my mom to cancer in 2019 and knowing what a difficult battle it can be.
I have nothing but respect and admiration for Dr.
Scholl's commitment to the school board
and his community up until his last days.
I always had pleasant interactions with him when I served as as a citizen advisor.
I recognize his shoes will be difficult to fill
and I respect whatever decision you make this evening.
Growing up, one of my dad's most famous quotes
was If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
I still have a hard time saying that sentence without rolling my eyes.
There were times growing up that I heard it out of nauseam,
and if nothing else, it made me persistent.
So here I am trying again,
and I suppose we can all blame my dad for that.
Paying attention to and being involved in education
isn't something that's new to me.
I've had the privilege to work in several different types of schools
from ADHD, school on a military base to inner city schools to
a cyber charter school.
Each of those settings has taught me a great deal
about communities and how all of us truly rely on public education.
During my time as a teacher, I've written and evaluated curriculum
based on the standards served on comprehensive planning committees,
created standardized tests, adopted textbooks,
taken on grade level leadership positions, and always worked with colleagues
to focus on the needs of the students.
If appointed, the needs of the students in Derry Township would be at the forefront
of my mind in every decision I make, as it has been throughout my career.
I've been involved with this district for quite some time now.
I started paying attention to the school board meetings
when my oldest entered kindergarten in 2016.
I've served as a citizen advisor for three years
as well as on the comprehensive planning team in 2019.
I volunteered on the PTO as a room parent in both Girl Scouts and Scouts
BSA, as well as coached many sports teams over the last 17 years.
As a parent and as a teacher,
much of my adult life
has been spent teaching, coaching and advocating for children.
In addition to my education experience, I also have experience
running a small business, which includes skills such as customer service,
communications, marketing operations, budgeting, accounting, etc.,
which I think will serve me well in this position.
Having run for school board in the fall and earning
3051 votes from the community, from community members.
I have substantial support from the community
that Derry Township School District serves.
I sincerely hope
that this will be taken into consideration as it has been in the recent past.
Ultimately, I'm enthusiastic about planning and creating policy
to support and encourage our students to thrive here in Derry
Township, as well as in whatever they choose to do after high school.
Whether that be college trade, school, military service, etc..
Leading and serving my community with honesty, empathy and kindness
is something that I'm very passionate about. Thank you.
Thank you.
Next up, we have Mr.
Hollinger.
Leading, ladies and gentlemen, the board and fellow members of the community.
About 15 years ago,
my now wife moved to South Central Pennsylvania from Columbus, Ohio.
I tell you this because of the reason why she chose Hershey, the school district
14 years ago.
She and I met at work and started dating.
I eventually received
the privilege of meeting her two sons, who were 75 at the time.
After a couple of years,
we were looking at houses to make a permanent home together.
At the time, I knew little about Derry Township
School District, and I'll be the first to admit
I tried to talk and move moving where I grew up.
I knew the district
I graduated from was great and wanted to afford the same opportunities to the kids.
Obviously lost that discussion, but I couldn't be happier that I did.
I was able to meet a lot of great families as the boys grew up and realized quickly
the sense of community and pride
that comes with Derry Township and the school district
having children actively enrolled in the district for the past 14 years.
I've seen firsthand the benefits
that the district is able to afford to the children.
I want to ensure that Derry Township School District remains one of the best.
This is why I feel it's imperative
to express my interest in joining the Board of Directors.
The two boys might have recently graduated from the district,
but I also have a nine year old daughter as well,
and she's currently enrolled in third grade.
So I still have a vested interest in the success of the district,
not only for her, but for those ahead of her
that are in school now and those that will follow her.
I'll start with some of my personal and community experience.
My evolvement with the community started early.
I helped coach baseball for each of the boys
throughout Little League and Tenors for over six years.
I also served on the Hershey High School Boys Soccer Booster Club Board
as both treasurer and secretary for four years.
I was also a Bridget Society member within the United Way Capital Region.
From that I had the opportunity to serve on the allocation
panel where we visited multiple nonprofit organization
and listened to their presentations on why their causes the United Way's support.
A lot of research and difficult decisions had to be made,
but it was a great experience to learn
about all the great things going on in the community.
I'm also in the process of obtaining my certification to be a U.S.
swim official
to help support our young swimmers
to eventually become Hershey High School swimmers.
Professionally, I've worked at a large national insurance company
for the past 16 years with increasing roles and responsibility.
My current position as a staff operations director within our personal lines
claims department within this role,
I serve as part of the leadership team that encompasses over 1400 employees.
I assist with design and execution of short
and long term strategies, budget and financial responsibilities,
and am the primary liaison with other business units.
I'm also currently working on the completion of my MBA
with the anticipated graduation of next year.
I feel an open minded, reasonable, logical and willing to learn.
I think it's imperative to be forward thinking while balancing the needs
for all the students with the needs of the taxpayers.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the Board, for consideration.
Thank you very much.
Mrs. Cook
is a cook or cook?
Oh. I got it all wrong.
Sorry about that. It's okay.
Good evening.
I'd like to begin tonight by offering my deepest condolences
to the friends and family of Dr. Shaw.
He was deeply committed to our students,
district and community and will be sorely missed.
As a former alumni of Derry Township School District
and a mother of three young children who are just beginning their formal school
experiences, I have deep ties to this district.
I believe in the power of public education,
and that's been evident in my career.
I began my career
as a general education teacher and then a special education teacher.
I have a master's degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania
and a doctorate degree from Drexel University in Educational Leadership
and Management with a concentration in education policy.
I believe my doctorate work in education policy laid a strong foundation of policy
which would be valuable as a member of this board
and also allow for a smooth transition moving forward.
In addition, I currently serve on the Curriculum Council as a citizen advisor.
In my short time in this role.
I've had opportunities to engage in rich discussion
related to textbooks, selections, course additions, curriculum revisions.
I've spent the past five years working in higher education.
I'm a professor of early childhood and special education at Lebanon
Valley College.
This role has immersed me in all elements of education,
including best practices, curriculum, assessment, law, policy
and research is also a critical component of my work.
My most recent publications and presentations have been related
to family engagement practices and ensuring that all children
have quality and accessible resources to lay a strong foundation of learning.
Additionally, I work for the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Literacy Network,
where my main role is to provide support to both teachers and families
on topics related to social, emotional learning and trauma informed practices.
I have a deep understanding of the complex challenges facing schools today.
Pandemic related challenges such as learning loss and student
disengagement, as well as other challenges related to staffing, student enrollment,
curriculum debates.
And I'm committed to meeting these challenges while working to build
and maintain healthy relationships between parents and the school system.
I believe that our vision forward has to be a collective one.
If appointed to this board, I will be a voice of civility,
engaging in spirited discussions and respectful disagreements.
I will work tirelessly to ensure that our schools are accountable,
effective and efficient in the years to come.
Thank you. Thank you,
Mr. Latham.
Hi. My name is Paul Isam.
I have lived in the US since 2004
and I've lived in Hershey past 11 years.
So I have two kids in the school district right now.
My son is in seventh grade and my daughter is in ninth grade.
Both are enrolled in several
of the after school activities.
The my son is in the soccer team and the hockey team.
My daughter's on the soccer team and she's also
part of the stage crew
for the high school plays.
And they both in band.
So I'm already heavily involved
in a lot of the school
activities and deal with that.
Students,
teachers regularly.
I am a member of the Parks and Rec Advisory Board.
I've been doing that for two years now.
I also
recently became the citizen advisor on the Derry Township
Finance Committee and the General Services Committee.
And I
I've been on the board for a Hershey soccer
club for over six years now.
Four years of that.
I was the vice president of rec
and organized and ran
the program for about 250 kids
for the spring and the fall,
as you can tell, and not from here.
I grew up in the U.K., was educated
in the UK and actually
went to college in France as well for a year.
So I bring a slightly different approach
experience, knowledge for education.
But again, that's,
you know, just a different view
to help kind of balance things out.
I am I'm an accountant by background.
My specialist subjects is financial analysts.
I work in Manheim for Michelin
or a division of Michelin,
and there I am.
I basically do a lot of the reporting
and analysis for them.
My my aim in joining this
is basically to learn and understand and to grow.
I like to understand what is going on.
And like over time,
the more I know, the better I can help.
My aim is to give.
A 5 seconds.
The best I can for the school districts and the kids.
3 minutes.
Thank you,
Mrs. Mitchell.
Good evening.
My name is Andrea mitchell.
I'm deeply saddened by Kip's passing and the reasons for this vacancy,
but his experience and his example
and his legacy played a significant role in why I decided to apply.
I counted a privilege to be here with you tonight.
I am the daughter of two Hershey
graduates and a graduate of Hershey High School class of 1998.
Upon the birth of our child, my husband
and I made it a priority to live in Hershey
because of the high regard we had for the school system.
With my background and his experience as an elementary teacher
in a neighboring district, we knew the significance of a district such as this.
As our only child now approaches 10th grade and looks ahead beyond grade school,
I see the long term importance of investing in the public school system
because of its impact on the future.
I believe the academic and personal success of the children in our district
very much impact the trajectory of our community and beyond.
I wish to see our district continue to be held in high esteem
as one that provides not only an outstanding education,
but also meets the broader needs of students so they can go on to be
exceptional citizens and active participants in their community.
Along with my personal and professional background,
I bring with me many years of volunteer board government involvement.
I served as vice president and president of the Hershey Elementary School PTO
for four years, and I'm currently treasurer
of the Gymnastics in our Hershey Parents Association.
My vocational and volunteer credentials have given me comprehensive experience
in decision making confidentiality, fiscal responsibility, budgeting,
corresponding with constituents, conflict management and impartiality.
I'm well versed in the demands of board work, and I understand
that while it's rewarding, it can be time consuming and strenuous.
My organizational and time management skills, along with my personality
and my professional experience, have me accustomed to balancing many significant
responsibilities and serving on this board would be of great priority to me.
I believe there's much importance and responsibility
and being an active contributor in my sphere of influence.
And I strive to represent the whole of those I serve.
While I value and I take the opportunity to speak up
for matters I believe are important, I also understand and aim
to understand issues and concerns from a wide variety of viewpoints.
My approach is to fully research any topic that I'm required to weigh in on
and to come to the table with facts and data, a willingness to listen
and the ability to set aside my opinion when not in the majority.
Continuing my reputation of professionalism, respectfulness,
and competence is of utmost importance to me,
and I would serve alongside you with integrity.
Our district holds a special
place in my past and my present and will continue to in my future.
Should I be appointed, I commit to collaborating with
fellow board members, administration and community members
so that our district continues to serve as a model for public education and that
every student is given the opportunity to reach their greatest potential.
Thank you for your consideration.
Thank you very much.
And our final prospective appointee this evening is Mrs.
Shah,
who said you also go by Dr.
Shah? Yes, I do.
Welcome. It's all right.
Good evening, Superintendent Winslow, school board directors and fellow
residents.
I'm Beth Shaw, and I have applied for the director vacancy,
Derry Township Schools Mission, engaging all students every day
to help them achieve their greatest potential as global citizens.
I have 38 years
of professional experiences, all in service to children,
adolescents and their families from birth through the collegiate years.
My professional experiences have afforded me the opportunity to evolve
expertise and knowledge
that directly align with Derry Township School District's Mission
Vision District wide goals of equity in social emotional learning,
curriculum instruction and communication with all stakeholders,
as well as the action plans you've developed to achieve your goals.
My resume highlights a wide range of professional experiences
early intervention, Head Start, public school teacher,
as well as adjunct instructor at Lebanon Valley College.
The last 28 years I have served Milton Hershey School and our students
as a psychologist excuse me, and in a variety of administrative roles.
My brother and I were both raised
to have strong moral centers, show kindness and respect, to all,
be humble, possess strong work ethic, and demonstrate integrity.
Others need to trust your words and actions
and certainly give back to one's community.
We have been a very fortunate family.
I firmly believe that accomplishments in life are meaningless
unless they are achieved in the context of unwavering moral code.
As an administrator and leader, I'm highly motivated, self-directed and authentic.
My approach to leadership is that of a servant leader.
Confidentiality is a cornerstone of a psychologist code of ethics, which is
critical when dealing with matters that involve students, staff, families.
These are traits essential from a governance perspective.
As a psychologist, I've been trained in research
and the importance of data informed decisions.
I approach complex problems in an objective banner
based on both qualitative and quantitative daily data available
and seeking to understand all divergent perspectives.
Over the years, I've facilitated
and led many task force and work groups that have resulted in policy adoptions,
significant programmatic and procedural changes and professional development.
My approach is one of consensus building among key stakeholders
who represent a wide range of experiences, expertise and viewpoints.
The integration of diverse views into consensus always yields better results.
The most recent examples I've led that the school's COVID
task force for the first 18 months of the pandemic
and now co facilitate the COVID Advisory group for the last nine months
at Milton Hershey School.
As we enter the new phase of the pandemic, all schools need to assess
the impact of students, staff and their families, educational gaps
and access to health care, especially mental health care,
are two of significant challenges that continue
to be highlighted in the early research on the pandemic.
Penn State
Hershey Medical Center recently issued their community needs assessment report,
and access to mental health services was one of their more critical findings.
This does impact Derry Township School District in 5 seconds.
Let me move on to a personal note.
My parents instilled in both KIPP and I the importance of service
to our community.
It would be an honor to fill my brother's vacancy as his sister.
I am truly blessed to have been on a life journey together through childhood.
You will always be my role model and hero.
He is like no other.
So thank you.
Thank you very much.
Okay.
We will now move on to the board member questions section
of the meeting.
We will start with Mrs.
Curran and Mr. Bennett.
We'll go
with your question first.
So, board members, just a reminder, as we go around to ask your question,
and for prospective appointees, as we will have you up to one minute to respond.
Do they stand up there
and we all they have to answer the same question. Yes.
Yes. The questions we ask everyone gets an opportunity to answer.
So Melinda Curran is the first to go.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Bennett's question.
There's been a lot of debate recently
surrounding parental involvement and curriculum transparency.
What role do you believe parents should play in how their children are educated?
That's an excellent question.
I think one of the things
we can also what we want about charter schools.
One of the things that I learned from the charter school that I worked at was that
they really valued parental input
and creating really good relationships with parents
and listening to parents about what their kid's strengths and weaknesses are.
I think parental input is really important
and I
think, you know, unfortunately it depends on the family.
You know, some families are much more involved than others.
But I definitely think the school district
could benefit from listening to parents.
That's.
Thank you.
Mr. Hollander, you will be up next.
Same question.
Thank you.
I absolutely.
I believe that parents should be involved
within their or with their child's education.
The strongest advocate for their child.
And I think as a representative of the board,
my duty would be to help advocate for them as well.
So I think it's important to make sure that you're staying in touch
with the community on what's going on throughout and vote on each individual
proposal separately.
Based on your research, at the advice of the administration.
But look at it all.
And I think reaching out to parents, staying involved within the community,
knowing what's going on, knowing what
everybody wants from everywhere, is important.
When you're making a decision on your own resource
to make research for what you're voting on.
Thank you.
Mrs..
Cupp.
Thank you for asking that question.
I think that that's so important right now and definitely a complex issue.
I as as a school director, you're representing the community.
So and parents are the community.
And it's so important that we get parent input.
It's invaluable for all of the decisions that are made.
And there are some real concerns about curriculum and transparency.
There are a lot of misconceptions,
and I think it's really important that we're informing parents
of what they need to know regarding curriculum and resources,
what is being taught in schools so that they feel comfortable and
and validated in their concerns
and every concern of a parent, regardless of our feelings
and the feelings of the board, should have a fair hearing with a timely resolution.
Thank you. Thank you,
Mr. Latham.
So I feel that parents should be involved too.
But we do need to make sure that they're educated
and they understand what is what is being asked of them.
We also need to be cognizant that there are some parents
that don't have the time.
You know, they they
they work odd hours.
So it it can't be a blanket decision.
It has to be taken
piece by piece.
But, you know, parents do want to help.
They want to help their kids as much as they can.
So the more that we can give to them, the more
that they can get to the families.
Thank you.
This is mental.
I think it's a common belief
from most families that they send their children to school to be prepared
academically so that they can compete on globally and be successful.
I think that they also are sent to school to be kept safe and to be well cared for.
And I think that that's a really important part of school.
I think that there is a balance between teaching academics and soft skills
and taking a cookie cutter approach to how we teach students.
I think sometimes it's hard for schools
to determine collectively what families feel should be taught.
And so in that sense, I really believe that parents should be encouraged
to be involved and to give input into what is being taught into curriculum.
I think that it's really important that we provide
100% transparency with what's being taught invited in the schools,
because that's the only way that we're going to restore and maintain
trust in the public school system.
Thank you, Dr.
Shah.
There is no doubt that parents are a critical voice
in their children's education, and we need to be clear on communication
and exactly what the curriculum content that is a challenge.
We need to be transparent on all of those issues.
I think one of the biggest challenges, though, is there is never one
parental voice.
There is no one position.
And so how does the district go about gathering the wide range
of parental input and positions with any issue, not just curriculum?
And so I think that really is a challenge.
There are many parents in Derry Township who are working
and may not respond to surveys.
They might not be able to come to board meetings.
But how else can the school district get the information out there
so the parents have opportunities to weigh in
so that there is the wide range of voices to be heard?
Thank you,
Mrs. Anderson.
Yes, I do believe that transparency is
is is incredibly important.
One of the quotes that I pulled from the material that was given as I was just
kind of researching what this role is, is that the board does not run the district,
but the board ensures that the district is well run.
So the board is obviously a large component
in making sure that parental involvement that the correct curriculum,
that the final goal of educating our children
is, is all matching.
It's we have experts within our superintendent
with within our within our midst
and as well as our parents who are the experts on their own children.
So obviously, there needs be some sort of bridge
between all of those parties that are coming together.
And I feel that if if parents
understand where the resources are so that they can.
5 seconds. I'm sorry. Thank you for your time. Sorry.
Okay.
I'm sorry. I know that is difficult to do in one minute.
So I appreciate all of you going through that.
I have sat where you sit in one of those meetings before.
I know how difficult it is so.
They can.
Finish their sentence.
Yes, you can absolutely finish your sentence.
Have you received the 5 seconds?
Sorry, I was talking so I didn't hear that.
It was.
Sorry.
Okay. Dr.
Cronan, Hi.
Yes. I just want to start by thanking all of you for your interest,
just hearing, reading and then hearing your qualifications
and your goals for the district.
I wish we had seven openings and I hope that we get
whoever is not appointed as candidates so that you can be on our board next year.
So thank you.
Thank you very much.
So my question is, in 2022, we are clearly in the digital age
and that was certainly propelled forward a lot by COVID.
We all know students are knowledgeable and engaged with their devices
and are also very proficient with social media platforms.
What do you think is appropriate use of social media by school board members
and how do we model
that to make sure students take advantage of the positive aspects of social media
without the negative pitfall pitfalls that can be so damaging?
Thank you.
Well, sorry, Mr.
Hunter.
Great question.
Having two teenagers in the past
with technology and social media,
it's a large part of their life and still is.
And I think the important thing is to instill the values in them
that what they are putting out there is permanent.
And it has consequences.
There are consequences to your actions.
And fortunately, sometimes they're going to have to learn the hard way.
But you try to guide and hopefully make sure that they don't.
But I think that's the most important thing.
Even in a professional life,
one little thing can be misconstrued, even if it wasn't even meant to be that way.
So I think it's important to teach them that, that there are to actions.
But then also, if they do mess up
because they are kids and it's important to teach them a lesson as well
and make them understand the ramifications as they move on and become productive
members of society.
Thank you.
This has got.
So as a mother of three young children,
I have not had to deal with social media yet,
but it does keep me up at night just thinking about it,
but thinking of like from a board directors perspective
and how I would want my children or our students to
to to look at what they're seeing on social media.
I think everyone has the right to share and defend their views on social media.
But I also think in the role as a board director, you do represent the community
and I would want my children
to always be very respectful of what they are putting on social media
and and again, know that their actions do have consequences and that everything
that they are putting up there is permanent in this type of role.
Again, representing the community, I think it's really important that
you do share your views and defend your views,
but always stay respectful of everybody that you're working so closely with.
Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Latham
So both my kids use social media a lot.
I know it's important to them.
It is also very hard to police.
We cannot monitor them in 24 seven.
So it's going to be a very fine
balancing act between, you know, allowing them
to use social media versus, you know, what they are putting out there.
So we definitely need to educate them
both at school and at home.
You know, this is involve the parents.
You know, I know it now.
They teach, you know,
that bringing in
all those aspects to talk about that the permanency
of the the information that they put out there.
So I think it's it's something that
needs to proceed with caution.
I mean, there's been many examples of people putting things out there.
But here at one minute.
Shouldn't have. Thank you. Thank you.
This is Mitchell.
I think
it's really important on social media and in general to present ourselves
in a professional manner, especially should I be appointed to this role.
I think that, like it or not,
you're held to a higher standard because you're in a public position.
So not that that would change how I conduct myself on social media
anyway, but I would aim to always be respectful,
to be encouraging, and to remember that anything you put out there is fair game
and that it can be scrutinized and it does reflect
on who you are as a person and how you make decisions.
And fair or not fair, it would reflect this board.
Thank you, Dr.
Scholl.
Digital
citizenship is critical training for everyone, not just for students,
but for staff, administrators and probably board members.
I would really restrict using of social media and communicate as a board member.
This is just my perception and my perspective in limiting it
specific to communications related to to school questions.
Questions A student might have about their own experiences here at Derry Township.
I would not engage them
in their own personal experiences or share a lot of personal information.
At Milton Hershey School, we just released this year an updated
training on social media for all employees.
It has to do with appropriate boundaries.
There are a lot of slippery slopes that staff and administrators
can can engage on in social media and not even be aware of it.
This generation, they're social media natives
and I am not I don't even have a social media presence.
So but I do understand the magnitude and the concerns.
So but.
Digital citizenship and education is really the
I think, the best methodology to approach that. QUESTION.
Thank you, Mrs.
Henderson.
Board members are leaders of the community
and as such, the eyes are most definitely on you.
And. You must always be cognizant of that.
You I could see you using social media
to make connections to communicate information,
and also to understand
maybe what the feelings are out in the community.
It would be a great way to learn what people are thinking out there.
But again, it's with great caution,
careful to to always be appropriate,
not to air grievances,
never be disrespectful.
It's it's it's I mean, you have to be careful with an email
social media is and that's you know generally between.
Two to a.
Small group of people but social media, I mean it's reaching people you
you you know people are screenshotted it and sending it around.
And you'd be silly to not think that that's going on.
So I think with great caution.
Thank you. Thank you.
This is kind.
I've learned a lot from social media in the last several years.
I've made mistakes and I've learned from them.
I think that it's important to
recognize that it's not going away,
that it's here to stay, and
that we teach our kiddos good citizenship. Yep.
And we model that as well
as a director, a school board director.
It's important to be respectful about voicing our opinions.
We are all entitled to them. They're all different.
That's what makes our country amazing is that we can say what we want to say
and believe what we want to believe without persecution.
So I think we're entitled to our own opinions,
but we have to be careful how we state them.
And then as far as the kiddos, you know, I think it's important to teach them
good citizenship, which I think, you know, is already in some of the curriculums
and teach boundaries and how to balance technology with their lives as well as
like, you know, their social lives as well as their academic lives.
So it's here to stay. We have to work with it.
Thank you.
This is many of your questions.
Up next.
Okay. So
I don't want this to come across like a negatively loaded
like I don't want to make anybody feel uncomfortable,
but I suspect that you're all here because you maybe see some things
that you would like, obviously, to have an effective change.
Maybe we could we could assume that.
So I want you to be as honest and comfortable as possible with
your thoughts,
because I'd like to hear what your concerns
with how you see them, how we potentially how we run the district.
Like, what are some of your your main concerns,
understanding that we'll accept them as
open minded as possible.
Mrs. is.
Start with. You.
You can interpret that how you want.
I know it was disjointed and wordy, but I think you get the gist
well, I think that was one of the,
I guess issues or challenges that I see is I just see that
the the many, many challenges that are facing public schools today.
And a lot of those challenges are directed at school boards.
We're still dealing with pandemic related issues.
It's not masking right now, but it's it's learning loss.
And there's a lot of student disengagement in there, social, emotional learning.
There's a lot of concerns with curriculum transparency
and I if from my line of work, think there's
there's also a lot of misconceptions that come along with
what is being taught and what parents think is being taught.
So think transparency is so important there in the knowledge
and informing the community so that everybody understands.
I, I think that's where my skill set would be really valuable
because I do have being immersed in education have such an
complex understanding of these challenges and think that I can be
a voice of knowledge and not really necessarily having any negative sides.
Okay, Thank you,
Mr. Latham.
I think the
I mean, the biggest issue for me is really
just the communication.
You know, the reason I join various boards
and things is to to understand more about what goes on.
You know, as a parent, you want to
you know, you want to help your kids, but you need to know what is going on
generally for them to be able to help them along.
You help them with the homework.
You need to understand the curriculum.
So better transparency for,
you know, for the parents, I think is going to be able to help
them, you know,
with the kids outside of school.
I think
this is mental.
And so I think one of our assets as a community
and as our district is that we have a lot of involved parents, parents
that really want to be involved in their children's education.
But along with that comes a magnitude of viewpoints and opinions.
And I think it's a real challenge for the board to kind of navigate
all of those opinions and find the common ground when making decisions.
I think it's really important moving forward.
As I've watched throughout the pandemic, it's been so stressful for everybody.
It was an unknown. It was something that none of you
or none of and none of us went through before.
So I think there's a little bit of a need to kind of moving forward
to remove emotion in decision making
and to really increase communication
and transparency, as I kind of mentioned previously,
so that we can increase trust with parents
and between the board, the administration and the parents, I think that is probably
one of the challenges. Thank you.
Thank you, Dr. Shah.
I will eventually get this order correct.
I really don't have any
concerns.
I truly come here as an offer to assist for my background and experiences.
I do believe the pandemic recovery is going to be a terrific challenge
for all school districts, both public and private schools.
There's a lot of educational gaps, a lot of needs for mental health services,
and I have a tremendous interest in how Derry Township School
District will manage all of those needs for their students.
I'm also in your comprehensive plan.
You noticed in the last 15 years you went from a population
that had 7% of their students offering qualifying for free and reduced lunch.
It's now at 22.9%.
I bring to the table years of experience of working with children
and adolescents in their families across all socioeconomic status levels.
So again, I would bring knowledge and experience to that.
In the last one is a question about given the Hershey expansion
and is the school district starting to consider what if enrollment grows?
One minute?
Could I then that's the question.
Thank you.
This is Anderson.
My concerns are
are just weaving in more of what's going on globally
and then wondering how we as a district handling that.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but we actually just were recognized
locally as having, you know, as being one of the top schools.
So congratulations to all of you,
to all of us, to everyone in the community and our students and our parents.
But I wonder about
when we hear about depression and anxiety is increased in children.
We hear about retaining teachers.
Our talented teachers are our talented staff.
Those kind of things have got to be pressing on us and to keep educating
our children at the level that we are, that has got to be something,
you know, that that you must wrestle with, you know.
When. You have nothing else to think about.
So those are the kind of things
that I'm concerned about because I actually think as a community.
We've got high.
Performing kids, we've got obviously wonderfully
supportive parents, we've got the staff, we've got the teachers.
You're at one. Minute. Thank you.
Thank you.
I know there are I don't have too many concerns.
I do have some things that I'd like to learn more about.
I hear rumblings in the community often about bullying
and special ed representation.
So I'd like to get more of an inside idea about how those things are handled
within the district,
because there are
some concerning things that I've heard, but I only hear one side of the story.
So I recognize that
it may look different from the inside than it does from the outside.
And one thing that my my family has experienced is teacher loss.
And I was
I was recently listening to the radio
and heard a statistic that 560,000 teachers
have left the
the profession in the last two years due to the pandemic,
due to various different reasons.
So and I sit here and and listen to the school board meetings
and hear the personnel resignations and things like that.
And I wonder, like, how is that affecting us?
Again, something I'd like to have a better perspective of from the inside,
because I can only see what's happening up here.
I think you're right.
One minute.
Oh, okay.
Thank you.
I think obviously nationally, locally, we're not immune to what the perceived
big issues are between curriculum, pandemic response and everything else.
I think it goes bigger than that.
I think the biggest thing right now is regaining the trust.
I think, you know, as a board member
acting as representing the community,
and we need to come back and start regaining trust.
Not that you've lost it.
I'm not implying that, but
really make sure that we're representing everybody within the community.
I think the biggest challenge is really just getting back to the basics,
you know, be able to pivot when necessary as as we all did two or three years ago.
But we need to get back to basics, why we're here, what we're here for
and then live in, adhere to the core principles
of what the board is here and what it's for.
You know, I feel it's
imperative to continue change management and forward thinking.
I also believe that the administration board must continue to work together
to balance new, innovative, innovative ideas.
Things are constantly changing.
Technology's constantly changing.
To remain one of the top tier school districts.
We need to stay involved and be innovative and research and do that as well too.
Obviously, you need to ensure fiscal responsibility even at this point.
WOMEN Thank you. Thank you
for next question.
Mr. Rizzo.
Okay.
For those thank you for coming in and sat in the seat.
And it's very nerve racking.
So I understand tremendously.
But if you're not chosen tonight, please
think about running in the future again, as Ms.. Dr.
Cronin had indicated,
there's going to be a lot of positions coming up in two years.
So we need qualified individuals to be able to,
you know, help out the board and move forward.
So my question tonight is, is one on equity, right?
So when we think about equity, there's there's multiple ideas
and thought patterns through equity.
But really when I look at it is how as a school district,
how do we bring everyone forward and make sure that everyone is successful?
Right.
You know, whether it's race, whether it's socio economic, whether it's
whatever
your your your gender identification.
I just want to hear from your perspective how you think about equity
at the school, to bring the children all together to be successful.
Thank you, Mr.
Rizzo. We'll start with Mr.
Latham for this question.
So in order to be equitable,
I guess we need to listen to the needs of everyone.
You know, everyone has a different background, different opinion.
We need to so in order to understand
it, you've got to first research it,
you know, speak to the parents,
speak to the kids, find out, you know, what the what they are.
You know what they're looking for
and go from there.
Thank you.
This is Michelle.
It's a good and loaded question.
I think that it's really important to value every single student.
I think that that's a challenge.
I'm sure as an educator, I'm the wife of an educator.
We spend some time talking about this.
It's hard.
Every student comes from a diverse background.
Every student has different learning needs.
Every student comes with challenges at home.
And so I think it's important to get to know each student as much as possible,
to value each student as much as possible, and to try to evaluate their needs
and understand that there's no cookie cutter approach for each student,
that every student is going to need something different and that
there's there's probably not a perfect way, but it's important to
to value each student, not to raise
some up and lower others in in an effort to make them equal,
but to really get to know each student and what their needs are.
Dr. Scott.
So. Clearly, when addressing the question of equity,
I think the biggest first step would be for the school district
to create a framework.
How what is the intention on addressing this issue?
And you probably already have some of that work done, but how have you gathered
all of the constituency voices, including the students?
You know, many students in order to be engaged and feel a sense
of belonging to their community and their school.
They need to see people
like them who work there and who get engaged in the schools.
So that's something to think about in terms of hiring practices.
I also believe that in addition to the students, there really needs to be
an emphasis on engaging parents and having dialog
because equity is not placing any one particular group above another group.
It is truly about providing what students need from an educational lens,
and it's also about providing staff and administrators
and board members with opportunities to self-reflect and to engage on journeys.
Because we're all in this journey.
This is a really complicated issue,
and a lot of it has to start with self-reflection.
Where am I as a as an individual, and how do I really feel
and what are my unintended biases and how what how does that one minute.
Thank you, Mrs.
Henderson.
How do we bring everyone forward
and help to make everyone successful?
I think we have to count on our teachers
to sort of to to be, you know, in the trenches.
They're interacting with the kids.
We have to ensure that they have proper training.
We have to make sure that our administrators
are properly supporting the teachers or administrators are properly supported,
that we, as the board would have an understanding there,
just communication training,
you know, and really getting to know those kids.
Our parents trust us.
They trust the school when all day long they're my kid as a sophomore.
At this point, the school sees her a lot more than I do.
So I need to trust that they're paying attention
and they're picking up on the things that she needs as a student, and they do so.
So I guess training and communication.
Thanks.
Thank you.
So equity
can be looked at from different ways and defines
different ways depending on who you talk to.
But one of the things that I've learned, I'm working with the elementary school PTO
and have just we've just started a D-I committee for that for the PTO.
And one of the things that you do to start that is basically
like take a community profile, and that was one of my two do's.
And basically what I'm working on
right now is trying to find the gaps like who needs what.
And I think when we find out who needs what, we can better address
the needs of the community.
And that involves talking to parents,
sending out surveys, listening to the community and
talking to people that I might not normally talk
to on a regular basis to see what their needs are.
So I think we have to
look also at the hard data, the demographics,
looking at that, the racial differentiation in our district
has changed drastically from like the 2010 census to the 2020 census,
and so has that one minute socioeconomics.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you.
Actually, a lot of my points I wrote down correlate with Dr.
Scholl's as well to about. So put them in my own words.
So I also had the privilege of sitting on the unit board
within the insurance company I work at within our Northeast region.
So I think it's important to take a multi-tiered approach
when looking at this and be purposeful
about what we're trying to accomplish and what the end goal is.
You know, it's a combination.
It's not just one answer. It's not one entity.
It's combination and community and the,
you know, everybody's opinions.
You know, I think respect in general in society has gone
way over the past couple of years.
And back to Dr.
Cronin's point, I think social media
has also had a large play into that as well, too.
So I think we need to start bringing that back into society,
that face to face interaction,
talking and respecting people's opinions, even if they are different than your own.
I think we need to empower the staff to be observant and speak up when necessary.
They do.
They're great.
Don't get me wrong, parents advocate for their students,
but I think we need to keep supporting the staff
and believe that we need to keep empowering them
to speak up when they feel need to.
Thank you. Thank you.
I think when examining equity in schools,
every students needs need to be considered and a huge part of
that is teacher training both inside and outside of the classroom.
With diversity and inclusion efforts outside of the classroom,
the pandemic disproportionately affected children in poverty and children of color.
And there are things that ways that we can train teachers to ensure
that parents and families have access to quality materials
so that learning can take place in the home
and that we can work with parents inside of the classroom.
There's a lot that we can do with teachers and teacher training
to help them develop cultural competence in their students.
One of the things we do at Lebanon Valley College with our pre-service
teachers is work and discuss the power of representation in texts.
And that's just it's one part of teacher training that we do that so valuable
in a way that we have all of the children be able to see themselves
in the text, in the stories and the characters and the authors want.
And that's one component of equity
that I think could really shed light on the benefit of teacher training.
Thank you.
Thank you
for next question.
Mrs. Schmidt.
Okay.
Thank you guys for being here.
And truly you. Are.
Excellent.
Can you. Are and.
I wouldn't just say that you really, really are very, very good.
I hope we see you.
All again in like six year
or three years, two year and a half, year and a half, six positions.
You're in a that's a lot of numbers.
Okay, Here's my question.
There has been a lot of conversation regarding equity.
Social, emotional learning.
And basic core curriculum in a.
Post-pandemic public school district.
How would you.
Prioritize these three for our.
School?
I think you will start
with repeat.
I don't think that too. Ratings for kids.
I know it's kind of wrong.
Okay. There has been a lot of conversation
regarding equity, social emotional learning.
And just basic core. Curriculum.
In a post-pandemic public school district.
How would. You. Prioritize these three.
For our school?
Thank you. Mrs.
Mitchell, we'll start with you for this from.
Oh. Okay.
So I think in my opinion, I think the common belief is that parents
send their kids to public school in general to be taught academics,
so a quarter of them would be my priority.
I do understand that school is a huge component
of the public school system, especially lately.
There is data to show that those skill sets benefit academic performance.
So certainly that is it can work with core curriculum.
I think problem solving growth mindset, all the soft skills are really important
too to help academics.
So they work kind hand in hand.
However, I think that there's a balance
between some of those soft skills and then also teaching value sets
which come along with some of the other curriculum ideals.
And so I would I would go with Core curriculum ACL and then equity.
Thank you.
Dr. Shah.
How do
you prioritize things that are all equally important.
At. Milton Hershey School?
We just try to tackle them all.
However, we're not here at Milton Hershey School.
I would say the school learning and your Castle five.
Those skills are critical for future success.
Those are the skills and strategies that we need in order to effectively interact
to manage our own personal lives beyond the classroom settings.
Having said that, I think there's a lot of opportunity
to embed both equity and skill into core curriculum.
I think that there are linkages that could be had that would really more
seamlessly integrate all three of those.
Thank you, Mrs.
Emerson.
A difficult question.
I, i, i social emotional learning.
I think I would prioritize First
because I really am worried.
I don't know if anyone is aware of this I that a lot of you are aware of this
may is mental health awareness month so social emotional learning
I'm to put first as my list
because I want our kids to understand themselves.
I want them to understand each other.
I think it is a crisis we have going on
is as far as mentally mental health in our country.
Equity cannot be accomplished
without
an understanding of what the core curriculum is, but an understanding
of the core curriculum to pursue equity between such diverse people.
It's it's I think I go social emotional learning.
Second is equity.
Third is the basic curriculum.
There are also important and we all recognize that and understand that though.
So thank you.
Thank you.
Simply put,
I think anybody in this room that's been in a classroom knows that
if kiddos don't feel safe where they are, they're not going to learn anything.
So I think that we need to really focus
on particularly like last two people have said, on social emotional learning.
And it's really hard for me.
I don't like the word prioritize.
I think I'd really like to balance these three things.
How can we figure out a way to balances out
and make sure that all of our kiddos are getting all three of these things
because their township's known for being the best?
We should be able to be the best at all three of these.
I think
all kind of go hand in hand, but public school
is meant to help serve the public and give children basic education.
In our case is a great education.
We're fortunate for that.
But simply put, you know, if we had to rank, I think basic core
curriculum would be number one, followed by equity in social emotional learning.
I think you need the basic core before you can start enhancing
and getting through the rest of everything else we need to look at. Thank you.
Thank you so.
I also agree with the basic core curriculum
that's at its core is what's used for daily implementation
of all of the academics that we're children.
However, that basic core curriculum is not going
to be accessible to all children if equity is not considered.
We need to consider cultures and languages and life experiences
so that all children can access that core curriculum.
So while I would prioritize the core curriculum first,
we do need to consider equity as a way to make it accessible to all learners.
The social emotional learning skills, as others have said,
are so easily integrated into everyday practices.
The social awareness and relationship skills and problems solving skills
should be part of our core curriculum and something that we can touch on
and that teachers can practice with their children.
But again, the basic core curriculum is really the focus
with embedding the equity and social emotional learning.
Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Latham.
So in
my opinion, the core curriculum should come first.
That is the basis of learning at school.
The the other skills
extremely useful but can be learned in other ways.
The afterschool clubs,
the other clubs in the area that provides
soccer hockey, though those are useful to give these kids
these socio emotional skills that you know
that they can learn.
But you know, we can.
I mean, it's something that, you know,
we can.
It's it's something that everyone needs to learn and work on
as much as we can.
Thank you. Thank you so.
If our next question is is thicker.
Okay.
First, I do want to thank Kip's family
for coming tonight and honoring his life and passion as a school.
Staff Maggie, I
see Nate is online and Beth, I'm very sorry for your loss.
I wish I could vote for all of you.
I'm Very impressed by your heart for the district and all of your resumes.
And I echo what my colleagues have said.
If not selected tonight, I hope to see you on the next ballot.
One of your main your biggest roles as a school
director is to oversee and approve the budget.
At this point, I hope you have seen our proposed
final budget where we have included a 3.4% tax increase.
Please share your thoughts about this.
Let's start with Dr.
Hoffman's ramblings.
He did conduct
a little bit of research and review of prior budgets,
and I know this year's budget is 66.2 million
and there was no millage hike in this that this year.
And it was also the sixth year in ten years the taxes had remained frozen.
And in order for the school, I think, to move forward beyond
the pandemic and address all of the issues that have been discussed earlier.
I do believe that a tax hike of would be significant enough
so that the school could fully fund those initiatives that are necessary to move
the school district forward.
Thank you.
This is Anderson.
We have had the opportunity to enjoy
not having a tax increase,
but sadly, it it it's
it's necessary to to combat what we're currently facing.
It is not going to be easy
to shop in the grocery store or, maybe to look at my neighbors.
But it is one of the hard decisions that has to be made.
And when looking at all of the. Data.
Looking at all of the information, if it is the appropriate decision.
Then, you know.
You've got to make the tough decisions.
So thank you.
Thank you,
Mrs. Kern.
Sorry.
Okay.
So having listened to the last several school board meetings,
I know that we have as a district taken a hit
because of amusement, taxes and pandemic like expenses and things.
So it's kind of a tough spot.
Also that, you know, we've had
several years in the last decade where there hasn't been a tax increase.
I think taking into consideration that we need to make sure that we meet
the needs of the students.
A tax increase sounds fair this year and I likely would
have made the same decision.
Thank you.
Mr. Hollander.
No, I do agree.
Having been frozen in the past,
I think it's just an unfortunate reality of where we are today.
Everything's been going up.
And in order for us to remain competitive as a school district
and make sure that we give our kids the technology advantages,
clubs and everything that they need to help succeed in life.
It's just an unfortunate reality.
You know, I will look in and not knowing.
I know moneys from Hershey Park we haven't gotten and not knowing
what if, when, where
things happen.
And unfortunately, I think that the tax increases
as well as others, are part of how life is right now.
And hopefully we can get back to a better place soon.
Thank think
I. Agree with no tax increase in the last several years
that this is necessary with all of the information provided and with what
looking at our students
and what's best for them to meet their needs
so that they have all the resources that
they need and that we have as a district to be successful
that this increase is necessary to move forward.
Acknowledging that it does pose a challenge but is necessary.
Thank you,
Mr. Layton.
So I also agree
that the the tax increases are unavoidable.
We have to continue to provide the same, if not better,
level of education.
You know, one of the things that we can do in
the future is to scrutinize the
the costs to hopefully, you know,
and to not have potential
tax hikes, you know, year on year.
Thank you.
So I to research the tax history a little bit
when applying for this position and realize that this increase
is not the norm, but that it is necessary.
We're facing higher costs.
We want to maintain the staff that we have and hire new staff
recovering from the pandemic.
So there's lots of reasons that it's needed.
I have a good bit of budgeting experience through my work and board
experience positions that I've had, and I know that it's really hard to implement
any kind of increase, especially when it impacts
not only you personally, but all of your neighbors.
So I understand the reasons for it, and I think that as a board
you have good reasonings for the tax increase.
Thank you.
Mr. Singer, your question is up next.
Thank you.
First thing I'd like to do is thank you all for coming out tonight.
You know, obviously a very talented group.
It seems like, of you are already connected
in different ways to district activities or other community activities.
So it seems we're benefiting from,
you know, your commitment and your skills and your passion already.
And I hope you'll continue to do that.
And if if you're not selected tonight, that you'll continue
to find ways to contribute to the district's progress.
My question has to do with school choice.
So these days,
the students have an opportunity to choose,
along with their parents, where they they might want to go to school
and they may leave for different reasons.
But regardless of
why they
leave, when they leave, the district loses significant funding.
When that happens,
and you correct me if I'm wrong, Mr.
Purcell, but I think this this next year's current budget
anticipates about $2 million of taxpayer funds that otherwise
would come to the district, will follow students out to charter.
And so cyber schools.
Any thoughts, any of you have on how our district might attract
some of these students back or entice them not to leave in the first place?
Thank you, Mr.
Singer.
Mrs. Anderson, we will start with you for this one, please.
I as I said earlier, it's it's we
we get to enjoy the status
of being one of the best performing schools the area.
And I think the
the best way to entice people back is is probably to promote that
to emphasize and
and communicate and build that bridge between
what our school is offering and and what the community can gain from it.
There are so many paths that that a student can take so many opportunities.
I am sure that I only know a fraction of them.
And and it's the more promote what our school has to offer,
I think the better chance we have of attracting those students.
Back to us if we've lost them. Thanks.
So this
is actually one of my biggest concerns.
Having worked at a cyber charter school in Pennsylvania,
I got pretty familiar with the funding formula.
So I think it would be great to work with state legislatures
to advocate for reworking the funding formula,
and that would be done maybe as a board member, but mostly as a citizen.
On contacting legislators.
One of the things that I encountered as an employee
was a lot of the students that went to cyber charter
schools went because they were bullied in brick and mortar schools.
That was,
by and large, one of the most answers that I got when I said, Why are you here?
So I think if we could address that
and, you know, that coincides with all the other things
that we're doing, social, emotional learning, those kinds of things, and also
building a robust virtual program
to compete with some of those older some of those cyber charters
I think would really encourage people to stay with Derry Township,
because if we could have our quality teachers
somehow teaching a virtual program, I think that would really set us
apart from all the other.
Thank you.
I think we need to familiarize ourselves with the needs of all.
Once we know the needs, we can know how to adapt and overcome help, you know.
First is why? Why are they leaving?
And, you know, I kind of relate it back to a business sense of exit interviews.
And we're looking at how businesses have adopted in this new age that we're in now.
You know, gone are the days of the 9 to 5 work
going into offices. Everything's evolving.
I think as a school, we need to continue to evolve with society as well to
So, you know, we do it as companies.
We look to to how to how do we Talent retention is a big key right now
within our company. How do we keep people.
It's the same way with students.
How do we keep students, these talented students in our district
and give them what they need
and help throw the structure out
and help with the administration, help give them what they need
to serve the needs of all.
Thank you. Thank you.
I think there are a lot of
reasons why students have left, especially pandemic related challenges.
We lost a lot of students over the last couple of years, but the data shows
that they're not coming back now that schools have opened up.
And we're a great district and we know that the data shows
that we're a great district.
So as we're kind of navigating
these challenges in a poster, hopefully close to post-pandemic world,
we need to work to build transparent and healthy relationships
between parents in the school system.
In the hopes that we can draw students back so that they are successful.
Creating a safe school environment where students feel valued and feel
that they have access to the curriculum in ways that work for them.
Thank you.
So I think the
first we need to understand why the kids are leaving.
You know, it isn't is it a choice or is it a
you know, a
a parental you know, the parents
have changed their working habits because of,
you know, the issues of the past few years.
You know, that will help to focus the efforts of some,
you know, trying to get the kids
to come back.
It's really I mean, it's really
just a case of understanding the problem to be able to solve it.
Thank.
So like almost everyone before me has said, I think it's really important
to understand the reasons why parents left.
I think we saw a really big increase in leaving over COVID for various reasons,
but I think it's really important to understand the reasons because
if it's COVID related, if it's bullying, if it's academic related,
and we can increase our a program, we can offer a competitive program.
However, if parents are leaving because they've lost trust
in the public school system, which in my experience in talking
to many parents, seem to be the case and continues to be the case,
I think that we need to really work on that aspect of communication with parents
and increasing trust in the ways that I've previously spoke about.
Thank you.
I will
repeat what others have already said about the need to really dive deep,
dive deeply into understanding why parents have made those decisions.
What I will focus on
is the importance of a climate that promotes connectedness and belonging.
And so I think getting an understanding of why people are leaving
so that you can avoid from others leaving and joining them and using cyber school.
I would also encourage the school to consider a more competitive cyber
offering than the one that is currently available at the school.
Thank you.
Really say skipped over myself
for going alphabetically through the question asking
was focusing on everybody else and forgot that I was up there in the days.
So I'll ask the last question.
But to start I'll say thank you to all of you.
I'm just so incredibly impressed with the the talent and experience and
level of commitment that I think that you would all bring.
I will be completely honest.
I have no idea which one of you
that I would want to bring in tonight,
because I think there's so much that each one of you could offer to this
to this board and so thank you for making it really hard
because it's an important role.
One of the things that I find that's really important is that as a team of nine
plus the superintendent, we all bring something to the table
that complements the work of the board and promotes
the operations, you know, in a healthy, functioning way for the district.
So as the final question, I would ask
for reflection on what do you bring a team member,
what you know, this is your kind of one minute to to brag and
show what
you think the strongest asset that bring to that team.
And then the other part of it is that
this seat is a term
that is technically expiring in 2025.
And while this appointment
will be through November of 2023,
the two year completion will be on the ballot.
So there will be six seats next year on the ballot has been mentioned.
The purpose of why school board seats are five years and four years is to help
provide continuity and when six seats will be on the ballot
next year, that leaves a lot on three that are left behind.
And so I would just be curious if you've given thought to your commitment
or interest in wanting to pursue.
A. Fulfillment of this term by way of the election.
So and I also just want to say thank you to Steph and Maggie for being here tonight
and for being online.
It's really great to see you
and I admire you being able to join us because I know it's really hard.
So we'll start, Mrs.
Curran, for this last question.
So I tried to actually think about this.
What sets me apart from you guys that are sitting here on the board and
and also those of us that are in the audience.
I think one of the things is I've only been here for eight years
and throughout the eight years that I've been here,
I've learned to love this community and I've made a lot of really good connections
I have.
What that means is like I have an outsider's perspective.
I didn't grow up here.
I don't know what it was like 40 years ago and I've seen
I've seen people
talk about and and share their love for the community.
And I'm excited to raise my children here.
So I think bringing an outsider's perspective is one of the things.
The other thing that I have to throw in there is that I only lost by 12 votes
last last fall.
So I've done all of the work that you all in front of me have done.
I know what it's like to go knock on hundreds of doors
and talk to the community members and listen to them and here for the long haul.
I don't. I don't. One minute. Thank you.
Thank you.
I know I
made it really hard to try to get this last question and one minute.
So I'm sorry.
So elevator speech.
So obviously it's very talented poll by me.
I think what I bring to the table is I'm an independent thinker.
I do my own research, but I also understand and respect
the education and the experience that everybody brings to the table.
My my background is obviously different than most that that sit behind me.
I don't have an educational background, but I don't think that's necessarily a
you know, it's something that that needs to happen.
I think it helps and everybody wants to qualify and everybody's great.
But, you know, bringing
that kind of business mindset as well to, I think to the table can help,
I think, effectively manage and negotiate
relationships within the board and and how you navigate that.
I'm also I say what I mean and mean when I say so.
I, I have no outside different back ended agendas.
I'm here for what's right and what's good for the kids.
And to answer your last question about campaign in 2023, yes,
I do plan on actually have a meeting this upcoming Wednesday
to start talking about possibilities and discussion with that.
So you.
Thank you.
I think it's something I'm thinking of, something that sets me apart
would be my extensive background in education policy.
My doctorate degree is in educational leadership and management,
so policy was a huge part of my work
and still is in my career teaching higher education.
I believe in the democratic process.
I will share and defend my views.
I'm always open to new information, new perspectives.
I'm very flexible in my thinking and I will always accept the majority.
Answering your second question, yes, I do intend to run
in 2023 and would love to be part of this for the long haul.
So thank you. Thank you.
What I think sets me apart is,
is that I'm not from the U.S., i.e.
I'm from the UK.
I'm an educated in France.
I've traveled the world.
I have seen many different things and been to many different places.
And that helps me to be
a more well-rounded person.
I understand different cultures,
so I think that would help,
you know, with some of the foreign students that we have,
you know, coming into the school district with the med center.
But my financial background helps.
I'm methodical, I'm logical.
I work well in a team. You.
Thank you.
And so I think what I bring is a sincere desire
to see the continued success of every single student in this district.
I value communication and integrity,
and I would serve with that in mind.
As I kind of mentioned before, I have extensive experience on boards.
I really understand the ins and outs of them.
I understand the the rewards and the
the way that can be taxing.
But yet I value serving
and and seek to do that wherever I can.
I want to come to the table as someone that is to yield
my opinions, my ideologies, and really work alongside everyone.
I think that is possible for us to all come from different backgrounds
and still find common ground.
And so that is a really big goal of mine should I be appointed.
And then yes, I have given thought to running in the next election.
It's something that I've been mulling over.
I've given it a lot of thought and should I be appointed, I would decide to
or I would try to carry on
the commitment. Thank you.
Thank you.
I certainly would bring objectivity, decision making.
I have extensive history and fiscal stewardship
and my combination is being an educator and a psychologist.
I really understand the and the importance of understanding a student's
world, kind of their education, how they are experiencing their school day.
That is a huge milieu in which function.
And it is critically important to understand how all of the developmental
domains of a child is really integrated in order for a child to be successful.
I also view boards as an as a tree.
So the students are the leaves.
The faculty and teachers are the are the branches.
The administration is the trunk and the board
should be functioning out of sight, really should be the root system
that provides the nurturance and everything to make that tree flourish.
And so I would try to bring that humbleness to this board.
Thank you.
What I would bring to the board
is a level head, a good work
ethic, a need to fully understand
the ability to reach out
to those people that I feel would be the experts to research
any subject that I don't understand, an open mind
and hopefully a broad view.
I think that's that's how I look at.
The board, I look at the board as as.
As. Overseeing.
It's one of the,
you know, examples given was the board is operating at 30,000 feet.
Our teachers and administrators, they're down on the ground.
And and I think it's important to always understand that
that that it's it's our view has got to be much bigger.
You know, not the day to day operation.
Would I pursue an election.
I am open to it.
I'm not decided either way.
It's it's I am looking to,
you know, get through this first step and see what this is all about,
because I have a feeling that I don't know what I don't know.
So I'm going to
I'm going to see and we're going to we're going to give it our best shot.
Thanks.
Thank you.
Okay.
Well, thank you all so much for the time
and the thoughtful responses through of that.
I know it can be a grueling and time intensive process.
So just as we move into the next section to explain to everyone
how this next process works is we will open up for nominations.
Board members will have the opportunity
to nominate any of the prospective appointees
board.
You do not need a second.
You just have to make the nomination
once all of the nominations are made and that is closed, Mrs..
You will do a roll call and you will,
when your name is called, you will speak the name of the candidate.
That is your preference
depending on the outcome of that vote.
If no one candidate receives at least five,
then we'll move to another round of the top two.
Does anyone have any questions?
Could the top two include more than could include two or three people?
If you have two or three people with two votes and one with three?
If there was a tie for second place, then we would do a vote
between the two who are tied to determine who is the second place
to go on for the final two.
Okay,
so I will now accept nominations for the vacant position of interim school
director for a term serving through November 30th 20, 23.
This is Mike Rizzo, a nominee.
Lindsay Cook.
That right?
Yeah.
Okay.
Robert Bennett.
I would like to nominate Andrea mitchell for the position
of Interim School Board through November 30th, 2023.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Go ahead.
Maria.
Mimi, I'd like to nominate Susan Anderson.
Terry Singer I'd like to nominate Beth Shaw.
Donna Cronan I'd like to nominate Colby.
Hollander.
Kathy Sick, or I'd like to nominate
Melinda Carrion.
ZG Do you have all this?
I do.
Okay.
And are there any other nominations
right now?
Nominations are now closed.
Is there any discussion?
I'll read the list of candidates before we do discussion before we get a vote.
Lindsay Cook, Andrea mitchell, Susan Anderson Shaw.
Colby Hollander.
Melinda Curran.
Is there any discussion?
Mrs. A.G.
Role cover, please.
Mr. Bennett.
Andrea Mitchell,
Dr. Cronan.
Colby Hollinger.
Ms.. Drew.
Susan Anderson.
Mrs. Mary.
Susan Anderson.
Mr. Rizzo.
Linda Cook.
Mrs. Schmidt.
Lindsay Cook.
Mrs. Dicker.
Melinda Korean.
Mr. Singer.
Melinda.
Karen.
Two for Lindsay Cook,
one for Mr.
Mitchell.
Andrea Mitchell
two for Mr.
Anderson,
one for Mr.
Hollinger, and two for Linda Grant.
Can you say that again, please?
Michele Short Two for Lindsay Cook,
one for Mitchell,
two for Anderson,
none for Shaw,
one for Hollinger, and two for Karen.
So we have a three way tie
for the top.
So we'll now vote between that three way tie.
If no one receives five votes in that round,
then we will go down to the top two and then proceed to vote for their.
Is there any discussion?
Mrs.. E.g.
Roll call. Please.
Dutch Parnham,
Lindsay Cook. Cook
Talk.
Drew.
Susan Anderson,
Mrs. Mamie.
Susan Anderson.
Mr. Rizzo.
Lindsay Cook.
Mrs. Dicker.
I'm sorry.
Mrs. Schmidt.
Lindsay Cook.
Mrs. Dicker.
Melinda Cran.
Mr. Singer.
Melinda Karam.
Mr. Bennett.
As he cook
Cook. For.
Anderson two Karen. Two.
Okay, we'll now identify a second place between the two who are tied.
So the next vote will be for Susan Anderson or Melinda Corinne
Is there any discussion?
Mrs. Idiroko? Mr.
Susan Anderson,
Mrs..
Many. Susan Anderson.
Mr. Roso.
Susan Anderson.
Mrs. Schmidt.
Susan Anderson.
Mrs. Sacker.
Melinda Curran.
Mr. Singer.
Melinda Koren.
Mr. Bennett.
Susan Anderson.
Dr. Susan Anderson.
Susan Anderson.
Six different.
Bill,
Thank you.
So now moving to a final round of voting
between Lindsay Cook and Susan Anderson.
Is there any discussion,
Mrs. Rocha.
Mrs..
Many Susan Anderson.
Mr. Rizzo.
Lindsay Cook.
Mr. Schmidt.
Lindsay Cook.
Miss Jessica.
Susan Anderson.
Mr. Singer. Lindsay Cook.
Mr. Savannah.
Lindsay Cook.
Dr. Graham.
Lindsay Cook.
Miss True.
Susan Anderson.
Lindsay Cook five.
Susan Anderson three.
Congratulations, Mrs.
two Everyone else Thank you so very much for your time
and for your willingness to go through this process.
I hope that this is not the last that we see of you before this board
and that whether it be through citizen adviser or if you're running
for a school director, that that you will bring your talent
and time back because it's greatly appreciated.
Okay, I will.
Now we are joined by the Honorable Judge Cherry.
So I will ask Mr.
Judge Cherry to now please come administer the oath of office to Mrs.
Tuck graduation
time.
Please state your name.
Please do solemnly swear.
Do you solemnly swear
that I will
obey and protect the Constitution United States?
That I will obey and protect the Constitution of the United States and the.
Constitution of this Commonwealth.
And the Constitution of this.
Commonwealth, and perform my duties.
And I will perform my.
Skills as a Derry Township School Board member, as.
A Derry Township School board member.
With Fidelity.
With Fidelity. So help me God.
So help me God.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Congratulations again, Mr.
Tucker.
Welcome to come join the board at open seat here.
Does it make you.
Okay for our
moving on to our final recognition of citizens?
This is an opportunity for residents and taxpayers to address the board on
matters related to the agenda or matters of district governance, not on the agenda.
Those who speak are asked to follow the same guidelines
outlined at the initial public comment portion of our meeting.
I will ask Board Treasurer, Mrs.
Secker, to please keep time.
Are there any residents who would like to participate
in public comment at this time?
And there is no one in the audience with their hands raised,
so I will invite those attending virtually
and see one.
Debbie Wallace You've been given permission to speak.
Please state your name and address.
For the record.
Debbie Wallace.
Three. Four nine Yorktown Road.
And forgive me, I am late.
I the meeting start at seven so shifting this a bit,
but it is with profound sadness
that Kip Kip's chassis needed to be filled tonight.
It is almost been a month since Kip's passing, and in that time
many wonderful tributes and.
Memories have been shared among grieving friends and family.
But before we move on, let us take one more moment
to remember the tireless and passionate where Kip did for the community.
And in our case here tonight, our school district.
One thing was always certain with Kip was that even when was that?
When there was a situation or topic that needed addressed,
he would give it his all through research and study.
Many of us saw the piles of binders filled with research that.
Represented. Hours of personal time and.
Family time sacrificed. For the good of our school community.
I saw him
campaign this summer pushing through pain and exhaustion
to fight for values and standards he believed would benefit every child.
And every family.
Within the Derry Township School District.
He made himself available to community members,
gave them his undivided attention as they brought concerns to him.
And I saw him remain.
Positive, focused and hopeful in spite of overwhelming odds.
Nonetheless, there was so much more to Kip than being
a school board director, just as each of you were so much.
More than this position.
Years from now, none of you will be on this board anymore.
You you have. Moved on as your seasons of.
Life change.
But our school will remain The purpose of providing her children, a safe and.
Nurturing arena on which to learn.
Express creativity, and challenge themselves with athletics
will continue to be of utmost importance to this community.
This is because of individuals who have gone before us, the first and.
Foremost being our founder, Mr. Milton Hershey.
Who himself was deeply passionate about schooling and likewise,
Kip has left a mark of excellence that has shaped this school.
Therefore, thank you for remembering this.
About Kip's character as you voted tonight,
and even more so
as it has been six.
Months.
Exactly since we voted him in on November 2nd.
So thank you.
Once again for honoring. Kip and the community by.
Choosing an individual.
Tonight who will best represent both Kip.
And those who have voted for him. Twice.
Thank you.
There anyone else for public comment?
Is there anything else
for the good of the order?
Okay.
The next public Board of Directors meeting will be held on
May 9th, 2022, beginning at 7:00 PM.
Please refer the District website
for details and virtual registration as the meeting draws closer.
Made a piece of a motion to adjourn this meeting so.
Moved Miami. Second. Mike Rizzo.
All in favor say hi. Hi Hi. And he opposed
meeting is adjourned at 7:51 p.m..