We one meeting.
I'd like to call
the October 12, 2021 meeting of the Derry Township School District
Board of Directors to order and announce that this meeting is being livestreamed.
An audio recorded.
This meeting is being conducted both in-person and virtually.
I'd like to request four board members to please state your name when speaking.
Mrs. AG Roll call, please.
Mr. Abel Here.
It's Dr. Cronan.
Here, Ms.. Drew.
Here.
Mrs. Hover sticks.
Mrs. Many here.
Mr. Rizzo. Here.
Dr. Shore. Here.
Mrs. Decker.
Here. Mr. Singer. Here.
Seven present in person.
Two virtually, and one absent. Thank you.
Please rise if you are able and join me
for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Slightly.
Tony.
Extraordinary public stance.
One nation under God, indivisible, with.
Okay.
May I have a motion to approve
the October 12, 2021 Board of Directors agenda?
So Lindsay drew
Kathy sticker.
Is there any discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor say I, I
okay.
All right.
So now we're moving on to Mr..
Joe Stein is with us from Warehouse.
He is going to give us an update on the traffic
flow project.
Good evening, everyone.
My name is Joe Stein.
I'm a civil project manager from Warehouse.
I'm the person doing the project management for this job
for the new access drive that will connect to State
Road 322, also known as East Governor Road
down in the South west portion of your campus here.
There was a desire brought to us a while
back of trying to connect that far remote parking lot.
I think it's referred to as Pebble Beach and connecting
to the East Governor Road across from Falls Ball Church.
We have made it
through two of the PennDOT steps.
The first one is a scoping application, very basic.
The second is a traffic study.
We made it through that much quicker than anticipated, so
we extended our schedule several months ahead of where we thought we would be.
We've completed geotechnical,
geotechnical investigation.
We're waiting on that report.
And we've had a survey completed of the impact area.
The next steps that we will proceed with are reviewing of the geotechnical report.
When received,
preparing it, using the survey
to prepare the following plans a high occupancy permit plan,
an erosion and sediment control plan and stormwater management plan.
All those are required because of the earth
disturbance and new impervious associated with this driveway.
As you can see on the sketches I provided with you here this evening.
It's very basic driveway, essentially right in, right out.
No major improvements proposed at that intersection at this point.
We're trying to just provide a little relief valve
for that southwest corner of the campus, but not try and do anything
that's going to really impact the roadway at that location.
So the traffic study said we should be good with what you see on the plans there.
We'll replicate that into the highway occupancy permit plan package and present.
That depends.
That process will take several months.
The erosion and sediment control plan will go to the county Conservation
District for review and the stormwater management plan
will go to the township engineer for their review and approval as well.
That's kind of
everything and it just I will be glad to answer any questions for you.
When this Maria mummy went
the way that this road comes out, is it you're not able to turn?
I guess it's kind of an easy in and out.
There'll be no, I guess left turn out of there.
Correct. There will be no left turn proposed.
And so if you're on East Governor you not be able to turn left
into that driveway and exiting, you would not be able to turn left.
So we call it a right in and right out, only.
Thank you, Rob.
So really, kids coming from most part, sorry, this is Donna.
Chronic kids coming from most of the east of the township
will not would have to go around the block to use that entrance.
They would not be to get it coming from.
That's correct.
Anybody coming
from the west on east, governor, would would have to go over to the other
the other entrances.
And if there's. No light there.
There is no light proposed here at this location. Thank you.
This is Kathy Seger.
Is this mostly because we wanted
to have emergency exit onto this road?
Mr. Friends, is this.
The intent of this would be for four parent pick up and drop off
to alleviate that portion of the traffic from in front of
in front of the school?
Mostly what would be used for in front of the school is the parking that it's used.
Now those, you know, individuals pull in parked there,
but if you're dropping your student off or picking them up, it would be intended
that you use this to do that.
Mr. Friends, this is Lindsay Drew.
I'm just curious what kind of what Dr.
Cronin had mentioned is most people are going
to be coming from
a direction that they can't make a left hand turn.
So they would have to come around the block on Homestead
so that wouldn't really
alleviate any of the traffic flow issues that we have on Homestead.
Correct.
So they'd still have to come on.
They people would still have to travel on Homestead to get to it
to make a right hand turn on the 322 to get to that entrance.
Yeah.
The intent, as we were looking at it or the thought process was that once again
parent pick up or drop off would not be available at the front entrance
and that would only be for for cars coming into the park where obviously.
We would still have, but we would still have the cars on the road on Homestead.
I guess the question I have is right now during
morning drop off, for example, Homestead backs up all the way to Chocolate Avenue
and then 322 on Governor Road is backed up
just from normal traffic coming from Lebanon County.
So I'm just trying to figure out where this Olivia eats
any of the pressure that's put on Homestead Road.
Like I get that
they wouldn't be able to turn right
into the front of the building to do the drop off.
But that wouldn't reduce the number of cars that are on Homestead,
would it reduce the amount exiting
the because people would exit to go home this way
because you would come out and turn right to go home.
It's just not the pick up.
It's that once you dropped off.
But there's there I think there's still circulation through the entire campus.
So this provides a second release point or access
point on the southern end of your campus that you don't currently have.
So for traffic, it helps distribute
the trips that are all currently going on Homestead.
It gives them another option to enter or
exit the campus from the southern end.
Certainly you're going to have people coming from every which direction.
I understand the concern and if you know, we can potentially,
if we had to try and allow left turns into there,
the costs are going to get a little bit more exponential
because you're now widening the road, making accommodations for left turn lane.
So it may not be the perfect fix, but it's certainly going to be a release
valve to pool some of those trips off of Homestead
and Homestead and distribute them to the southern end of the campus.
So this is Kip Shore,
not not enjoying the course because this goes back many, many months.
And I can't remember exactly which meeting it was in.
But my specific question had to do with left turn
when eastbound on governor to alleviate the congestion
at the corner of governor and and homestead and was told at that time
that that was what was going to be considered.
That's just a
comment and a question I have is
in your traffic flow study, did you include
the anticipated increase in traffic related to the early childhood center
Milton Hershey's constructed at the corner of Homestead
and Governor,
I don't know if that information was available
when our traffic consultant prepared that information.
We do make projections out five years for for normal gross residential, commercial.
All those factors are considered in.
So there is a design year of this was probably started in 2020 so early
or late 2020, early 21 that then would be projected out to 2025, 2026.
I can't remember which set of years we use there, but
there is a natural growth built into the model.
But whether or not that specific
project was considered, I'm not certain.
Okay, Thank you.
This is Donna Krohn.
I just want to clarify.
So for in the morning,
parents will not be able to drop off at the regular front entrance anymore.
Is that that was that is that the idea?
They have to go around to the side.
So, Donna, that answer was noted from our
from the vulnerability study that we noted
that the intent was that we should make sure that our entrance
and exits out onto Homestead are clear, not necessarily that
the traffic on Homestead is not there, but that we can get in and out of.
So the intent would be
from a theory standpoint that we would
we would try to push as much traffic over into this as possible.
Cross They would just cross the front of the school and go down. Gotcha.
And then coming home, of course, people in that parking lot would just turn right.
Correct? Correct.
With it.
The what I don't understand is
if they can't drop their kids off at the front of the high school,
how do you pull in here, drive the whole way around
and then turn around to come back out?
Where is the loop in on the campus?
Where do the kids get dropped off?
Okay,
so what is not
believed what is not shown in the picture here
is that the the school is is up above.
Right.
And so their their intent was that that is a loop there
that where they would drop the student off, they would come back around
and finish the loop and then come out
on to other areas.
So to the rear of the building by the cafeteria,
there would be designated drop off areas.
And that behind the behind the high school, not in front of the high school,
but where do you turn around there?
There's nowhere to turn around.
You'd have to drive around front, go to the front parking lot, come back out.
So as part of our plan,
we looked at multiple configuration tions for improvements in that area.
If you did not do a full circulation through the campus,
we had provided some alternatives.
I don't know that we ever settled upon one, but we had provided
staff with some options for reconfiguration of some
parking facilities down there and designated drop off
area so that someone coming in through there would have
there would be stacking lanes and drop off lanes and such.
You could make that loop around and come back out to the southern end.
That's it's really tight back there.
So is that that's part of this study?
Yes, that's part of.
So this is just the the focus here is just on what we're working on
as far as coordination with PennDOT and
coordination with the other jurisdictions, the county transportation
district municipality.
There could be some internal improvements that necessarily
don't have to go through those whole processes.
That's more of a internal design layout, configuration.
Well, it's my understanding we don't have any more impervious coverage.
So if we try to pick up grass, we're in trouble, right?
So with this, that's why we are
we have to do the stormwater management because of that additional impervious.
So we ran this by
the municipality and they were accepting of it.
It just told us what kind of permitting
we were going to need to do and that's what we were proposing.
So you have to do a stormwater management study for the entire campus
because of this are just no.
Just our our scope of work folks.
It focuses just on this area down here as far as stormwater management plan
and version seven control plan and every occupancy permit.
Yeah, I was just wondering if you try to reconfigure
that back of the high school, if that's going to lead to more
paving or moving roads.
There's just not a lot of room back there.
And it depends on what option ultimately is decided upon,
what configuration is best for traffic flow, minimal impact and cost.
This is Lindsay Drew again.
And I don't want to kind of continue to beat this point, but I do think that
it will be important for us to understand the traffic configuration as it relates
to the pick up and drop offs of traffic flow for this.
I think that it's great that we would have another egress point on campus
because right now we only have egress under Homestead, which,
you know, certainly presents concerns.
But if there was no turnaround and all of the people that are coming
up, Homestead turning right to get, you know, turn right into this new entrance,
are just looping back around to Homestead, I feel it really defeats the purpose
because then you're kind of like double dipping on onto the homestead
traffic issue.
This is Maria Miami.
To kind of add on to what she's saying.
Like, I think this is this is nice and will help,
but our real issues are Aruba Homestead getting in and out of there.
Like I agree with you, that this this will help alleviate something.
But we still are jamming up
and I'm on onboard with Kathy.
Like, I don't understand what we're saying about,
you know, not being able to drop off and where.
So I feel like like we're just getting part of.
So as far as the direction we were giving was to focus on
providing a relief valve from from this dead end parking lot.
We understand there's traffic concerns along the perimeter of the campus
that would be, you know, much bigger scope and project to tackle.
So we were tasked with providing this connection down to southern end.
As far as the status of the
concepts for the drop off area at the rear of the school,
I honestly don't remember where we left that.
I know we had provided a few for review.
Certainly something.
If the board feels strongly we can come back and provide those.
The goal tonight
was really kind of just to give you an update on the permitting of this,
but certainly would would you be more than happy to come back
and present some more information about the other part,
the other component of this and how it all plays together?
This is Kathy Seger.
So obviously
we've already spent a chunk of money to pay for this through warehouse.
So and part of that we did get some grant money
to do that to initiate this process.
So I think we would need to also know like where where are we at for
total cost of the project
and then what other factors are coming down
the road as well as as far as reconfiguring the drop off
behind the high school.
Like I think
that's going to add to the expense or is all of that already pre budgeted?
Mike So the there was a range of information that was provided.
We did provide a sketch for pick up and drop off.
So that's something you just need to go back.
That's been defined and addressed.
We went through a couple of sketches and so I'm confident we've made that decision.
As Joe noted, this was really just the intent of looking at more of the
the update from the PennDOT perspective
and the PennDOT perspective is only where the road meets
meets 322
or the egress from there.
So I think coming back and providing
a full presentation, we were only prepared
for an update from the point that we discussed.
I think we need to come back, have Miss Stephen Miller
here as well as this was part of that safety project
provided better explanations and more context than I have.
So I would agree based on the questions that I've heard, that we need to come back
with a full presentation to set the level straight.
Again, this is not included in that.
Could we get a an estimated cost differential
for having an exit only onto 322 on westbound
and starting instead of having an in and out because
simply because if I'm coming up to Homestead, either
eastbound or northbound, I'm having trouble figuring out why
I would make that left turn
and then go right, why I just wouldn't continue
north on Homestead from the intersection
so that that would be helpful in my thinking
if there would be significant money saved by just having an egress,
a return egress there.
Thanks.
And I can touch it real briefly, if I may, or somewhere.
Okay.
You're building the infrastructure to East governor for an exit only rather
than taking maybe 24 feet of width, you'd have an 18 foot width.
So you're looking over several hundred feet
at the addition of six feet of extra paving.
It's not going to be a substantial saving.
Certainly there would be anytime you put less pavement down,
it's going to save you some cost, but you're going down through that.
You're going to go through the same permitting with all the agencies.
It would be a minimal savings.
I can't say there would be no savings to certainly there'd be less pavement.
But if you're going through the effort of connecting
to each governor, you might as well at least make it two ways.
The real saving,
the real savings comes from making it right in, right out.
If you were going to add that left turn lane
in, now you're looking at the addition of a left turn lane.
You're widening both sides of the road.
You're impacting the church driveway.
That's when the costs escalate.
So this is your cost savings by basically making it right in, right out.
Were you saying I'm sorry, Lindsay, Were you saying it more
from a cost savings or more from just a logistical for first point.
I guess I mentioned it from cost saving, but also logistical,
because if if eastbound
gov is gridlocked at the light, I mean, I can see people making an illegal left
to get in to the to the to the campus instead of waiting for that.
So I'd be concerned about
illegal left turns and
you know and then also you've got the water
crisis, the bike and walking path those would be those would be
crosswalks There that then would stop the flow of traffic
if there were bikers on the on the path. Yes.
So to to those points the design has the traditional pork chop and boulevard
to try and prevent eastbound traffic from making that left in there.
So it's not just a wide open intersection with signs
that say don't do it, you know, when
it's physically constructed to try and prohibit that.
Not saying that it's completely perfect, but then we'll probably do some sort
of reconfiguration of the trail to pull that a little bit closer to the road
so that it is a more formal crosswalk and safer
point of crossing for bikers walkers in that area
rather than midway up through the throw as someone's making a turn,
all of a sudden there's a crosswalk.
No, we want to see that come down towards the road
so that the visibility is there and it's an optimal crossing
from from a safety point.
This is Donna Cronin to Kip's point,
whether it's one or two lanes,
the mornings are horrible going down 322 eastbound.
I know the westbound traffic to the Med center would kind of hinder this,
but I can also see students, even if there was that one right egress,
the right turn egress, I can still see students because no one's
going to be coming out in the morning.
I can still see kids wanting to go through there.
But I mean, maybe put up I don't know what to do, but
it's such a mess that I can see people coming down there and saying, zip on, zip
in there.
But anyway, just sharing that, that's a nightmare.
This is Lindsay Drew.
I was just curious, the
the traffic
issues on Governor Road 322 is not, you know,
specific just to the high school traffic.
I mean, that's an obvious big,
you know, issue and the the township had done
a large planning, you know, report recently.
I don't know where that is to be completely honest.
But I'm just curious with the traffic flow study and assessment
that was done for this, did it take into account any of those things?
Because while we're attempting to relieve the the pressure
on the homestead entrance to the high school,
it's also going to have to, you know, take into account the long term things.
And so I guess my concern is that, you know, doing this and
making all these changes and investing in this
additional entrance
only to have the entire thing looked at by the township.
And I believe that that state road, you know, in conjunction
with PennDOT a few years down the road, you know,
should there should we be collaborating there.
I know is part of the process that the township
was given notification of the intent of this project,
whether the township had shared any details with our traffic consultant
about their study.
I'm not sure when that study was completed.
That's something I can ask my
my traffic consultant and get an answer back to the board.
My guess is that potentially the township was looking at maybe signal timing
or improvements at the intersections
both east and west of this location.
We are again
not proposing to do any improvements, any signal timing.
We're really focused just locally right at this
point of access here.
But certainly our traffic study did look at those locations,
what have studied both intersections, traffic counts,
everything that's required to satisfy PennDOT and,
you know, that's where we go into the next step, that highway occupancy permit
to permit this access to the driveway here,
not focusing on any other ends, but being aware
of the traffic counts, the signal timings, the infrastructure,
your turn lanes, the length of lanes and all that sort of information
definitely is looked at, certainly in the existing conditions,
whether or not any information was readily available
about proposed future improvements,
I'd have to ask and see if that information was made available.
Thank you.
This is Kathy Seger.
I mean, I do like this idea because we don't have a lot of choices, right,
the way our campus is located.
You know, in years past,
like when we were going through the new proposal of the rec center years ago,
there was potentially going to be a road that connected this Pebble
Beach parking lot behind the library to the new rec center.
And that was like, oh, great, we can get it, maybe access out the other way.
We have no access out to the back of our campus.
So we don't have a lot of options like this is, like you said, one,
this is our only option outside of going further until like traffic,
a left hand lane and a traffic light.
So I do think it's better than nothing because of the choices
we have to make, because of our campus is so unique.
We just can't get out the back of it. Right.
And it's really kind of a sweet spot in that it's almost centrally located
between the two traffic signals.
It's not too close. It's
either one and it's on your property.
You don't have to go through other
township property like that rec center through the library.
So this this really is an ideal spot,
even if it's not the most perfect
configuration, it at least does provide an option for you.
And I can see when you know, there's games on the 322 turf
and that lot is four and then this Pebble Beach lot is four.
Right now.
If you're parked at Pebble Beach,
you have to drive the whole way back behind the campus to exit.
When we have events.
So it's going to be a significant amount of people
who are going to exit out this way and the front entrance.
So outside of school times, there are times when our campus is very crowded.
This will also help with that.
I mean, so it's it's a little bit of help.
It's not ideal, but it's definitely better.
It's not fixing our bigger issue, but it's yeah.
It's a tool in the tool belt.
Anybody else have any
comments, questions.
Or thank you for your time.
We'll work with staff to come back and give a more detailed presentation
about some other of the improvements that that ties all together.
And with this and you know,
certainly if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Mr.
Friends and he'll get that information to us and we'll answer accordingly.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you for your time.
Moving on.
We will now have an update on school start times on the school
start time Chains by Dr. Winslow.
Thank you, Mrs. Many
appreciate the time to
get to talk to the board about school start times.
And just to give a little refresher,
this work began back in the fall of 2019,
and it was to develop a school schedule that addressed the impact of adolescent
sleep patterns and the need to maximize learning potential of all learners.
There was a lot of research examined
on sleep patterns.
The brain of adolescent sleep needs showing that traditional school
start times for secondary school students is too early.
To that end, we had a
a committee that was put together a steering committee
in the fall of 2019, and the mission of that committee
was to pull together individuals from all different constituent groups.
We reviewed research, debated the merits of a schedule change
and suggested options to the board.
We gathered input and feedback
to develop a recommendation to submit to the board of directors,
and we're looking for an optimum school start time for secondary students
as close to 830 in the morning as possible.
Middle school and high school student representatives were added
to that committee after a session that was attended on staff, school leaders
and there were three options that were developed through the committee.
Two options had secondary starting.
First, one had elementary starting first
and addressed the concern
that we had with students being picked up
or walking before in the dark in the morning.
That was a concern for elementary students.
We did do some visits and had some learning opportunities.
While working through that, we attended a school start schools later workshop.
There was a group visit to Radnor School District
and there were several webinars and other virtual learning
opportunities throughout that we heard from experts.
Dr. Wolfson in particular was a leading expert on sleep
and well-being and children and had actually been
scheduled to come here prior to the pandemic beginning.
And then that was put on hold because of COVID.
But the at the school
start later workshop or start school later workshop, sorry.
There were several Pennsylvania schools who had made the switch that spoke.
Radnor in particular was one
of those schools, and there was a panel discussion.
The big takeaway from from all of our learning
was that no two systems or communities are the same
and we need to develop our own parameters and needs.
But a minimum delay of at least 30 minutes makes the adjustment and work worth it.
Anything less than that really did not have the impact
to to go through all of the trouble
to do that.
There were some key takeaways.
One of the primary ones being that sleep needs are driven
by a temporary biological shift in sleep onset and wake times
that occurs concurrently with puberty and ends in early adulthood.
There was a lot of a lot of debate about whether or not
changing school start times would also then just change bedtimes
and what the what the science was telling us
and what the research was telling us is that kids
literally cannot fall asleep earlier.
And so pushing the school start times back does have impact.
And when we heard from students who spoke at the different places that we attended,
we heard
everything from, you know, I'm much more well-rested
to my athletic performance has increased significantly because of this.
So it was it was very compelling
at the time that we were doing this work.
And I
did not get the opportunity to look this up again.
But I believe it has stayed the same
because it was so close to the pandemic beginning.
There were 307 districts in Pennsylvania that start
secondary between 730 and 759.
That's us.
And there are 99 districts that start between eight and 829.
So there were quite a few districts that
that were starting later.
So to get us to this point, our previous action steps,
we did recommend a start time instructional model
to the Board of Directors on May 26 of 2020,
and that model had elementary day beginning at 8 a.m.
and ending at 2:40 p.m.
and the secondary day starting at 8:30 a.m.
and ending at 3:30 p.m.
on September 14th, 2020.
If you'll recall, that was
just after what time
with the pandemic
we recommended to delay the school start times
until the worst time in 23 school year
due to the interruptions caused by the pandemic
and the inability to plan appropriately.
On March 22nd, 2021, Mr.
McFarland gave an update to maintain the recommendation to begin
the new start times for the 2022 23 school year.
So right now
in planning for that, the administrative team
has reopened our discussion to prepare for that shift for new start times.
And we have some concerns that have arisen
as we began to look at the plan
that had been proposed specifically in transportation.
And Mr. Bell has has joined us this evening
in case you have questions for him at the end.
But specifically, that model allowed
for a 30 minute turnaround time for pick up and drop off.
At the time, there were concerns about that
and we had suggested some ways to get around it.
Since then, the downtown Hershey area has been completed
and traffic has
really picked up exponentially.
It is right now taking us 50 minutes to do that,
turn around, pick up and drop off time.
So a 30 minute turnaround really
does not feel feasible at all.
And we certainly don't want to be in a space where students are constantly being
late to school
one way or another or late coming home.
The other concern that we have, especially now that we are,
you know, in this space of wanting to make sure that students are getting
every minute
of learning that they can, having been through what we've been through,
is that the model that was proposed lost 15 minutes of instructional
time at the elementary level.
That's that's a really valuable
15 minutes a day that we would like to not lose.
Right now, the high school has a seven hour day
and the middle school and the elementary have a six hour and 55 minute day
and we would like to do everything we can to maintain
those hours of instruction
because that's just a lot of lost time.
So so
we have taken a few steps.
Mr.. BELL We are on a bus
rotation cycle where we are
replacing older busses with newer busses
to make sure that we're always maintaining our fleet appropriately.
We did not do that last year.
So at this point we have six busses that were identified for potential auction.
What we have asked Mr.
Bell to do is to hang on to those busses.
So to replace the six that we purchased, the six that we would be purchasing,
but also to hang on to the ones that we would have normally auctioned
in case we need them in order to better facilitate this transportation.
Also,
though, cognizant of bus driver shortages.
So we could have six extra busses but not six extra bus drivers.
Just kind of keeping that in the back of our minds.
So really looking at next steps,
what we would like to do is to seek
a rescind of the May 26, 2020 approval
pending a new recommendation.
Not exactly sure how much the times would adjust, but it would be
it would be proposing a different start and end time
to what had been originally proposed back in May of 2020 and approved.
I would also be seeking
guidance from the Board of Directors on a timeline for implementation.
And while we are absolutely 100% confident that a new plan
can be presented to the board by the December 13th meeting
with a
goal of seeking approval no later than January 24th
for implementation of the 2223 school year.
We are certain we can pull that off.
We're also recognize that the last time a model was accepted,
families had 18 months to plan
and this would give families approximately eight months to plan.
So It would be looking for your guidance on that timeline for whether we would be
beginning in the 22, 23 school year or in the 2324 school year.
We we do not have a strong recommendation for which one,
but would want to just be,
you know, gracious to our community
to give people the opportunity to plan for that if it felt it was needed,
but are also confident that we can pull it off if we feel that
we want to just go ahead and move forward with the 2223 school year.
So I would like to
solicit questions and encourage discussion at this point.
This is Cathy sticker.
Thank you for that reminder of where we are at.
So basically, I'm not quite sure
how the board could come up with a timeline right now
without knowing the new times of the for the secondary elementary school.
Because if you're going to try to keep secondary around 830,
that means you're going to have to move elementary to like before 8:00.
So I don't I don't know.
And I'd also like to hear from
the community more about like, how much time do parents need?
Is eight months sufficient or when you had eight like.
I think I need to hear more from if committee members want to
you know do a community feedback form or speak up at board
meetings and let us know.
And I know that we
in when we went to this before, we got a lot of pushback
from parents who have older children who watch younger kids.
So it seemed like but you get it either way, right?
So either if we flip the times,
you have an older kid,
which is it?
It is not there after school to watch the little one get off the bus anymore.
Right.
So it's the after school child care that you lose
if you have a sixth grader who helps a little one get off the bus.
But it's the reverse in the morning.
Correct? Correct.
So you get it on either side of the child care issues
in the morning would develop the other.
There are there are three major factors as we're looking at the times that we're
trying to mitigate around.
One is trying not to have elementary students
being picked up at their bus stops or walking in the dark,
which means not being able to start picking them up
or having them leave their homes until mostly after 7:00.
But even then, it's, you know, in the dead of winter
is going to be a little iffy.
The second is if you push it
the other way and elementary doesn't end until four, there are some kiddos
who would not get home until almost 5:00, and that just
feels late in the evening to ask for your your child
to be getting home from school.
Maybe.
Maybe that's a perception that we have and not necessarily a community concern,
but it feels like a concern too to us and was a concern on the committee.
And then the other piece that we do feel like we can work around
fairly well, but, you know, trying to have minimal impact on
on athletic schedules because we would be one of the only schools changing.
So if
high school students
aren't getting out until 330 or 4:00,
but they have early dismissals for athletic events that start at four,
that's missing a chunk of the academic day that they would not necessarily
be missing now.
Now, schedules can be kind of, you know, worked around that sometimes,
but not always.
So those are the three pieces that,
you know, along with transportation, of course,
that that we've been trying to work around to
to try to keep that from
being too much of an issue that makes sense.
Wasn't there talk this is Cathy Seger that this goes in conjunction
with the revision of the schedule at the high school.
So we've been able to make some schedule revisions already.
The internal schedule.
And what we were thinking was that we would make
all those changes at once to make it seamless.
But since it was delayed,
we've already started making some of those changes
because they're the right changes
to make regardless of what the start and end times are.
And and we would want to be making them no matter what.
So we've already started some of those pieces.
There are more things just continue to be put in place
at the high school administration is working through.
But it's kind of similarly to, you know, working on getting intervention
at the elementary school out of science and social studies time.
That's something that we were going to try to do all at once.
But we did it this year because it needed to be done anyhow.
That makes sense.
Dr. And Mrs.
Lindsey Drew, I agree with Mrs.
Thacker that I think community feedback would be really important in this instance
and hard to make a decision on what year this is implemented in
until we would know what that model looks like.
Also, looking at the fact that where we arrived
at the initial recommendation that the board approved, we did have a
ad hoc committee that include included
representation from all stakeholders.
So with this new process of looking at that,
I think it's I think that the concern is are
justified, but I would want to see that opportunity.
So I'm not sure if perhaps when
you mentioned December 13th meeting
having an update, you know, there if there is a way to incorporate
a forum
of some sort to be able to answer community questions and get that.
And I think based on those results, we would be able to determine
if the 2223 start time would be too soon,
because we certainly don't want to rush this now that we're,
you know, if we're going to be changing what was recommended.
Absolutely. I'm wondering.
The school start times is the topic of the community forum
that will be holding in November.
The first community forum that I'll be holding.
That was a you know, a similar to the Java with Jo type thing, but
not Java with Stacy.
And I would potentially, you know, encourage
that the recommendation and kind of where you're headed be
represented publicly.
But, you know, in order to provide an opportunity
for public input on that specific model
because I think that you know it wouldn't really serve its purpose
if people didn't know what that was going to look like.
You and being able to anticipate the different variables and impacts with that.
So just something that that I would request.
The other question, the other question I had related to the delay of the bus
option
from a budget perspective.
Mr. Friends, did we have a
a projected amount of revenue that was going towards new school bus
purchases or what impact would be there if we're not going to be
auctioning six busses as planned?
It would just have a small impact on our general fund
just through
EDI requirements.
The money that we collect through selling the busses isn't able
to go back into the Capital Reserve fund, it has to go into the general fund.
So we do include that is money coming in.
But you know, last year we budgeted about $30,000 for that.
So not a great deal of amount obviously would be less costly for us to
keep those busses
than to try to contract them out.
Or if we found we had that need as well as the proposal
is only to have hold on to them
until we have knowledge of needing them or not.
So once we make that decision, we can still we could still possibly
go through the auction process within the fiscal year.
It just might not be with our regular timing until we find out
what the needs are.
Stacy, I, I just want to comment that I,
I was part of this first discussion back in early 2000.
I still believe in the science.
I believe the committee has done a lot of work.
I personally
even understanding that there might be some nuance changes
I, I would be comfortable with as a parent having knowledge
now that for school year, I think that would be a plenty of time
since parents were planning it for it last year.
And I could be wrong.
We could get, you know, certainly input from the community, but I think
we're we're all kind of on on track that, yes, this is this is good.
This is right.
Let's do it.
I personally would not like to see it be put off and use the
this forum as letting people know.
Yes, we're we're moving ahead.
We still have some nuances to change and I'm comfortable with that.
Thank you.
Personally, I am wondering just because the community
correspondence forms are very helpful in soliciting community response,
obviously, and have been very useful for us, this does feel like a space
where a survey might be really helpful for families once we are able to present
times to to to push that out, to see,
you know, is this enough time to plan just so very simple.
Do you know which which year would you prefer would be
would be an easy survey to do once we have those times ready to go.
This is Miriam Amie.
I think one thing that sticks out to me, like with all of the work
that the ad hoc committee did on this,
like if they weren't really given
the right information,
would that then change
how they potentially what concerns me
the most is what this is going to do to the elementary school.
And if you're saying it's a 50 minute turnaround and they were
going on the assumption it was a 30 minute turnaround, that's huge.
So where do you make up that time? Mm.
And it seems like either one way or the other,
the elementary students are going to pay that price or
we get everybody to school at the same time.
And that is a massive undertaking of expense, bus drivers, busses.
So I just kind of I don't know if there's any answer.
I'm not looking for, but,
but to think that they made a decision on a certain set of variables
that might not even be relevant at this point,
I wonder how that that would play into the recommendation.
Mm hmm.
I wonder that as well,
because there were two other options that we had available.
And and we will be we'll be playing with those options.
Each option of all three options had drawbacks and had positive aspects.
Any time that you're making a sort of a change, there's going to be domino
effects,
you know,
across the board for different things.
It's just a matter of which which benefit outweighs which cost.
And and I do agree with Dr. Cronin that,
you know, today is a
as a perfect example
on on late start days, it's a completely different atmosphere
at the secondary level when kids have an opportunity to get that extra
sleep than what it is when they
when they come in at 730 in the morning,
there's just they're more awake, they're alert in their first grade class.
They're it's a more relaxed atmosphere
than when they're tired and cranky.
While there are there are definitely some costs
on the other side for either child care or you know, that
that time getting home or being up early for the elementary.
So this is Kathy Zucker again.
So I share Mrs.
Mary's thoughts on that, that a committee decided this.
And now the administration is essentially changing the decision
because they had decided between three different options
and concluded and came to one and it seemed like such a favorable outcome
because it was an eight and an 830 and never was like, Oh, that's great,
because it's not too early for elementary school.
And now I'm afraid I don't know where you're going to make up that time.
But I'm also sitting here thinking that we're having this conversation after
we've just been through a pandemic or hopefully ending a pandemic.
And a lot has changed in many people's lives,
and so has having to be
at a work office for some people at 8:00 every day.
So I don't know if
you know,
for a lot of people who had to do an 8 to 5 office job prior
to the pandemic, if now people some jobs
have more flexibility in working from home
three out of the five days I mean, so that some jobs don't.
Right.
If you have to see patients at 8:00, you have to be in the office.
Right.
But some people have been given more flexibility.
So I'm just wondering
if there's a whole different feel out there now for childcare.
And I don't know, I just be curious to see
maybe a survey is where you can figure that out.
It's a good question.
And the the stakeholder input is is certainly been on my mind
with with this element as well because this
this did come to fruition through three committee meetings
and and even at that time we thought we might have to adjust the times
a little bit, you know, but probably not more than 5 minutes one way or another,
which the committee knew and was okay with.
This feels different to me because it could be a whole different
model, which is part of why we wanted to make it the
the community forum topic also to to be able to discuss
that at that point and to solicit feedback from people in that meeting.
But I also feel like
some sort of a survey might be appropriate as well.
And this is Kathy Ziegler.
Again, just to we already went through the budgetary impact
of bringing every student in. At the same time.
It doesn't work. It's not feasible.
It's absolutely not what you would have to double
our bus fleet to bring everybody in and double our bus drivers.
And we already have a bus driver shortage.
So that is not an option.
Just to put that out there,
we have to do a two tiered two tiered transportation system.
We use one bus in two different runs for the schools.
Correct.
Just so that that's out there right now.
Let's get. Thank you.
Doctor Winslow, this is Lindsay Drew.
Just I was on that committee and I guess that's
where, you know, looking at the fact that a lot of things have changed.
You know, the way that it was presented to the committee was that
what was recommended was really the only achievable option,
you know, to make everything worked.
And so if the administration is now saying that option doesn't work,
then that's where I do think that, you know,
the community feedback aspect of it is really important as well as,
you know, just looking at all of those impacts and
and making sure that we're doing the right thing.
Um, I also have concerns, you know, if the way to make this work is,
is delaying the start of elementary school and it pushes,
you know, the kids later and you get into that for close to 5:00 hour
so some kids are you know till they get home off the bus it's after 5 p.m.
because there's not a lot of science out there for the elementary students
to show, you know, what the delayed start time does for them.
And I think, you know, as a parent, I can tell you that
it doesn't matter when you have a two hour delay
or not like your elementary kids still get up at the same time, You know,
like it's the whole thing with Daylight Saving time, Like you
never actually get the hour when when you're a parent of a younger child.
So I think that that's an important consideration as well, if we look to start
pushing that out.
And I appreciate that point.
Absolutely, Ms.. Drew.
That was definitely a point that was brought up and many times
during discussion was that I believe at the time we found one piece of research
on how it affected elementary students and it was inconclusive.
So all of the other research was on secondary students, adolescents.
This is Johnny.
Well, that was sort of one of my questions.
Dr. Winslow, at least as a as a general proposition,
the administration still favors the concept of a late start time.
Right. This doesn't change the equation. Correct.
And my my other question was,
I think I understood you to say
the administration would not want to shave off instructional minutes.
Correct. Per day.
And I should know this is is there a state law requirement?
How many minutes per day we give or is it days of the year?
It's actually both.
It's hours per year and days. Okay. Okay.
And can you explain or elaborate?
Why don't you want to shave the instructional minutes?
So at the elementary, if we shaved off 15 minutes a day, we would
we would just be making the hourly requirements
by the skin of our teeth for the year.
But it also that
that 15 minutes over, you know, a month period of time is hours.
It really adds up for what students are able to to do and not do.
You know we are able we were able to put in
an extra 15 minutes of recess for the younger grades.
That's a thing that we might have to lose in order to favor instructional time.
And when we went to the full day kindergarten model, you know, our
our goal was to have kids have active play as a part of that day.
And it would be a shame to lose some of those elements.
The other piece is that we've been working really, really,
really hard to get math intervention in place
so that students were not losing science and social studies time during that
math intervention time and now we have that in place.
But that's a piece that we might have to lose if if that 15 minutes is gone,
because we just wouldn't have enough time in the day for core instruction to occur.
Thank you. That was very. Helpful. Yeah, absolutely.
Doctor, this is Lindsay Drew.
I have one other question just for consideration.
And if we were to delay this and it were not to be implemented
in the 2223 school year as planned,
is there a way to look at providing
any schedule relief for the secondary students?
I know currently there's the flexibility of the first
or last period flex for for seniors, but I'm not sure
if there's a way to build that in for some of the others,
because I am thinking of, you know, some of our athletes,
the swimmers are starting right now because of
of water availability and not having a pool access here.
I think they're driving like Carlyle in the morning.
And so with the early start time,
they're now getting up and leaving
significantly earlier than they were before, you know?
So if there is a way to try and make some accommodation to provide
relief and make sure that our students are getting at least some sleep,
especially in those circumstances that we can
implement now
while this gets worked out
and if the if the start date is delayed, I think that that would be beneficial.
That's an excellent point.
And and regardless of of
when and how we do the start and end times, the high school
had already implemented, you know many blended learning pieces
had some flexible campus and open campus elements
that their intent is to continue to expand upon
as as move forward regardless of what the start and end times are,
because they're just good for kids and they allow students
so much more opportunity inside and outside of the classroom.
So, yes, we would absolutely be continuing with those pieces
no matter when it's
Can you just reiterate the day and time
for the community form where you where you're going to do it?
I did. I pull that up.
There's actually a link on the website to register.
It'll be a Zoom meeting and it is
November 1st at 9 a.m.
and throughout the year we will offer those at different times
throughout the day to take advantage of when people are available
and hopefully some of them will get to be in-person at some point.
But this first one will have to be be be virtual.
We have to go to Derry Township School District website to register
on their website.
And I believe Ms..
Carpel has posted it on social media, too.
Yes, perfect. Thank, doctor.
And this is Lindsay Drew.
Again, I'm sorry to interrupt.
Since the subject of this first community forum,
which just clarifying this is replacing what was dropped with Joe
because it's scheduled currently on November 1st at 9 a.m.
and the topic is the school start times.
Are you able to offer another time
in the evening to accommodate parents schedules
for this topic so that we provide ample opportunity
for people to participate if they want to but are not limited is my first question.
And my second comment would be
just the request that this be communicated
more than just being on the district website and on social media,
but a direct communication to all parents via email
so that they're aware of this opportunity and don't miss out on it
because not everyone's on social media.
Yes, we can do that.
You can do that. I, I will.
I will look and see if there is an evening time.
I things get booked out pretty, pretty quickly.
I know.
And I know you guys all already put so much in.
I don't want this to be a burden.
I just want to make sure that that we're providing opportunity
for all folks to be able to participate, because there are a number of people
who would not be able to participate at 9 a.m..
Thank you.
Is there anybody else who would like to comment on this topic?
Questions,
Final thoughts?
Okay.
So just to reiterate, no, it's okay.
Just really I will at our next board meeting, then I will be looking
to recommend a rescinding of the May 26th 2020
approval of pending the availability
of new start times and at times being presented.
Thank you for that.
Thank you all very much.
I would like to announce the board met in executive session prior to this meeting
to discuss the following matters of personnel, labor
relations and Arbitrations Agency business, which, if conducted in public,
would violate a lawful privilege or lead to disclosure of confidential information.
And the board
also met on Tuesday, September 28th, in the evening for our Fall board retreat.
So at this time, we will recognize citizens.
This is an opportunity for residents and taxpayers
to address the board on matters related to the agenda.
Those who wish to speak, if present,
are asked to come to the microphone and state your name and address.
For the record, those who are attending virtually ask to raise your virtual hand.
In order to be recognized. You must have registered
individually, individually with your first and last name.
Once recognized and unmuted.
Please state your name and address for the record
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 limited
to one opportunity to address the board during each of the public comment periods.
I will ask the Board Treasurer, Mrs.
Decker, to please keep time
if necessary.
The board may set a maximum time for the public comment portion of any meeting
or conclude the public comment portion at its discretion.
This portion of the board meeting is for comments to the board
and is not a question and answer period.
Those wishing to present private concerns or questions
needing follow up outside of the board meeting may go to the district
website and submit a community correspondence.
Are there any residents and our taxpayers in the audience
who would like to make a comment at this time?
Seeing none?
Are there any virtual attendees with their hands raised?
There are currently no attendees with their hands raised virtually.
Okay. Thank you. Mr.. YOU
okay?
Moving on.
The curriculum Council meeting met today.
Dr. Cronan, do you have a curriculum report for us?
I do have a report. Thank you very much.
So the highlight of our meeting today was welcoming two new citizens advisors,
both Lindsey Cook and Jordan Yeagley, and they joined Sam Mullins,
who is our other citizen advisor.
And our two students were also with us, Hannah Goma and Lisa Wang
and the agenda was fairly light,
but we had a very critical presentation by Dr.
Winslow on the need for curriculum.
So it was a nice level setting
for the beginning of the year and welcoming the new members.
And this is also the presentation that is given to all teachers when they
when they join the district.
And the importance is it
the importance of the curriculum was noted that we expect all kids to learn
and that we need to have a standard for that type of learning.
And the three pillars were a focus on essential
and significant aspects connecting
to reinforce learning and equity so that all students have access.
And I was particularly interested in what Dr.
Linzer stated about an example of equity, was not to say if a teacher didn't
have time or for whatever reason did not teach function's fractions.
So that group of students would have inequity and moving to the next level.
So there are various ways of making sure that the curriculum,
the curriculum ensures that all students are learning the same thing
and have equal opportunity or a level playing field, so to speak,
and a deep curriculum alignment allows that.
The other thing we
that it that we talked about was the importance of making sure that
all of our assessments are based on the written curriculum,
but that what is taught can also be, you know,
a majority of what is in the written curriculum.
But as well as the art of teaching for, for for teachers to be able
to have discussion and and you kind of go off the board, so to speak
and that curriculum alignment also helps reverse
some of the previous predictions of of lack
of academic achievement.
And that is often based on socioeconomic status, on female
or male sex, on race or a number of students in a classroom,
that if we're able to remove those barriers
through a curriculum alignment, then once again we have a level playing field
and all students can can achieve what we need them to in our next meeting.
Will We also talked about
43 pages in a database of all the summer work that has been
that was completed for curriculum as well as the new curriculum maps
that are now on the website, that if you go to website, the website
under curriculum, under the sub subjects and course you click on the Rubicon at
and then you choose all curriculum and then browse and you see everything.
It is absolutely beautiful.
Thank you very much Miss Campbell, for, for doing that.
And then also under English Language Arts, all of the reading materials are right.
They're extremely user friendly.
Anybody can find it in our next meeting is on November 8th at 4 p.m..
Thank you.
Thank you for your report.
Okay.
Ms.. Karpel, do you have a community correspondent's report for us?
I do. Thank you.
For the month of September, the district received 83 community correspondence.
50 of those were pieces of feedback regarding the roller hockey rink
and others included four questions about the flood closure Communication.
One question about a job hosting 13 COVID related
Comments to School Board Questions or Concerns.
Three Comments regarding Curriculum.
Five Comments about Athletics.
One question about the high school and a technical question that is all.
Thank you.
The listed The listed items are on the anticipated
October 25th, 2021 Border of Directors Meeting Agenda.
Moving on to Unfinished business.
The district's pandemic team met on Monday, October 4th.
I'll ask Dr.
Winslow to please provide an update on the meeting
and then we'll have an opportunity for board questions and discussion.
Thank you, Mrs. Mimi.
And just as a reminder, within 24 hours of pandemic team meeting,
the minutes are posted on the website so that folks can find those there.
So our meeting had several different topics.
The first one was that community feedback had indicated
quite a bit of confusion regarding the reporting of cases in the district.
And so the team discussed several options, including daily reporting.
Mrs. Lisa miller and Ms..
Karpel worked together after the meeting and develop
a daily charts that can now be found on the website.
This seems to have helped considerably with confusion as you can just hover
over each
bar on the on chart and it will tell you
which building and how many cases for that day,
which it's also very easy to see trend lines that way as well.
So I think they did a really nice job with that and I thank them.
We will continue to post both ways
the 14 day and daily for the next two weeks or so.
Is that correct? Ms.. CABELL Two weeks
until a full 14 days are visible and available on the chart,
and then everybody will be able to see that. So
and then it will move just to the daily chart.
So that is how that will work.
Procedures for the pandemic team
and how they would be notified in the event of an upward
trend in cases with potential school closures were reviewed
and that was based on the authority granted by the board that
both the pandemic team and
the board would be consulted should we get to that space again,
Hopefully we will not get to that space again.
But we discussed the fact that they would be
notified an emergency meeting would be called within 24 hours of
of seeing that trend line to make sure that we were all on the same page
for moving forward.
We also discussed
the elementary lunch set up that was reviewed.
Six feet of separation in the cafeterias in the MPR was achieved
with the two objectives to both mitigate, spread and significantly reduce contact
tracing that began last Monday on the fourth.
And we have seen a significant difference in elementary cases
since having our closure and now changing that lunch layout.
It's much, much better.
We also began
today with the middle school change with 60 seating as well.
Again, to mitigate contact tracing.
We want kids in school. We do not want out of school.
And we were very fortunate and that a neighbor
district in Lancaster that several of us have contacts with
was getting rid of 200 desks and they gave them to us for free.
So that was wonderful.
And our custodian set those up
on Monday and yesterday and got them already.
I happened to be in the middle school for seventh
and eighth grade lunch today and the kids were fantastic.
They it was like they'd always sat that way.
And they, they are very great.
The middle school, they set up their zooms and they still have lunch together
over over Zoom, depending on where they're sitting. So it's great.
So see if there's anything else I did want to add.
We did also talk about
while the elementary achieved that with lunch,
there were some gifts that were some pretty significant gives
teachers had to give up some of their collaboration
time in order to help monitor the lunches because they are now spread out
and elementary students are not independent at lunch time.
They need a lot of support with
their food and the packaging and whatnot.
They just need a lot of support that way.
So the teachers were but teachers wanted kids in school.
They knew we needed to get those cases down
and we're willing to sacrifice some of that time.
The other piece that was a big, big give was that
small group ensembles for orchestra are not able to meet during those lunch
periods now because they are having lunch in their practice spaces.
But the regular full ensemble can still meet
because that meets at a different time and we allowed space for that to remain.
So I just thought it was important to kind of highlight that sometimes
when we're talking about the different obstacles that we face
as we're trying to work through some of these pieces
that folks will latch on to like one thing and think that's the one thing
that is standing in the way when really there's multiple layers and complexities,
you know, like anything.
And we were just talking about the school
start times even there's always domino effects with when we're making changes.
But I think this is a positive change that hopefully will not last forever,
but is is definitely what we needed right now
and is going to be good for keeping kids in school.
And we also talked about
the potential diagnostic testing
as a convenience if parent approved.
The Department of Health does have a grant that is allowing for
free testing to occur in districts that are interested.
We have expressed interest so that we can learn more about it.
We would likely focus on rapid antigen tests
if we have to pick between those and PCR is and Dr.
Rice.
Snyder did get to meet with the nurses between last Monday and today.
I believe we met with them yesterday.
All right.
Yeah. So today thank you.
To discuss what it might look like, we're still in the learning phases of this,
but we do feel that
we're probably moving closer long as there is broad support to to do that.
And and really just want to emphasize,
nobody would be tested without parent approval.
It would just be to provide
a convenience for families if we were able to do it in our schools
and a student or staff member was symptomatic
and it helped out the family to be able to do that.
We also discussed current state guidance.
Really, there wasn't a whole lot new
from the governor's meeting and the
secretary of health, the mandate will be reexamined
at the beginning of November, and at this time
there are no other process changes or recommendations that were made
in the way that we perceive of contact
tracing or anything like that.
And then our next meeting is first Monday of the month.
So that will be November 1st at 4:00, our next pandemic team meeting.
If there are any questions about
where things are right now or or any other clarifying pieces
that you would like to know, I'd be happy to to answer that.
Yeah.
Stacey, this is Donna Krohn, and I really appreciate the changes
in the website and thanks to the to the pandemic team for not
only having the ideas but being receptive to some of the parent request.
The one question I have is for the obviously,
the numbers have gone down, but the numbers for the quarantine symptoms,
do you have a sit?
My sense is that that's mostly students with symptoms because quarantining
would only happen
with lunchtime at the high school where they're not six feet apart.
So they shouldn't really be sending too many kids home in quarantine.
There would have still been some middle school ones. Right.
And there are still kids who, you know, carpooled together
or had a close contact outside of school that they have identified.
And so, so self-identified. Not us, correct?
Correct. Correct.
So I would expect over the next two weeks to see that number continue to go down.
But some of those kiddos were
still in their 14 days of of being out and just haven't dropped off yet.
I would actually expect to see a pretty big difference this Friday.
Already Okay.
When that's updated I think you absolutely.
This is crucial to brief comments.
First, a sincere thank you to Dr.
Winslow and Dr. Cronin for the effort.
The elementary school lunch on September 30th. Dr.
Winslow toured Dr. Cronin and I
it's really an elementary school primarily focusing on the cafeteria.
And with my tape measure, we did some measurements
and with extra desks and the strong work of the staff, we're able to get six feet.
So sincerely, thank you very much.
Rate for the kids and the staff's effort are appreciated.
A second is just a brief reminder to everybody.
With the impending approval of vaccines for the younger age group,
whether or not vaccines are required, that is a state level issue.
That is not our purview.
The state determines which vaccines
are required for public school attendance.
So any concerns that parents or taxpayers have regarding vaccine
for students should address those concerns to the state.
That's not our bailiwick.
Thank you, Dr.
Shah.
Anyone else have any questions or comments?
No, thank you very much.
Okay. Thank you.
All right.
Moving on to consent agenda items,
the consent agenda can change routinely adopted items and
and items that normally do not require public
deliberations on the part of the board.
A board member may pull items which will then be discussed and voted on separately.
May I have a motion to approve the consent of gender?
I consent agenda items as listed
so moved on a
second Cathy sticker.
Is there any discussion?
I just wanted to
point out that there are no minutes
attached for us to review, so I've just said that to Mrs.
Agee.
Do we want to just pull that
and approve it at the next meeting so we can review it first?
Do you see anything attached?
I think that's a good idea.
Jessica I didn't see it either. Yeah.
And so could we just maybe
amend the motion to approve the request for the use of facilities
and approve the summary minutes at next board meeting?
Once they are attached, they will be approving to the next night.
Should I work through that verbally?
I can do that second and second, that motion Lindsey drew.
So I think what may be the easiest way to do that
is if we pull that item out of the consent agenda for separate consideration.
Okay, okay.
More back on the consent agenda and then we can act on that.
Okay.
So I'd like to amend the motion to pull
the approval of the summary board meeting minutes
and vote on them at the next meeting.
Second, Lyndsey Drew.
So I had a question on that.
So you look at the request for school facilities
and some of the dates are before the next board meeting.
So are we going to prove that before or after.
We're still approving or.
Absolutely.
I heard you say that the.
I'm sorry, did I say it wrong? Yeah, she meant she was.
We're going to do the facilities tonight.
We're still going to vote on the facilities.
We're not going to vote on the meeting minutes.
Okay.
We actually have two votes now.
Yes. So?
So as Mrs.
Mary said, we can pull items from a consent agenda.
I recommend
we pull the minutes from the consent agenda
and then move for approving the consent agenda.
Then we can take action to table or later consider the minutes at our next meeting.
Okay.
So Cathy made a motion and Lindsey seconded.
So we're good for the meeting minutes now.
So all those in favor say I.
No, no, let's, let's go ahead.
Let's go ahead and be consistent with your original comment.
Any action items on the consent agenda we'd like pulled for separate consideration?
Mrs. Decker, would you like
to pull the meeting minutes for a separate consideration from the consent agenda?
Yes. Okay.
So we'll pull those separate consideration.
There was a motion
in second on the consent agenda, not including the meeting minutes.
So you can have discussion if there is any further discussion
and vote on the consent agenda, excluding the meeting minutes.
Is there any discussion?
Okay.
So all those in favor say i, i, i anyone opposed.
Okay.
So consent agenda?
Yes. So it's good. Okay.
So the the meeting minutes and we're pulled for separate consideration
is is there any discussion that's where we can entertain
a motion to lay that on the table for the next meeting.
Yeah.
I move to table the summary of the board of Directors meeting minutes
and vote at the next meeting.
Second, Lindsay drew
all those in favor.
I want to.
Okay.
All right.
So we got through that
new business.
Okay.
We are moving on to the Equitable Advisors edition of the 403b vendor list. Dr.
Winslow, The administration recommends the board approve equitable
advisors to be added to the district's approved 403b vendor list.
May I have A motion to approve the addition of the equitable
advisors to the District approved 403b vendor list
so number one zero second Cathy sticker.
Is there any discussion.
That I missed it?
Was there any information specific to equitable advisors
like the other information that's on
the advisors are already on the list that I just missed that.
I mean, I just didn't see,
you know, location and, and the funds they're involved with.
I mean it's a great name, but you know, are they
are they equitably investing in Dogecoin and Litecoin?
Is that what the the equity or.
What.
And maybe I just missed it,
but I don't
I don't know what other information you're referring to, Dr.
Shaw, in terms of what was provided for.
Well, if you if look at the the current list of approved vendors
or for three being for 57 B, there is name and address, contact number.
And then brief one or two liner about what
they are approved or what their vendors for the investments are vendors for.
And did I just was there any information
supplied regarding equitable advisors similar
to what's on the list of already approved visors?
For example, you know, name and address, a phone number
and a sentence or two of what they are or vendors for.
So the so just for an example, the one of the well,
about two months ago we added the Ameriprise Financial
so that I don't obtain that information until after they've been board
approved the statement that is provided there is provided by the the company
in terms of what they want to write up for investments.
So the I guess the vetting that you're asking
about, all the investments, several things they were investing in are
they've been
approved under the 43b umbrella that they fit under that.
But we do not do any more vetting in terms of
the returns or anything like that.
This is just employees come to ask to have these individuals added to the list.
We go through our third party administrator
and to vet them to make sure that they are
qualified, registered,
but does not go into any deep depth in terms of returns or anything.
Okay.
Thank you very much.
I'd like to.
So all we're doing is adding them to this current list that they are folks to use.
Okay. All right.
I seem to recall that I have an account with them as well.
Mr. Walker, would that be a reason to abstain?
That I have a personal account with them?
I don't believe
unless you would say that you're treated differently than in a class of individuals
that are not only in that account, but I don't think that be reason.
Okay.
This is an invoice for all those in favor.
Say I, I. I'm sorry.
Any opposed motion carries change orders ECI.
Dr. Winslow, the administration recommends the board approve change orders
number seven for ECI in the amount of $1,158.
May I have a motion to approve the change
Order number seven for ECI?
So some of you.
So I can second on acronym,
is there any discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor say I apologize.
Okay.
The board recommends the approval
of the following citizen advisors to board standing committees as listed.
May I have a motion to approve?
So to move one second.
Is there any discussion?
I just want to say this is one we drew.
I just want to say thank you to all of the applicants.
I'm just always continually impressed by the wealth
of knowledge and expertise and resources in our community
and folks willing to lend their time to be a part of these committees.
It's really exciting.
The folks that are being appointed tonight
does have a lot to bring to the table here.
So Thank you to all of them.
Any one of this is Kathy Shaker.
I was just pleased that this year I felt like we were able to give pretty
much everybody their first choice and then even one person two choices. So
that was nice.
Any other board members?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor say I, I, i
mentioned
Kerry's acceptance of gift, the gift of 3D printers. Dr.
Winslow administration recommends accepting the listed gifts.
May I have a motion to accept the 3D printers?
So I moved on a second Kathy sticker.
Is there any discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor say I, i, i.
Any opposed motion carries
personnel resignations. Dr.
Winslow, The administration recommends the approval of the personnel resignations.
So maybe Kathy Schechter
may have a motion to approve the personnel resignations.
Laurie
Skolnick is there any discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor say I. I just.
Anyone opposed
personnel? General. Dr.
Winslow, The administration recommends the approval of the list of personnel
and recognition of any listed transfers.
May I
have a motion to approve the listed personnel and recognition
of list of any listed transfers that's so moved on a second.
Kathy Stricker, is there any discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor say I, I, i, any oppose
delegate reports there?
There were none submitted.
Are there any board members who would like to give a report?
Can I make a delegate report?
That's not simply on behalf of the downtown Hershey Association,
reminding people that this Saturday is October 1st.
Thank you.
Thank you,
Nancy.
But on the other board members that would like to.
Yeah, Maria, this is Terri Singer.
I just wanted to thank the administration, particularly Mike,
Martha, Doro and Sarah Karpel for their support for the
Hall of Fame luncheon,
which was held at the country Club on Friday, March 8th.
We really appreciate their support
and a very nice
event this past Friday.
Thank you, Mr.
Singer.
Microsoft. Mr.
Rizzo. Yes, this is Mike Rizzo.
I just wanted to report on.
We had our first adopt the school meeting
last Thursday, the seventh myself, along with Ms..
Drew and Ms..
Have Ristic met with Principal Smith
and we started off going,
you know, at the school will be welcoming student
And we then proceeded to walk around the perimeter of the building.
We had a very good conversation on security and safety
on the incoming students and in the carousel, as are coming in for the day.
There was a lot of participation from the administration in the staff
and their position in many, many areas in the high school parking lot.
Obviously, young teenagers, you know.
Well, I won't go into it here, but
so they were very well positioned.
It was very well run. It was smooth.
There weren't any issues in so so kudos to the team for that.
We then proceeded to the back to the the back patio area
that has been had some renovations there where they've added some picnic tables.
Mr. Anderson's team got some
some picnic tables relatively cheap and assembled those themselves
and had them positioned in the area for the students.
And in Principal Smith's words, was very well
attended on a daily basis across multiple times of the day.
So it did look very good and it was well run.
And I think it's great opportunity for having an outside space for the students
later on.
We did talk about a couple of different scenarios within the school.
One of them is was scheduling and how the classes are scheduled
and the amount of time it takes to make sure that all
the students in the classes are interacting appropriately together.
And the amount of work that the staff takes to to to make that happen.
So it was it was impressive
to hear the amount of work that that's being done by the team.
The inside facility was very clean, was very orderly,
and we saw some changes in classrooms and now there were some areas were hectic,
you know, and all the students are coming to a specific spot and the teachers
are it around and move and so is, you know, hats off to them for the
the chaos during a shift change or class change.
And in the last thing we talked about was the the key to keeping their policy
which was the professional learning community
where they are taking time to rotate days on and days off while
keeping an eye on the classes internally so that the teachers are having their
the ability to talk with each other and make sure that the
the PLCs are being completed and that they're touching base and making
sure that the groups of curriculum are moving effectively with each other.
So very, very nicely done.
And we look forward to the next meeting.
Thank you.
Anyone else like to give a report?
Okay. Dr.
Winslow, do you have a superintendents report?
I do.
I have a lot of thank you's this evening.
I also wanted to thank our citizen advisors for
for up and being a part of those committees.
It's always exciting to have new people, and I'm so very grateful
to live in a community where and work in a community where people
are actively engaged in our educational process.
It means so much and it's part
of the excellence of the district and very appreciative of that.
I wanted to thank my consider also totally different reason
for working with ABC to get us a field for this past Friday night
when the stadium was not available
and it was really kind of a struggle to find a place to play.
And ABC was an excellent partner, charge of some minimal amount of money
to be able to to there and we're great to work with.
So very appreciative of his work in making that happen.
Wanted to also thank the board for the enthusiastic participation
and willingness to be a part of the Adopt Building initiative.
I think it's great and it's a wonderful way for you to
to see what's happening in our and our schools and our more regular basis
and to get to know the administrative team better.
So I really appreciate how willingly you've all embraced that already.
It's that's wonderful.
I wanted to thank our custodial staff for getting the hundreds of desks
set up and the middle school and elementary cafeteria and Mr.
Anderson for making that transport happen so quickly
between me and him, township and us for those free desks.
That was really,
really a windfall.
And and I really appreciate that that the effort that went into that
to make that happen so quickly.
And then
finally, just wanted to remind that our first community forum,
which is an online meeting with me and in place of what used to be Java
Joe's, is on November 1st at nine a and you can register for that
on the website.
So thank you.
Thank you. Dr.
Winslow Board Presidents Report. Mr..
Do you have a report?
Thank you, Mrs. Murray.
The only thing I have is that they thank you for running the meeting tonight.
And while I couldn't be there in person.
You're welcome.
Okay, The final item is the 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.
As a reminder, if necessary, the board may set a maximum time
for the public comment portion of any meeting
or conclude the public comment portion at its discretion.
This portion of the board meeting is for comments to the board
and it is not a question and answer period.
Are there any residents and or taxpayers in the audience
who would like to comment at this time?
Oh, please.
If you would just state your name and your address would be great.
Thank you.
Walter Zirinsky, 62 boxwood drive
at the at the August meeting,
I learned that there are 40 students.
I think that's the number I heard.
I hope it's students and not families
that attend our school district
and live in the community that are homeless. And,
you know, that was a very,
very striking thing to learn.
I think that it's it's very important in our community
that we that we see people
that that struggle in that way, that they're insecure in terms of food.
I think that it's very important that we do something to recognize those people,
think as as individuals, not only as a community, what we can do
and and how we can show responsibility there and and step up and help people.
And there's
also another topic that I'd also like to help
and I'd like to extend I'd like to extend
some help in that regard.
There's another topic
that is not related, but I'll tie it in.
I'd like to be proven wrong on something,
and what I'd like to be proven wrong on
is that paper and cloth masks
help to limit community
spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
I don't believe that they do.
I don't believe that there's any evidence
that paper and cloth masks do really anything that is significant
to stop the spread, the community spread of the SARS-CoV-2 COVID virus.
So what I would like to ask anyone in the community to do
is to provide me
with any study, experiments,
anything of that sort that shows that populations
that wear paper and cloth masks
versus populations that do not wear a paper
or a cloth mask where the community spread over here,
the people that are wearing the paper cloth masks
is statistically significantly less,
with a confidence interval of 95%.
But if anyone in the community
is able to show me that study
and so that I can
look at that and I can reflect and say I was wrong
and now I am educated, I have more information
and now I can appreciate the decision to mandate the masks.
If someone can do that, then I will happily
pay for the school lunch
for one homeless child for the remainder of the school year.
My number is area code 3107558911.
If you can provide me with that study again,
where the community spread is statistically significantly
less with a confidence interval of 95%, then I'd like to do that.
Thank you very much for listening.
Thank you.
I would just like to make a comment to your your first point.
I know this is a question and answer, but really for anybody listening,
some people have contacted me before about asking for different ways to help
and I referred them to dystonia or social workers.
So anybody listening or anyone in the audience
that would like to do anything immediately, she is she's a huge resource
and she would be happy to give you specifics on what she needs
to help our population. But thank you.
Would you like to speak, please?
But good evening.
My name is Natasha Walser.
I live at 519 Chestnut Avenue here in Hershey.
Good evening to the board, the administrators,
former colleagues and other participants, in-person and virtual.
Thank you.
First and foremost for the exhausting and thankless work
you have done, not just now, but in the past and in the future.
Many of you might not know my name.
Some of you might, as I did, work within your elementary schools.
For the past three years.
I filled many positions varying from special education,
primary grades, as well as gifted education.
Please believe me when I say I truly enjoyed and treasured my time
working at ATS
over the past year and a half, I have been witness to this Borden school
district being attacked in every way to your faces
in passing conversation over the Internet.
But as well behind your backs.
I stood up for you all in every way I possibly could.
From parent conversations to conferences.
These past two
weeks and certain updates and COVID protocols have changed.
I find myself in a situation where I do not support
these new decisions made by our administrative teams.
I now speak not just as a teacher, but as a parent.
I have spoken to many people since the email from Mr.
Valentine, as well as the administrative team at the elementary school.
I do think those administrators,
teachers, parents, community members and board members
who replied to my emails as well as phone calls,
there was a lot of information to digest
and so I'll stick to a few key points.
First, if the lunchtime was such a concern as you knew it was,
why were the students not spread six feet apart the way you have them
from the very first day of school?
We can only assume the case numbers would not have reached
the levels they did specifically in the elementary school.
If the students were spread out.
Second, due to these high numbers from contact tracing, many children
ended up attending their classes over Zoom from home in quarantine.
I am in no way saying this is an ideal situation.
The management of one alone of students on Zoom
as well as in the classroom, is unimaginable.
Yet to now change the situation to a non
interactive space is irresponsible and careless
likely when a child is quarantining.
They are not there by choice.
I do believe I can say that no teacher, parent, child
or administrator knows that this is what is best for children.
As a teacher, we thrive on student participation.
We hope we motivate each one to learn, to want to learn more, to be inquisitive,
to ask questions, to verify their understanding even more.
So we want the students to run the show.
Literature Circles.
Our student led group projects are led.
If you have a child, go off on quarantine, that's part of the group project.
Are you going to expect them to do it by themselves?
In a teacher interview, including here for this district,
a school will ask a candidate how they know if their students are engaged.
Most candidates will and they will immediately think participation is
third.
Why is the work being sent home to those quarantined students
being something that they can do?
But it's not being required?
Why is logging in to listen to instruction optional?
Is that the message we're sending our students?
Not every child is lucky enough to have a teacher for a mom or dad.
As a teacher, the last thing I would want is to be responsible
for catching up a student while keeping the entire class,
including that returning student on track with new work.
At the same time, in a quarantined time period, say, 10 to 14 days,
an elementary child is likely to miss a full lesson
of a six day cycle of open court, as well as half the next lesson.
In each lesson, there's phonic patterns, vocabulary, literary and comprehension
lessons, grammar and writing at least
6 to 7 everyday math lessons.
That's half a unit in fourth or fifth grade, almost two cycles of specials,
which, let's be honest, the kids really like and the interventionists
I have a child with an IEP.
He receives help from math, from an amazing intervention.
His team in fifth grade time to take
progress, monitor social skills.
But you have only said that if you have a teen in second
may log in to listen to core content.
What if the interventionists,
In my opinion, the new lunch
protocol should have been in place from the very beginning?
The 5 minutes is up.
I thank you for your time and your work.
Thank you, Ms..
Slicer,
Is there anyone virtually with their hand raised?
There is currently no hands raised online.
Okay.
Thank you.
Is there
anyone else for the good of the order?
The next public Board of Directors
meeting will be held October 25th, 2021, starting at 7 p.m..
Please refer to the District website to register
as the meeting draws closer.
May I have a motion to adjourn this meeting?
So move to Kathy Seger
second, Donna Cronin.
All those in favor? I i.
The meeting is adjourned at 845.