November 23rd, 2020, a meeting of the Derry Township School District
Board of Directors to order and announce that this meeting is being recorded.
This Zoom webinar meeting is being held due to the COVID 19 global pandemic,
and I'd like to just remind all board members
to please state your name when you are speaking.
Mrs. AG Call
Mr. Abel here.
Dr. Cronan
Ms.. Drew here.
Mrs..
Have her stick here.
Mrs.. Mamie Here.
Dr. Shore.
Here.
Mrs. Secor here.
Mr. Singer.
Here.
Mrs. Steiner Here.
Eight present. One absent.
Okay.
Please rise, if able, and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
and to the Republic, which stands one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Michelle, I'm sorry.
I was on mute.
Okay.
Nine President, Zero absent.
Okay.
Thank you.
May I have a motion to approve the November 23rd, 2020
Board of Directors agenda?
No. Moved.
Maria me that can don acronym.
Is there any discussion?
All those in favor say I, i, i.
All those opposed say no.
The agenda is approved.
Students of the Month recognition.
Mr. McFarland.
Thank you, Mrs. Sicker.
It's my privilege tonight to honor
and recognize our students of the month for October.
Anoushka Nambiar and Gabriel PESCA.
And as we've done last month, due to the COVID 19 pandemic,
we have two videos that the students put together that they shared with Rotary,
which we'd like to share with you this evening.
Hi, everyone.
My name is Anoushka Nambiar, and I am so honored to be recognized
as one of the HHS November Students of the Month.
Hershey High School has provided me opportunities in a community
that is supportive,
encouraging and has overall made me the student and person I am today.
I'd like to thank Dr.
Smith for everything he does for us students and the school.
We can't thank you enough for truly giving us a voice in our school environment.
I would also like to thank the Hershey Rotary Club for this recognition
and for everything they do in the Hershey community.
Thank you to the HHS administration and teachers as well.
Every teacher I've had since kindergarten has made an impact
on my education in ways I will never forget.
Thank you for your patience, kindness, and your ability
to make me smile even during the most stressful times of the year.
Although I wish I could list
every teacher I ever had, I would like to especially thank Mrs.
Blanda for always supporting me and teaching me skills
I will be able to use for the rest of my life.
Most importantly, I'd like to thank my family.
I would not be where I am today without them.
You all truly inspire me to be the best version of myself.
In the past four years at HHS, I have made incredible memories
and unforgettable friendships through my clubs and team.
And for the past five summers, I have also volunteered at Dairy Preschool.
So I'd like to thank Mrs. Rosenstiel and Mrs.
McDermott for their continued support and being such great role models.
I've been on the varsity tennis team since freshman year and it was an honor
to be captain this past season where we placed second at District
and won gold at Midtown's Student Council is one of my favorite clubs.
I'd like to thank Mrs.
Ives for allowing us to grow our leadership skills
and have a voice at school.
I am currently a class and student council treasurer and it is such an honor
to serve the class of 2021 and the rest of the school.
I'm also currently president of Spanish Honor Society,
where we are working to create service events to enhance our Spanish education.
Speaking of service events, as an officer of the Hershey Community Youth Alliance,
my favorite service project was definitely the 88 sock drive from 2019,
where we donated over
5000 pairs of socks to a homeless shelter in Harrisburg.
Thank you again to the Rotary Club for all your support in our community endeavors.
That same year, I was honored to be one of the representatives from HHS
to attend the HOBY Leadership Seminar at Shippensburg University,
where I collaborated with students across the state and helped
with the jury Box project.
These experiences were only possible because of Hershey
High School and the Hershey community.
So thank you for the time and effort
you put into making these opportunities possible for students like me,
I cannot express how thankful I am to live in a community
where I'm not only educated but also able to be involved and heard.
In the near future, I plan to attend a university to major in biology.
Hershey will forever remain sweet as place on earth thanks to this community
and the people who have impacted my life in so many ways.
Thank you.
Hello, my name is Gabriel PESCA.
I am 17 and I am a senior at Hershey High School this year.
And I just want to say thank you to all the HHS staff and administration.
And I just want to say a huge thanks to the Hershey Rotary Club for this
awesome nomination and a big thank you to my parents
for being my huge support system.
So a little bit about me.
I love entrepreneurship and business.
So when I was 14, I started a video production
company and I have been doing that full time ever since.
And I've worked for clients like the Soda Jerk
and simply Greek and fast feeds, and I've also worked for clients remotely
in San Diego, in New York, in Chicago, in Baltimore, and in London.
And so I'm so blessed to be able to do that as my full time job.
And I also just recently launched a clothing brand where
20% of all of the profits go to orphans in South America.
And that actually it just launched this past Friday.
So I'm so excited for that.
Also, I serve at my church twice a week on the worship team.
I play the guitar, the bass, drums and the piano,
and I also serve on the media team helping with sound and live stream.
Also, I am very involved in overseas missions, work
I've been to in nine countries and five continents, and I have been able
to help communities and churches and refugees
better themselves in Christ and also help their communities flourish.
One of my favorite trips was when I got to go to Lebanon.
I got to visit the Syrian refugee camps and just hear all of their stories
and just hear how they came to Lebanon from Syria.
And we got to aid them with food and water and clothes.
What service means to me is really helping out
wherever you can with what gifts you have been given.
I believe that everyone has a special gift and talent that
they can use to help other people.
My plans for After I graduate are to study business, administration
and missions at Rima, a Bible training college in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
Once again, I just want to say thank you. Thank you.
Thank you so much to the Hershey Rotary Club and the HHS staff
and administration for this awesome opportunity.
And I'm just so grateful. Thank you.
All right.
Thank you.
That I love the videos very much to very talented
Hershey High School students.
I would like to announce the board met in executive session prior to this meeting
to discuss matters of personnel and agency business, which is conducted in public,
would violate a lawful privilege or lead to disclosure of confidential information.
Also, the board met in executive session November
12th to discuss matters of personal
recognition of citizens.
This is an opportunity for residents and taxpayers
to address the board on matters related to the agenda.
Those who speak are asked to raise your virtual hand.
In order to be recognized, you must have your first
and last name type and and livestream registration.
Once recognized and unmuted.
Please state your name and address for the record to provide
other residents with an opportunity to speak speak.
Each speaker is during the public comment portion is limited to 5 minutes
of speaking time once recognized in one opportunity for each of the sections.
At this meeting,
if you have any
private concerns or questions needing follow up outside of the board meeting,
go to the district website and submit a community correspondence.
Are there any citizens and taxpayers who would like to comment at this
time?
I do not see any Mrs.
Seger.
Okay.
Thank you.
Standing Committee Meeting Report.
The Finance Standing Committee met today.
Ms.. Drew, do you have a report? Yes.
Thank you, Madam President.
The Finance Committee met today and the the entirety of our agenda
was reviewing and hearing from PFM
and financial partners on the opportunity that we have
for refinance some of the school district's
existing bonds in order to realize savings
for budget purposes over the next several budget cycles.
The committee did reach a recommendation.
We've been looking at bank loans versus bonds, and we've made a recommendation
to the full board to take the route of looking at a bank loan
because it seems to be most favorable to the district's position.
So on the December 14th meeting, we will have a presentation
from PFM to have the most recent and up to date options that we have
for those, and we will be taking action to vote on it that evening.
I would encourage any board member who wants to have a better
understanding of where it came from to listen to the Finance
Committee meeting from today, because it was very in-depth and helpful.
And if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.
Otherwise we will be discussing it during the presentation
on December 14.
Okay.
Thank you very much.
Are there any questions?
Okay.
A student representatives report.
I think we have Mr.
Bartel and Ms.. Lewis tonight.
Yes. So, first of all, the Michigan team has been hard at work
and they have a notation vendor event going on and a virtual five K,
which takes place today through the 27 where community members can run or walk
the five K on their own time, take a picture and send the picture
over to the minivan Instagram, which is h minivan.
There is a $20 registration fee.
The winners will be announced
the 28th and the t shirt is also included with the registration.
And we also just wanted to mention that last year it was such an honor
for the high school to receive a certificate of gratitude
for raising 36,412
and $412.74.
So we want to keep that up this year as well.
Also prior to
this closure that has forced us to give a virtual,
we were able to pull off a homecoming event
where the homecoming king and queen were able to be crowned,
and they were Emil Tenorio and Katie Copeland, respectively.
Not only that kind of a glimpse of hope
for winter sports for Hershey
as of November 17th, the conference announced
that they are trying to move forward with winter sports as.
Planned, and that would just be.
Pending the school district's approval.
But kind of just a good piece of news
in a darker time.
The fall play was able to stream their performances
November 20th and 21st, and thankfully, there will be another encore performance
that will take place December 18th at 7 p.m.
and you can visit the HHS website for ticket information
and another glimpse of hope in this dark time.
Like Peter was saying, the band, orchestra and choir students
are planning granted that we return back to school in time.
I'm recording a winter concert on December 7th and ninth that will be distributed
virtually for community members to enjoy, and we've been working really hard.
On that. And that's all we have today.
Thank you very much for your reports
and join us virtually.
The listed items are on the anticipated December
14th, 2020 Board of Directors Meeting Agenda
Unfinished Business.
We're going to have a board discussion tonight
regarding the instructional model and athletics
for those who are listening or
you, you already may know
that we are in a virtual K-through-12
instructional model right now because of COVID cases.
And so we are going to have a board discussion tonight.
And I guess, Mr.
McFarland, you're going to kind of lead us into that discussion.
Well, thank you.
Madam President, just to give a little background and where
we've been, obviously, as everybody knows, we started the year in a hybrid model
at all levels and continued in that model
until
about three weeks ago for the secondary and just a week ago for K-12.
Obviously, concern with the rise in cases
across the state, county and country.
And we've been utilizing the district data
that we have been getting while also monitoring our community and county data.
And we've been following the guidance
from the Department of Health related to our district data.
There is a chart put out at the beginning of the year
that showed
recommendations for decisions
if counties were at low, moderate and substantial levels.
And then based on the number of confirmed cases
at at each building
as to what what direction should be taken.
We have been following that up to this point.
The one area where we have not followed is the recommendation
from the Department of Health and from the Pennsylvania
Department of Education has been and continues to be that if a county
is at the substantial level for two or more weeks,
that all schools in that county go fully virtual.
We, along with
other school districts, have chosen not to do that
because we felt it was important to look at our district data,
what we're experiencing within our schools and also our local level.
Just today, the department
put out some updated recommendations
for pre K-12 schools and updated their the chart
that they had put out in the beginning of the year.
Basically, the changes to the chart where they now
broke it down by school size, by school building size.
So, for example,
our SCC would fall in a small school building of less than 500 students.
Our middle school would fall on a medium sized building and then our high school
and our elementary would fall in the larger building settings.
What changes is now? There are
they they give you a
number of cases of COVID per the building size
and then recommendations at the low, moderate and substantial level.
We will be sharing this chart out.
As I said, we just got it today.
So we we have to to redo our chart to get it out.
But while the Pennsylvania Department,
Education and the Department of Health still recommend that all schools
in counties that are substantial for two or more weeks go to fully virtual,
they also make it clear that it is totally a local decision
as to whether to do that or not.
And this chart that's been updated today
does help give some guidance for schools
that are choosing to remain open in
in instructional format other than fully virtual.
Additionally, today, this afternoon, the state did put out a
document called an attestation
that schools will need to have their board president
and their superintendent signed by Monday,
November 30th, noting whether
the school will go fully virtual
until a time as we are back in a moderate
or whether we will continue in a format
other than a fully virtual format
in order to stay in a in an environment other than fully virtual,
we must adhere to the most recent guidelines and orders
relating to masking and proper wearing of masks.
And that is key
because that is inside and outside buildings while on campus.
So that's anybody coming on campus would need to be masked at all times.
And also that we would follow the updated guidelines
as far as procedures for handling when there's a positive case.
I am happy to say that the health and safety plan we put in place
and our requirements for masking and for identification of cases, we already are.
We're following those new guidelines before they were new guidelines.
So we really don't have a whole lot to have to do there.
So what
we just wanted to talk about tonight was
making sure that we're still okay
to follow the guidelines as we have been.
And follow making our decisions based on this,
the chart that was put out today.
So at this point, I'll just stop there because that's our instructional model
and how we've been making decisions and answer any questions
that that board members might have related to that.
Do you want questions or
comments?
Questions, Comments.
I'd also like to hear board members are still comfortable with us
following the the procedures we've been following
and following the guidance that's on this these these new revised charts.
Yeah, I got to take a good look at the charts
today, and I'm still comfortable and feel good that we're following
cases for buildings and not
necessarily well, because it also ties in with the numbers from the county.
So even though
if you're substantial for two weeks in a row and Dauphin County,
they say to go virtual, which we have been now
this closure chart breaks it down from low
moderate to substantial in the county as well as cases per building.
And that's how you decide.
So I've been comfortable with that because I feel like it's
it's makes more sense than if we would have shut down
to virtual two weeks ago just because of Dauphin County.
That wasn't necessarily because of our numbers in our community
that could have been skewed from other communities in Dauphin County.
Yeah, I concur.
Madam President, may I?
You know, I understand the idea here.
If we were 14 weeks and substantial, we had to go virtual.
But I think
what the administration has done is follow
the local data and looked at was it best for the school district here?
And I support following the chart.
I know this has been challenging times on a number of different levels
because there's new information that comes in and has got to get reacted to.
So I, I am certainly on board
with with this approach as outlined.
Madam President, Kip Schor, I also concur.
I am in favor of of the approaches being taken.
And I think the priority is to do whatever we can to keep the option
of a hybrid slash face to face available to us.
So regarding this,
this attestation or whatever that you guys that you and Joe need to sign,
I think I fully support keeping the option of the hybrid
and the and or face to face of it available to us.
Madam President.
Cronan I agree.
I think it's important for us to
keep safety at the top of mind, but also balance that with the kids.
Obviously, optimal approach is live.
So a hybrid version whenever it's deemed to be
safe is definitely what I would support.
Madam President, this is Lindsay. True.
I also would agree with the other board members in
that any option that we have to remain flexible
and be able to follow the case council and data as they are
continually changing on a regular basis would be the best thing for us to do,
so that when we feel that we can safely return staff and students
to the optimal learning situation, that we're able to do that.
I do commend the teachers and staff for making that that pivot to the families
and the parents who have also made such a quick transition.
It was much smoother as a from a parent experience
to go virtual now than it had been obviously in the spring.
So that's important.
But we know that it's best to get the kids back in school whenever we can
and so I think that it's important that we continue to follow local data
and make sure that that we're looking at what's best.
One question I would have, Mr.
McFarlane, if you could speak to, is just regarding
the position of staff and any understanding that PCR has made
a statement regarding following county submission.
If you could just speak to that perspective
and where our staff voices.
Sure. Thank you.
Ms.. Drew, I want to echo our our staff has done an amazing job
all along.
It's not an easy lift to be able to prepare to teach
in a virtual environment, a livestream environment, a hybrid environment.
And I can't stress enough the the workload
that has been on our teachers, but they have
stepped up and just done an amazing job, as you could see,
as we had to pivot very quickly to a virtual model.
And they did that pretty much seamlessly to be able to do that.
So we're in a good place if we have to go back and forth and pivot
as far as where staff is.
You know, obviously, the the State Teachers Association did put out
a press release
going along with the state and the Department of Health
encouraging or urging schools
to go fully virtual as far as our staff.
I think you you have
people all over the spectrum, some who who for
various reasons would feel more comfortable
in a fully virtual environment and then others who
prefer us to be back face to face.
I know all of our teachers would ultimately
prefer to be back face to face, but there's there's varying levels
because of their own family situations or whatever, where
they may feel more comfortable in a virtual environment at this point.
So I think we're we're all over the board.
Does that answer your question?
It does. Thank you.
You know, again,
I would just support staying flexible with options to every extent possible.
And obviously want to keep in mind the impact that it has on staff.
But also, you know, looking out for our students and recognizing
how important it is to try to get them back safely
and as quickly as possible and given the surge of cases in the county.
But what we were able to do in Derry Township
because of following protocol and the health and safety plan,
kept us in school for a lot longer than we could have
initially anticipated or hoped for.
So I'm grateful for that.
But we'd love to see the kids get back as quickly as possible,
which I guess
also would go to it, asking the community
to help us with that in in that it it takes all of us.
It's not just the school district administration,
the board, the staff or the students,
but everyone in the community to help get this under control
so that schools don't have to be in these challenging positions because
the best the students and education need to be
a really high priority and everything impacts that.
And I'll take this opportunity. Mr..
THAT since you brought that up, to just reiterate publicly that
in my video message, I did encourage and request
that parents still continue to reach out to the school nurses,
letting us know if
your child is has tested positive or is experiencing symptoms
just like you would do if we were in in a hybrid environment.
We absolutely please we need that information to help us
make the best, safest decisions regarding returning to instruction.
So again, even though we're in a fully virtual right now
and we're headed into a holiday, please reach out
and continue to communicate with us as you have been.
And I can't thank parents enough for all you've done.
We have done a great job at keeping communication lines open and
offer the health and safety of our students and our staff.
So thank you.
I agree with what the board members are saying
as far as continuing to do what we're doing with the guidelines.
I think to switch at this point to commit to a total virtual online
for the rest of the school year is just too limiting.
I'd like to keep the flexibility that we have
with what you've been doing, Joan, what the administration has been doing.
I just think that's the best scenario for everyone, especially since we're going
to keep the online component for the rest of the year.
Regardless,
this way, it is more flexibility to switch back and forth as needed.
And, you know, I commend you again for this, the superb job
that the district's doing with following the guidelines.
So that's not really a change for us with what they're asking now,
except with the masking being cognizant of
always having the mask on, whether whether you're in school or outside of school.
But really, otherwise,
it's not a drastic change for us
because we have been following the guidelines so closely.
So thank you for that.
But I would definitely vote to keep how we're doing it with
with being able to switch to hybrid or online as needed.
Thank you. Mrs. Savage.
If I can just clarify that attestation that we need to sign.
And there's still.
This. Came out this afternoon.
There's a lot of clarifier questions that we still have.
But our understanding at this point is that
for school districts that note that they are going virtual, that
that virtual designation would be in place
until the county that the district is in
is moved to the moderate level for two consecutive weeks.
And at that point, then they'd be able to return.
So the length of that is yet to be determined.
Anybody who hasn't spoken with Mrs.
Steiner, I'll just add that I am in support
of the administration's decision
and them being able to assess
what's best for our students and our teachers
and looking at our specific numbers within our
zip codes of Hummelstown and Hershey.
It is really nerve racking when you look at the county numbers.
And so I guess I would just you know, I tend to be lean
toward the more cautious side because it's hard to, you know,
look at ourselves in a silo, but also recognizing
that there's so many factors that go into these decisions.
And there's no easy answers.
And at the end of the day, we're trying to assess what is best for
for our kids and having that flexibility to do that, whether it's,
you know,
keeping some kids home and keeping some kids in school in person or whatever
the case may be, or or allowing teachers
that flexibility as well.
I think that's just something that we just have to maintain that.
And I trust the administration to make those decisions
to the best of their ability and appreciate those decisions thus far.
And getting us to this point.
Thank you.
Mr. Singer.
Yes, thank you.
I support the direction of Mr.
McFarland that the administration has been taking, and I'm really
glad to see that we're, you know, able
to look at our local data
and not have to go by the county data.
But with respect to about just want to ask a question about what you just said.
If we do have if we do wind up going fully virtual, you're saying
to get out of
that status, we we can only rely on county data.
Then we can't come back to looking at local data.
That's a good question, Mr. Singer.
And that was something, as I said, that still needs greater clarification
in this order and information that came out this afternoon.
That's the assumption.
We don't know for sure what the the threshold back is.
If if a district attests that they are going fully virtual.
And again, we have to submit that Mrs.
Six and I have to submit that by 5:00 on Monday.
Okay.
So I don't know the exact answer for that at this point.
Okay.
So it sounds like the the longer we can
keep hybrid as a possible option,
the better off we're going to be, the more flexibility we may have.
At any rate, I, I support fully the
the direction that that you're taking us.
Thank you. Thank you.
Madam President, Kip Shire.
Again, I have a concern regarding the continuation
of extracurricular activities in the face of completely virtual
education,
extracurricular activities are not uniformly low risk
and locally we certainly have at least one cluster related to a sports club.
The Prime Directive of the schools is the education of the students.
And while the extracurricular activities and sports
are very important, they are not essential.
And if we're forced into virtual schooling
because of case numbers.
All right.
And the extracurricular activities are permitted to continue,
they themselves could propagate the virus, increase the case numbers,
or maintain the case numbers such that you can't return the kids
to the classroom, even in a hybrid model because of the extracurricular activities.
Now, bear in mind bear in mind I was a wrestler.
I wrestled for seven years and in in planning to forego
the in-person education because of health and safety and yet permitted
extracurricular activities including wrestling is just
it's it's almost almost silly.
Well,
that other any board members who want to comment on curriculum
and instruction model before we move on to athletics.
Anybody who didn't speak about curriculum want to talk about it.
And then we can Mr.
McFarland can talk about.
Okay, I don't so.
Sorry I jumped the gun.
That was Thank you.
Thank you for the Segway, Dr.
Shaw, into that.
So the next point of discussion is just to talk about athletics.
And as you know, up until this point,
if we have been in a fully virtual model,
athletics has not occurred.
Moving forward, the MID-PENN conference put out some parameters
regarding the winter sports season and want to share those
with you and the public and then also talk about
the steps moving forward and what my recommendation is
for practices and tryouts. So
at this time the
PIAA has remained silent on on direction for districts.
But the MID-PENN conference put out the following parameters last week.
First of all, they they stated that practices and tryouts
could begin as early as Friday, November 20th.
Now, ours would not begin until we would return or potentially return
to a hybrid environment December 1st.
The regular season contests
can begin Friday, December 18th,
and the regular season is to be capped at 18 competitions.
Any division contests would begin on or
after Monday, January 14, January 4th, 2021.
And the basketball and swimming and diving conference championship tournaments
have already been canceled.
They are all sports at
this point would be required to follow the new mask
mandates at all times, even during play.
There is still some some question
regarding exceptions for that for the health and safety
of of various athletes, in particular with wrestling.
But in basketball
indoor track things like that, they would have to wear their masks
while their their participating cheerleaders would have to wear them
while cheering swimmers and divers would be required
to mask up immediately upon exiting the water.
So some districts are also asking
their parents of athletes to sign waivers, acknowledging the risk
that's involved with participating in these sports.
And I do know that other districts are moving forward with that mid-penn
direction.
Even some of those that have already moved to a virtual model
at their secondary level.
So my recommendation at this point is that.
If we return.
In hybrid or if we remain fully virtual as of December one,
that we allow our winter sports to begin trial outs and practices only
through our next board meeting December 14th.
And the reason for that is.
If we.
Don't, what I would be looking for is the board
to make to take board action on the 14th as to whether our winter sports
may proceed with competing
in their winter sports season on the at the December 14th meeting.
If we don't allow them to start practicing until that decision is made,
then we have to they have to practice
14 days before they can start competing.
So it just delays
any of competition at this point.
So my recommendation is
that we would allow them to start practice and tryouts December 1st,
regardless of our instructional model and that on the 14th
the board would take action either to approve our athletes
to participate in winter sports season or not to approve.
Oh, thank you for that explanation.
And I, I am in agreement with Mr.
Macfarlane's recommendation that on Tuesday, December 1st,
our sports are allowed to practice or do tryouts
only like no scrimmages and following the updated health and safety,
even if we are in a virtual format.
I understand what you're saying.
Dr. Shah 100%, but to me they've added more health and safety protocols to it.
And I kind of feel like as a previous coach,
you can run a practice in a more COVID friendly way,
just allowing the students to keep up with their cardio and keep up
with their skills and not do a competition where they're like, in basketball,
you could do shooting drills and drills where you're spaced apart
on December 14, if we're in the same way we are now,
I would be voting against competition, but it's still allowing them to practice
in this whole pandemic.
There's been this kind of trying to figure out how do we keep
the mental health And this just the people's
fitness levels up is still important to fighting the virus.
I would hate to see our swimmers not able to swim for three months if we didn't.
Even just just to let them practice is better than nothing.
So. Madam President, to be clear of work, if we're in a hybrid model,
I'm fine with that.
And I'm also fine with the initial practices.
But this goes back to my former request regarding our our our pandemic task force.
Where are they?
Where where are they with regard to testing
and what's and a much temperature screening?
Because because testing would be a mitigation strategy
which would allow our athletes to continue.
And I've heard nothing back from our task force regarding testing. Why?
I don't think we know how to go about doing testing.
I know colleges and universities
do it, and it's thousands and thousands and tens of thousands of dollars.
If if somebody could help us figure out how we can test
everybody once a week, I mean, we also don't have money. So
So as has our task force
investigated that and we just say, well,
maybe that's something that the task force should invest as the task force.
How many times does the task force met?
We have met twice.
Dr. Cronin.
Something to put at the top of the list.
Do any other board members
want to weigh into the athletics discussion.
If I might?
Madam President, John Angle, Ibish supported
this sort of a step by step approach.
Obviously, we're going to assess where we are when we get closer to December 18th
and I and I did want to put out there,
you know, my initial reaction to the waiver.
And of course, this is something that we can
we can work on before that time when we get to that point.
But I would I by my initial short take about as I would not be in favor
of having students do a dual waiver, I just think that sends the wrong signal
and that
that be my preliminary reaction to that idea.
But we'll see how things go from this point forward.
Thank you.
Madam President, I would agree with Mr.
Abel about the waiver.
I think we're looking out as a board and as a district for the total health
and wellness of and safety of the student body and the staff.
So to to do a waiver on an individual basis
doesn't seem to be an effective strategy.
I would be okay with the practices starting
and then reassessing for competition at the December 14th meeting.
But I think it's important that we understand that
this is not a situation that we can apply a blanket yes or no to,
and that if there is one sport or another, that that the protocol
and all of our safety efforts show are not effective in in
keeping the
students from transmission, that we would pull that back and also that
we recognize that by allowing practice this isn't necessarily practices
that they have had in past years or and that things need to be modified
and adapted to ensure safety and distancing
standards are met.
And so long as we have that assurance
and that there are plans in place from the athletic director to the coaches,
you know that we can have our finger on the pulse of,
then I would be okay with that.
Thank you.
If I can.
Comment, just comment on that real quickly to thank you for that.
And I do want to say that our our coaches and our athletes in the fall
did an absolutely amazing job of following all the health and safety protocols
and I think that's what allowed us to have the successful seasons
that we did in in seeing the
the fall season through without issue.
So they did a fantastic job.
And I have no doubt that they will follow these protocols
because they really want to be able to participate.
And I was
similarly. This is Donna Cronan.
I think I have full confidence
in Scott utilizing all the best practices from the fall coaches to
to make sure that the winter coaches, this is brand new to them.
They weren't really impacted before, so they could learn from, you know,
what worked best
from the fall from the fall coaches and being involved in the fall sport.
You know, make seeing the players get there early.
No one walked into the field and they were all masked.
No one walked in until they had their fever questionnaire.
It was it was so organized.
And so, matter of fact, the kids just they just did what they needed to do.
So I have I have full confidence that the winter sports,
the winter athletes and coaches will be able to follow suit.
Could I also please just add that I also support Dr.
Shaw's question about finding out from the taskforce,
doing research on the
what the cost and and process would be if we were to employ
a testing effort amongst students.
I think that that's something that we should know for sure,
whether or not it is doable or what the costs would be.
You know,
we've explored every other option and every other way
to make sure that we've done our due diligence.
I don't know that we've we can confidently say that here.
Great.
Thank you.
I will.
Go ahead, Maria.
I feel like I'm asking this, but I.
I have to.
We're talking about athletics.
It's usually under the umbrella of athletics and activities.
So where does this put the band or where does this put the chess club?
Where does this I mean, even I the play because talking about the athletes.
But we have like all these other activities that.
What about them.
Now that's a that's a great question.
This is memory that that and so we're talking about athletics right now
because we're at the
pressure point time wise
with for winter sports starting
as far as clubs they are, they're happening now.
They're happening virtually.
As far as other activities like the Spring Musical and things like that,
we would have
look at that as that gets closer when they get to tryouts and auditions.
But I think you could
we should be thinking that whatever decisions
we make here for athletics, we would also be making for
any any activities
like musical tryouts, things like that.
Well, that apply to what the student reps had done about December
7th for keeping a band concert.
They, I think, are already planning that virtually.
Mrs. Drew, but they would have to record that.
So, you know. If
okay, I know the rep said
if they were able to get back to school, they were hoping to be able to do that.
Well, to to record it there.
My understanding is they're planning to live stream that just the play did,
but put it together
while they're in the hybrid environment.
But they would do that virtually if they if we remain virtual
just like they did in the spring.
But yeah. Mrs.
Mamet, does that answer your question that it does go broader than than
just winter sports?
But we're addressing winter sports right now.
Yeah, I thank you because I just feel like we're good.
And, you know, we all often talk about athletics,
athletics, athletics, but there's like a whole other
big portion, big population of kids that it affects as well.
So that's all.
Thank you.
Yeah.
And the other board members like to comment on athletics.
I just want to ask if if we
do proceed with allowing them to practice.
Does that include them coming inside the building
or would they just be meeting on the fields?
If we were in an all virtual model.
Now, that would that would be coming in to the to the buildings.
Basketball, using the gym, wrestling using the weight room,
and then obviously swimming, going to the aquatic center to to practice.
Okay.
I agree with the board members that I would be supportive
of doing that for the tryouts for this time period up to the 14th.
And then just looking at the situation at that time,
I think not allowing them to do that just closes too many doors for them
and I'm sure that Scott has lots of masks just in case
something would happen to one of the kids masks during practice.
He just confirmed that gym.
Yes, we have a good supply of
adult and child.
We wouldn't need children, but adult masks, disposables that are available.
Thank you.
This is Terry Singer.
I support keeping the options open
as long as we can.
However, I will say now that
well, two things.
I guess as long as we're consistent across the board
with all the other health and safety plans that we have in place,
then I
completely support, you know, keeping the option open for winter
sports as as long as possible, also for activities.
As Maria said.
For me,
if we go all virtual, that's a whole different conversation.
And from what you're saying, Joe, it sounds like we would have
to revisit that and discuss again what we're going to do, correct?
Well, on December 14th,
we'll have to to make an official board action
as to whether what we would do if we went fully virtual.
Would athletics continue or not in competition.
But even if we stay virtual between now and then,
we're going to proceed as we're talking about right now.
But then on December 14th would have to decide what we're going to do next.
And that's really about the winter sports season as far as competition.
Okay. Thank you. Yes.
I did
kind of want to summarize something and make something very clear
that it sounds like the majority of the board is okay
with your decision to allow practices and tryouts
to start Tuesday, December 1st, even if we are virtual through that time.
But I don't want to give these athletes false hope.
You know, we are in I think Pennsylvania reported
11% positivity rate today and and cases are skyrocketing.
And I think for each of us right now, we could probably name
quite a few people who we know who have COVID or have had COVID.
So it's just getting closer and closer.
I personally don't think
it's going to be better on December 14th, you know, only three weeks
away from now, two weeks or three, four weeks, three weeks.
So there's a good
chance that we would be allowing our teams to practice
and keep up their skill level and keep up your fitness level in
in a safe environment where you're wearing a mask, you're fine.
You know, you can eat baskets or keep up your scale.
But there's also a good chance
that they're not going to be able to have competition
because that's a whole other level of putting kids on a bus and taking them
to another zip code and and mixing kids from another zip code together and,
you know, these these these games are all over the place.
You know, they could be, you know, 45 minutes from here.
And so
I guess, I would hope that our athletes would maybe
at least appreciate the opportunity to keep up their skill level
and their fitness level, understanding that there may not be a season.
And that's going to be a hard choice.
But and that's obviously going to be a board choice December 14th.
But it could be a very real choice that comes along to us.
Yeah, I think that's. Question.
I will I will share that with the with Mr.
Governor so he can share with the coaches as well.
But I think they'll be just appreciative that they can start
practicing and tryouts to
to to see where it goes.
No, no.
This is Donald Cronan.
I have a question because on the on the what they put out was the modified
competition starting later competitions, practices starting later
than usual competition starting later, capping competitions at 18.
What I did not see, which they did clearly delineate in the fall,
was that we only state in league
no lot non-league games, so all of our games were pretty close.
I didn't see any any restriction on that.
Was that just missed or is that still going to be considered?
Don, I don't know if that was stated.
All they stated was that division contests would not begin before January 4th,
but they did not say anything about it in or out of conference.
But that the
fall sports did not stay within the Mid-penn League.
They played outside and went to districts and went well, only only for we.
We only went this fall sports only went out of league
for postseason play.
Now football actually did
go out as well They did some they weren't league competitions
or league games, but they did play out of conference
games.
So anybody else
want to comment on athletics?
I just thank everybody for the input tonight.
Really appreciate it.
Okay.
We'll move on now to the consent agenda.
The consent agenda contains routinely adopted items
and items that normally do not require public deliberation.
A board member may pull items which can then be discussed and voted on separately.
May I have a motion to approve the consent agenda items as listed?
So Lindsay to look at Marami.
Is there any discussion?
I had just one question with the request for use of school facilities on there.
I recognize that it's not for the request.
Doesn't start until March 2nd.
I just want to make sure that that stays on our radar because
should we get three or four months from now and, you know, things are still,
God forbid, in the situation we're in now that that we reverse that.
Right? Absolutely.
Thank you. Mm hmm. Okay.
Any other discussion?
Just wanted to thank the administration
and the teachers for all of the extra work
that's going to go into the adoption of the equity policy
and realizing
how just changing your perspective through an equity
lens will really help improve the lives of our kids
and making them feel included and belong and having a sense of belonging.
So I just want to express my gratitude and appreciation for for taking this on.
This is just an ongoing
cyclical thing that's going to be happening, that's going to really
help help the students, all the students in our district.
So I just want to thank you
and the other discussion.
Okay.
All those in favor say I.
I know that the content agenda faces
new business clinical experience agreement.
Mr. McFarland.
Thank you, Madam President.
The administration recommends the board
approve the Clinical Experience agreement with Derry Township School District
and Millersville University effective November 23rd of 2020.
May I have a motion to approve the Clinical experience agreement
so moved on Acronym
Second Maria me
Any discussion?
All those in favor say I, I, I was opposed.
Say no.
Okay.
It passes
Affirmation of 2020 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees.
May I have a motion to affirm the 2020 inductees for the
of Athletic Hall of Fame?
So move Terry Singer.
Get Maria Miami any discussion.
Hey, all those in favor say I am opposed.
Say now.
Okay. The
Athletic Hall of Fame inductees are approved
approval of the contract agreement with Keystone Athletic Center.
Mr. McFarland.
Thank you.
The administration recommends the board approve the contract agreement
with the Derry Township School District and Keystone Aquatic Center
effective November 24th, 2020.
May I have a motion to approve the Keystone Aquatic Center
Agreement?
So I'm just gonna CRONAN
a second.
Any discussion?
I'm just to clarify, Cathy, this is not a binding agreement
that if we decide, of course, to cancel the sports,
that we would not be in any obligation for this contract.
Now I'll speak to that.
This is, however, stick in the agreement.
It does say that in the event that the season starts later is cut short,
that we are billed on a weekly usage basis.
Right.
So thank you for just clarifying that and making that known to the public.
Mm hmm.
Right.
All those in favor say I, i, I all opposed.
Say no
passes approval of the Casper model.
Mr. McFarland.
Thank you.
The administration recommends
the approval of the Hershey Education Support Professionals Associa ation.
Memorandum of Understanding for Virtual learning Days,
Flexible instructional days, and COVID reading.
COVID 19 Related closures.
May I have a motion to approve the Hester memo?
You can move on. Did you like it?
Maria Miami Is there any discussion?
Kate?
All those in favor say I, I, I suppose they know
my years approve.
May I have a motion to approve the personnel resignations
so moved Maria Mimi
that Donna Cronan
Kate, any discussion?
All those in favor say I.
I, I.
I was opposed.
Say now
the resignations are accepted personnel.
General. Mr. McFarland.
Thank you.
The administration recommends
the approval of listed personnel and recognition of any listed transfers.
Uh. May I have a motion to
approve the listed personnel and recognition of listed transfers?
Emma Lindsay, Drew, Zach and Donna Cronan.
Any discussion?
Madam President, I would just like to acknowledge
that the hardship that comes with what is on here
and the recommendation of furloughing employees and food service.
I want to first see thank you to the food service workers
that this is not something that the board has come
to or administration has come to lightly
and that this is not to be taken in any way as a lack of appreciation
for what they have done in the role, the very critical role
they play in this school district and their impact on our students.
This year has brought unbelievable challenges
and not just from delivering curriculum and instruction
and getting kids in school, but also budget ones.
And as board, we're facing conversations and decisions that many of us
never anticipated that we would end up
having to vote to furlough employees is not something
that I take lightly or that does not stay with me.
And I wanted to make sure that it was on the record that we appreciate
each and every single one of them, and that our hope is that
things can turn around and then they can be brought back,
but that they know how appreciated and valued they are, which may be very
what I'm at a loss for words
at the moment because of the gravity of the situation.
But it could be very rich to say this, but it is not something that is lost on me
and that I have very much wrestled with this decision.
But we are just in
an incredibly difficult position and I thank them for everything.
Any other discussion,
standard of voice vote, all those in favor
say I am opposed, say no.
Okay. The personnel is approved.
Delegate reports.
The CAIB report is attached.
Mrs. Steiner, do you have anything to add?
Yes, Madam President.
Thank you.
I just wanted to add that the IAU added a little advocacy
portion to the website for early intervention funding
that was running about to run out at the end of the month and it worked.
So I just wanted to thank any of our parents
if they might have taken the initiative to contact any legislators to make sure
that emergency funding that got passed
and that that will now be funded.
But there's still a lot of work to do with the state legislators.
So this not over yet, but but that piece is now funded for now.
Okay, great.
Thank you.
The Dauphin County Tax Collection report is attached.
Dr. Charles, do you have anything to add?
No, just to encourage the board members to read it.
It's a short read and worthwhile.
Okay.
Thank you.
The SBA report is attached.
Anything to add?
No. I'll did a word with Dr. Small said.
It's a very short read, but some some insightful things
from the from the PSC
board members.
Anyone have a report?
Madam President, quickly, Mr. John Abell.
I did want to kind of pick up on something from the student report
that I did get an opportunity to observe or watch the
HHS production of A Christmas Carol that was livestreamed over the weekend.
And I'm happy to say that they have maintained the proud tradition of programs
throughout me that you would see on Broadway.
So if you want to get the holiday spirit, check out the last performance.
It was just it was wonderful. Okay, great. Thank you.
Any other board member reports?
Madam President, this is Tricia Steiner.
I just wanted to recognize that
November is national Native American Heritage Month.
And so, as we are all about to celebrate the tradition of Thanksgiving,
I just wanted to recognize that we all live, work
learn and play on the native lands of the Susquehanna
indigenous peoples, and to recognize that there's a lot of
history of colonization that we all still need to learn a lot about.
And if anybody is interested in learning about the lands and the connection
to the native people, you can go to Native Dash Land Dot S.A.
for an interactive map
and also in the spirit of Thanksgiving
and celebrating gratitude and community, I just wanted
to express my appreciation and gratitude for Mr.
Macfarlane, a superintendent and all of the administrators
and all the teachers and staff on every level from the district.
This has just been such
a crazy year.
Nobody could have ever predicted the challenges that we are all facing,
and that's all being placed on superintendents shoulders.
And so it's it's not without notice and recognition.
All the work that that you're having to do that's extra.
And I just wanted to quote something from Dr.
Sayer that she mentioned at the IAU meeting, from a superintendent meeting
that maybe Mr.
Macron will recognize.
And it was a sentiment that
everyone is going as fast
as we can, but as slow as we must.
And I thought that was just a good reminder for us all to recognize
that everyone's doing the best
that we can to try to look out for the best interest of the students
and to just show some appreciation and gratitude for for for us all
and the community that we share and leaning on each other
to make sure that we are all doing the best that we can to social distance,
to wear our masks so that we can
mitigate this thing to the best of our ability
so that we can get back in the school buildings and do what's best for our kids.
Any other president?
Sorry.
I would also like to extend the gratitude.
I agree with Tricia and also to extended a thank you big thank you to the parents,
the students.
I mean, this has been a really hard, challenging time.
I know seniors, it's not the typical senior year and not what
any of us hoped for by any means.
But you guys have been just wonderful at every student and just being flexible
and understanding and the parents, all the sacrifices you've had to make
with just changes in your schedules and trying, you know, some of you to work,
plus help your students, your kids with online learning or hybrid model.
So just a big thank you to the community as well
just for your understanding as we all try and work through this.
Thank you. Thank you. Any other board members?
Yeah.
This is Carrie Singer, but I have my calendar right now.
This is the last full board meeting before our reorg
in early first meeting in December.
And I heard a rumor that
you may not be standing for election again.
Mrs. Secker So I just wanted to say an immense thank you
for for your leadership and your hard work over the past three years.
It's been just an absolute
pleasure and a great experience to
get to work with you in the capacity that you've served in
for the last three years.
Thank you very, very much.
Thank you, Mr. Singer.
I appreciate your putting up with us.
Cathy said.
That.
You're have some
three years this flew by and
there's never a dull moment. Okay.
Any other board members?
Okay.
We will have a time at a date to sing our praises and tell you
how much we how much we appreciated the job you did.
I don't want to take up time now, but I think we'll have time to do that.
All right.
Just to know, Cathy, there's still time to change your mind.
Yeah.
I appreciate that. The.
The effort that you put into that, but I'm good.
Thank you.
I said it was just a rumor.
That's all I said.
Yeah.
Any other board members,
Mr. McFarland?
Do you have a superintendent report?
Thank you, Madam President. Yes, I do. First of all, thank you, Mrs.
Steiner, for your kind words.
It truly is a team effort,
and I do want to thank the board.
I've said
to many people I'm very fortunate to to work with the board.
I do to be able to have discussions like we had tonight
and have those openly and
be able to dialog with one another and get input
so that we and I can make the best decisions
possible is not overlooked.
And that's not the case everywhere.
So I'm very, very thankful for the time and effort.
No one understands the amount of time that is put into a often
thankless role that you have I know you get paid lots of money, but
I really do appreciate it. And Mr.
Sicker, I can't thank you enough.
The past three years of working with you as board
president have been just amazing.
Your your leadership,
your resolve, your ability to look at things objectively
and to hear everyone's voice and then make
decisions is just second to none.
And you will be greatly missed.
And I have truly, truly appreciated and enjoyed
the time that we've worked together as superintendent, board president.
So thank you.
I also wanted to echo I did have an opportunity
to be a part of the Christmas Carol, the live stream.
It was amazing.
The what you don't realize is these kids had to learn different accents.
They played multiple characters and had to
shift accents from one character to another.
The filming was professional.
The music was great.
It actually included a piece that was done by our choir and orchestra together.
Yes. If you haven't seen it yet, please take time on December 18th
to view it and get your your ticket now.
It was fantastic.
And I'll just put in a reminder again to two families.
Please continue to let us know of your students health.
If there are, they are having signs and symptoms of COVID.
If they've tested positive, We want to make sure that we do make
the best decisions moving forward for our entire student body.
And again reminder, if you are on campus, inside or outside
with the new mandate, you must have a mask on properly worn at all at all times. So
that is very important.
I just hope everybody has a wonderful Thanksgiving. And.
Thank you for your kind words.
The feeling is mutual.
The Board Presidents Report.
I would like to acknowledge also how hard this year has been on all of you,
our students, our staff, our teachers, our administrators, and our parents.
We are now eight months into a pandemic.
And as we enter the colder months, please know that the leadership
team at this district is working hard to make good decisions
every step of the way in uncharted territory.
There was an email that came out today to Mr.
McFarland and he forwarded it to me, and it's from
the secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Dr.
Rachel Levine, and the acting Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department
of Education.
And no.
ORTEGA And the final paragraph really struck me
because it really summarized what everyone's
been going through at the district, especially the leadership team.
It said, You have been asked to protect your school community
from an unpredictable virus that science is still trying to understand
and mitigate the disproportionate impact these circumstances may have created.
Build consensus to balance competing demands
and, ensure students have access to a quality education.
Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do
so as my
last meeting as Board President, I just want to thank everyone
for everything you've done and I really appreciate your support,
but I'm not going anywhere.
I still have three more years on my
for my term, so I felt like everyone should act like
I'm not going to be around anymore, but I'm still here.
All right.
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 are want to speak are asked to raise your virtual hands.
Are there any citizens or taxpayers in attendance
who would like to speak at this time?
Okay, I don't see any.
Is there anything else for the good of the order?
Madam President, I know you're going to tell
talk about the reorganization meeting, but we just remind people
that that is a 6:00 meeting
on December 7th.
Okay.
Thank you.
The next board of directors meeting will be held.
I'm just about to say it's December seven for board reorganization.
The next public board of directors meeting will be held December 14,
2020, starting at 7:00.
It says in the District Board of Directors room.
But we'll see, right if it's on Zoom or not.
May I have a motion to adjourn this meeting?
So move Miami, Lindsey Drew.
Okay.
All those in favor say I, I and all those opposed.
Say now.
Okay, we are adjourned at 813.
Haven't decide, everybody.
Thank you, Kathy. I'm happy.