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President
Vincent Sherpinsky
Vice President
Josie Charnock
Members
Edward Diasio
Timothy Kerr
Suzan Leonard
Patrick McGee Jr.
Frank O'Donnell
Theresa Prykowski
John T. Schilling
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| Meetings in Review |
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NPSD Board of School Directors Meeting
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Upcoming Meetings |
March 27, 6:00 pm, ESC
Support Services Committee Meeting
March 27, 6:30 pm, ESC
Finance Committee Meeting
April 3, 6:30 pm, ESC
ECP Committee Meeting
April 4, 7:30 pm, ESC
Board Work Session Meeting
April 20, 7:30 pm, ESC
Board Action Meeting
To access the list of
meeting dates scheduled for 2017, please click here.
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Important Information for Make-Up Snow Days
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Families are reminded that the snow day taken on Thursday, February 9 will be made up on Wednesday, April 12 and the snow day taken on Tuesday, March 14 will be made up on Thursday, April 13. This is in accordance with the revised 2016-2017 school calendar that was approved on February 16 and communicated to families on February 17. Any additional snow days will be made up in this order: June 9, May 16 and April 17. Click here to view the complete calendar.
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Dear Community,
Not everything goes as planned. This fact rang very true over the past few weeks as the school board needed to make some changes to plans it had in place for this upcoming summer. We scheduled to begin in June renovations at three of our elementary schools to install air conditioning throughout the buildings. When this work is completed at Gwyn-Nor, Knapp and Oak Park elementary schools it means all 13 NPSD elementary schools will be air conditioned.
Unfortunately, even though construction plans were approved and the funding was in place, plans are delayed one year because we did not receive any bids for the electrical work on this project. Unlike you or me, school districts cannot simply call around to service providers and hire a vendor to do the work. School code defines certain timelines, bid requirements, prevailing wages, bonding, etc. that must be followed for such projects. So, installing air conditioning throughout these three buildings will need to wait until the summer of 2018.
In the meantime, NPSD is committed to making these schools as comfortable as possible on the hottest days that can occur in June, August and even September. At last week's meeting, the board approved going out for bid on a project to air condition the gymnasium at Oak Park Elementary School. This smaller project is more manageable for contractors and when completed this summer will mean Oak Park will join Gwyn-Nor and Knapp in having a large space in their building that is air conditioned. On hot days, these areas of the building can be used throughout the warmest parts of the day.
In addition NPSD administration is working with staff and families to develop other remedies in our non-air-conditioned schools, including the three middle schools, to better move air throughout these buildings and keep our students comfortable and focused on learning.
I want to thank the staff members, students and families for their patience as we work through this project.
Sincerely,
Vincent Sherpinsky
President
NPSD Board of School Directors
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At the recent action meeting on March 16, the NPSD Board of School Directors recognized students at North Penn High School for their excellent achievements by awarding them proclamations of excellence.
Five North Montco Technical Career Students were honored for their outstanding performance at the PA Farm Show Agricultural Education Horticulture Competition. Congratulations!
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The NPSD Educational Foundation met on March 1 and discussed the following items.
The third annual Foundation February was once again a great event. With the help of our schools and also the ESC this year, just under $5,000 was raised. These buildings held fun events such as spirit days and penny drives to raise both awareness and money for the Foundation. The Foundation thanks all of the buildings, staff members, students and parents who participated in Foundation February.
Donations are coming in for this year's annual online auction being held from April 24 to May 1. Last year the Foundation brought in close to $8,000 through this event and their goal is to hit $10,000 this year. The Foundation asks North Penn community businesses to consider donating their goods or services to this worthy cause.
As you now, what the Foundation raises goes toward funding innovative projects and programs in our schools. The Foundation is currently soliciting proposals from North Penn staff for the 2017-2018 school year and encourages everyone to think about submitting an idea.
An exciting, upcoming program that the Foundation is supporting is a visit from the US Air Force Band. Its string division will be spending time with our students at all levels during the week of March 27, culminating with a free concert featuring Air Force Strings and students from Penndale Middle School held on Saturday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m. at the Arcola Intermediate School in Eagleville. The program is co-sponsored by Methacton School District and the concert will also feature some of their students.
Auditors hired by the Foundation recently finished their review of last year's financials which provided a level of assurance that the Foundation is fiscally sound. The Foundation is especially proud of their findings that more than 99% of funds are spent on programs that directly benefit students. Per their advice, Executive Director Christine Liberaski is working with other trustees to draft and adopt an investment policy and a Solicitation and Acceptance of Gifts policy.
Finally, at their meeting in March, the Foundation formally approved NPSD Board of Directors member Suzan Leonard and Morgan Cooper, a Relationship Manager at Univest, as members of the North Penn Educational Foundation's Board of Trustees.
For more information about the NPSD Educational Foundation, please contact Executive Director, Christine Liberaski at liberacd@npenn.org.
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The ECP Committee held a meeting on March 13 at the ESC. Several topics were presented at the meeting.
At the meeting several textbook and supplemental resource adoptions were presented to the committee. These recommendations are the result of the curriculum review cycle. Subject areas for which these adoptions are recommended are Secondary Social Studies, Latin, German, Japanese, Secondary English, Secondary Science and Elementary Science. The texts and supplemental resources are currently available for public review at the ESC until the April 20 Board Action meeting.
During the meeting the committee was apprised of a transition in the use of the Title I grant. Currently a Targeted Assistance Model is followed. This model allows for extra academic support in literacy to qualifying students in kindergarten, first, second and third grade. Due to the increase in the number of low income families, the district is eligible to implement the School Wide Model in 2017-18. As a result, the qualifying schools will be able to use the Title I funds where each determines there is a need for additional academic support for any student across all grade levels. The Title I schools are Hatfield, Inglewood, Knapp, Kulp, Oak Park and York.
The committee also reviewed two student travel items.
The next ECP Committee meeting will be held on Monday, April 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the ESC.
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The Finance Committee held a meeting on February 27 at the ESC. The monthly financial reports were reviewed with additional
discussion on the following items:
2017-2018 State Budget Update
Steve Skrocki, NPSD Director of Business Administration, reviewed Governor Wolf's proposed budget and potential subsidy changes impacting North Penn School District. Of particular note was a proposed $50 million statewide reduction in the transportation subsidy. New money for Basic Education Funding would continue to be distributed via the new funding formula.
Fraud Prevention
Carol Pitts, Assistant Director of Business Administration, delivered a presentation on fraud threats faced by the district and countermeasures that are being taken to address the threats.
Roofing Projects Bid Results
Skrocki reviewed the roofing projects bid results which came in under budget by $1.2 million. Funding for the projects is coming from the 2017 bond issue.
2017-2018 Second Look Health Care Rates
Skrocki presented the projected increase of 2.6 percent for medical and 17.4 percent for prescription drugs for the upcoming fiscal year.
2017-2018 First Draft Budget
At the special meeting, Skrocki presented the first draft of the 2017-2018 budget including assumptions, timelines, revenue and expenditure highlights and PSERS impact. Department administrators will be presenting their department budgets at the next two finance committee meetings.
The next Finance Committee meeting will be held on March 27 at 6:30 p.m. at the ESC. There will also be a Special Finance Committee meeting held on April 6 at 6:00 p.m. at the ESC.
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The Support Services Committee held a meeting on February 27 at the ESC. Several topics were presented at the meeting.
The HVAC bid results were discussed. The bids were $1,670,550 over budget and there were no electrical bids received. The committee recommended to reject the HVAC bids.
The roofing bid results were reviewed. The bids came in $1,210,123 under budget. The committee recommended moving forward on all five roofing projects.
The bids for plumbing repairs at Knapp Elementary School were reviewed. The low bid was $14,000 under budget. The committee recommended moving forward with this project.
The committee reviewed the facility use report and the vandalism report.
The next Support Services meeting will be held on March 27 at 6:00 p.m. at the ESC.
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The Safe Schools Committee held a meeting on March 13 at 6:00 p.m. at the ESC. Several topics were presented at the meeting.
Chris Doerr was recommended for the Coordinator of Emergency Planning and Safe Schools position as he brings a great deal of emergency planning knowledge and experience to this position.
The committee reviewed the North Penn All Hazards Plan which included demographic information, mitigation and prevention strategies, preparedness and response plans and recovery documentation. An action plan will be presented at the next Safe Schools Committee meeting detailing the building level CERT teams, training for those teams, annual drill schedules and resources available for our schools.
The next Safe Schools Committee meeting will be held on May 9 at 6:00 p.m. at the ESC.
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