| NPSD Board Members |
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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 |
NPSD Board of School Directors Meeting
To view agenda attachments and minutes from past meetings, please click here.
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New Snow Make-Up Dates Approved for 2017-2018 School Year
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At the action meeting on June 15, the NPSD Board of School Directors approved the changes to snow make-up days for the 2017-2018 school year. Please
click here to view the revised calendar.
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Contract Negotiations Update
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The Board of School Directors' Negotiations Committee, along with NPSD administration, continue to meet with the North Penn Education Association and the North Penn Educational Support Professionals Association in reaching new contract agreements. The contracts with both associations expire this summer. We are confident that we can work together to develop contracts that are fair to this community and our valued employees.
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| NPSD Enrollment Projections |
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The NPSD recently conducted an enrollment projection study. Please
click here to view the results and report summary.
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Upcoming Meetings
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CANCELLED
June 26, 6:00 pm, ESC
Support Services Committee Meeting
CANCELLED
June 26, 6:30 pm, ESC
Finance Committee Meeting
CANCELLED
July 10, 6:30 p.m., ESC
ECP Committee Meeting
CANCELLED
July 11, 7:30 p.m., ESC
Work Session Meeting
July 20, 7:30 pm, ESC
Action Meeting
July 31, 6:00 p.m., ESC
Support Services Committee Meeting
July 31, 6:30 p.m., ESC
Finance Committee Meeting
To access the list of
meeting dates scheduled for 2017, please click here.
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Dear Community,
It is with great honor and pleasure that I congratulate our students, families and staff on the completion of another wonderful year in the North Penn School District (NPSD).
On behalf of the NPSD Board of School Directors, I'd like to commend the 1,086 seniors from North Penn High School (NPHS) who turned their tassels at the 62nd Commencement Ceremony on June 8 at Crawford Stadium. This is the largest graduating class from North Penn in almost a decade since 2008. We wish to congratulate to these hardworking students for all that they have achieved during their time in the district and thank them for their contributions to our schools and our community. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and look forward to welcoming you back as proud alumni in years to come.
As I mentioned last month, we also said goodbye to more than 70 employees at the close of the 2016-2017 school year as they moved on to the next chapter of their lives, retirement. Among these retirees was the district's longest tenured employee, Mr. Jim Allebach, a bus driver who began his journey with North Penn on the first day of the district's inception in 1966. After 51 years in the NPSD, Jim has decided to step down from his role as North Penn students' favorite bus driver. As Jim returned to the bus garage after his final run on his last day, more than 100 colleagues and friends were gathered with their bus lights flashing and teary-eyed smiles to wish Jim the best of luck in his retirement. You can see this memorable moment by
clicking here. Thank you Jim for all that you've done, we will surely miss you here at North Penn!
On June 8, whether students tossed their caps in celebration of commencement or wrapped up their first year with us here in kindergarten, I am equally proud the students in our district for dreaming big and achieving greatness once again this year. I'd also like to thank our staff for their tremendous efforts and our families for their continued partnership in maintaining the excellence that is the North Penn School District.
On behalf of the NPSD Board of School Directors, have a great summer.
Sincerely,
Vincent Sherpinsky
President
NPSD Board of School Directors
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The NPSD Board of School Directors approved a final budget of $252,401,886 for the 2017-2018 school year at an action meeting Thursday, June 15. The budget includes a tax increase of 1.99 percent for Montgomery County and Bucks County residents. This equates to an $71 increase for the average homestead in Montgomery County and a $58 increase for the average homestead in Bucks County.
The 1.99 percent tax increase North Penn residents will see next year is needed to help fund expenses, many of which are outside of the school district's control. In fact, next year's budget is a 2.82 percent increase from the current year's budget due to increased salaries, technology costs, charter schools, rising healthcare costs, debt service, and increasing Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) obligations.
NPSD is particularly proud of the Digital Age Teaching and Learning Initiative that the 2017-2018 budget continues to fund at $1.4 million. The program increases access to technology for students in 6th, 11th and 12th grade who will have their own Chromebook for use at home and in school. This is in addition to the students who will be in 7th through 10th grade in the 2017-2018 school year who received a Chromebook this year. The one-to-one initiative includes a commitment from parents to insure the devices while at home for a nominal fee.
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At the recent work session and action meetings, the NPSD Board of School Directors recognized students in the North Penn School District for their excellent achievements by awarding them proclamations of excellence.
At the work session meeting on June 6, more than 200 students in the music program in NPSD were recognized.
The Pennbrook Jazz Ensemble, directed by Pete Neu, was honored for the distinguished invitation to perform at the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association All-State Conference and the National Association for Music Education Eastern Division Conference.
The NPHS Women's Choir, directed by Matt Klenk, was honored for their accomplishments at the Pennsylvania American Choral Directors Association Conference and the National Association for Music Education All-Eastern Division Conference
The NPHS Chamber Singers, directed by Matt Klenk, was honored for their accomplishments at the Pennsylvania American Choral Directors Association Conference and the National Association for Music Education All-Eastern Division Conference
The Pennfield/Pennbrook P2 Select String Ensemble, directed by David Pimentel-Cedre, was honored for the distinguished invitation to perform at the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association All-State Conference and the National Association for Music Education Eastern Division Conference
The Penndale Jazz Ensemble, directed by Bob Kennedy, was honored for the distinguished invitation to perform at the National Association for Music Education Eastern Division Conference
The Gwynedd Square/Inglewood Chamber Strings, directed by Krista Feliciani, was honored for the distinguished invitation to perform at the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association All-State Conference
Individual student members of the North Penn High School chorus, band and orchestra were also recognized for being selected to represent NPSD in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association's District, Region and All-State groups.
At the action meeting on June 15, five student teams from the NPSD Chapter Odyssey of the Mind were recognized for their achievements during the 2016-2017 season. These teams included students from North Wales, Montgomery, Gwynedd Square, Penndale and Pennbrook.
Also recognized at the action meeting were NPHS junior advanced placement English students of Mrs. Janet Kratz and Mrs. Ellen McKee for their accomplishments in the 2017 National Council of the Teachers of English Writing Competition and the 2017 Penn State Writing Contest for High School Writers.
Congratulations to these wonderful students for their impressive accomplishments!
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The NPSD Educational Foundation met on June 8 and discussed the following items.
Although the Foundation will not meet again until August, they will be very busy in the meantime planning the annual Golf Classic that will be held Monday, August 14 at PineCrest Golf Course. This year's theme is New Orleans and will feature Southern-style food, a jazz quartet and of course golf-themed beads. The Foundation is currently soliciting both golfers and sponsors for this event. With a low price of $125 per golfer and sponsorships ranging from $100 to $3,000, there is an opportunity for everyone to support this fun event and amazing organization. For more information, please click here.
A new event the Foundation is working on for the fall is the first ever North Penn Trivia Night. An event co-sponsored by the Foundation and the NPHS Alumni Association, the night will be held at Round Guys Brewery in Lansdale on Thursday, October 26. More details will be coming soon.
Foundation Trustees said farewell to their student liaisons Taylor Young and Erin Huebner who graduated from NPHS on June 8. The Foundation wishes Taylor, who will be attending Penn State, and Erin, who will be attending High Point University, all the best in their future endeavors. The addition of students to the board of trustees four years ago has helped the Foundation grow and better understand the needs of NPSD students. The Foundation is thankful, too, that Taylor and Erin helped in finding two new student liaisons who will join the Foundation this summer. The Foundation welcomes NPHS juniors Billy Wermuth and Melina Carco to the board of trustees.
For more information about the NPSD Educational Foundation, please contact Executive Director, Christine Liberaski at [email protected].
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The ECP Committee held a meeting on June 12 at the ESC. Several topics were presented at the meeting.
On the agenda for the meeting were three action items. Board Policy #5140 addresses Student Wellness. In accordance with revisions to the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act that take effect on July 1, 2017, the district's policy needed to be amended. Changes to the policy include the requirement for an assessment of the policy and its implementation once every three years as well as revising the policy as needed so that it accurately reflects the law, community needs and assessment results. Results of the triennial assessment must be made public and be easily accessed.
The committee also considered the options for making up any missed school days due to weather. Among the options were using Act 80 days; having school on in-service days and then rescheduling those in-service days; or have school on election day in May and add days to the end of the school year. After considerable discussion, the committee recommended a variation of the third option which would result in adding make-up days at the end of the school year.
Another topic presented to the committee was the Kindergarten Readiness Camps scheduled for this summer. The camps will be held at Knapp, Kulp, Hatfield and Oak Park elementary schools. Students who did not attend pre-school and who, when assessed at Kindergarten registration, were deemed to lack the prerequisite readiness skills are invited to attend the program.
The committee also received an update regarding the efforts to be culturally proficient in the district. This initiative began approximately 10 years ago and focused on professional development, closing the achievement gap, hiring a diverse staff and creating a culture of equity and access. Efforts to achieve these goals this school year included Cultural Cadre and Executive Committee meetings, presentations to staff by Dr. John Hodge and Dr. Julie Causton, conducting student and parent forums, reviewing the Child Study Team process and continuous efforts to hire a diverse staff. Included in the plans for next year are additional student forums, improving communication with parents and the community and ongoing professional development.
The ECP Committee meeting scheduled for July has been cancelled. The next ECP Committee will be held on Monday, August 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the ESC.
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The Finance Committee held a meeting on May 30 at the ESC. The monthly financial reports were reviewed with additional discussion on the following items:
2017-18 Enterprise Fund Budgets
Christine Liberaski, NPSD Director of School and Community Engagement, and Rhonda Diliberto presented the Community Education and Aquatics budgets, respectively. Each discussed program highlights and plans for the upcoming year.
2017-18 SEPaST Participation Agreement
Steve Skrocki, NPSD Director of Business Administration, reviewed the proposed administration fee for the upcoming year, which has been reduced by $1 per employee per month. This reduction will result in $19,000 annual savings.
Homestead Exemption
Skrocki outlined the homestead exemption program, which will result in a $209 tax reduction to eligible homeowners.
Real Estate Tax Installment Payment Plan
Skrocki reviewed the tax installment payment plan which must be offered to all property owners. The proposal is for three equal payments to be made by the end of the base tax period.
PSERS Committed Fund Balance
Skrocki reviewed the requirement regarding the eight percent limit of unassigned fund balance. The committment of an additional $2.5 million for the PSERS rate stabilization fund will ensure that the projected ending unassigned fund balance is under eight percent.
Austill's Contract
Skrocki reviewed the proposed three-year contract with Austill's for occupational and physical therapy.
2017-2018 Final Budget
Skrocki reviewed the changes to the budget since the last meeting. The deficit was further reduced primarily due to assessment increases. The presented tax increase remains at 1.99 percent.
Property Tax Rebate Program
Skrocki presented information about a tax rebate program that was successfully implemented in another district. The program piggybacks off of the PA Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program. The committee suggested the information be presented at a future NPSD Board of Directors Work Session Meeting.
House Bill 1213 Update
Skrocki updated the committee on the latest developments on House Bill 1213 which would eliminate the school district's ability to appeal commercial properties which are under-assessed, except under a narrow set of circumstances.
Student Participation on Finance Committee
Skrocki announced that a North Penn High School senior will be participating as a student representative on the Finance Committee starting with the new school year. The student will be a non-voting member.
The Finance Committee meeting scheduled for June has been cancelled. The next committee meeting will be held on July 31 at 6:00 p.m. at the ESC.
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The Safe Schools Committee held a meeting on June 12 at the ESC. Several topics were presented at the meeting.
The committee reviewed the status of the existing security cameras at Gwyn-Nor, Knapp, Oak Park and York Avenue. The committee reviewed proposals for the needed upgrades to these systems.
Chris Doerr, NPSD Coordinator of Emergency Management and Safe Schools, and Scott Kennedy, NPSD Director of Facilities and Operations, presented the Safe Schools timeline for developing our Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) teams, drills and new response standards. Doerr and Kennedy have met with the elementary and secondary principals to review the timeline and next steps. Building critical information will be gathered over the summer. Building CERT teams will be formed by September. Recommended drill schedules, CERT team meetings and building representative meetings will be scheduled throughout the school year.
Chris Doerr reviewed the May and June security activities which included the following:
- Planning and security details for end of year events including the senior prom at Drexelbrook, the IRONKnights Elementary Triathlon at North Penn High School and most recently the North Penn High School Commencement Ceremony.
- Security staff completed CPR-AED-First Aid training on May 16. The next training session will be scheduled for August 25.
- The Safe Schools Committee is investigating software solutions to track security department activity and streamline various reporting and record keeping needs.
The committee reviewed a summary of security initiatives that have been accomplished over the last five years.
The next Safe Schools Committee meeting will be held on September 11 at 6:00 p.m. at the ESC.
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The Support Services Committee held a meeting on May 30 at the ESC. Several topics were presented at the meeting.
The committee discussed replacing the security cameras at Gwyn-Nor, Knapp, Oak Park and York Avenue. Proposals from the district's security integrator were reviewed by the committee.
Scott Kennedy, NPSD Director of Faciltiies and Operations, reported that NPSD currently participates in the PJM Emergency Demand Response Program. This program provides revenue to the NPSD by curtailing electric usage at peak demand times during the summer. The committee reviewed a proposal to also participate in the PECO Act 129 demand response program which would generate additional revenue for the district. The committee agreed to move forward with the application.
The committee reviewed the facility use report and the vandalism report.
The Support Services Committee meeting scheduled for June has been cancelled. The next meeting will be held on July 31 at 6:00 p.m. at the ESC.
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