The Bulletin Board Newsletter |
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A monthly e-newsletter highlighting the discussions, decisions and business of the North Penn School District Board of School Directors. |
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The North Penn School Board (NPSB) welcomes questions and feedback from the community. To that end, community members may email the entire board at _npschoolboard@npenn.org.
If you would like to contact a specific board member via email or phone, please visit our website to find contact information. |
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Board Members
Tina Stoll, President
Christian D. Fusco, Vice President
Elisha K. Gee, Ed.D.
Jonathan M. Kassa
Wanda Lewis-Campbell, Ed.D.
Timothy MacBain
Juliane Ramić
Al Roesch
Cathy Wesley
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Tina Stoll
Term Expiration: 2025
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Dear North Penn Community,
As I am sure you have heard by now, Dr. Dietrich has announced his retirement as Superintendent of North Penn SD, effective the end of June. Dr. Dietrich has been our Superintendent for 12 years, and while we wish him all the best in his retirement, he absolutely will be missed. As the Board of Directors endeavors to hire a new Superintendent, we know that there are big shoes to fill. To that end, we have hired a national search firm - Hazard, Young, Attea Associates – to assist us in this process. Our goal is to have a new Superintendent appointed by July.
It is our desire to be as transparent and collaborative with the search process as possible. HYA Associates will be developing a Leadership Profile Report by conducting focus groups with various stakeholders including administrators, North Penn Education Association (NPEA) leadership, North Penn Educational Support Personnel Association (NPESPA) leadership, Home & School representatives, Parents in Equity, Special Ed Alliance and most especially student group representatives. A survey to gather North Penn Community input is available to all stakeholders who would like to participate, beginning this week. Please use this link to complete the survey.
This Leadership Profile Report will allow HYA Associates to identify and recommend potential candidates to the NPSB of Directors to interview for the position. We look forward to working together with HYA Associates and our community, to find the next leader of NPSD.
In other news, PSSA test results were posted by the Pennsylvania Department of Education this past week. Unfortunately, as expected due to the pandemic conditions last school year, the test results dropped statewide. One reason scores dropped overall was the requirement that students had to be in school in person to take the test. A record number chose to opt out of testing last year.
The better news is that the numbers are relative and compared to the rest of the state and to our Montgomery County counterparts, NPSD more than held its own. However, addressing the learning loss and effects of the pandemic does need to be our focus moving forward.
The federal government has provided school districts with additional Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSR), funds to address learning loss, expand summer programs, expand before/ after school programs and student services, including mental health services. Teachers and administration are working to identify the students who would be eligible and benefit from participating in these programs.
This is the time of year for course enrollment for the following school year – our Education, Community & Instruction Committee received some exciting updates on the expansion of our Dual Enrollment and Internship programs for our High school students. NPHS has partnered with MCCC, Gwynedd Mercy and Adams State College to provide opportunities for 11th and 12th graders to earn college credits before they even graduate high school. They are also working to add the University of Pittsburgh and Temple University to the list of higher education partners. If your student is interested in finding out more about this program, please have them contact their guidance counselor for more information. Additionally, a NPHS Community Hosted Internship Program (CHIP) is a new program that is available to students grades 10-12, to provide students the chance to explore careers of interest during their time in high school . As of early March, we have over 2200 students enrolled in a dual enrollment course and 56 enrolled in the CHIP program! On behalf of the NPSB of Directors, I want to thank the staff and administration that have worked so hard over the past several years to put these incredible programs in place!
Some other highlights from our School Board Committee meetings this month are as follows:
The Safe Schools Committee presented the Synovia Bus Ridership initiative. Students will use their ID cards to swipe when they board the bus. This will allow the district to track ridership, and know where students have gotten on or off the bus.
Our Finance Committee is currently working on the budget for the 2022-2023 school year and making department level presentations.
Our Facilities and Operations Committee presented an update on the High School Master Plan.
To find out more information, our meetings are all available for viewing on the NPTV YouTube channel.
Spring is always a busy time at school – just this past weekend the NPHS hosted the Junior Prom and from all reports, it was a huge success! Our calendars are once again chock full with events – some of which we didn’t get to have last year because of the pandemic – so we are grateful to be able to resume these activities this year.
Speaking of spring events, a reminder that our April Action Meeting will be held in a virtual format, due to auditoriums being used for student activities.
Sincerely,
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Tina Stoll
President, NPSD Board of School Directors
Term Expiration: 2025
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School Board Meeting Information |
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Meetings of the whole (Finance Committee; Worksession; Action) will be held in person at the Educational Services Center (ESC) located at 401 E. Hancock Street Lansdale, PA 19446 unless otherwise noted. Those who wish to make public comment at these in-person meetings must be present in person to do so. For residents who would like to pre-register to speak during the audience of citizens, please email the school board secretary at skrocksb@npenn.org at least 24 hours before the meeting. These meetings will be televised live and added to the library for later viewing on North Penn Television's (NPTV) YouTube Channel.
Committee meetings (Safe Schools; Facilities and Operations; Policy; and Education, Curriculum and Instruction) will be held virtually in an online format using Zoom, televised live and added to the library for later viewing on NPTV's YouTube Channel. |
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How to Watch Meetings
A recording of this meeting will be available on the district website, the NPTV YouTube Channel, and will air on North Penn Television Comcast Cable Channel 28 and Verizon FIOS-TV Channel 29 for the next three business days at 12:30 pm and 7:30 pm.
How to View Meeting Agendas
Meeting agendas are published the week of the meeting and can be viewed online on BoardDocs. To view meeting agendas, visit BoardDocs and select the "Meetings" tab in the top right corner. From there, find and select the meeting, and then click "view agenda".
How to Participate in Virtual Meetings
Public comment will be available using Zoom. A link to make public comment will be available on our website prior to the start of the meeting.
When it is time for public comment, please use the “raise your hand” feature in the zoom webinar. We will take public comment in order that hands were raised. Please listen for your name when called upon for comment and unmute your microphone.
If you do not have access to zoom, please email your comments to _npschoolboard@npenn.org and it will be included in the board minutes. |
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Meetings in Review
Action
March 17, 7:00 pm
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Upcoming Meetings
Work Session
April 12, 7:00 pm, TBD
Action
April 21, 7:00 pm, Virtual
ECI Committee
April 7, 6:00 pm, Virtual
Facilities & Operations Committee
April 25, 7:00 pm, Virtual
Finance Committee
April 12, 6:00 pm
April 26, 6:00 pm (Special Meeting)
Policy Committee
April 12, 5:00 pm, Virtual
Safe Schools Committee
March 28, 5:45 pm, Virtual
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You Could Save Up to $585 through NPSD Property Tax and Rent Rebate Program |
Are you eligible? Do you know someone who is? Learn more and help us spread the word about this program! |
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Education/Curriculum/Instruction Committee |
The ECI Committee met on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in a virtual format. At this meeting, committee members continued to receive updates regarding the work in which building principals and their staff are engaging in the area of cultural proficiency and awareness in order to help all students and their families feel welcome and included. This month presentations were given by Dr. William Bowen - principal of Nash elementary school, Mr. Pete Nicholson - principal of North Penn High School, Mr. Kyle Hassler - principal of Penndale Middle School. We invite you to take the time to view their presentations which are posted with the March 1, 2022, ECI meeting in Board Docs. |
The next ECI Committee meeting will be held on April 7, 2022, at 6:00 pm in a virtual format. |
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Chair:
Dr. Elisha K. Gee
Members:
Christian Fusco, Tim MacBain
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Facilities and Operations Committee |
The Facilities and Operations Committee met on Monday, February 28, 2022, in a virtual format.
The Committee reviewed the following items to be moved to this evening’s action meeting for the Board’s consideration.
- Two change orders for the Knapp Elementary School project
- A contract with B&E Energy Group for replacing the tubes in the Natatorium pool heater
The Committee was presented and discussed informational items, including:
- An explanation and justification for the Natatorium pool heater work
- Knapp Elementary and Crawford Stadium project updates
- An update on the High School Master Plan process and recent activities
- An update on the Health Care Clinic
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The next Facilities and Operations meeting is scheduled for March 28, 2022, at 7:00 pm and will be held in a virtual format. |
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Chair:
Jonathan Kassa
Vice Chair:
Cathy Wesley
Members:
Juliane Ramić,
Tina Stoll
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At the March 8, 2022, Finance Committee meeting, which was a virtual meeting, the following items were reviewed:
The monthly financial reports were provided and budget transfers were reviewed with additional discussion on the following items:
1. Department Budget Presentations - The 2022-23 department budgets for Secondary Schools, Assessment,
School and Community Engagement, and District Communications were presented to the Committee.
2. Revenue Spotlight - This is a new feature of the Finance Committee where the administration presents a deep dive into a particular revenue item. At this meeting, Mr. Skrocki presented information about the realty transfer tax. All financial presentations are accessible via BoardDocs.
3. 2022-23 Final Health Care Rates - Mr. Skrocki reviewed the final medical and prescription rates for 2022-23 and the corresponding budget impact. The medical rates are increasing by 7.7% while the prescription rates are increasing by 0.9%, for a composite increase of 6.4%. The actual percentage increase will be even higher due to the one-month premium holiday the district took in the 2021-22 fiscal year. The final rates translate into a $3.2 million budgetary impact to the district for 2022-23 or a 16% increase.
4. State Performance Audit - Mr. Skrocki provided an update on the Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General performance audit that is being conducted on North Penn and 11 other school districts.
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The next Finance Committee meeting is scheduled for April 12, 2022 at 6:00 pm. |
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Chair:
Christian Fusco
Vice Chair:
Al Roesch
Members:
Committee of the Whole
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NPSD Educational Foundation |
The Foundation met last week on Wednesday, March 9th in a virtual format. First, Chris Frey coordinator of NPHS's Community Hosted Internship Program (CHIP) discussed this new position and program and how he will help students secure local internships and gain real-world job experience. The Foundation was excited to learn about this new endeavor, how we could help promote it and possibly support with funds at a later date.
New trustee, Curt Reichwein, also updated the board regarding a grant that he is looking into to help fund the spatial program at NPHS and the physical needs of that innovative course. More information will be provided next month.
The Foundation's upcoming online auction was also discussed. Being held May 4th through the 11th, we are looking for community businesses who will donate services and products to this popular fundraising event. We have already received more than 50 items.
Another North Penn Strong apparel sale will be held from April 8 to 29 with a delivery date in time for summer and graduation. In addition to NP Strong items we will also offer NPSD and alumni selections. As always. Look for an email about this popular fundraiser.
Our next meeting is on Aril 6, 2022, at 8 a.m.
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Board of Trustees Member:
Juliane Ramić
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The Policy Committee met on March 8, 2022 in a virtual format. At the meeting, the committee continued to work through policies in the 800 series which deals with various aspects of the operations of the district. Policies reviewed this month were:
Policy 810 - Transportation
Policy 810.1 - School Bus Drivers and School Commercial Vehicle Drivers
Policy 810.2 - Transportation Video Audio Recording
Policy 810.3 - School Vehicle Drivers
In addition, the committee discussed Policy 807 - Opening Exercises/Flag Displays and made a slight revision to it. Consequently, that policy is on tonight's agenda for another first reading.
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The next meeting of the Policy Committee will be on April 12, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. in a virtual format. |
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Chair:
Christian Fusco
Members:
Al Roesch,
Tina Stoll
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The Safe Schools Committee met on Monday evening, February 28th.
Mr. Nick Kraynak, Coordinator of Transportation, outlined the purpose of the student bus ridership project and described the implementation and training process. Advantages include the ability to capture actual bus ridership numbers, real-time roster retrieval in an emergency, and greater auditing of boarding and disembarking passengers for safety purposes. Grant funding from the 2018 PCCD Safe Schools grant will be used to offset approximately $94,000 of hardware costs for this project and the remaining annual cost of $14,724 will be funded through the transportation department budget. Contract approval for this project appears on tonight's agenda.
Dr. Kristen Landis and Mr. Tony Bickert from the North Penn Technology department presented an overview of their cybersecurity audit project. Project milestones were discussed as well as general information about findings and strategies moving forward. Detailed information about cybersecurity audit findings will be provided to the Board at a future executive session.
Mr. Doerr then provided a progress update regarding the school safety assessment project which is underway. The project was kicked off with Margolis Healey & Associates in January and weekly project meetings have been held virtually since that time. A detailed schedule of site visits and interviews has been developed for on-site work by the assessment team which will begin on March 7th. Relevant documents were been shared with the assessment team in advance of their visit. The project is currently on schedule for a May completion.
Finally, Dr. Bauer shared a quarterly discipline data update which offered a comparison of 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2021-22 school years. Trends include an increase in punitive outcomes overall this school year, however a notable decrease in disproportionality of outcomes can also be seen. Committee members requested that the administration report back with greater definition about some discipline categories during the next update.
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The next Safe Schools Committee meeting will be held on March 28, 2022, at 5:45 pm and will be held in a virtual format. |
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Chair:
Jonathan Kassa
Members:
Dr. Wanda Lewis-Campbell,
Cathy Wesley
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