January 10, 2024 - COW/Voting
HOLLIDAYSBURG AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
MINUTES
The Hollidaysburg Area School Board met for a Committee of the Whole/Voting Meeting on Wednesday, January 10, 2024 in the Senior High Library, 1510 N. Montgomery Street, Hollidaysburg. Ms. Bilek called the meeting to order at 7:19p.m and opened the meeting with the pledge to the flag.
Roll call was taken by Mrs. Fiscus with eight members present. Attending were Ms. Bilek, President, Ms. Costanza, Vice-President, Dr. Sommer, Dr. Li, Ms. Luther, Dr. Wells, Ms. Sullivan, and Mr. Snyder. Mr. Brenneman was absent.
Also present were Mr. McLaurin, Interim Superintendent, Mr. Green, Interim Director of Special Education, Mrs. Fiscus, Business Manager/Board Secretary, Mrs. Thomas, Director of Accounting Operations, Mrs. Palazzi, Director of Curriculum, Mr. Caldwell, Director of Human Resource/Transportation, Ms. Faith, Foundation Director/Grant Administrator, Mr. Nihart, Director of Physical Plant, Mr. Arthur, Director of Technology, Attorney Beard, Sr., Solicitor, Mr. McCall, Mr. Hartline, Mr. Keagy, Mr. Madden, and an Altoona Mirror Representative.
Public Comment
Junior High student, Spencer Davis, announced that he would be available for any questions the board have regarding a new student activity on the agenda for approval.
Ms. Costanza initiated a motion, seconded by Dr. Wells, to appoint Curtis A. Whitesel, as Superintendent for a period commencing no earlier than April 1, 2024 and no later than April 11, 2024 and to run for a period up through March 31, 2029, pursuant to the terms and conditions outlined in the employment agreement between the parties and securing all necessary / final clearances. The Superintendent shall sign and execute a formal agreement in compliance with the provision of the Public-School Code of 1949, as amended. The motion carried on a roll call vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes. Exhibit 1
Board Director Recognition
Students from all district schools addressed the board in honor of School Board Member Recognition Month in person and by power point presentation.
Student Representative Report
Per Board Policy 004.2-Student Representatives to the Board, Senior Student Representatives Connor Owen and Jacob Ott gave their monthly report to the board.
Business Office Report
Announcements:
The board met in executive session on Thursday, December 14, 2023 at 5:15pm, Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 5:45pm and Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 6:00pm for personnel.
Meetings for February, 2024:
Policy Committee
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Time: 5:00p.m.
Hollidaysburg Area Senior High Library
1510 N. Montgomery Street
Hollidaysburg PA 16648
Committee of the Whole/Voting
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Hollidaysburg Area Senior High Library
1510 N. Montgomery Street
Hollidaysburg PA 16648
All board meeting agendas are available for public viewing (3) days prior to each meeting date on BoardDocs. BoardDocs web address is https://www.boarddocs.com/pa/hasd/Board.nsf. Interested parties should enter the public site.
Per Board Policy 619-District Audit, Dan Bradley from Young, Oakes, Brown and Company presented the Financial Statements and Auditor's Report on Basic Financial Statements for Year Ended June 30, 2023 and the Blair County Schools Health Consortium Audit for Years Ended June 30, 2023 and 2022. The District participates in a self-funded Health Insurance consortium which includes most Blair county school districts. The consortium purchases hospital, medical, and drug services as a group providing these services in the most cost-effective manner. The consortium is annually reviewed financially as evidenced by this report.
Dr. Sommer initiated a motion, seconded by Dr. Wells, to accept the Financial Statements and Auditor's Report on Basic Financial Statements for Year Ended June 30, 2023 and the Blair County Schools Health Consortium Audit for Years Ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 by Young, Oakes, Brown and Company. The motion carried on a roll call vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes. Exhibit 2
Per Board Policy 006 Meetings, Ms. Luther initiated a motion, seconded by Dr. Li, to approve the minutes of the December 6, 2023 Committee of the Whole – Finance and December 6, 2023 Reorganization / Committee of the Whole/Voting meetings. The motion carried on a roll call vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes.
On motion of Dr. Sommer, seconded by Dr. Li, the board approved financial reports for December, 2023. The reports included Treasurer’s Report, List of Payments, (including an Application and Certificate for Payment - McClure Company in the amount of $127,335.25), Investment Portfolio, YTD Expenditures/Revenues, Budget Transfers, Senior High Student Store and Food Service for November, 2023. The motion carried on a roll call vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes. Exhibit 3
Per Board Policy 006 Meetings, Ms. Luther initiated a motion, seconded by Dr. Sommer, to approve the following contracts/agreements:
Contract with ParentSquare, Inc. effective January 11, 2024 through June 30, 2027 for a parent and student messaging platform Cost: January-July, 2024 Free; Year 1: $19,609.46; Years 2 and 3: $18,618 Exhibit 4
Contract with Prismworks Technology effective February 29, 2024 through February 28, 2025 for PSP services for AD, VMWare vSphere and 3Par renewal Cost: $18,600/yr. (billed monthly at $1,550 per month) Exhibit 5
Referral, Communication and Transfer Agreement with Alternative Community Resource Program (ACRP) effective January 1, 2024 through January 1, 2025 to provide mental health services including case management and treatment programs to children, adolescents and adults who meet admission criteria No Cost Exhibit 6
The motion carried on a roll call vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes.
Per Board Policy 610, Purchases Subject to Bid/Quotation, Dr. Wells initiated a motion, seconded by Dr. Li, to approve a bid award for 2023-2024 Microscopes to Leica Microsystems, Inc. in the amount of $50,875.20. The motion carried on a roll call vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes. Exhibit 7
For information only, Ms. Fiscus advised that the electric contract was awarded to Constellation Energy at a fixed price of $.06095/kwh for 24 months. This is part of the PPEEC Consortium that the district is part of. This price is a decrease from the previous contract.
Mr. Snyder initiated a motion, seconded by Dr. Li, to approve the following:
Authorization for Autumn Fiscus, Business Manager, Stacey Thomas, Director of Accounting Operations and Carmen Bilek, Board President to be added to the First Summit Bank account to conduct business and sign any and all necessary documents on behalf of the school district.
Blair County Tax Claim Repository Bids:
Accept bid from Frankstown Township for land only:
Map#08.00-15B.-019-00-000 in the amount of $1,646.73
Accept bid from Frankstown Township for land only:
Map#08.00-15B.-034-00-000 in the amount of $1,232.45
Accept bid from Frankstown Township for land only:
Map#08.00-15B.-059-00-000 in the amount of $1,232.45
Accept bid from Frankstown Township:
Map#08.00-15D.-054-00-000 in the amount of $25 Exhibit 8
Authorization for the following Central Office Administrators to approve or agree to terms of service and acceptable use when prompted as part of setup, configuration, update and/or requisition process:
Superintendent
Director of Curriculum
Director of Human Resources/ Transportation
Business Manager
Accounting Operations Director
Director of Special Education
Director of Technology
Foundation Director/Grant Administrator
Director of Physical Plant
Director of Food Service
Per Board Policy 618, Student Activity Fund Control:
New Student Activity: Faith Friday - No. 78
Purpose: To provide Junior High students an opportunity to explore their faith. Exhibit 9 At Ms. Bilek’s request, Spencer Davis explained who the volunteer leaders would be and the reasons why he they would be a good fit for the activity.
Per Board Policy 702, Gifts, Grants and Donations, a donation from the Hollidaysburg Police Department: No Shave November Donation: $420 (to provide Christmas gifts for students in need at CWL, FKS and FOT)
The motion carried on a roll call vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes.
Mrs. Fiscus and Mrs. Thomas presented the first 2024-2025 budget presentation on Debt Service. Exhibit 10
Superintendent’s Report
On motion of Dr. Wells, seconded by Dr. Li, the board approved the following:
Curriculum Update: Draft Curriculum maps will be open for this school year in order for teachers to make minor tweaks to the curriculum, such as pacing, and will come back to the Board next year for final approval.
English 10
Honors English 11
CB English 11
English 11
English 12
College-Bound English 12
Math 7 and CB Math 7 Exhibit 11
Course Name Changes:
| New Name | Previous Name |
|---|---|
| Intro to Songwriting | Music Theory |
| Algebra 1 Math Explorations 7 | Foundational Math Explorations 7 |
| Pre-Algebra Math Explorations 7 | |
|
CB Math Explorations 7 |
|
| Math Explorations 7 | |
| Algebra 1 Math Explorations 8 | Foundational Math Explorations 8 |
| Pre-Algebra Math Explorations 8 | |
| Math Explorations 8 | |
| Pre-Algebra 7 | PH Pre-Algebra |
| Pre-Algebra 8 | CB Pre-Algebra |
Exhibit 12
The 2024 Summer School Enrichment Program and the Remedial Program. The Enrichment Program is parent/student paid and the remedial program is paid by ESSER funds. Exhibit 13
The motion carried on a roll call vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes.
For Information Only, Mr. McLaurin announced that PMEA changed the location of the following previously approved field trips:
Field Trip - Change in Location:
Select SH Orchestra Students to PMEA District Orchestra
New Location: Richland High School, Johnstown PA
Previous Location: Somerset High School, Somerset PA
Date: February 8, 2024 - February 10, 2024
*Previously approved August 9, 2023
Field Trip - Change in Location:
Regional Orchestra Festival
New Location: Butler Intermediate High School, Butler PA
Previous Location: Seneca Valley High School, Harmony PA
Date: March 21, 2024 - March 23, 2024
*Previously approved August 9, 2023
On motion of Mr. Snyder, seconded by Dr. Wells, Per Board Policy 614 Payroll Authorizations, the board approved personnel actions 1 through 36, dated 1/10/2024 REV 1/09/24 at 1:56p.m. The motion carried on a roll call vote with eight yes votes for all actions except for No. 13, which carried on a roll call vote with seven yes votes and one no vote. Dr. Li cast the dissenting vote. Exhibit 14
President’s Report / Ms. Bilek
Ms. Bilek announced that each board member was assigned to at least 3 of the following committees: Athletic, Physical Plant, Curriculum, Policy, Finance, Safe Schools, Transportation, PSBA, IU8, Legislative and the GACTC.
New Business
Dr. Sommer asked about a previous discussion about a presentation on a solar field installation on the district's property. Mr. Nihart stated that a meeting was held with McClure Company in early December to discuss options. It was decided at the meeting that McClure would look at different options, including adding geothermal to CWL. McClure was also going to discuss funding options for the solar field with PFM, the district's bond financing company. Mr. Nihart informed the board McClure and PFM plan to present information to the board at the March meeting.
There being no further business to be brought before the board, Ms. Bilek declared the meeting adjourned at 8:44p.m.
Autumn Fiscus
Board Secretary