Minutes - August 13, 2025 Committee of the Whole/Voting

HOLLIDAYSBURG AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
MINUTES

The Hollidaysburg Area School Board met Wednesday, August 13, 2025 for a Committee of the Whole/Voting Meeting in the Senior High Library, 1510 N. Montgomery Street, Hollidaysburg.  Ms. Bilek called the meeting to order at 7:03p.m. and opened the meeting with the pledge to the flag.

Roll call was taken by Mr. Caldwell with eight members present.  Attending were Ms. Bilek, President, Ms. Sullivan, Dr. Li, Mr. Snyder, Ms. Luther and Dr. Wells.  Dr. Sommer and Mr. Brenneman participated virtually.  Ms. Costanza was absent.

Also attending were Mr. Whitesel, Superintendent, Dr. Boone, Assistant Superintendent, Mrs. Prosser, Director of Student Services, Mr. Caldwell, Director of Human Resource/Transportation, Mrs. Bell, Director of Accounting Operations, Mr. Nihart, Director of Physical Plant, Ms. Faith, Foundation Director/Grant Writer, Mr. Arthur, Director of Technology, Attorney Carl Beard, Sr., Solicitor, Mr. McCloskey, Mrs. McConnell, Mrs. Cerully, Mr. Keagy, Ms. Venios, Mr. Madden, and an Altoona Mirror Representative. 

Committee Report / Ms. Luther
Ms. Luther, Policy Committee Chairperson, presented a report on the July 16, 2025, Policy Committee Meeting.

Public Comment

The following individuals addressed the board: Patricia Haight, 211 Clubhouse Drive, Hollidaysburg - AEDY program, Jesse Blank, 201 Willow Street, Hollidaysburg - Policy 321.1, Nicole Stouffer, HASD teacher - Cross Country.

Announcements
The board met in executive session Wednesday, August 13, 2025 at 6:00p.m. for personnel and will meet Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 5:00pm for negotiations and at 6:00pm for personnel. 

Upcoming Meetings for September, 2025: 
September 3, 2025 Transportation Committee (If Needed)
Senior High Library
1510 N. Montgomery Street
Hollidaysburg PA 16648
5:00p.m.

September 10, 2025 Committee of the Whole/Voting
Senior High Library
1510 N. Montgomery Street
Hollidaysburg PA  16648
7:00p.m.

All board meeting agendas are available in detail 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.

Ms. Sullivan initiated a motion, seconded by Mr. Snyder, per Board Policy 006 Meetings, to approve the minutes of the July 16, 2025  Policy Committee and July 16, 2025 Committee of the Whole/Voting meeting.  The motion carried on a voice vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes.

Ms. Sullivan initiated a motion, seconded by Dr. Sommer to approve Financial Reports for July, 2025.  The reports included the List of Payment and FY Projections.  The motion carried on a voice vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes.  Exhibit 1

Dr. Li initiated a motion, seconded by Dr. Wells, Per Board Policy 006 Meetings, to approve the following contracts/agreements:
Parent Agreement with Lindsay Keller to assume student transportation responsibility and liability effective the 2025-2026 school year Cost:  Current IRS mileage rate reimbursement (Budgeted) Exhibit 2

Parent Agreement with Kristen Taddei to assume student transportation responsibility and liability effective the 2025-2026 school year Cost: Current IRS mileage rate reimbursement (Budgeted) Exhibit 3

Sponsor to Sponsor Agreement to Purchase Meals effective July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026: 
Penn-Mont Academy Revenue: $19,600 *This is a digital contract 
Child Advocates of Blair County Revenue: $18,020 * This is a digital contract (Budgeted) Exhibit 4

Educational Services Agreement and Addendum for 1-1 Support with Pyramid Healthcare, Inc. t/d/b/a Soaring Heights School effective August 1, 2025 through July 31, 2026 for special education and related services to students placed at Pyramid's private academic school Cost: $315/day/student enrolled for Emotional Support Services and Autism Support Services
$151.50 day/student for 1:1 Paraprofessional Support  (Budgeted Increase) Exhibit 5

School Visit / Speaking Agreement with Charles Brenneman effective September 15, 2025 for a one-day presentation for Junior Students on overcoming adversity, showing respect, kindness and mindset Cost: $5,000 (Not Budgeted - Operation Our Town Grant) Exhibit 6

Contract with Independent Educational Evaluators of America, LLC. effective August 14, 2025 through October 31, 2025 for an independent educational evaluation Cost: $200/hr. not to exceed $5,500 (Not Budgeted) Exhibit 7

Contract with MathSpace effective July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 for professional development services for implementation of software (to replace iReady) Cost: $6,000 Budgeted Decrease = $8,471 Exhibit 8 

Service Agreement with Honeycomb ABA Therapy effective August 6, 2025 through August 1, 2026 for Applied Behavior Analysis services and supports to students with special needs No Cost Exhibit 9

Membership Agreement with Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) effective August 14, 2025 through February 14, 2027 for various online security programs and services Cost: $1,995 (Budgeted) Exhibit 10

(Information Only) - The AEDY Program with Nittany Valley Learning will be held at an off-campus location (Contract to Follow once a location is secured)

The motion carried on a voice vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes for all contracts with the exception of No. 5 which carried on a voice vote with seven yes vote and one abstention.  Mr. Brenneman cast the abstention. Exhibit 11

Dr. Wells initiated a motion, seconded by Ms. Sullivan, to approve Items 2 through 6:

2025-2026 Capital Reserve Project:
District Office sewer line rehab and restoration - $52,000 Exhibit 12

Flood Insurance:  Purchase of flood insurance for Foot of Ten Elementary:  $500,000 limit with a 25,000 deductible Cost: $3,193/yr.  - 450 Foot of Ten Road- NFIP Primary Flood Insurance Coverage through Selective Insurance Company Exhibit 13

Approval for Blair County to convey property located at Parkview Drive in Allegheny Township to Park View Condo Association and Lawruk Builders with joint ownership.

Per Board Policy 702, Gifts, Grants and Donations, a donation from The GIANT Company and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful 2025 Healing the Planet Grant: $4,000, Project: Golden Tiger Food Forest Exhibit 14

A la carte prices for 2025-2026 Exhibit 15. The motion carried on a voice vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes.

Superintendent’s Report / Mr. Whitesel
Ms. Luther initiated a motion, seconded by Mr. Brenneman  to approve items 1-3 as follows:
Per Board Policy 202, Eligibility of Non-Resident Students and Policy 239, Foreign Exchange Students, a foreign exchange student for the 2025-2026 school year.  Student: Mark Vsevolod, Spain Exhibit 16

Web-based resource that requires student accounts: 
Name: Wayground (formerly Quizizz)
Website: https://wayground.com/?lng=en
Privacy Policy: https://wayground.com/privacy?lng=en
Terms of Service: https://wayground.com/tos?lng=en
Students: All Students

Elementary Student/Parent Handbook Revisions Exhibit 17  The motion carried on a voice vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes.

Ms. Sullivan initiated a motion seconded by Dr. Li, to approve the 25-26 Athletic Department Handbook with changes that were discussed at the athletic committee meeting.  The motion carried on a voice vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes. Exhibit 18

Ms. Sullivan initiated a motion, seconded by Dr. Sommer, to approve personnel dated 8-13-2025 Revised 8/12/2025 at 2:26 PM, items 1 through 24.  The motion carried on a voice vote with eight yes votes and zero on votes.  Exhibit 19

President’s Report / Ms. Bilek
Ms. Bilek announced that Policy 321.1 Displays and Décor in the School Setting was tabled.

Per Board Policy 000 Board Policy/Procedure/Administrative Regulations, Dr Wells initiated a motion, seconded by Ms. Luther to approve the following policies on a second reading: 

Policy Number	Policy Name	Status
202	Eligibility of Nonresident Students	REVISED
815.4	Artificial Intelligence	NEW
325 AR	Dress Code for HASD Employees	REVISED

The motion carried on a voice vote with eight yes votes and zero no votes.

New Business

Ms. Luther announced that Tigers Against Bullying (TAB) will sponsor a day-long event (Rachel’s Challenge) at the Junior High on September 23.
There being no further business to be brought before the board, Ms. Bilek declared the meeting adjourned at 7:27pm.

Ben Caldwell, Assistant Board Secretary