The Board of School Directors of the Shaler Area School District held a Committee of the Whole Meeting on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, on Zoom, a virtual meeting platform, with Mr. Jim Tunstall, School Board President, presiding. This meeting began at 7:38 p.m.

Board Members Present:	Mrs. Suzanna Donahue 
	Mr. James Fisher
	Mr. Tim Gapsky
Dr. April Kwiatkowski
Mr. Jason Machajewski 
	Mrs. Jeanne Petrovich
Mrs. Eileen Phillips
Mr. Steve Romac 
Mr. James Tunstall

Others Present:	Dr. Sean Aiken, Superintendent
Dr. Bryan O’Black, Assistant Superintendent
Dr. Kathleen Graczyk, Director of Student Services
Ms. Sherri Ludwig, Director of Business Affairs
Mr. John Vogel, Solicitor
Catherine Clark, Student Representative

Notice of this meeting was posted as required.

•	Mr. James Tunstall called the meeting to order at 7:38 p.m.

Dr. O’Black then announced the following Education Items:

ITEM
#	
EDUCATION ITEMS RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL	SUP
#	ACTION 
TAKEN	
				
A.1	Approve the Shaler Area School District Calendar for the 2021-22 school year.	A.1		
				
A.2	Approve the PA School Code, Section 1502 Resolution – Official Local School District Holidays for the 2020-21 school year as follows:	A.2		
	November 26, 2021
December 24, 2021
December 27, 2021
April 15, 2022			
				
A.3	Approve the Lease Agreement with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit to lease space at Burchfield Primary School for the operation of a DART program for early intervention services to preschool age children with disabilities beginning on July 1, 2021 ending June 30, 2022.	A.3		
				
A.4	Approve the first reading of the following revised policy:
a.	Policy No. 331 – Job Related Expenses	A.4		
				
A.5	Approve the second reading of the following new policies:
a.	Policy No. 218.3 – Discipline of Student Convicted/Adjudicated of Sexual Assault
b.	Policy No. 253 – Dating Violence	A.5		

•	Mr. Gapsky asked if there was a day identified for the district’s Kennywood Picnic. Dr. O’Black said the park has not contacted the district to identify a date yet. Mr. Gapsky said he hopes to move the date to later in the summer again to see if the school community prefers that date.

Dr. O’Black then announced the following Information Items:

Information Items:

1.	Student Representatives – Catherine Clark said the district has moved to the hybrid instruction model since the last meeting, and it has been helpful to students to be back. She reported that the attitude by teachers and students at the high school toward mask-wearing and social distancing has been relaxed since winter break. She said the building leadership’s message is consistent but she feels there is apathy by some teachers that is sending mixed-messaging to students. Dr. Aiken said he will talk to Dr. Royall the next day and explore ways for reporting and compliance. School board members Dr. Kwiatkowski and Mr. Romac asked if Ms. Clark had any other suggestions for changes or what she changes she would feel comfortable with. Ms. Clark said additional signage and consistent messaging is importance and she hopes there is an appropriate way to address the issue without singling out anyone. Mrs. Petrovich thanked Ms. Clark for bringing the issue to the board’s attention. Mr. Gapsky asked if there were any disciplinary measures that the district can take. Dr. Aiken said there are procedures in place to discipline students but he said more importantly is educating, teaching and reminding everyone of the proper safety strategies. Ms. Clark said she commends a lot of the teachers for being positive role models and being safe outside of school. Mr. Gapsky asked the administration to reach out to all school leaders. Dr. Aiken said a reminder is good for everyone. Dr. O’Black explained the process when a positive COVID-19 case is identified in school which includes contact tracing by the school nurse and Allegheny County Health Department. He said it is an overwhelming process for the district’s school nurses, but they are taking their role very seriously. He added that athletic trainers, school nurses and the athletic director get involved when a positive case impacts a team. 

2.	Shaler Area Education Foundation – Mrs. Philips reported that the Foundation has received positive responses for the mini grants but they are still looking for additional applicants. Additionally, the Foundation and Alumni Association are working on the 50th anniversary planning. Mr. Gapsky added that the Class of 2021 is the 50th graduating class of Shaler Area and the district plans to do something special for them. Mrs. Phillips said they are working on a plan to recognize this extra special class. She also added that the application for the mini grants is available on the Foundation website. 

3.	Superintendent’s Report – Dr. Aiken said the district’s 50th anniversary committee is made up of people representing all municipalities in the district. The committee was meeting frequently until last March when it put planning on hold. It has since resumed meeting, and the focus has been on the Class of 2021 and creating a logo. Mrs. Mindy Thiel, high school activities director, is working on homecoming plans and other events are planned throughout the year. He said the committee is excited for what is planned. Dr. Aiken said that next Wednesday, the administration would present information about the parent/guardian survey results and recommendations to move forward to the school board and public. He said that is has been a tough week for the middle school and high school which had to close and move to virtual instruction due to COVID-19 case counts. He said the district is keeping a close eye on the elementary school which has a higher case count as well. He also announced a special event coming up in March, a virtual community event “Managing Stress During Stressful Times.” Dr. Graczyk said the one-hour session will be presented by district staff and Health Services Administration Organization, the district’s Student Assistance Program provider. She said that staff from each of the buildings will present information and resources available to students. The link to the event will be available to anyone in the public. Dr. Kwiatkowski asked if there were any concerns with attendance capacity. Dr. Graczyk said that after much internal discussion it was decided that a public Q&A would be too challenging to manage and keep confidential, so the district staff will provide their contact information for families to follow up with them. Mr. Gapsky asked if Dr. Aiken could explain the RSVP process for attending the following week’s board meeting. Dr. Aiken said the meeting would be hybrid and there would be a limited number of public permitted to attend in person, however there will be room in the virtual platform for people to participate. In-person attendees need to RSVP using the link posted on the district website. 

Ms. Ludwig then announced the following Finance Items:

ITEM
#	
FINANCE & OPERATION ITEMS RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL	SUP
#	ACTION
TAKEN	
				
C.1	APPROVE FUND PROFILES:	 	 	
	A.	General Fund – Schedule of Bills and Addendum	C.1A	 	
	B.	Cafeteria Fund – Schedule of Bills   	C.1B	 	
	C.	Bond Proceeds – Schedule of Bills	C.1C		
	D.	Budget Transfers	C.1D		
	E	Year-to-Date Financial Reports	C.1E		
	F.	Fund Profiles and Investments	C.1F	 	
	G.	Student Activity Funds & Investments – High School, Middle School and Elementary School – October 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020	C.1G		
 
C.2	Cafeteria Fund Operating Statement	C.2		
				
C.3	Approve the Shaler Area School District's Audit Report and Financial Statements for year ending June 30, 2020 as prepared by Maher Duessel.	C.3		
				
C.4	Approve additional ABC Transit personnel.	C.4		
				
C.5	Approval to dispose of surplus equipment from the Building & Grounds Department.	C.5		
				
C.6	Approve the proposed 2021/2022 Allegheny Intermediate Unit Program of Services Budget in the amount of $2,161,057.00.  The Allegheny County (AIU3) school district’s total contribution to the budget is $1,811,545.00.  The Shaler Area School District contribution to the Program of Services Budget is estimated to be $60,746.00 and will be determined by PDE according to District Aid Ration and Weighted Average Daily Membership (WADM).	C.6		

Ms. Ludwig then announced the following Information Item:

Information Item: 

•	The solicitor will be filing approximately 450 tax appeals, which is up slightly from the 392 filed last year.

Ms. Ludwig then announced the following Discussion Item:

Discussion Item:

•	Capital Projects – Summer 2021 – Dr. Aiken said he and Ms. Ludwig, Dr. O’Black and John Kaib, supervisor of buildings and grounds, have been meeting to identify the district’s summer projects. He outlined them as follows.
1.	Titan Stadium – Dr. Aiken said the project would include painting, repairing the flooring of the grandstand, and the press box on the home side. The district has been in conversation with Greer Hayden of HHSDR, and he will walk the stadium next week to identify how to move forward. It is a large project, but one that the district has talked about for several years and one that it hopes to accomplish this summer. Mr. Kaib said the press box is not in good shape. Mr. Romac asked Mr. Kaib what the best option is for the press box. Mr. Kaib said he believes it is to suspend it behind the bleachers. Dr. Kwiatkowski asked if it was a safety issues because there are other large projects that need to be addressed in the district. Dr. Aiken said the concern is that the press box is causing other stadium issues. 
2.	Marzolf windows – Dr. Aiken said last year the district talked to TEN, The Efficiency Network, about possible solutions to address MArzolf Primary School’s windows. He said they would continue to keep the board updated. Mr. Romac asked if the district could look at a solution for a ventilation system in which the windows open at the top end to let heat escape or a combination to push air out. Mr. Kaib said his department finished all of the doors this summer, and right now they are just asking to go out for bid and then the board can make its decision. Dr. Aiken said there will be a Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting on March 3 to talk about the capital improvement projects and project prioritization. The district also is looking at paving at Marzolf. Mr. Kaib clarified that the driveway and back parking lot needed to be repaved.
3.	High School tennis courts – Dr. Aiken said the district doesn’t want to just fill in the cracks but rather replace the court surface. It was last done in 2012. Dr. Kwiatkowski asked if the problem was the nets being too tight. Mr. Kaib said the courts do need new poles and that the surface is split from tightening the nets. He asked for his department to get a price. Mr. Romac asked for a price to repave the courts as well as repairing the courts. He said with the other projects needed in the district, they may end up needing to be repaired rather than replaced for budgetary concerns. Mr. Gapsky asked if there was any way to get electricity to the courts. Mr. Kaib said he will look into it. 

•	Mr. Tunstall then invited the board to speak on any other business.
o	Mr. Gapsky said the swim team has vastly improved since the board hired its new coach and commended the students who qualified for WPIAL. Mr. Tunstall agreed that it is positive news and a team with promising athletes. 

•	Mr. Tunstall then recognized the public to speak on any other items:
o	There was none. 

After no further items were presented, final adjournment occurred at 8:36 p.m. 

Respectfully submitted,

Bethany Baker
Assistant Board Secretary