LANSDALE- January’s action meeting was held at the North Penn School District Educational Center on Thursday, January 18th. This was the first meeting held after North Penn School District taxpayers voted no in the referendum regarding the raising of the Act 1 index on Tuesday, January 16th.

Students from Oak Park Elementary Elementary School put together a member for the board members in honor of School Director Recognition Month. Students acted as members of the school board and recited quotes they had said in previous meetings. Students also made each board member a custom name plate and thank you cards for their hard work and dedication.

For this month’s proclamations, the board highlighted 2 North Penn staff members. Officer Daniel Houser, member of North Penn security team, was recognized for his life saving actions on November 18th, at Penndale Middle School. Houser was working a special event at the middle school when a participant had suffered from a heart attack. Houser provided first aid, CPR, and found and attached an AED to the victim in a very timely manner. Houser was presented with the “Life Saving Award” for keeping the individual alive on that particular day.

Sixth grade teacher at Oak Park Elementary School, Ms. Erica Devose, was also recognized for her recent life saving actions. After watching a video in class, Devose had asked one of her students to turn on the lights and found that the child was unresponsive on the classroom floor. Devose, with calmness and urgency, contacted the office, evacuated the children, and tended to the unconscious student in a cardiac emergency. The child is now recovering and back in class. Devose was awarded the “Poised Under Pressure Award.”

Many citizens residing in the North Penn School District took the opportunity to speak about the result of the recent referendum and communicated questions and concerns about the next steps.

Superintendent, Dr. Todd Bauer, reassured citizens regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s special election, that the high school would remain the fantastic place it is today.

“This is an opportunity for us as leaders to truly lead,” Bauer said.

Chief financial officer, Mr. Steve Skrocki, explained to community members what exactly the Act 1 index is.

The Act 1 index is an inflationary index with two components: a federal component and a state component. The index is calculated by taking the average of these two numbers. The Act 1 index sets a maximum tax rate that a school board can legally raise taxes each year. Prior to the creation of this legislation in 2006, school boards could raise the tax rate as high or as low as they pleased.

Mr. Al Roesch reviewed the agenda of the Joint Operating committee meeting where a first read of the following policies were approved: 201 Enrollment, 203 Communicable Diseases and Immunization, 210 Use of Medication, 216 Student Records, 218 Student Discipline, 222 Tobacco and Vaping Products, 227 Controlled Substances, and 236 Student Assistance Programs (to be deleted).

Ms. Juliane Ramic recapped the North Penn Educational Foundation meeting for the month of January. Developmental manager, Danielle Blanchard, resigned and the foundation’s trustees will be looking into the next steps of finding a new manager. Last month, the district received donations from Waste Management and First Citizens Community Bank.

Bauer discussed new legislation regarding the amount of time children must spend in school. Old legislation stated that students must be in school for 900 hours (elementary school) or 990 hours (middle/high school) as well as spend 180 days in the facility. Recent changes to the legislation state that children must fulfill the required amount of hours or days, not both, leaving more flexibility for snow days.

Skrocki also reviewed a letter to the senate regarding Representative Ceresi’s bill, House Bill 1826, on charter school reform and advised citizens to write to the Senate Education Committee where the bill is currently being held up.

Skrocki gave the financial report and reviewed the tax rebate program. This year, the program had 349 applicants with an average rebate of $407. The total cost of rewards awarded amounted to $46,8650. Pennsylvania Governor, Josh Shapiro, will deliver the budget address on Tuesday, February 6th.  February;s finance meeting will address topics such as the contracted transportation recommendations and a presentation from PFM, North Penn’s financial advisor, regarding the high school renovation project.

All committee reports, Solicitors report, Superintendent report, and finance report were approved. The board will meet again on Tuesday, February 6th, at the North Penn Educational Services Center for a finance meeting.

All upcoming meeting information is posted in BoardDocs.