LANSDALE – February’s action meeting was held at the North Penn School District Educational Center on Thursday, February 12th. The board started a meeting with a North Penn February update video featuring recent events across the district before highlighting the North Penn High School Unified Bocce program as part of the student spotlight. This was also Chief Financial Advisor, Steve Skrocki’s, final meeting on the board as he is officially embarking upon retirement.
Unified Bocce is a team made up of sophomore, junior, and senior students with and without disabilities. Four of these students, Alex Raidy, Alana Tomkowitz, Sabir Ahmadi, and Emily Kralik, attended Thursday night’s meeting and spoke about the impact this team has had on their North Penn career.
“I made a lot of new friends at Bocce this year. You should know that Mrs. Ahart and Mrs. Dasch are the best coaches as they care about and help all the players,” first-year athlete Alex Raidy stated. “I play on team Columbia [and we] finished with seven wins. We made it to the playoffs.”
Like many of the other sports at the high school, Bocce has multiple teams based on skill level. Due to North Penn’s immense involvement, they were able to fill more teams than any other school in the area.
“This year we had 57 students on our team which made up two varsity teams and four JV teams. Our varsity teams competed against other schools in our area and our JV teams had inter-team tournaments and a faculty competition,” Tomkowitz said. Our JV teams don’t have any other teams to compete against because no other school in our area has a team as big as ours.”
At North Penn, Bocce is not just a sport, but a community that encourages inclusion and fosters learning outside of the classroom.
“In Bocce, we have learned to support each other, celebrate our differences, and work together as one,” Ahmadi added. “This spirit of inclusion extends beyond sports and is what makes our school community so special. With our large and diverse student body, we prove that when we come together, we can create a welcoming and supportive environment for everyone.”
The lessons learned through Bocce and the friendships created might not have otherwise happened, but the lives of the students are better for it.
“When we practice together, we learn from each other’s strengths and support each other’s challenges. This not only improves our game but also builds lasting friendships and memories. North Penn is a place where everyone belongs, and our Bocce teams are a perfect [example] of that,” Ahmadi continued.
“I would definitely say the best part of Unified Bocce is the friendships that I made. This year, I met kids I normally wouldn’t interact with, but being a part of the Bocce team has allowed me to see them and make meaningful connections.”
Looking into next week, one of the six Unified Bocce teams is competing in playoffs.
“We do have one of our six Bocce teams that qualified for districts. They finished first in our region. They will face off on Monday and all are welcome, including community members, to come and cheer us on at 3:00 PM in the Navy Gym,” Bocce Coach Susan Ahart concluded.
Ms. Juliane Ramic recapped the North Penn Educational Foundation meeting for the month of February. They issued 30 mid-year grants nine of which were ETIC, or educational improvement tax credits.
Superintendent, Dr. Todd Bauer, ensured that the board’s approval of the 2025-2026 calendar was simply approving the first day of school, the last day of school, and any days off that would take place in the next school year as the half days and early dismissals are still being altered. Once these are finalized, they will be distributed to families throughout the district via mail.
Also as a part of the consent items on the Superintendent report, the board clarified citizen’s concerns regarding the bids being approved for phase one of the North Penn High School renovation.
Skrocki explained that by law, the district is required to take the lowest responsible bid after hearing out all of the options; and past litigations with contractors don’t necessarily correlate to the district rejecting the bid if it is the lowest. Some litigations, as he explained, don’t relate to our project, especially if it is a contractor that the district has had positive experiences with in the past. There are very few, narrow reasons why the board would reject the lowest responsible bidder and that is not one of them.
Skrocki presented his last-ever financial and treasurer’s report. He explained the means of Governor Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget address, which was delivered on February 4th. This address proposed a 1.86% increase in North Penn’s education spending next year. For comparison, last year the district received a 10.72% increase. The district also received court approval for the 2nd amendment to the due diligence period for the movie lots, which was said to be the last amendment to this. Skrocki also had a bond rating call with Moody’s, but he predicts that the district won’t hear a response for a few weeks.
Being Skrocki’s final meeting as the CFO, Bauer invited his former colleague and friend, Brian Pawling, to say a few words.
“Steve’s passion for public education, his work effort, and his knowledge of school public finance is second to none. He is very well respected by his peers, not only here in Southeastern, PA, but across the state,” Pawling stated. “His commitment to innovation through his Tax Rebate Program and other programs are fantastic ideas.”
“I was the Assistant Business Administrator here 11 years ago…he encouraged me to apply. I had my first interview and I thought it went well and it did, I got called back for a second interview. He told me he would have a short exam for me to take. That short exam turned out to be about 100 questions. Those 100 questions epitomize Steve and his attention to detail, his commitment to excellence, and the process of interviewing a staff member to make sure we were up to his par speaks to his character,” Pawling said.
All Committee reports, board minutes, finance reports, and superintendent reports were approved.
Information on future board meetings can be found on BoardDocs.
