The State of Pennsylvania requires all school districts to prepare budgets for their General Fund which account for the day-to-day operations of the school district. Budgets must be approved by June 30 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, and ending June 30 the subsequent year. For the Lower Moreland Township School District, the budget process begins in September of the preceding year when the Act 1 index is announced. This index is set by the State and denotes a limit a district can raise local real estate taxes. For the 2022/23 budget year, this index is 3.4%. In keeping with the practice of staying at or below the Act 1 index, and in accordance with a resolution passed by the Board of School Directors, the District cannot raise taxes beyond the 3.4% Act 1 index. At the April School Board Meeting, the Board of School Directors approved a preliminary budget that showed a preliminary tax increase of 3.01%. Details of that presentation can be found at https://www.lmtsd.org/Page/13641. The District will continue to endeavor to bring the proposed increase down and be as fiscally prudent as possible. The final budget is scheduled to be adopted In June of 2022.

At the May work session of the Board of School Directors, updates were provided on two core projects related to Curriculum and Instruction. The first was an overview of the Comprehensive Plan. Chapter 4 requires the development of a comprehensive plan every three years. The work of the Comprehensive Planning Committee culminated with the identification of three goal areas focused on continued improvement in academics and instruction. They include:

1. 60% of English Learners who have been enrolled for a full academic year will meet the interim growth target or attainment level on or ahead of time as assessed by WIDA ACCESS.

2. By the end of the comprehensive plan, all instructional areas in which students' growth is historically low or is currently not meeting the statewide growth standard will be audited for standards alignment, availability of appropriate interventions, and rigorous instructional practices.

3. 100% of students will meet the growth measure, one year's growth in one year's time, as determined by benchmark assessments during the academic year.

The Comprehensive Plan will be submitted to PDE following School Board approval. The plan will be in place from 2022-2025.

The second update focused on the work completed by committees for the renewal of curriculum in the areas of Mathematics, World Language, Library/Technology, and Science. Mathematics and World Language have both completed year one of the process, which includes the creation of a vision statement and the completion of a needs assessment. Each department established focus areas that will frame their curricular development and materials selection in year two. The focus areas moving forward are as follows:

Mathematics: Curriculum development including common language, number sense, and vocabulary and meeting the needs of diverse learners

World Language: The exploration of dual enrollment opportunities, new resources, and curricular organization

The Library/Technology and Science Departments completed year two of the renewal process. Included in the work was a review of existing resources and the recommendation of the adoption of new materials. These materials include:

Grades 6-8: Inspire Science, McGraw Hill

Biology: Miller & Levine Biology, SAVVAS and Campbell Biology: Concepts and Connections, SAVVAS

Chemistry: Inspire Chemistry, McGraw Hill

Physics: Conceptual Physics, SAVVAS

Items recommended for adoption and purchase in the area of Library/Technology include: 6 year licenses for Kodable and FabMaker (Pine Road), Lego Robotics Kits (Murray Avenue), Library Collection and Makerspace updates (Murray Avenue), and cameras for digital technology classes (LMHS).

Information on curriculum renewal and comprehensive planning can be found on the Director of Curriculum and Instruction's webpage and updates will continue to be posted in the future.

The Technology Department supports information technology systems and instructional technology programs and practices in the district. Each month, we highlight how our students and teachers engage in 21st Century learning activities. We also share updates on new initiatives and tips and tricks related to devices and technology tools used in the district.

Mrs. Quinn-Maxwell’s ninth-grade health students were tasked with evaluating how our world is a more interesting place with each of us in it. They utilized Canva, an online design and publishing tool, to create a social media graphic representing their view of what Unity in Diversity means to them and how we as a community can benefit from our diversity. A few examples of student work are pictured below.

Eighth-grade students at Murray Avenue worked collaboratively to create bottle rockets that would successfully launch from a platform and land with the assistance of a parachute. Check out the process and some of their results in this month’s tech video: https://youtu.be/mKQlhkCUwVA

Year two of the Lower Moreland Township School District Unified Track Team is underway and we would like to congratulate our athletes on their recent participation in two meets. On April 25, they participated in a meet here at Lower Moreland, and, on May 3, they participated in a meet at Springfield Township School District. Next up is the Regional Meet, also at Springfield Township on May 19 at 3:30 PM. We wish all of our athletes the best of luck!