School Board Snapshots- May
Covering the monthly news of the Pennridge School Board
An Overview of "Snapshots" and its goal
The Snapshot page is intended for a “one-stop shop” approach to the happenings of our monthly school board meetings and a summary of the major decisions made by the school board each month. The information presented is taken from the Board Docs website which you are encouraged to visit if you wish to have a more in-depth look at the minutes and decisions of the School Board.
Please visit our “Board Docs” page by clicking here for more detailed information, agendas, and policies.
The School District welcomes you at the meetings and invites you to participate in the meetings' public comment sections.
If you have comments or concerns about Pennridge School Board matters, please e-mail psdschoolboard@pennridge.org.
You can also watch all of the meetings from this month by clicking the YouTube video links throughout this newsletter below.
These links take you to our 'Ridge Channel' on YouTube where you can subscribe and watch all of the Pennridge School Board meetings as well as all kinds of videos made for the Pennridge School District.
Some of the Top Stories this month
- The Superintendent's Report Celebrating PSD students and staff members
- The 2023-2024 Budget
- Policy updates
1st annual Community Information Night
2 Weeks of Teacher Appreciation
April Showers raises close to $18,000!
UBCTS Students earn honors
Sage Szumski (Zumm-skee)- Sage is a senior in the Mechatronics program. He placed first in the SkillsUSA District and State Competitions in Related Technical Math and is competing at the National Conference in June.
Jules Strouse- Jules is a Senior in the Auto Collision program. He placed first in the SkillsUSA District and State Competition in Action Skills and is competing at the National Conference in June.
Jacob Gilbert- Jake is a Senior in the Welding & Fabrication program. He placed first at the SkillsUSA District Competition and placed third at the State Competition for Welding. Jake is a Cooperative Education Student employed at Hartman Systems & Controls and is the UBCTS May Student of the Month. For more information, see Mr. Herrera's presentation in the meeting video.
David Duterte keeps earning Alpaca ribbons!
Governor’s STEM Competition Team grabs the State Spotlight!
Team Members:
Devin Fort (junior)
Sophia Gokool (senior)
Lillie Kessler (freshman)
Emily Sabella (senior)
Noah van Beurden (sophomore)
Central's Priana Khant is Un-BEE-lievable!
The “Share Your PSD Great” Initiative.
The "ShareYourPSDGreat" program continues to share our Pennridge stories.
- You can tell your Pennridge Positive stories by clicking this link and going directly to the form.
- On the top of each school and department webpage, there is now a button and the button on the webpages also takes you to the form
- You can email Dave Thomas at dthomas@pennridge.org.
Click below for the May 8th Committee Meetings
The Pennridge School District 2023-2024 Budget
In May, the 2023-2024 General Fund Proposed Final Budget was approved.
The budget can be accessed here.
In the May committee meeting, PSD Business Manager, Sean Daubert presented and explained that revenues and expenditures are balanced at $154,662,447, and the real estate tax rate is set at 135.2555 mills, which remains unchanged from 2017-2018, through the 2023-2024 fiscal years.
Approval of 1st Read on these policies.
In May, these policies were approved for a 1st read. That means, the School Board approved the language as presented and shown on the Board Docs page, but, now will have at least a month to discuss any changes they may want to make to the language of the policy. A final read and approval may happen at the June School Board meeting.
b. Policy #124.2- Dual and Concurrent Enrollment
The most current language of the Policy, states, "Controversial issues shall be defined as topics related to personal beliefs such as including but not limited to religion, social, political, and geopolitical matters, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Furthermore, a controversial issue shall encompass protected information as addressed by the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA)." "A “controversial survey” presents a controversial issue topic and seeks feedback from the participant through closed and open-ended questions through questionnaires, surveys, or informal polls."
Approval of PSD Policies
In May, these policies were approved by the Board and are now official PSD Policies.
a. Policy #137.1 Extracurricular Participation by Home Education Students
b. Policy #906 Public Complaints
c. Policy #720 Use of Restroom and Locker Room Facilities
Policy #137.1
From Board Docs, "The Board shall approve participation in the district’s extracurricular activities and interscholastic athletic programs by a student enrolled in a home education program who meets all the conditions stated in Board policy. The Board shall not provide individual transportation for students enrolled in home education programs who participate in the district’s extracurricular activities or interscholastic athletic programs.
When the district provides transportation to and from an away competition, game, event or exhibition and requires district students to use district transportation, home education students shall be required to use the transportation provided by the district."
"A home education student may participate in extracurricular activities and interscholastic athletic programs only at the school building the student would be assigned to if s/he was enrolled in the school district."
Policy #906
From Board Docs, "The Board welcomes inquiries, suggestions, and constructive criticism regarding the district’s programs, personnel, operations, and facilities. Any parent/guardian, student, resident, or community group shall have the right to present a request, suggestion or complaint. The Board intends to provide a fair and impartial method for seeking appropriate resolution."
Policy #720
From the Policy draft, "The District shall provide access to Multi-User Facilities and Single-User Facilities for use by students in the District. Physical boundaries are to be respected by all students and staff in the context of the locker room, shower, or restroom use, both in Multi-User Facilities and Single-User Facilities." "The District shall provide access to Multi-User Facilities and Single-User Facilities for students based on their sex. The District will provide Single-User Facilities that may be accessed by any student and staff within the District, regardless of their sex or gender identity. The District shall provide Multi-User Facilities wherein users shall have full access to facilities that correspond to their sex."
About Pennridge School District
Email: PSDSchoolboard@pennridge.org
Website: www.pennridge.org
Location: 1200 North 5th Street, Perkasie, PA, USA
Phone: 215-257-5011
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PennridgeSchoolDistrict/
Twitter: @PennridgeSD