School Board Notes

Congratulations to our Spirit of Methacton Award Recipients!

This new award is presented each month to professional staff, support staff, a student, and a volunteer in each building. Spirit of Methacton Award recipients are individuals who consistently model the qualities of the 9 core values of the Methacton School District. These individuals enrich our school community with their knowledge, commitment and support.

February 2024's awardees represent Arrowhead Elementary School. They are:

• Chrissy Fitzgerald - Professional Staff
• Karen McDonough - Professional Staff
• Sharon Kushner - Support Staff
• Matthew Brown - Student
• Mary Beth Verano - Volunteer

A very special thank you to Claire Lu and Alex Robin for representing Arrowhead Elementary School as Junior Board Representatives for February 2024. Alex led the meeting by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Claire delivered a statement on six things that makes Arrowhead such a great school.

E-Sports is coming to Methacton High School for the start of the 2024-2025 school year. Thanks to Methacton High School students Dominic Albergato, James Kinghorn, and Louis Lampe for spearheading the idea with support from Methacton staff Ms. Whitehouse and Mr. Lattari. This competitive-based video gaming club will be available next year. Supported by donations from the Methacton Education Foundation, the E-Sports club will bring students of all backgrounds together in a collaborative program designed to compete in a league against other high school students using cutting-edge technology systems and peripherals. These E-Sports programs are filling stadiums of spectators, take place all over the world, and opening opportunities for students to earn scholarships to some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities. The business and career opportunities are growing exponentially within this new career ecosystem.

The innovation involved is astounding. It has a direct alignment to future careers where skills in coaching, playing, collaborating, strategizing, communicating and more, will support the growth of each student involved. The home base for the club will be in the high school (actual room location to be unveiled in coming months) with investments in space and equipment nearing $65,000. That space will house 10 workstations in a competition-ready environment fitted with competition seating, its own VPN (private network), 3d sound, Ultra High Def video and the latest software to position Methacton students in the most favorable competitive environment. More to come on this exciting opportunity- HUGE thank you to our students for pitching the program!!!

Superintendent Dr. David Zerbe presented the Final Report from the Methacton High School Campus Planning Committee where he reviewed the top 15 committee recommendations from the collective 63. The district’s Owners Representative D’Huey presented 4 pre-conceptual planning options with estimated costs for the Board’s consideration at the end of March. Among the options is a new construction option estimated between $175M - $205M that will address 60 of the 63 recommendations completely. Dr. Zerbe then made a recommendation for the Board’s vote on March 26 to:

Approve the administration to prepare recommendations for a comprehensive High School campus plan that:

• Engages the Board approved Architect, Owners Representative, and Solicitor;
• Provides no less than 3 concept designs with estimated costs, timelines, and impact for a new high school;
• Provides for public input on concept designs;
• Provides recommendations and feedback to be presented at a special meeting in the future.

The district issued a community feedback survey on February 26, 2024 and will host two open public forums on February 29, 2024 and March 11, 2024 in the Library at Methacton High School. Building tours will follow the meeting.

The Board has approved the implementation of SchoolPay as the new Point of Sale (POS) system across all schools in the district. Some key benefits of the new system include:

• Instant fund transfer: When funds are added to a student’s account, they are available within minutes.
• Daily spending control: Parents have the ability to set daily spending limits for their students.
• Item restriction: Parents can also restrict their students from purchasing certain items using the system.

All district cafeterias will begin using the system in the 2024-2025 school year.

All other items listed in the February 27, 2024 agenda were approved.

The Methacton School District's Board of School Directors meets each month. School board work session meetings are generally held on the third Tuesday of the month, followed by the regular meeting on the fourth Tuesday (except during the month of December). Regular Board and Work Session meetings typically take place in the Arcola Auditorium, and all residents are invited to attend. Committee meetings take place in the MHS LGI. Meeting agendas are posted to Agenda Manager, and start times and locations are posted on the District's website. Please confirm meeting time and location before attending. Download the meeting calendar here. Watch the meeting video online.

Email: information@methacton.org
Website: www.methacton.org
Location: 1001 Kriebel Mill Road, Eagleville, PA, USA
Phone: 610-489-5000