The Central Bucks Board Note

Welcome to Board Note, the monthly summary of news and information from the Central Bucks School District Board of Directors. The goal of this communication is to provide you with factual and timely updates regarding Board business and agenda items. We encourage you to read this newsletter and click the links below to view or listen to the recordings of recent board and committee meetings.

MBIT SkillsUSA Top Honors

SkillsUSA is a national membership association serving high school, college and middle school students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations. It is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. A total of 56 MBIT students participated in 31 events this year. Of those 25, were Central Bucks students who were awarded medals in competition. (Minute 1:52) Click here to see the presentation celebrating our MBIT students

In addition to our 25 medalists, we also recognized Conor McGlinchy of CB South, who was awarded a gold medal for his performance in auto service technology. Following his SkillsUSA competition, Conor and his teammate took first place in the Philadelphia Top Tech Challenge Competition, earning them more than $285,000 in scholarships and tools. This team then went on to place first at Northampton Community College’s annual automotive skills competition.

A presentation on the School Resource Officer program at CB South was given by Director of Operations Kevin Spencer. He detailed the successful relaunch of the CB South SRO program, a partnership between Warrington Township Police and CBSD, which resumed in September of 2022 after a 4-year hiatus. Click here to see the SRO presentation

On June 14, 2022, a presentation was made at a Board Executive Session showing the data supporting the increased safety and student benefits of implementing the School Resource Officer Program in all 3 CBSD high schools. In June 2022, the board approved the budget that included funding for 3 School Resource Officers. As a partnership program, the officer’s salary and benefit costs will be shared between the school district and the municipality where each school is located. CBSD and Warrington Township were able to have Officer Bell return to CB South in September 2022.

We are happy to report that we are very close to an agreement between Buckingham Township and CBSD, that will enable us to begin the School Resource Officer program at CB East. Last week, administrators from Central Bucks School District presented a proposal at the Doylestown Boro Police Commission Meeting, where Central Bucks Regional Police and Doylestown Boro Council members were in attendance. While we ran into some opposition to having a School Resource Officer at CB West, we are hopeful that a future agreement can be reached.

Professional Services, Legal Teams

Recently, there has been much discussion, public commentary, media attention and misinformation being amplified in the Central Bucks Community regarding the cost of Professional Services, Legal Teams and the internal audit that is currently being performed by Duane Morris because of the ACLU complaint. Central Bucks School District is a $370 million entity. Any organization or company of this size needs to procure these services, which amount to a fraction of our operating budget and a large portion of these fees will be covered by the school district’s insurance policy.

When external organizations and individuals file complaints alleging that our students aren’t safe and that our teachers and staff are failing in their duty to protect our students, we have an absolute obligation to conduct a thorough and independent investigation of these allegations. At the same time, we must also defend the incredible work that our exemplary teachers, staff and administration perform daily to provide a supportive environment that fosters academic excellence and wellness for all our students. If an investigation were not conducted, it would be a dereliction of duty on the part of our administration and board of school directors that would leave us legally at risk and vulnerable to future lawsuits resulting in a much greater financial cost to our district.

If the ACLU had confidentially provided the names of the alleged victims to our administration to immediately investigate, we could have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars and several months’ time in this investigation. Without these allegations being previously reported to our teachers, staff and administration and with no identity of the alleged victims, we had no choice but to immediately begin an independent and thorough investigation. In addition to our top priority of providing a safe and supportive learning environment for ALL students, we also have a legal and ethical obligation to protect our teachers, staff and administration. We stand behind our dedicated professionals who have spent their careers serving our children and the community.

Listen to the meeting. View the agenda.

Highlights:

• Update given for Middle School Intervention & Enrichment by Brian Caughie, Lauren Dowd, Geanine Saullo and Stephanie Thomas. It was great to see the growth from preassessment to midyear. Thank you for sharing the wonderful activities taking place during I&E. See presentation here.
• Moved out of committee a recommendation to approve BCCC Dual-Enrollment and the Auto-Acceptance Agreement with BCCC. See the agreement here. This is a fabulous opportunity for our students and one that has been in the works for several years.

Listen to the meeting. View the agenda.

Highlights:

• Moved out of committee Policy 918: Title I Parent and Family Engagement. This was a cabinet discussion item that must be annually reviewed. See current copy here.

• Moved out of committee Policy 104: Discrimination/Title IX Sexual Harassment Affecting Students, Staff, and Third Parties. This was a cabinet discussion item, with an update of H/R email address on page 11. See red line copy here.

• Board discussion Policy 903: Public Participation in Board Meetings. Remains in committee. See current policy here.

Listen to the meeting. View the agenda.

Highlights:

• School Resource Officer (SRO) presentation given by Kevin Spencer, Director of Operations. A wonderful presentation about the great things happening at CB South with Officer Bell. Please see the presentation here.

• Moved out of committee a recommendation to approve Butler and Pine Run playground renovation project. See project details here.

• Update on capital projects. See details here.

• Moved out of committee for approval “Effectively Communicating in High-Stress and High-Concern Situations” training contract. See contract here.

• Recommendation for a pilot program at two schools for Go Guardian Beacon Software. There were additional questions regarding privacy and protection of students and their information. Privacy and protection are always a top priority. The program allows a unique approach catered to each district’s specific needs. Additional information will be shared at April’s meeting regarding specifics decided upon for our district. See presentation here.

The members of the Central Bucks School District's Board of School Directors each represent one of nine regions in the district. Each region includes one or more municipalities. While each region elects one school director, members represent the interests of the district as a whole once elected.

Regular school board meetings are generally held on the second Tuesday of the month. Download a complete list of 2022 meetings, including regular meetings and meetings of the board's committees. Download meeting agendas.

Correspondence for the Board of School Directors should be sent to Stephanie Radcliffe, Secretary to the Board, at sradcliffe@cbsd.org.

The "Central Bucks Board Note," is an e-newsletter designed to provide Central Bucks School District constituents with an overview of the work of their Board of School Directors.

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Email: sradcliffe@cbsd.org
Website: www.cbsd.org
Location: 20 Welden Drive, Doylestown, PA, USA
Phone: 267-893-2000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cbschools/
Twitter: @cbsdinfo