Welcome to the Pennridge School Board monthly update. To foster better communication with the public we are providing a monthly executive summary of our actions. These are highlights of this month's Board meeting.

Each month, we will also include links to specific times of the video of our meeting to help you navigate to specific areas of interest. I hope you find this information useful and easy to access.

We welcome feedback from the public and 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.

Below for a complete list of Board actions for the month. The full agenda can also be viewed on our Board Docs website by clicking here.

Highlights of the Board's Decisions:

• President Wurz reflects on the changes in employee retention and student attendance

• Superintendent Berrios honors and recognizes our staff and community members.

• The School Board officially approves and welcomes our new Director of Nutritional Services, Beverly Hendricks.

• Pennridge joins the Public School fight for fair sports playoffs by officially supporting separate post-season playoffs

• The School Board approves several exciting trips for our students

• Policy 109; Resource Materials is approved for a First Read

September School Board Meeting Schedule:

• September 3, 2024- Curriculum, Activities, and Policy Committees
• September 9, 2024- Facilities, Finance and Personnel Committees
• September 23, 2024- Pennridge School Board Monthly Meeting

Major timecode references for the School Board Meeting Video:

• 00:01:05 President's Report
• 00:07:25 Superintendent's Report
• 00:31:30 Student Liaison Report
• 00:34:00 Public Comment
• 00:52:12 Consent Calendar
• 00:52:46 Activities Committee Report
• 00:54:30 Facilities Committee Report
• 00:56:00 Finance Committee Report
• 00:58:23 Personnel Committee Report
• 01:01:11 Policy Committee Report
• 01:19:44 Book Review Report
• 01:25:30 New Business
• 01:28:18 Public Comment

Mr. Wurz welcomed everyone back for another school year, thanked our staff for their hard work over the Summer, shared his optimism for this school year and presented the two charts, attached below.

• PSD gets back nearly $15K from Bucks County
• Hundreds of hours dedicated to Summer Preparation all over PSD Buildings and Departments
• A Spotlight on the First Days of School
• Commemorations and Honors for Several Residents
• A Special Visit from "Dr. Oscar"

• Bucks County Treasurer Kris Ballerini came to the August meeting to provide some perspective on how she found money on the County books that could be returned to taxing agencies like municipalities and School Districts. Pennridge’s share is $14,805.39!

Mr. Berrios formally recognized Pennridge resident Matthew Phelan who recently retired as Chief of the Bedminster Township Police Department. Mr. Berrios said, "Please accept my gratitude for your outstanding service and dedication to our community. Over the past four years, your efforts have significantly strengthened the partnership between the Bedminster Township Police Department and Pennridge, contributing to a safer and more supportive environment for our students and staff."

Mr. Berrios spoke about how well his message was received by hundreds of staff members, but how the "star of the show" was Oscar Schumacher, a 2nd Grade student at Guth Elementary and his message of empathy.

In the video linked below, "Dr. Oscar" provides his “7 Tips on How to have a Great School Year.” After the video played at the meeting. "Dr. Oscar" was honored for his spirit and enthusiasm and the way he makes us all Pennridge Proud!

• Beverly Hendricks is Pennridge's new Director of Nutritional Services with more than a decade of Public School experience
• Ms. Hendricks has worked in several other School Districts and brings new ideas and energy to the Department
• See below for an article about some of her experience helping families in need over the years

• The massive Summer paving project on the PHS and North MS campus finishes ahead of schedule
• The renovated Kitchen at Grasse Elementary school is nearly ready for students and staff.

The Pennridge School District voted to join many Pennsylvania Public Schools and support PA House Bill No. 1983 (204).

• The bill would "establish a mechanism for the PIAA to create separate playoffs for boundary and non-boundary (Public = Boundary/ Private = Non-Boundary) schools in post-season games. Our support for the proposed bill, as upon enactment, it would create an avenue for more equitable competition among all students and public school districts within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, thereby providing a benefit to the students of the Pennridge School District as well as all public school districts throughout the Commonwealth."
  

The School Board officially approved these three PHS overnight Field Trips:

• The Class of 2025 Senior Trip to Walt Disney World
• The French Language Program to Quebec City for an immersive educational experience
• FBLA will attend their State Conference at Kalahari Resort in the Poconos

As it is written in the approved 1st read of Policy 109, "Pennridge School District encourages teachers to have classrooms that are rich with reading materials relevant to the subject areas for teaching and learning. It will be the professional responsibility of each Pennridge School District teacher to ensure that any book(s) not purchased by the District but held in individual classroom libraries and available for student use will have been read or reviewed by that teacher in advance of making the reading materials available for student use. Reading materials, including magazines, websites, etc. that contain any inappropriate or potentially offensive language or themes will be excluded from the classroom collection."

Please click below if you want to read more information about this and other Policies.

Please be advised, all supporting documentation can be found as attachments of the meeting agenda on BoardDocs. https://www.boarddocs.com/pa/pnrg/Board.nsf/Public