President

Vincent Sherpinsky

Vice President

Timothy Kerr

Members

Josie Charnock

Steve Hladik

Suzan Leonard

Rick Miniscalco

Carolyn Murphy

Frank O'Donnell 

John T. Schilling  

Several textbook adoptions were presented to the committee. Scheduled for implementation in 2014-2015, the proposed textbook adoptions include the Go Math! Program for grades 4 through 6, a textbook for the new 7th grade reading course and textbooks for Calculus, Statistics, pre-Algebra, high school science electives, and French 2 courses.

Also, the Special Education component of the Comprehensive Plan was presented to the Committee. The plan is required of school districts by the state to demonstrate compliance with applicable federal and state laws. It will also be presented to the full Board at the April 1 Board Work Session meeting. Upon approval, this plan will become effective on July 1, 2014 and continue through June 30, 2017. The committee agreed to move this forward for a 28 day public review and comment period. Community members can view the plan, by clicking here.

The committee also received an NP ADvantage program update. KinderCare is a new patron that will utilize the school district website to advertise their summer camp program. Additional opportunities for businesses to advertise will include the televised prom show and the district activities calendar.

The next ECP Committee meeting will be Monday, April 7 at 6:30 p.m.

The Finance Committee met on Monday, February 24 and highlighted several informational items.  

NPSD Board of School Director Frank O'Donnell was elected chairman of the Finance Committee.

Bob Schoch, director of business administration, updated the committee on the Earned Income Tax (EIT) and Transfer Tax. He noted that the year-to-date EIT numbers have been reduced from the optimism of last month and are ahead of last year by 4.16% compared to the 15.04% the prior month.

Mr. Schoch distributed a budget process report highlighting significant changes and progress of the past month. He also presented an estimate of the Act 1 Base Index for future years by the PA Independent Fiscal Office and a PASBO presentation on the Governor's budget proposal.

The next meeting of the Finance Committee will be on Monday, March 31 at 6:30 p.m.  

The Safe Schools Committee met on March 4 and discussed the several security projects and updates.

NPSD Board of School Director Carolyn Murphy was elected chair of the Safe Schools Committee.

Ray Wilson, NPSD Safe Schools Coordinator, detailed that the Emergency Procedures Book was updated and the revised books will be distributed to staff. Updates will be made continually.

He also indicated that he held meetings with county officials and police departments to discuss the All Hazards Plan for each school. Mr. Wilson explained that an All Hazards Plan is specific to each individual building and is crucial because every building has different circumstances that must be considered in the event of an extreme emergency.

Mr. Wilson shared that evacuation training and drills will be held more frequently in the future. He shared that there was a combined Intruder and Evacuation simulation drill held at Pennbrook on Friday, March 14 and board members were welcomed to participate in the drill.

Mr. Wilson also shared that the secondary schools have two (2) Countywide Law enforcement Alerting and Safety System (CLASS) buttons in each school office and the Elementary Schools have one CLASS button in the office. He shared that the county is upgrading the CLASS button system in the near future and he will follow up regarding acquiring additional buttons. He does not want to order an outdated version of the buttons. Mr. Wilson also confirmed that CLASS signs are posted at every building.

Mr. Strobel reported that the North Penn High School cameras are running. He also shared that the new camera wiring is completed at Penndale Middle School and 60 new cameras are being mounted and we are waiting for a router. The Penndale Middle School cameras will provide building wide coverage. The vendor submitted a proposal for Pennbrook Middle Schoool and will be submitting a proposal for the Pennfield Middle School project. New camera monitors are on order for the elementary schools. Installation is continual and will be a main focus in the short term.

Mr. Strobel also informed the committee of the NPHS security fencing project schedule. The project began on March 18, 2014.

Mr. Strobel reviewed drawings of proposed lobby renovations for Gwyn Nor, Bridle Path, Gwynedd Square, Knapp, Oak Park and Walton Farm elementary schools. These renovations would focus on safer entrances at these schools. Carolyn Murphy suggested that the plans be reviewed by the entire board for discussion and approval, as she felt it is important that the board have a full understanding of the renovations. The plans are proposed to be reviewed by the Support Services Committee and at the next Work Session meeting.

The Pennbrook sidewalk icing issue was brought up and solutions were discussed.

The committee decided that Safe Schools Committee would plan to meet the first Tuesday of every other month, unless there are other urgent issues needing additional meetings. The next Meeting of the Safe Schools Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29 at 6:30 p.m. at the Support Services Center.

The Foundation met at its monthly meeting on March 12 at which time its student representatives, Taylor Young and Erin Huebner, joined the trustees for the first time. It was great receiving input from them about the Foundation's programs and fundraising efforts. The trustees look forward to working with them on all of these endeavors.

On March 8, the organization held a charity luncheon at Bonefish Grill for the first time. It was one of the Foundation's best luncheons in years. The sold out event brought in approximately $2,500 for the Foundation. All the event attendees were impressed with the high quality of food and service they received from Bonefish and its manager Paul Friedman. A big thank you goes to his entire staff for making it such a wonderful event.

The Foundation is currently looking into and planning a fundraising event for the end of April into the beginning of May. This "May Day" event will be an online auction of North Penn experiences. More details will be forthcoming on this exciting and new endeavor.

In the next week or so, NPSD staff will receive an invitation to submit proposals for innovative projects for the 2014-2015 school year. The grant review committee looks forward to considering their ideas for next school year.

The North Penn Alumni Association coordinated a program at the NPHS career fair this month that included alumni from various professions. At times each alumnus had a line of interested students and parents waiting to speak to them about their chosen field. Thank you to the NPHS alumni who donated their time and expertise to be at the event.

The foundation is currently busy planning for its Golf Classic which will be held Monday, August 18 at Pinecrest Golf Course.

Any questions about the Foundation can be directed to Christine Liberaski at the ESC.