Board Policy Development Committee Agenda/Notes December 17, 2019

December 17, 2019 Board Policy Development Committee Meeting
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Panorama Village - Meeting Room A
State College, PA 16801

1. Call to Order
   
   
2. Legislative Matters for 2020 (attachment)
   Feedback and input for possible future actions
   
   
3. Draft Sustainability Policy
   
   
4. Future Agenda Planning
   
   
5. Public Comment
   Each individual will be limited to comments of three minutes as time permits for items on this agenda or related to Board business.
   
   
6. Adjournment

APPROVED
December 17, 2019, Board Policy Development Committee Meeting
Panorama Village Administrative Center
Meeting Room C - 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
240 Villa Crest Drive
State College, PA 16801

1. Call to Order
   Ms. Bedell called the Board Policy Development Committee Meeting to order at 11:45 AM.
   
   Committee Members Present: Amy Bader, Lori Bedell, Gretchen Brandt, Dan Duffy
   Others: Randy Brown, Cathy Kanour, Bob O’Donnell, Linda Pierce
   Guests: Amber Concepcion, Tami Nowacki
   
   Mr. Duffy made a motion to nominate Ms. Bedell as Board Policy Development Committee Chair. Ms. Bader seconded the motion. All Board Policy Development Committee members were in favor.
   
   
2. Legislative Matters for 2020 - Feedback and input for possible future actions
   1. A legislative update with state legislators will be held on Friday, 1/17/2020.
   2. Ms. Concepcion shared PSBA tips for establishing a rapport with the legislators:
      1. Story telling - Illustrate examples with a specific family/student
      2. Introduce the legislators to the kids (High School Cyber Classroom)
      3. Have a story for each category
   3. Dr. O’Donnell suggested we include SCASD student leaders and encourage other district superintendents to invite their student leaders as well.
   4. Prioritization for discussion included:
      1. Charter schools
         • Special education funding
         • Funding formula/calculation
         • Oversight
         • Cyber Charter Bill
         • Student performance
         • PDE
      2. Special education funding
   5. “Hold” items:
      1. Transportation
      2. Preschool programming for economically disadvantaged students
         • Invite legislators to sit down with a couple of elementary principals, e.g., Mr. Weed, Mr. Feldman, Ms. Yoder - Separate event
         • Visit Hearts
         • Host event/forum for county and state officials
         • United Way had a federal grant - all inclusive (Ms. Bader advised)
      3. PA State Assessment System and graduation requirement (combine)
   6. Next Steps:
      1. Dr. O’Donnell will email other superintendents, offering a prioritized list
3. Draft Sustainability Policy
   Ms. Bedell provided a document summarizing language and ideas from various resources. The existing policies provide a nice framework; therefore, it doesn’t make sense to reinvent the wheel. Setting goals and making it clear as to what the expectation is for our sustainability policy and putting those goals and expectations out on the Board site will give us time to craft a high-level document. Possible partners are the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee and the Sustainability Institute.
   
   Next Steps:
   1. Ms. Bedell will draft a policy
   2. Brainstorm who to invite to be part of a Committee Advisory Council
   
   
4. Future Agenda Planning
   1. 908 - Make sure the language is what we want it to be. Possibly make it more SCASD-specific. Is it suitable for SCASD?
      Next Steps:
      1. Ms. Pierce will reshare the Google Doc
      2. Hold a virtual discussion with a deadline of 1/15/2020
      3. Make a decision to take to the full Board
   2. Nepotism
      Next Steps:
      1. Ms. Pierce will draft a policy
   3. Maintaining Professional Boundaries, Screentime, PSBA Policy Review
      Next Steps:
      1. Prioritize
   4. PSBA sends out a newsletter which provides legislative updates. It is available via Board Docs.
      Next Steps:
      Ms. Pierce will research the best way to get the newsletter out to the Committee
      
      
5. Public Comment
   Ms. Tami Nowacki, Spring Creek Elementary parent, talked about the importance of addressing special education and gifted funding and crisis management counseling services with the state legislators.
   
   
6. Adjournment
   Ms. Bedell adjourned the Board Policy Development Committee Meeting at 12:51 PM.

Submitted by,

Cathy L. Kanour