Wednesday

· All Board members were in attendance, with the exception of Mrs. Beth Ludwig. In addition, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Patricia Green; District Solicitor, Mr. Brungo; the Superintendent’s Executive Council; Mr. Hopkins; Mr. Botti; Mr. Gaertner; Mrs. Ryan; and Ms. Czerniewski and Mr. Hackett were in attendance. Other administrators in attendance were Ms. Sherri Ludwig, Ms. Tammy Andreyko, Dr. Cynthia Kainaroi, Mr. Brian Miller, Ms. Katherine Jenkins and Mr. Bob Bozzuto.

AGENDA

7:00 DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

(CMS AUDITORIUM)

7:30 SPECIAL MEETING/WORK SESSION

(BOARD ROOM)

- Community Relations

- Speakers (Voting Items)

- Special Meeting Voting Item

- Presentations:

*Preliminary Budget Presentation

*Turf Presentation

- Additional Special Meeting Voting Items

- Review of Board Folder

- Speakers (Non-agenda Items)

9:00 EXECUTIVE SESSION

Prior to the Board meeting, the Board presented Distinguished Achievement Awards in the Carson Middle School Auditorium to students who recently won honors on a state or national level. A summary of this ceremony will be posted as a link on the School Board website. More than 200 awards were presented. In addition, four staff members were honored for 25 years of service with the District and the Student Board Representatives were recognized for their fine service during this school year.

Mrs. Bishop convened the Board meeting in the CAO Board Room at about 8:15 PM. She noted that the Board met before the DAA Ceremony in Executive Session on a personnel matter. She also took a moment to again thank the Student Board Representatives, Lisa Czerniewski and Ross Hackett, for the excellent work they have done this year. Mrs. Bishop noted that Andy Hamm, who was in attendance, will be the NASH Representative next year.

Mrs. Bishop asked the Board’s permission to address one particular voting item at this point in the meeting. She asked the Superintendent to introduce this item.

Dr. Green introduced Ms. Kristen Silbaugh as the administration’s nominee for the position of Assistant Principal at Ingomar Middle School and the Board took action as follows.

The Board appointed Kristen Silbaugh to the position of Assistant Principal, Ingomar Middle School, effective June 10, 2008, at an annual salary of $81,500. The salary will be adjusted annually as directed by the Administrative Compensation and Performance Plan.

Ms. Silbaugh was first employed by North Allegheny in the 2003-04 year as a Long-term Substitute German Teacher and began contract employment as a German Teacher at the Intermediate High School in 2006. In the intervening years, she was employed by the Norwin School District. During the 2007-08 year, she has served as Lead Teacher at Ingomar Middle School. Ms. Silbaugh holds her B.S. in German Education from Penn State and she will complete the Masters program in Curriculum Design at St. Vincent College this August. She is certified as a German teacher and as a K-12 Principal.

The Board and the administration welcomed Ms. Silbaugh, who was seated in the audience with the middle school principals who were present in support of her appointment. Mrs. Bishop also took the opportunity to thank Dr. Steve Duchi for his assistance at IMS during the period of time during which the position of Assistant Principal at IMS was vacant – and for Dr. Duchi’s on-going willingness to help the District in various administrative capacities since his retirement.

Dr. Green then introduced the Preliminary Budget presentation by explaining that the process of developing the budget begins in August of the year prior. The North Allegheny School District uses a Zero-Based Budget process to develop its budget and lines up every expenditure to the goals of the Strategic Plan before any one is considered for inclusion in the budget. She also noted that she and Mr. Hopkins received clear direction from the Board last July to present a balanced budget this May and that has been the goal of their work during the course of the year. She then turned the floor over to Mike Hopkins.

Mr. Hopkins announced that the District is proposing a millage decrease for the second time in two years. That decrease will be in the amount of .35 mill, which is equal to $1.2M. The 2008-2009 Preliminary Budget is balanced at $114,695,606.

Following Mr. Hopkins’ presentation, the voting item was introduced, moved and seconded. After the introduction of the voting item, various Board members added their comments and posed questions to Mr. Hopkins in regard to the Preliminary Budget. Mr. Hopkins provided explanations and responses to each in turn.

The Board adopted the 2008-2009 Preliminary Budget in accordance with Section 687 of the School Laws of Pennsylvania and gave authorization for the budget to be made available for public inspection for 20 days beginning not later than Friday, May 30, 2008.

The 2008-2009 Preliminary Budget is estimated at $114,695,606. The approval of the 2008-2009 Final General Fund Budget is scheduled for June 25, 2008.

Mrs. Bishop then asked Mr. Schwartzmier to introduce the next voting item on the special meeting agenda, which is in the Property and Supplies Report, prior to Mr. Gaertner’s and Mr. Bozzuto’s presentation. Mr. Schwartzmier introduced the voting item; it was moved and seconded.

Mr. Gaertner and Mr. Bozzuto proceeded to share the details of the in-depth Turf Investigation that they have conducted over the last several months. They conducted research, visited nine fields, and met with coaches of various sports to gather their information. They explained that they had performed an extensive amount of investigation and research, and the consultant who was retained by the District assisted them in the decision-making process. First bids on the project were rejected on April 23 and the second round of bids was opened on May 12. The bid from one contractor was recommended for acceptance.

Following the presentation and some discussion, the Board took the following action:

The Board accepted the bid from the following contractor as the lowest responsible bidder meeting the specifications for the replacement of the turf and repairs to the track at Newman Stadium.

The Board reviewed the items on which they will vote next week. There was some discussion as they prepared themselves to make decisions on the important issues presented in the May Board folder.

Of note, Mrs. Bishop also made a plea to any Board members or parents who would be willing to help to prepare for the Post-Prom this Friday afternoon. She assured all that there would be work for them to do in preparing for this event.

Also of note, there will be tours of the post prom decorations at NASH from 7-9 pm on Saturday, May 24^th. Please consider dropping by to see how the cafeteria has been transformed for an exciting evening for the students using the theme “A Night on the Town!”

Dr. Green had an extensive Good News Report this month. Details will be included in next week’s E-report.

There was one community member who came forward to address the Board at the close of the meeting.

George Muhlberg congratulated NA on its use of ZBB and noted that our success in identifying trends and savings as a result mirrors his experience in the corporate world in years prior.

Following this meeting the Board met in Executive Session to discuss contract negotiations with a bargaining unit, a litigation matter and a property matter.

Display copies of Board Books are available at each building and department office. Copies of the complete Board Report folder and minutes are available through the Board secretary’s office, as well as copies of the various reports presented.

NASD School Board News