Menu

Athens Area School District board meeting, Aug 11, 2026

1 h 49 min · 0 public speakers

AI in schools ▶ 38:05Vouchers and school choice ▶ 44:32

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 49 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Athens Area board hears proposed timeline for potential SRU Elementary closure 1:02:20

  • The Finance and Operations committee report covered a plan to install water storage at SRU in lieu of a well, and board members asked about its cost and capacity. 24:49
  • A district staff member presented a proposed timeline for the potential closure of SRU Elementary, with a formal public hearing the week of October 5th and board consideration on January 12th, 2027. 1:02:20
  • Natalie Smart asked what the purpose of an optional community session would be compared with the formal hearing, and a district staff member said such a session was not a requirement. 1:09:02
  • One board member said they would vote no on a personnel item because of the process for presenting athletic volunteers. 1:34:35

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and minutes 23:38
    • Kathy Jo Minnick opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and asked board members for comments or corrections on the minutes. 23:38
  2. Finance and operations committee report 23:38
    • Charles Frisbie reported that a water storage system will be installed at SRU in lieu of a well and that the basic ed subsidy will increase by a little over $60,000 over last year's amount. 24:49
    • Dustin Bishop asked about the approximate cost and whether the district goes through more than 5,000 gallons of water a day at SRU. 26:10
    • A district staff member said the district budgeted about $75,000 for the well project and that the storage tanks would total 5,000 gallons. 26:23
  3. Personnel and policy committee report 35:58
    • Kathy Jo Minnick reported that all of the policies were first reads and that the committee recommended updating Policy 102 to current PA state standard language. 35:58
    • Kathy Jo Minnick said Policy 217 would change the graduation requirement from 26 to 24 credits, reducing mathematics from 4 credits to 3, which is 3 credits above the state minimum of 21. 36:42
  4. Curriculum, instruction and technology report 38:05
    • Christopher Jones reported that WOLA has over 150 enrollments, compared with 103 to 104 last year, and that staff are working on a state-required wellness check plan and a district-wide AI plan. 39:08
    • Natalie Smart asked why enrollment had increased, and a staff member said it could be a number of factors. 42:32
    • Jay White said the state mandated the wellness checks on July 12th and gave no additional funding for them. 45:57
  5. Superintendent report and building timeline 51:03
    • The superintendent said students will start approximately at 8:30 and the board will consider a temporary suspension of Policy 718.2, the therapy dog policy. 51:46
    • The superintendent proposed posting an FAQ the week of August 17th, holding a public hearing the week of October 5th and having the board consider the vote on January 12th, 2027. 1:03:07
    • One board member said comments should not be taken by email and that the process should just follow what the law is. 1:15:19
  6. Liaison and solicitor reports 1:18:43
    • Jason Johnson said the first Northern Tier Career Center meeting of the new school year will be August 20th. 1:18:51
    • Natalie Smart noted an email from the local PSBA representative about a conference in October. 1:19:43
    • The solicitor reported on a symposium session about AI and said there were 3 legal matters for executive session. 1:20:24
  7. Solicitor appointment 1:22:55
    • Christopher Jones made a motion to appoint a solicitor for the next year. 1:23:15
    • Dustin Bishop asked whether the solicitor would be involved in the SRU process, and the solicitor said laws would be checked probably before the 1st of September. 1:24:49
  8. Financial business and shot clocks 1:28:30
    • A speaker asked about the expected cost of shot clocks given a $2,000 donation by District 4, and a staff member said it would be between $6,500 and $9,000. 1:29:04
    • Jason Johnson asked whether districts could combine purchases to lower the price. 1:29:56
    • A staff member said shot clocks will be required in '28-'29. 1:30:52
  9. Personnel items and athletic volunteers 1:34:01
    • One board member asked for a communication process so volunteers are presented to the athletic committee beforehand. 1:34:35
    • A staff member said a more outlined process would be presented in September, and section H was voted on separately. 1:35:07
    • One board member said they would vote no because of the process, not the people. 1:35:41
  10. Contracts and agreements 1:37:25
    • The contracts included the employee assistance program, River Rock Academy, Blast, Children's House Child Advocacy Center and the Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania. 1:38:04
  11. Policy first reads 1:39:02
    • The policies were to move to second read with edits to two of them. 1:39:12
    • Asked about the therapy dog policy suspension, a staff member said other animals are allowed for agricultural education when part of the curriculum. 1:39:28
  12. FFA overnight trip request 1:40:31
    • The board considered an FFA National Conference overnight trip request for October 21st through the 24th. 1:40:37
  13. Transportation items 1:41:23
    • Jason Johnson asked staff to verify that contractors are up to date on DOT physicals, and a staff member said it would be confirmed. 1:41:53
  14. Buildings and grounds items 1:42:50
    • The items were a high school emergency water heater replacement and a Hunt Engineers public water system design and permit for SRU. 1:42:56
    • Dustin Bishop asked whether the water heater quotes compared apples to apples, and a staff member said it would be an on-demand system under an emergency timeline. 1:43:09
    • Dustin Bishop asked about permitting fees for the tank, and a staff member said they were included. 1:44:10
  15. Meeting schedule and closing business 1:44:59
    • The proposed schedule includes 2 meetings in September and 2 in May, and a staff member said the state minimum is 6 meetings a year. 1:45:23
    • A staff member said facility use is being tracked and billed while an updated facility use policy goes to the policy committee. 1:47:11
    • The next regular session was announced for Tuesday, September 8th at 7 o'clock, with an executive session after the meeting for personnel and legal. 1:47:37

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “Athens Area School DIstrict Board Of Directors Meeting - August 11th 2026”