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Exeter Township School District special meeting, date not confirmed yet

1 h 24 min

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 24 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Exeter Township board approves football game security contract 20:01

  • The board approved a memorandum of agreement with the Exeter Township Education Association regarding extra duty contracts. 19:13
  • A staff member presented a cash forecasting service that the staff member said could increase interest revenue about $60,000 or $70,000 a year after expenses, and Julia Shaffer said the item would come back with another presentation. 40:00
  • Julia Shaffer listed Education Committee items A, C, D, E, F and G, Finance Committee item E, the Facilities and Transportation items for disposal, and Athletics and Extracurricular items A and B as moving to the October 20th voting meeting. 1:18:34

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Item by item (15)
  1. Opening of special voting meeting 1:53
    • A staff member reported 8 board members present and 1 absent at roll call. 2:49
    • Julia Shaffer said there were no amendments to the agenda and no one had signed up for public comment. 2:50
  2. Student mental health presentation 3:31
    • A student spoke about participating in a roundtable with the Pennsylvania Attorney General on the impact of social media on student mental health, which a staff member said led to a Teen Talk report. 3:31
    • The school psychologist said 5 Exeter students took part and that students reported turning to AI to talk through emotional and mental health concerns. 10:12
    • A staff member said speakers on AI, mental health and digital safety funded through the Exeter Community Education Foundation would come on October 20th and October 21st, and John Fidler asked the presenters about a book on youth anxiety. 12:05
  3. Personnel items and education association memorandum 17:27
    • Ann Hearing read a recommendation to approve or ratify resignations, terminations, appointments, transfers and leaves of absence. 17:33
    • Asked by a speaker how much had been spent so far, a staff member said $800 and $600, for a total of $1,400. 18:44
    • Ann Hearing read a recommendation to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Exeter Township Education Association regarding extra duty contracts. 19:13
    • The motion on items A through E carried, and the motion on the memorandum carried. 18:12
  4. Football game security contract 19:57
    • Andrea Battler read a recommendation to approve a revised statement of work with Security Care Inc. for security agents at football games for the 2026⁠-⁠2027 school year at $31.50 per hour per agent. 20:01
    • One board member said background clearances and Act 67 certifications are required by Pennsylvania law and board policies and asked the board, administration and legal counsel to treat child safety as the paramount consideration. 20:29
    • Julia Shaffer apologized for not looking further into the clearances and asked about using the agents for basketball, and a staff member said the contract could be updated. 22:27
    • Julia Shaffer announced the motion carried. 24:04
  5. Committee of the Whole opening and minutes 24:15
    • Julia Shaffer adjourned the special voting meeting and opened the October 6th, 2026 Committee of the Whole meeting. 24:27
    • A staff member reported 9 present at roll call, and Julia Shaffer presented minutes from the September 1st, 2026 and September 15th, 2026 meetings. 25:53
  6. Education Committee items 26:54
    • A staff member said 9 out of the 16 listed conferences relate to physical safety and security or behavioral and mental health. 27:10
    • A staff member said a contract amendment with Power School Group LLC would give teachers and students access to new Schoology tools at no cost to the district. 28:22
    • A speaker asked about increases ranging from about 14% to 25%, and a staff member said the BCIU had not given a reason but suspected increased staffing costs. 32:19
  7. Firefighter tax credit and radio bids 34:07
    • Debra Bloom reported a volunteer firefighter tax credit of $599 per volunteer firefighter. 34:15
    • A staff member said the PCCD grant requires the district to bid the products and that 3 weeks of advertising in the local paper cost $893.99. 35:46
    • Julia Shaffer later said the fire chief reported some firefighters had moved out of the area and some did not submit applications. 1:02:23
  8. Budget timeline 36:36
    • A staff member said the state base index is 3.6% and the district's adjusted index will be 4.8%, and recommended a resolution in November not to exceed the index. 36:46
    • The staff member said the board would get a first look at the budget in January and that the year could be tight. 36:46
  9. Cash forecasting service 39:50
    • A staff member said the district makes about $850,000 a year in interest income and that a program costing $23,366 could increase interest revenue about $60,000 or $70,000 a year after expenses. 40:00
    • A speaker asked about investment risk, and a staff member said state law limits district investments to fully backed or insured options. 43:14
    • Travis Odom asked whether the service could negatively affect cash flow, and a staff member said no. 52:00
    • Julia Shaffer said the item would come back with another presentation. 57:55
  10. Pool facilities license agreement 58:10
    • A speaker read a recommendation to approve an agreement with Reading School District to rent its pool for swim team use for the 2026⁠-⁠2027 school year. 58:10
    • Andrea Battler pointed to a discrepancy between forty thousand and twenty five thousand in the contract, and a speaker noted other errors and missing sections. 58:57
    • Julia Shaffer asked that the agreement be sent over for review. 1:02:23
  11. Stadium lighting replacement 1:03:40
    • A staff member said replacement bulbs for the stadium lights can no longer be found and cited a quote of about $197,000 for LED lights, with payback from energy savings between 4 and 5 years. 1:03:55
    • The staff member suggested putting a $106,000 solar rebate toward the lighting and said formal quotes would come back in February. 1:03:55
    • One board member said to run with it. ~1:08:24
  12. Water rates and textbook disposal 1:09:10
    • A staff member said a Pennsylvania American Water rate increase petition had a 45-day extension and that the district received $58,000 in credits after finding overcharges. 1:09:28
    • Andrea Battler read a recommendation to dispose of senior high school science textbooks no longer in use, and a staff member said they are outdated editions. 1:11:15
  13. Solar project update 1:11:53
    • A staff member said the district had budgeted about $150,000 for utility line improvements and the cost looks to be between $95,000 and $100,000. 1:12:00
    • The staff member said construction would probably be done within 3 months of groundbreaking and that a new electric rate came in just under 7 cents a kilowatt. 1:13:02
  14. Athletic cooperative agreements 1:14:43
    • Travis Odom presented cooperative sponsorships with Berks Catholic for girls and boys bowling for 2026⁠-⁠27 and boys volleyball for the 2027 spring season. 1:15:04
    • Andrea Battler said some parents had raised concern about spots on the volleyball team, and Travis Odom said it was discussed with the coach. 1:16:27
    • A staff member said the partner school pays its percentage of total program cost based on student numbers. 1:16:57
  15. Closing remarks and announcements 1:18:34
    • John Fidler announced BCTC open houses on October 13 and the 15th of October for students in 5th through 12th grades. 1:19:21
    • A staff member recognized a community safety day held at Lorraine Elementary School on October 1st. 1:21:08
    • Julia Shaffer said the board would meet in executive session on personnel and that the next voting meeting is October 20th, 2026. 1:23:15

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

What was said

What board members said, in order

Our absolute highest priority must always be the physical safety and emotional well-being of the 3,800 students entrusted to our care. And at our last meeting, I questioned the status of background clearances for contracted security personnel at our football events.Jason Mell · Board member20:29
Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “October 6 2026 ETSD Committee of the Whole Meeting and Special Voting Meeting”