Menu

Southmoreland School District board meeting, Aug 18, 2026

20 min · 2 public speakers

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 20 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Southmoreland board motion to table facilities director appointment fails 5:29

  • On several items, one board member said the documents had not been made available and that a vote could not be cast without seeing them. 1:49
  • The board considered approving a Director of Facilities Operations at a salary of $75,000, effective 8/19/2026. 4:55
  • A motion to table the appointment failed on a roll call vote, and a roll call vote on the appointment itself followed. 5:44
  • A speaker said the agenda and supporting documents are on BoardDocs and that internet and laptops had been offered to every board member. 17:39

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

Item by item (12)
  1. Meeting procedure and reports 0:00
    • Speakers discussed whether members would have to raise their hands to speak at voting meetings and at committee meetings. 0:11
    • No one signed up for citizens' comments on agenda items. 0:40
    • A staff member presented the student handbooks, which were discussed during the committee meeting. ~0:49
  2. Meeting minutes 1:28
    • The board was asked to approve minutes for the June 23rd, 2026 and July 27th, 2026 meetings. 1:31
    • Catherine Fike asked that the minutes be read aloud before the vote, saying they had not been available to view. 1:49
    • A speaker said the information is on BoardDocs. ~2:20
  3. Policy and personnel log 2:42
    • There were no policy items. ~2:46
    • The board was asked to approve the personnel log for August 18th. 2:51
  4. Band chaperones and bus driver lists 3:40
    • The board was asked to approve lists of band chaperones and bus drivers for the 26⁠-⁠27 school year. 3:43
    • One board member said it was not fair to the rest of the board for members not to do due diligence in finding information that is provided to all of them. 4:20
  5. Director of Facilities Operations appointment 4:55
    • The board was asked to approve a Director of Facilities Operations at a salary of $75,000 with raises and benefits under the current Act 93 agreement, effective 8/19/2026. 4:55
    • A motion was made to table the appointment until the position could be advertised. 5:29
    • The motion to table failed. 6:11
  6. SEIU agreement on HR services 6:57
    • The board was asked to approve an SEIU MOU authorizing continued use of Precision HR Solutions Inc. through June 30th, 2028, pending final solicitor approval. 6:57
    • One board member said the district has a history of bad results when bringing in people from agencies. 7:28
  7. Behavioral health service agreement 7:55
    • The board was asked to approve an annual student service agreement with SPHS Behavioral Health. 7:58
    • One board member said the agreement had not been seen and raised concerns about placement. 8:12
    • Stephanie Geyer raised a point of order that the comment concerned the incorrect agenda item. 8:35
  8. Remote instruction days 9:08
    • The board was asked to approve remote instruction days when the district's 5 approved flexible instruction days have been exhausted. 9:26
    • A staff member said the item stems from a school code change this summer and will come before the board every August. 9:41
    • The staff member said the only difference between flexible and remote days is how they are classified on paper for the state. 10:22
  9. Title I educational plans 10:39
    • The board was asked to approve Title I plans for Southmoreland Primary Center and Southmoreland Elementary School for the 26⁠-⁠27 school year. 10:45
    • One board member said the plans had not been seen and that previous plans had been questioned. 11:02
  10. Marching band trip 11:20
    • The board was asked to approve a marching band trip to Dollywood, Pigeon Ford, Tennessee, from May 13th, 2027 to May 16th, 2027, at no cost to the district. 11:20
    • A staff member said the reference to Florida was a typo. 11:50
  11. Monthly financial reports 13:16
    • One board member said the financial documents had not been available and could not be voted on unseen. 13:37
    • A staff member said internet and computer access had been offered and members had been invited into the buildings. 13:50
    • Samuel Accipiter said the information had not been received. 14:08
  12. Public comment 14:27
    • A speaker at public comment noted the right to appeal property assessments and asked the board to state how materials are made available to members. 15:09
    • Another speaker at public comment asked board members to state their responsibilities regarding the state education retirement fund. 16:44
    • A speaker said all agenda materials are on BoardDocs a week in advance and that laptops and internet had been offered to every board member. 17:39

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 “Southmoreland School Board Meeting 8/18/2026”