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Wallingford-Swarthmore School District board meeting, date not confirmed yet

1 h 11 min

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Wallingford-Swarthmore board votes 9⁠-⁠0 to scale back high school renovation project 1:07:11

  • The superintendent presented budget projections showing the district would use about $560,000 of its fund balance in fiscal year '27, growing to $3.56 million in the 2027-'28 school year. 3:57
  • A district staff member presented a first-year review of the electronic devices policy, drawing on referral data, staff pulse checks, student feedback and surveys. 23:58
  • The motion on Item T, the high school renovation project, passed 9 to 0. 1:01:37

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Item by item (14)
  1. Opening and roll call 0:02
    • The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and an attendance roll call. 0:02
    • A staff member reported 9 voting members present. 0:51
    • The presiding speaker said there was no student representatives report because school had concluded. 0:52
  2. Superintendent's budget and staffing report 1:02
    • The superintendent said fund balance use would grow to $3.56 million in the 2027-'28 school year, using 31% of the fund balance, and listed reducing the high school project scope, a potential early retirement incentive and attrition as options. 1:02
    • The superintendent said the budget increases by less than 1% this year while prescription medication costs rose by $1 million in one year, and projected a $1.8 million increase in fiscal year '28. 3:01
    • The superintendent said the current principal's salary and benefits are $286,000 a year, while the proposed interim contract of $808 per day for 261 days comes to $210,000. 16:57
  3. Education foundation donations 16:57
    • The superintendent said the Wallingford-Swarthmore Education Foundation was presenting donations for a new outdoor classroom at the middle school and an award of $5,000 for district-wide literacy programs. 17:40
    • A speaker said the foundation raised about $20,000 for the outdoor classroom from over 50 donors, with more to come. 20:45
  4. Electronic devices policy review 23:39
    • A district staff member reported that staff reported 3% real disruption from personal devices at the high school and that 30% of parents saw an increase in student focus. 24:52
    • The staff member said over 78% of middle school students called the rule easy to follow, and listed GoGuardian monitoring of Chromebooks among priorities for administrators. 29:21
    • Rachel Holbert asked about cell phone proposals in the legislature, and a speaker said a version of the bell-to-bell ban passed both the House and the Senate. 37:44
  5. Superintendent evaluation announcement 44:06
    • The presiding speaker said the board met in executive session to complete the superintendent's annual evaluation, and the superintendent received proficient or distinguished ratings in all 5 performance standards. 44:06
  6. Public comment on agenda items 46:03
    • A speaker at public comment raised the removal of classroom teaching positions at MPE. 47:16
    • The presiding speaker said the topic was not on the agenda and directed the speaker to the second comment period. 47:55
  7. Approval of minutes 48:28
    • The board considered the minutes of the May 28th, 2026 regular board meeting. 48:28
    • The motion passed 9 to 0. 49:01
  8. Committee and legislative reports 49:03
    • Rachel Holbert said the DCIU board voted last week on a new contract for its teachers. 49:25
    • A speaker reported that Act Number 17 of 2026 establishes requirements for AEDs and CPR training in schools and that House Bill 543 directs a performance audit on student screen time. 49:53
  9. Personnel action items 51:07
    • The board considered 19 personnel items, including appointments, athletic supplementals, the extended school year program, curriculum bookroom realignments and summer hiring authorization. 51:07
    • The motion passed 9 to 0. 53:32
  10. Staffing services agreement 53:34
    • The board considered item U under Personnel Services, a staffing services agreement. 53:34
    • The presiding speaker said the board met with the incoming leader of SRS before the meeting. 53:50
    • The motion passed 9 to 0. 54:29
  11. Policy, field trips and service agreements 54:33
    • The board considered Policy 606, Tax Collection, for a second reading. 54:33
    • The board considered field trips under curriculum and educational service agreements under Student Services. 55:29
    • Each motion in the section passed 9 to 0. 55:25
  12. Finance and facilities items 56:52
    • A speaker said contracting services on the agenda were being spread among 5 awarded providers rather than increasing costs, and a staff member said that was correct. 58:50
    • A staff member said the vendor's proposal could have gone as high as $58,000 and the district negotiated a rate of $48,000 that does not include video production services. 59:44
    • The motion on items A through S passed 9 to 0. 1:01:35
  13. High school renovation project 1:01:37
    • One board member said the plan scaled back as finances require while keeping items that would make the buildings warm, safe and dry. 1:01:52
    • A speaker said none of the board took the vote to scale back the high school renovation project lightly, citing potential personnel cuts. 1:04:08
    • The motion passed 9 to 0. 1:07:12
  14. Public comment and adjournment 1:07:14
    • A speaker at public comment suggested the board direct administration to include responsible contractor language in the capital improvement plan. 1:08:04
    • A speaker at public comment raised teacher reductions in 4th and 5th grade at MPE, saying class sizes would go from about 17 to 20 to between 24 to 27. 1:08:48
    • The meeting was adjourned, and the presiding speaker said the board does not meet again until August. 1:11:10

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

Who spoke

Who spoke

We can’t yet tell who is speaking at this board’s meetings.

Video: posted by the district as “WSSD Board Meeting 6/15/2026”