1 The School District of Philadelphia Board of Education Public Meeting Minutes December 15, 2022 A public meeting of the Board of Education was held in hybrid format on December 15, 2022. Some Board Members, select staff, and some registered speakers participated in-person, while others participated remotely. Members of the general public who did not attend in-person participated via Zoom meeting platform. The meeting was convened at 4:02 p.m., by Joyce Wilkerson, President. President Wilkerson reported/commented on the following: ● Well wishes for the upcoming holiday season and a reminder that all School District of Philadelphia schools and offices will be closed from December 26th through January 2nd. ● Acknowledgement of our Deputy Superintendent of Operations, Uri Monson, on his appointment as Budget Secretary for Governor-elect Shapiro. Vice President Egea-Hinton made announcements concerning recording, copyright, participation in, and viewing of the meeting.
Roll Call, Minutes, Announcements Lynn Rauch, General Counsel, announced that the Board met in Executive Session to discuss privileged and confidential, and personnel matters in addition to information or strategy in connection with the following litigation: Brickhouse v. The School District of Philadelphia et. al., United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 2:22-CV-04596 (alleging discrimination and civil rights violations); CS for AS v. The School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, No. 220802033 (alleging claims under the Tort Claims Act); Evans v. The School District of Philadelphia, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 22-CV-1410 (alleging discrimination and civil rights law violations); Delta/BJDS Inc. v. Ernest Bock & Sons Inc., et al., Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, No. 2022-1486 (alleging claims concerning construction
project); The School District of Philadelphia v. Antonia Pantoja Charter School, et al., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Education, Docket Nos. BBFM-00-2016-24 through 31; BBFM-10-2017-01;
BBFM-08-2017-01 through 04; BBFM-06-2017-16, 20, 24, and 25 (involving charter school funding disputes); Memphis Street Academy Charter School v. The School District of Philadelphia, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 22-CV-2760 (alleging discrimination and civil rights violations); JUUL Labs, Inc., Marketing, Sales Practices, and Product Liability Litigation, Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) No. 3:19-MD-02913 (multidistrict litigation of claims related to vaping); and Sergeant, et al. v. The School District of Philadelphia, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 22-CV-1509 (alleging civil rights and constitutional claims in the school selection process). Ms. Rauch conducted Roll Call.
2 Members Present: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Board Member Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Ms. Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, Mr. Streater, Ms. Thompson (remotely), President Wilkerson – 9 Members Absent: 0 Attending: Tony B. Watlington, Ed.D, Superintendent, and Sophia Roach and Angelica “Love” Speech, Non-Voting Student Board Representatives The minutes from the November 17, 2022 meeting of the Board of Education were presented for approval. Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Board Member Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Ms. Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, Mr. Streater, Ms. Thompson (remotely), President Wilkerson - 9 No: 0 Committee Reports Board Member Thompson provided a report from the Parent and Community Advisory Council, including: ● The Advisory Council continues to share information to their school communities on District activities to include the District survey getting feedback on the District calendars for the upcoming school years and the Strategic Planning Advisory Groups.
● Advisory Council members continue to actively participate in the Board of Education Speaker portion of the meeting by either sending in written testimony or providing live testimony on those concerns of their communities or those Action Items being considered for Board Action. ● This Advisory Council will be applying to participate in Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington and the District’s Strategic Planning Groups, lending their lived experience and expertise to the Strategic Planning Process work. ● To announce the resignation of Advisory Council Member Georgia Kiouskis and acknowledgement of her service. ● Acknowledgement of December 2nd, to recognize the first national special education law, from the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act signed by President Gerald Ford on November 29, now renamed in 1991 to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1991. Student Board Representative Angelica “Love” Speech reported on her and fellow Student Board
Representative Sophia Roach’s activities, noting that they are working hard to develop an overall outreach program to connect with their peers throughout the school year. Ms. Speech also encouraged students to reach out to her and Ms. Roach to share their feedback and experience. Superintendent Remarks President Wilkerson invited Dr. Watlington to provide remarks. Dr. Watlington reported/commented on:
3 ● Congratulations to President Wilkerson on receiving the 2022 Benjamin E. May's Lifetime Achievement Award ● Congratulations to Uri Monson on being named by Governor-elect Shapiro, as Secretary of the Budget for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ● Updates to the Superintendent’s Strategic Plan Dr. Watlington invited the following to respond to questions raised by Board Members: ● Shavon Savage, Deputy Superintendent of Academic Services ● Uri Monson, Deputy Superintendent of Operations ● Reggie McNeil, Chief Operating Officer Copies of presentations are included with meeting materials. Public Testimony and Registered Student and General Speakers Board Member Salley acknowledged the receipt of and summarized written testimony submitted to the Board from: ● Horace Clouden ● Dr. Cheri Micheau Complete copies of the written testimony are included with the meeting materials. The meeting was opened to the public for presentation of statements by registered student speakers and
general speakers. Ms. Rauch provided the applicable provisions of the speakers’ policy for the meeting. The following individuals spoke: Philip Dorn, student, shared remarks on the current school selection process and provided a demonstration to the Board on what it would look like if the District employed a selection process similar to that of the process used when matching medical students and their residency programs. Dominic Takacs, student, expressed a need for increased services for students receiving special education services at GAMP. Lisa Haver, community member, expressed concerns regarding opportunities for engagement beyond the Board of Education monthly meeting. Ms. Haver also shared a list of things that she believes the schools need to improve student achievement and experience. The following individuals urged the Board to direct the School District of Philadelphia to establish an office
of extra-curricular partnerships dedicated to out of school time programming and partnerships: ● Justin Ennis, community member ● LeQuyen Vu, community member ● Maya Heiland, community member
4 ● Tawanna Jones, community member ● Maddy Booth, community member ● Rachel Whitley, community member ● Christian Holland, District staff member Kristin Luebbert, District staff member, expressed the need for investment in restorative practices in schools and the need for dedicated full-time staff for supporting students who are in crisis or despair. Judith Taggart, community member, spoke about the several community engagement opportunities students and families have had as well as the improvement in student academic performance at H.R Edmunds. Khadijah Abdul-Jabbar, parent, shared her experience with Global Leadership Charter School and expressed support for the school's application for a high school. Tifphani Johnson, community member, expressed support for Southwest Academy Charter School. Lawrence Jones, community member, shared a proposal for a solution to gun violence which included teaching students about firearm safety.
Mama Gail Clouden, community member, expressed concerns regarding people being treated with respect, feedback she received from individuals who served on the Superintendent’s transition team, and data regarding teacher attendance before the pandemic. Horace Clouden, community member, expressed concerns regarding Action Items 28 and 29 and urged the Board to reopen swimming pools. Leah Clouden, community member, expressed concerns regarding students being taught specific mandatory content and asked Dr. Watlington about resources such as after school tutoring. Ms. Clouden also shared the importance of the community as stakeholders. Jon Landau, community member, thanked the Board of Education for their service to the School District and expressed concerns regarding all students at Martin Luther King High School being enrolled in the JROTC program. Mr. Landau shared that he does not believe that JROTC should be a mandatory
program for all students and expressed concerns regarding the lack of oversight in JROTC programs. April Marinell, District staff member, expressed concerns as it relates to ESOL students and the current vacancy for a bilingual counselor assistants and services for English learners that have been discontinued such as parent scholars and ESOL tutors. Amanda Diesel, parent/guardian, expressed gratitude for the staff and administrators at the Henry C. Lea School and spoke about environmental repairs and needs in the Lea school environment. Ms. Diesel also shared that the school is in need of repairs to their PA system and video surveillance system following a school lock down. Cari Akula, parent/guardian, expressed concern regarding the curriculum offered at J.R. Masterman’s middle school and the District’s lottery system. Mrs. Akula also asked that Dr. Watlington’s email address be made publicly available.
Darryl Seaford, Parent/Guardian, shared his experience with People to People Charter School and expressed great satisfaction with the school community and the school's commitment to diversity.
5 Ilene Poses, APPS, expressed concerns regarding the Board and School District’s spending priorities as it related to previous and current vendor contracts authorized by the Board. Cathy Roccia-Meier, community member, called for more transparency and evaluation for IU 26 and for the Board to take a more active role in providing the services and resources for students and staff through more structure. Anne Dorn, parent/guardian, shared her proposal for the school selection process to ensure that more students get into their top choice schools. Donald Litman, community member, expressed concern regarding nepotism and alleged corruption throughout the School District. Board Organization President Wilkerson invited Dr. Watlington, Board Secretary, to lead the proceedings for Board Organization and election of Board officers. Dr. Watlington asked for a motion for nomination of Board President.
President Wilkerson announced that she would not be seeking re-election as the President for the Board of Education. Dr. Watlington opened nominations for Board President. President Wilkerson nominated Board Member Streater as the Board President. No other nominations were made. After nominations were closed, the Board voted on the nomination of Board Member Streater as President of the Board. The vote was:: Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Board Member Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Ms. Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, Mr. Streater, Ms. Thompson, President Wilkerson – 9 No: 0 Mr. Streater was elected Board President. Leticia Egea-Hinton announced that she would not be seeking re-election as the Vice President for the Board of Education. Dr. Watlington called for nominations for Board Vice President. Board Member Egea-Hinton nominated Board Member Fix-Lopez for the position of Vice President. Board Member Thompson nominated Board Member Salley for the position of Vice President.
After nominations were closed, the Board voted on the nominations of Board Members Fix-Lopez and Salley by stating the name of the nominee they supported. Board Member Fix-Lopez received seven votes and Board Member Salley received two votes, as follows: For Board Member Fix-Lopez: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Ms. Fix-Lopez, Mr, Streater, and Ms. Wilkerson. For Board Member Salley: Ms. Salley and Ms. Thompson
6 Ms. Fix-Lopez was elected Vice President. Board President Streater provided remarks in accepting his position as President of the Board of Education. Vice President Fix-Lopez provided remarks accepting her position as Vice President of the Board of Education. Later in the meeting, Board President Streater introduced a motion authorizing the filing of signature cards for the elected officers of the Board with the depositories of the School District and authorization of the use of facsimile signatures for the elected President and Vice President. Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Board Member Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Ms. Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, Mr. Streater, Ms. Thompson, President Wilkerson – 9 No: 0 Goals and Guardrails Board Member Thompson introduced and facilitated the Board’s Goals and Guardrails monitoring session to review progress on Guardrail 3: Partnering with Parents & Family Members – Every parent and guardian
will be welcomed and encouraged to be partners in their child’s school community. Board Member Thompson noted that the Board last monitored this Guardrail in December 2021, as Guardrails are monitored once per year. Dr. Watlington invited Dr. Tonya Wolford, Chief of Evaluation, Research, and Accountability and Shavon Savage, Deputy Superintendent of Academic Services to lead a presentation on the District’s current progress toward Guardrail 3: Partnering with Parents & Family Members. The following staff reports were provided: ● Dr. Tonya Wolford, Chief of Evaluation, Research, and Accountability ● Shavon Savage, Deputy Superintendent of Academic Services ● Uri Monson, Deputy Superintendent of Operations Deputy Savage provided an overview of Guardrail 3, including a review of Guardrail Indicator 3.1: School Relationship Rating, which looks at the percentage of schools with a high District-Wide Survey School
Relationship Rating and Guardrail Indicator 3.2: School Advisory Council Meetings, which looks at the percentage of schools that have a School Advisory Council or SAC, that meets 3 or more times per year. Dr. Wolford shared that the District had over 14,000 parents from District schools take the survey this past year noting that the parent engagement with the District-wide survey had seen a steady increase since the 2018-2019 school year. Dr. Wolford highlighted that the data provided during the presentation is based on the survey being administered during virtual learning in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, noting that the response rate decreased during this time, since schools were unable to support in-person survey administration as they had in previous years. Overall, Dr. Wolford reported that the District is Off-Track with this indicator and shared that 18% of schools are meeting the high School Relationship score, which is
below our annual target of 37.1% in 2021-22. Dr. Wolford shared that decreases in school relationship scores are reflective of the change in parent/guardian experience as their children went from virtual to
7 in-person learning and also highlighted that the percentage of schools meeting the School Relationship score targets increased since last year, but is still below pre-pandemic levels. For Indicator 3.2: related to the number of meetings held by Student Advisory Councils, or SACs, Dr. Wolford reported that the District remains On Track toward progress; noting that 89.4% of schools are meeting the indicator, which is about 3.5 percentage points below the annual target. Dr. Wolford highlighted that from last year to this year, the District has adjusted the required number of meetings needed to meet our target from 3 or more to 4 or more in order to align with the rules created by the Office of Family and Community Engagement. Due to this shift, there is a slight decline from last year, where the requirement to meet the target was for SACs to meet 3 times per year. Likewise, Dr. Wolford
shared that there is an additional 7% of schools that had SACs that met 3 times in 2021-22, which would have meant an increase in the percentage of schools meeting the indicator since last year. Deputy Savage also shared that the District will be considering how the District can better engage families and will be examining the community engagement mechanisms currently being used. Following Dr. Watlington and team’s presentation on each Guardrail, the Board engaged in a discussion and question and answer period. Board Member Andrews stated that the Board has accepted the Superintendent’s report on the progress towards Guardrail 3: Partnering with Parents/Family Members. She summarized some of the key action steps going forward, which included the following: Investment in tools to improve the District’s customer service approach and family and community engagement, tools will allow data to be centralized which will allow the District to analyze data to inform future supports, the
strategic planning workgroup will be expanding on the recommendations that were provided by the transition team report and further consider parent/family engagement strategies, and the District will continue to engage in strategies to improve survey response rates. Lastly, Board Member Andrews shared that the Board should expect Board action will be required to adopt a software to track and improve the District’s customer service. Consideration of Action Items President Streater described the process of how Action Items would be presented for consideration. ● Action Item Nos. 2 and 31 were withdrawn by staff. ● Action Item No. 26 is a Review of Proposed Board Policies on which no action will be taken. ● Action Item Nos. 4-7 will be considered as Group 1 - Personnel Items. ● Action Item No. 1 will be considered as Group 2 - Board of Education Item. ● Action Item No. 17, 22-23 and 27 will be considered as Group 3 - Operations Items.
● Action Item No. 25 will be considered as Group 4 - Academic Support Item. ● Action Item No. 31 will be considered as Group 5 - School Safety Item. ● Action Item Nos. 3, 8-16, 18-21, 24 and 28-29 will be presented together.
Item No. 1. Adoption of Board of Education Public Meeting Schedule 2023.
8 Board Member Thompson expressed concerns regarding the identification of the dates for the Board’s Public Meeting Schedule. Board Member Wilkerson responded. Board Member Salley expressed concerns regarding the lack of the Intermediate Unit meeting schedule on the proposed action item. Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, President Streater, Ms. Wilkerson – 7 No: Ms. Salley, Ms. Thompson - 2
Item No. 2. Contract with Brownstone Public Relations to Expand Two-Way Community Engagement Efforts ($70,000) - Withdrawn by Staff 12.8.2022
Item No. 3. Contract amendment with The DT Firm, LLC ($87,000) Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 4. Approval of Personnel Hires (Update 12.9.2022) Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 5. Approval of Personnel Terminations (Updated 12.15.2022) Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 6. Administration's Recommendation for Termination of Professional Employees - Updated 12.15.2022 Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 7. Approval of Resignations and Retirements - Updated 12.15.2022 Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9
Item No. 8. Authorization to purchase from vendors approved via the General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule 70 series contract Board Member Salley requested a more comprehensive review of the current spending as it relates to the District’s technology strategy and budget. Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 9. Contracts with Various Vendors on the PEPPM Master Contract - Technology Equipment and Peripherals ($4,500,000) Board Member Salley requested a more comprehensive review of the current spending as it relates to the District’s technology strategy and budget. Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 10. Energy Performance Contract with NORESCO for the Guaranteed Energy Saving Act (GESA) 3 at Heston, Locke, Washington, Franklin, Hackett, Clemente, Ellwood, and Kirkbride Schools ($125,000,000) Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 11. Amendment of Contracts with Wayne Moving and Storage Company, Inc., T & N Van Service and Affiliates, All Seasons Global Solutions (ASGS) - Moving Services ($2,000,000) Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 12. Amendments to Contracts with Various Vendors for Boiler Burner Repair Services ($1,200,000) Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9
Item No. 13. Contracts with Various Vendors for New Furniture and Equipment at T.M. Peirce Elementary School - ($3,700,000) Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 14. Contract with Browntown Group LLC - Certified Payroll Reporting ($100,000) Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 15. Ratification of Contract with Office Depot Business Solutions, LLC - Office Supplies - $12,000,000 Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 16. Amendment of Contract with SEON Design (USA) Corporation - Transportation Management System ($225,000) Board Member Salley expressed interest in understanding the current state of the District’s energy spending and the anticipated path forward. Board Member Wilkerson shared a need for the District to be in alignment with the city’s energy plans and provided a recommendation that the District begin to strategize on how the District will move forward. Board Member Fix-Lopez expressed a need for the District to provide increased information as it relates to helping the Board of Education to see a more comprehensive picture of the work being done to support the District’s energy and operations strategy. Uri Monson, Deputy Superintendent of Operations, responded. Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 17. Amendment to Contract with Joseph A. DeLuca Advisory & Consulting Services LLC for Program Management Services for the Office of Environmental Management Services Board Member Thompson expressed concerns regarding the proposed increase in contracts compensation.
11 Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 18. Authorization of School Bus Purchases from Various Vendors ($7,036,000) Board Member Salley expressed interest in understanding the current state of the District’s energy spending and the anticipated path forward. Uri Monson, Deputy Superintendent of Operations, responded. Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 19. Amendment to Contract with Terraphase Engineering, Inc. - Water Testing Program Management Services Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 20 Ratification of Acceptance of Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Driving PA Forward: CY21 Truck & Bus Fleet Grant Program ($936,000) Board Member Salley expressed interest in understanding the current state of the District’s energy spending and the anticipated path forward. Uri Monson, Deputy Superintendent of Operations, responded. Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 21. Ratification of Contract Amendment with O and S Associates Architects and Engineers for Professional Design Services for the Bayard Taylor Roof Replacement ($44,250) Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 22. Ratification Amendment of Contract with The Sheward Partnership for Professional Design Services for the Kensington High School Building Envelope Improvement Project - No Cost Time Extension Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 23. Contract with Gessler Construction Co., Inc. for Parking Lot Stormwater Management Improvements ($567,500) Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 24. Amendment of Contract with Multiple Vendors - Interpretation and Translation Services Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 25. PowerSchool - Learning Management System ($1,750,000) Vice President Fix-Lopez asked clarifying questions regarding the purpose of the proposed action item as well as what gap the District is looking to fill with this proposed system. Vice President Fix- Lopez also asked clarifying questions to better under past expenses for a learning management system approved by the Board of Education in October of 2022. Vice President Fix-Lopez also shared a need for action items to include information in the description of items that presents Board Members with a complete picture of why an action item is needed. ShaVon Savage, Deputy Superintendent of Academic Services, and Larisa Shambaugh, Chief Talent Officer, responded. Board Member Lam asked clarifying questions to understand the cost difference between Powerschool and Cornerstone as well as to understand future cost savings related to this action item. Larisa Shambaugh, Chief Talent Officer, responded.
Board Member Salley expressed concerns regarding the District’s Information Technology systems and requested an opportunity to understand the strategy for building things in-house versus outsourcing. Melanie Harris, Chief Information Officer, responded. Board Member Thompson asked clarifying questions to better understand the proposed timeline for integrating the current learning management system with the system proposed in the action item and asked if the District intends to engage with a consultant to support in the transfer of information from one system to another. Board Member Thompson also asked clarifying
13 questions to understand the timeframe in which the funds would be spent to support this work. ShaVon Savage, Deputy Superintendent of Academic Services, responded. Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 26. Review of Proposed Board Policies (REVIEW - NO ACTION) - Added 12.1.2022 Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 27. Contract with Amazon.com Services, LLC. - Online Marketplace ($1,000,000) - Added 12.1.2022 Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 28. Change Orders at Various Locations ($552,110) - Added 12.2.2022 Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 29. Memorandum of Understanding with Kooth USA, LLC ($1,800,000) - Added 12.7.2022 Board Member Thompson expressed concerns regarding how the District will ensure that students have access to the mental health services provided by Kooth USA LLC. Board Member Salley asked a clarifying question to understand how the District anticipates using the data to continue to support students. Board Member Lam asked questions regarding the rate structure for the proposed programming and how schools were selected for this programming. Shavon Savage, Deputy Superintendent, responded. Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0
Item No. 30. Teachers Institute of Phila - Teaching & Learning - MOU - Academic Support-FY23- WITHDRAWN BY STAFF 12.13.2022
Item No. 31. Amendment of Contract with Institute for the Development of African American Youth, Inc. for Expansion of Safe Path School and Community Safety Corridor Program - Added 12.13.2022 Board Member Lam asked clarifying questions to better understand the structuring and impact of the safe corridors program. Board Member Wilkerson expressed an interest in understanding the number of adults that are currently involved with the Safe Corridor Program. Board Member Thomspon asked a clarifying question to understand if IDAYY is intentionally hiring individuals from the community to participate in this program. Board Member Salley asked clarifying questions to understand the role that IDAYY plays in the safe corridor process to support this program. Kevin Bethel, Chief Safety Officer, responded to the questions. Yes: Ms. Andrews, Ms. Danzy, Ms. Egea-Hinton, Ms. Lam, Vice President Fix-Lopez, Ms. Salley, President Streater, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Wilkerson – 9 No: 0 Adjournment
President Streater announced that the Board will be holding the initial public hearings for new charter schools in Philadelphia starting on December 20, at 2:00 p.m., via remote video platform. On motion, the meeting was adjourned at 9:51 p.m. Reginald L. Streater, Esq., President Board of Education Tony Watlington, Ed.D. Superintendent