Committee moves dozens of consent items to Oct. 28 agenda; several board motions approved 7–0
October 15, 2025 | Harrisburg City SD, School Districts, Pennsylvania
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The Harrisburg School District committee of the whole on Oct. 14 approved routine procedural business by roll call and advanced a long list of agreements and capital items to the board’s Oct. 28 consent agenda for final approval.
Immediate roll-call approvals recorded during the meeting included:
- Approval of minutes for the Sept. 23, 2025 general business meeting (moved by Miss Johnson; seconded by Brian Carter). Roll call: Miss Anderson — Yes; Brian Carter — Yes; Miss Copeland — Yes; Miss Hughes — Yes; Miss Johnson — Yes; Miss Ratcliffe — Yes; Mister Thompson Leader — Yes. Outcome: 7 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain; motion carried.
- Approval of the Oct. 14 agenda (moved by Danny Hughes; seconded by Brian Carter). Outcome: 7 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain; motion carried.
- Election of the 2026 Pennsylvania School Boards Association officers as presented (moved by Brian Carter; seconded by Autumn Anderson). Outcome: 7 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain; motion carried.
- Approval to handle a waiver of expulsion hearings as an immediate-action item (moved by board motion; seconded). Roll call recorded 7 yes; motion carried.
- Approval of an electronic-signature resolution authorizing Superintendent Dr. Benjamin Herron to sign contracts and grants electronically in the Pennsylvania Department of Education eGrants system (moved by Miss Johnson; seconded). Roll call: 7 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain; motion carried.
The committee also moved a substantial consent package to the Oct. 28 board meeting for formal adoption. Items listed for the Oct. 28 consent agenda include (amounts shown where stated during the meeting):
- Agreement with Amelia Lynch for bilingual speech evaluations at $1,100 per evaluation (administration recommended).
- Learning Without Tears (presentation/training) at a cost of $33,700 (administration recommended).
- Central Susquehanna/IU access for migrant summer program records (no cost to district).
- Title I and nonpublic services through Capital Area Intermediate Unit (CAIU): Title I up to $441,819; Title II corrected to $44,622.88; Title III $10,286.03; Title IV $38,294.22.
- Agreement with WITF (classroom presentation) at $2,200 and a separate WITF parent-engagement event (cost not specified; transcript formatting indicated $14.10 which the administration will clarify).
- Dauphin County Library System MOU for author visits/StoryWalk (no cost).
- YMCA East ACE programming for Harrisburg Catholic Elementary (no cost to district; funded via nonpublic allocation).
- Girl Scouts programming in district (Oct. 28–Aug. 31, 2027) (no cost to district).
- XAP software renewal for career platforms at $17,108 (09/01/2025–08/31/2026).
- Additional virtual-school licenses (Acelis) for 25–26 at $11,850.
- A field trip to JFK High School, Silver Spring, Md., 11/08/2025 (registration $200; transportation $1,100).
- Ratification of personnel items, position control changes, salary range updates, coaches lists, memoranda of understanding and internships (various administrative items).
- Facilities, operations and capital items referred to Oct. 28: Martin Tree Service proposal for multiple-school tree removal ($216,100 as listed on the proposal); a CDL bus-driver wage-rate addendum with George Craft Jr. & Son Inc. (rate raised to $26/hour; estimated district share $40,000 for 25–26); Food Facility Concept design work for Camp Curtin kitchen ($14,400); emergency repairs at Scott School (Guardian Group water-main repair $145,411.17; Blue Sky remediation estimate $170,848; insurance covers damage minus $50,000 deductible); Groundworks sub-pump installation for Scott Basement ($45,319.85);
- IT and vendor contracts: VMware licensing via CAIU (negotiated $110 per computer core per year); Zoom renewal covering 200 user licenses and one webinar license (12/05/2025–12/04/2026); LinkedIn Learning pilot for IT staff ($7,550 year 1; $9,000 year 2).
- Business and finance items moved to Oct. 28: grant awards (Title I CSI); capital improvement plan update; treasurer’s report (balance reported at $54,972,188.97 for period ending 08/31/2025); payroll and check registers for September.
Board members asked for additional information on several items before final action on Oct. 28, including the scope and budget implications of the tree work, the cafeteria redesign and possible capital cost impacts, details on WITF program costs and classroom sizes for pre-K, and usage metrics for career-platform renewals. Administration said more detailed back-up will be provided with the Oct. 28 consent packet.
The meeting adjourned after public-comment period and no non-agenda public comments were presented for the record.
Immediate roll-call approvals recorded during the meeting included:
- Approval of minutes for the Sept. 23, 2025 general business meeting (moved by Miss Johnson; seconded by Brian Carter). Roll call: Miss Anderson — Yes; Brian Carter — Yes; Miss Copeland — Yes; Miss Hughes — Yes; Miss Johnson — Yes; Miss Ratcliffe — Yes; Mister Thompson Leader — Yes. Outcome: 7 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain; motion carried.
- Approval of the Oct. 14 agenda (moved by Danny Hughes; seconded by Brian Carter). Outcome: 7 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain; motion carried.
- Election of the 2026 Pennsylvania School Boards Association officers as presented (moved by Brian Carter; seconded by Autumn Anderson). Outcome: 7 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain; motion carried.
- Approval to handle a waiver of expulsion hearings as an immediate-action item (moved by board motion; seconded). Roll call recorded 7 yes; motion carried.
- Approval of an electronic-signature resolution authorizing Superintendent Dr. Benjamin Herron to sign contracts and grants electronically in the Pennsylvania Department of Education eGrants system (moved by Miss Johnson; seconded). Roll call: 7 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain; motion carried.
The committee also moved a substantial consent package to the Oct. 28 board meeting for formal adoption. Items listed for the Oct. 28 consent agenda include (amounts shown where stated during the meeting):
- Agreement with Amelia Lynch for bilingual speech evaluations at $1,100 per evaluation (administration recommended).
- Learning Without Tears (presentation/training) at a cost of $33,700 (administration recommended).
- Central Susquehanna/IU access for migrant summer program records (no cost to district).
- Title I and nonpublic services through Capital Area Intermediate Unit (CAIU): Title I up to $441,819; Title II corrected to $44,622.88; Title III $10,286.03; Title IV $38,294.22.
- Agreement with WITF (classroom presentation) at $2,200 and a separate WITF parent-engagement event (cost not specified; transcript formatting indicated $14.10 which the administration will clarify).
- Dauphin County Library System MOU for author visits/StoryWalk (no cost).
- YMCA East ACE programming for Harrisburg Catholic Elementary (no cost to district; funded via nonpublic allocation).
- Girl Scouts programming in district (Oct. 28–Aug. 31, 2027) (no cost to district).
- XAP software renewal for career platforms at $17,108 (09/01/2025–08/31/2026).
- Additional virtual-school licenses (Acelis) for 25–26 at $11,850.
- A field trip to JFK High School, Silver Spring, Md., 11/08/2025 (registration $200; transportation $1,100).
- Ratification of personnel items, position control changes, salary range updates, coaches lists, memoranda of understanding and internships (various administrative items).
- Facilities, operations and capital items referred to Oct. 28: Martin Tree Service proposal for multiple-school tree removal ($216,100 as listed on the proposal); a CDL bus-driver wage-rate addendum with George Craft Jr. & Son Inc. (rate raised to $26/hour; estimated district share $40,000 for 25–26); Food Facility Concept design work for Camp Curtin kitchen ($14,400); emergency repairs at Scott School (Guardian Group water-main repair $145,411.17; Blue Sky remediation estimate $170,848; insurance covers damage minus $50,000 deductible); Groundworks sub-pump installation for Scott Basement ($45,319.85);
- IT and vendor contracts: VMware licensing via CAIU (negotiated $110 per computer core per year); Zoom renewal covering 200 user licenses and one webinar license (12/05/2025–12/04/2026); LinkedIn Learning pilot for IT staff ($7,550 year 1; $9,000 year 2).
- Business and finance items moved to Oct. 28: grant awards (Title I CSI); capital improvement plan update; treasurer’s report (balance reported at $54,972,188.97 for period ending 08/31/2025); payroll and check registers for September.
Board members asked for additional information on several items before final action on Oct. 28, including the scope and budget implications of the tree work, the cafeteria redesign and possible capital cost impacts, details on WITF program costs and classroom sizes for pre-K, and usage metrics for career-platform renewals. Administration said more detailed back-up will be provided with the Oct. 28 consent packet.
The meeting adjourned after public-comment period and no non-agenda public comments were presented for the record.
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