A resident asked the Abington School Board on Sept. 17 whether the district routinely budgets for settlement agreements and whether more settlements were anticipated this year; the superintendent responded that he expected settlements to continue and that he was unable to discuss particulars of individual student cases.
During public comment, resident Michael Staller asked whether settlement agreements “on the agenda” are recurring and whether the district budgets for them. A district official confirmed they are budgeted (not attributed to a specific speaker in the record). Staller pressed whether the district anticipates additional settlements this year; Superintendent Dr. Shaver replied, “Without a doubt. Without a doubt. And and we will until we get toward reform in Pennsylvania.”
Dr. Shaver said the district cannot discuss the particulars of student-related settlement agreements in public. He told the board, “each one of them deals with the student. And we're not in any position, legally or otherwise to kind of comment on them because of the particulars.” That exchange occurred during the public-comment portion of the meeting; no district policy or new settlement was adopted at this session.
Later in the exchange Staller raised questions about borrowing and recent bonds and grants. In the transcript Staller commented about prior borrowing, saying the district borrowed in previous years for projects including the high school stadium and the middle school. Separately, Dr. Shaver said the district “took a $30,000,000 bond.” Dr. Shaver also said a forthcoming South Abington project is “close to a million dollars or close to actually 1,100,000.0, which we received grant money for, which is fully funded through a grant.”
No formal action followed the public comment. The board did not vote on settlement policy, borrowing or the South Abington project at this meeting. Board members and staff indicated they would discuss or provide follow-up outside the public-comment period if necessary.
The public-comment exchange is part of the meeting record; the district emphasized legal limits on commenting about individual student matters and noted that some capital work is funded through bonds and grants rather than current operating budgets.