The Altoona Area School District Board of Directors approved a package of routine business and financial items Tuesday and the board president used his report to criticize cyber charter school finances and urge state action.

The board approved a debt-refunding resolution intended to refund part of a 2018 bond series if a net minimum savings of $1,000,000 can be realized. The board also approved minutes, multiple financial reports, policy adoptions, education items including field trips and memoranda of agreement, personnel items, and business-operations items including capital reserve payments and a repository bid. The board approved an agreement with Gloria Gates Care to provide direct primary care services under the district medical insurance options; a board member recused from that vote because the member is an employee of Gloria Gates Care.

Board President said the district paid roughly $2.8 million in general fund payments during a recent period and highlighted $732,000 in cyber charter payments within that total, noting Commonwealth Charter Academy had received about $539,000 for a three-month span. He urged state legislators to address cyber charter financing and said the district should not make further payments to cyber charters until a state budget issue is resolved. "Why would we put ourselves in a position to have to borrow money and pay the interest on the money that we would use to pay them?" the president said during his report.

Why it matters: The approvals maintain everyday district operations — payments, policies and staffing — while the president’s remarks underscore an ongoing budget pressure that the district says could require borrowing and affect local taxpayers. The board’s comments reflect a broader statewide debate about cyber charter funding and district budgets.

The most consequential votes and administrative approvals were conducted by voice vote, with motions recorded as approved. For several consent-agenda items the board stated "All in favor, signify by saying 'aye'" and the chair declared motions carried when no opposition was voiced. The debt-refunding resolution passed after discussion; an abstention was noted during that vote. A board member recused from the Gloria Gates Care agreement vote and did not participate in the board’s affirmative voice vote to approve that contract.

The board also adopted these policies (final reading and adoption): Policy 209.2 (diabetes management); Policy 317.1 (educator misconduct); Policy 709.1 (metal detectors); Policy 718 (service animals in schools); Policy 718.1 (therapy dogs in schools); Policy 815 (acceptable use of internet/intranet); Policy 907 (school visitors); and Policy 213 AR (student evaluation system). The policies were reviewed by the policy committee on Sept. 17 and had their first reading on Sept. 22.

Other approvals included:
- Approval of minutes for the regular meeting of Sept. 22, 2025, and the Committee of the Whole minutes of Oct. 6, 2025.
- Finance approvals: cafeteria, student activities, general fund payments and budget transfers; financial reports including cafeteria income statements and tax collection reports; an investments update for September 2025; and a corrected rental schedule for the Creative Kids contract.
- Education approvals: Altoona Area Junior High School ATSI plan for 2025–26; lists of volunteers and field trips (including a retroactive field trip approval); MOUs with Penn State Center for Childhood Obesity Research (revised funding language) and a communication sciences and disorders affiliation agreement with Pennsylvania State University; proposed athletic rates for grade 3–7 basketball league event workers; creation of a GM Club at Altoona Area Junior High School and bylaws for the Altoona Area High School Afterglow Committee; and one expulsion recommendation for a secondary student as outlined in a signed waiver of hearing and agreement.
- Personnel approvals: the posted personnel agenda; a director of human resources professional agreement; added jury-duty language to several compensation plans; performance assessments noting Superintendent Hatch and assistant superintendents met agreed objectives; and an MOA editing Article 31 (parent-teacher conferences) for grades 6–12.
- Business operations: capital reserve payments and approval of a repository bid.

The board opened the meeting by noting it had held an executive session on personnel matters before the public meeting. The meeting adjourned after routine closing business.

Votes at a glance (summary drawn from the meeting record):
- Debt-refunding resolution (refund portion of 2018A bonds if $1,000,000 net savings realized): motion approved by voice vote; an abstention was recorded; mover/second not specified in the public record.
- Approval of regular and committee minutes (9/22/2025 and 10/06/2025): approved by voice vote; no opposition recorded.
- Financial payments and reports (including cafeteria, student activities, general fund, budget transfers, tax collection reports, and investments update): approved by voice vote.
- Creative Kids contract rent-schedule correction: approved by voice vote.
- Adoption of policies (listed above): approved by voice vote on final reading.
- Education items (a through l as presented, including ATSI plan, field trips, MOUs, club approvals, and one expulsion recommendation): approved by voice vote.
- Personnel items (9a–9e, including personnel agenda, HR agreement, jury-duty language, performance assessments, MOA): approved by voice vote.
- Business operations (capital reserve payments, repository bid): approved by voice vote.
- Agreement with Gloria Gates Care (direct primary care services): approved by voice vote; one board member recused and did not vote.

Clarifying details: The board president stated the $2.8 million total payments covered the period Sept. 18–Oct. 15; cyber charter payments in that total were reported as $732,000; Commonwealth Charter Academy payments were reported as $539,000 for a three-month period. The president said Commonwealth Charter Academy reported a $445 million fund balance in its public IRS Form 990 for 2023 (filed in May 2024 per the president's remarks), and he described the charter’s capital projects and advertising expenditures as summarized in the state auditor’s February audit of selected cyber charters.

Ending: The board’s approvals keep district operations on track; the president indicated he will continue to press for state-level reform on cyber charter funding while the board manages local budget pressures.