Plum Borough SD advances ‘Portrait of a Graduate,’ approves audit and facilities work; declines electric bus purchase

The Plum Borough SD Board at a Feb. 11 discussion meeting moved forward a district “Portrait of a Graduate” design and voted to advance several financial, facilities and transportation items to the upcoming action meeting, while formally recommending against purchasing electric school buses at this time.

The district’s Portrait of a Graduate — a community-designed visual and set of five competencies — was presented to the board and approved 5–0 to be moved into the comprehensive‑planning process for implementation. Doctor Boyers, a district staff member who led the design team, said the visual and common language were developed by an 83‑member group of students, parents, teachers, alumni, business leaders and other community stakeholders.

“[The portrait] is just an opportunity for a community to come together and say what is our common vision and how are we going to get there?” Doctor Boyers said during the presentation. He identified the five competencies as communication, integrity, critical thinking, adaptability and empathy and said the district plans age‑appropriate language for K–6 and 7–12 bands and to embed the portrait into staff professional development, curriculum and the district’s comprehensive plan.

Why it matters: the board signaled support for making the Portrait of a Graduate part of the district’s five‑year comprehensive plan and for aligning professional development, curriculum and community partnerships — including local employers — to give students opportunities such as internships and job shadowing.

Audit and budget: Amy Lewis of accounting firm MarDusil presented the fiscal‑year 2024 audit, reporting an unmodified opinion and no material audit adjustments or single‑audit findings. Lewis said the child nutrition program, audited as the major federal program, had no reportable findings. The board voted 5–0 to move the audited financial statements forward.

Facilities and capital items: The board approved several capital and planning items to move forward for recordkeeping or later action. A PlanCon Part J filing for Holiday Park was accepted for the record and to convert previously approved temporary reimbursement rates to permanent rates; the district noted a future reconciliation payment from PDE is expected but the amount was “not available” at the time of the discussion. The board voted 5–0 to move the item forward.

Tennis courts: Administration recommended awarding a court reconstruction contract to Keystone Sports after seeking three bids for a full resurfacing, replacement of fencing and other work. The reconstruction will include windscreens branded with the district’s Plum script and will be funded from the capital projects fund. School officials said the existing courts present safety concerns and that teams will use Boyes Park temporarily. The board voted 5–0 to move the contract forward.

Electric school buses: After an extensive review of technology, grants, fleet operations and infrastructure costs, administration recommended against proceeding with the planned electric‑bus procurement. Chief financial officer Mr. Manzer and other staff reported an estimated cost of about $2.2 million to upgrade electrical service to the bus garage and cited concerns about changing federal incentives, battery life and maintenance, charging windows during bus schedules and high shop downtime reported by some districts operating early fleets. The board approved, 5–0, not to proceed and to cancel contract steps related to the electric‑bus procurement.

Transportation and personnel contracts: The board approved a one‑off transportation agreement with a third‑party vendor to cover hard‑to‑fill routes (5–0). For personnel and safety services, the board approved Quest as the district’s new vendor for pre‑employment substance‑abuse testing after UPMC/MedExpress discontinued prior screening arrangements, and approved a Vector Solutions compliance and training subscription; Utica National Insurance Corp. will fund the subscription and the district will pay a $1,000 annual enrollment plus a one‑time $1,000 sync fee for single sign‑on integration (both items moved forward 5–0).

Policy and planning items: The board heard a first reading of policy 209.3 (first aid standing orders) and moved several policies from a prior discussion forward for a second reading; a revised policy 815.4 expands the district’s personal technology definition to include wearable devices that may access the network.

Board process and next steps: Several items discussed were advanced for formal action at the board’s Feb. 25 action meeting. Board members and staff repeatedly described the decisions as part of ongoing review and said further details — for example, the amount of any PlanCon reconciliation payment or the tennis court project schedule — will be provided as staff receive them.

“We want to be good stewards of the taxpayer dollars,” Mr. Manzer, chief financial officer, said when explaining the district’s recommendation on electric buses.