Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the District Updates topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
East Penn SD board hears public plea for stop-arm bus cameras, reviews surveys and welcomes three administrators
Summary
A public commenter urged the district to install stop-arm cameras on buses; the superintendent outlined upcoming student surveys and family opt-out procedures; the board was introduced to three new administrators and approved several routine agenda items including minutes, educational conferences and a PSBA slate.
A resident urged the East Penn School District Board of School Directors to install stop-arm cameras on school buses, and district leaders provided updates on student surveys and community supports as the board approved routine agenda items and welcomed three new administrators.
Todd Farber, identified by the board as the lone public commenter, asked why East Penn does not have stop-arm camera programs like nearby districts. "When I look up any other school district in our area, they all have stop arm school, cameras," Farber said, referring to outside vendors (he named "bus patrol") and saying the programs can be cost-neutral to districts because vendors recoup penalties from violators. Farber added that bus drivers report daily incidents of motorists illegally passing stopped school buses.
Board members responded by expressing interest in learning more. "If there is something that we are able to do to protect our children and help our bus drivers out, I'd love to hear more about that," said Mister Kelly (board member). Miss Bowman echoed that interest.
In a district update, Doctor Campbell reviewed the start of the school year and detailed several forthcoming surveys. Campbell said students in selected grades will take the Panorama social-and-emotional-learning (SEL) survey, and students in grades 6–12 will participate in an equity and inclusion survey; parents can view survey questions and opt their children out. The district also announced plans to administer the Pennsylvania youth survey (referred to in the presentation as "PAES"); Campbell described the administration window as mid- to late-September and said parents were notified and may opt children out. Campbell also announced fall sports records and noted a supplemental feeding program in partnership with the Rotary that distributes food on Wednesdays at Lower McKinsey Middle School and at the district administration building.
Campbell reminded community members about part-time job openings in the district for instructional assistants, staff assistants, food service and crossing guards, and urged families to check the district website for postings and applications.
The board introduced three administrators who joined the district over the summer: Karen Fairclough (supervisor of special education for the middle level program), Wendy Myers (assistant principal at Emmaus High School) and Sarah Raebour (supervisor of humanities in the Office of Teaching and Learning). The superintendent said Fairclough has 22 years of experience, Myers has seven years, and Raebour has 13 years in education and curriculum leadership.
Other business: the board approved the minutes from its Aug. 25 meeting, set the agenda, approved grouped business-operation items, approved educational conferences, and approved the 2026 Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) slate of candidates; these routine motions carried on roll-call votes recorded as ayes. The board also heard a report from its representative to the LCTI Joint Operating Committee (JOC), which described summer facilities upgrades, new financial software and program changes including a transition of the teacher education program to Lehigh Carbon Community College and a recent manufacturing roundtable.
There was no executive session reported. The board's next regular meeting was announced for Monday, Sept. 22 at 7:30 a.m. in the same room, and the meeting adjourned by unanimous voice vote.
