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East Penn SD reports smooth first day; board approves personnel, contracts and conferences
Summary
At the East Penn School District board meeting, Dr. Campbell reported roughly 7,800 students attended the first day of school and the board unanimously approved minutes, personnel items, contracts and curriculum conference requests. A parent commenter criticized the district's special-education services and several retirements were recognized.
Dr. Campbell reported that roughly 7,800 students attended the district's first day of school and said staff worked over the summer to prepare buildings and transportation for the new year.
"Happy first day of school. We were all excited. We welcome back today about 7,800 students across the district," Dr. Campbell said, and thanked about 1,200 employees, maintenance staff and the district's transportation partner, STA, for work leading up to the opening.
The district update summarized staffing and logistics ahead of the school year. Dr. Campbell said the district hired about 40 new teachers in recent months and hosted roughly 600 professional staff for multi-day professional development last week. She urged families to complete an online returning-student form and update medical information in the district SNAP health portal. She also said part-time support positions — instructional assistants, staff assistants, food service workers and crossing guards — are listed on the district human resources webpage.
During public comment, Adam Cruz, who identified himself as a parent, criticized the district's handling of his son's special-education needs and said he removed his son from the district.
"I live in this community and pay taxes, and my son's needs can't get met," Cruz said. "I've removed my kid from the district. Okay? I had no other choice. I wasn't given a choice, and it's sad. Very sad that I had to do all of that to move my son out of district." The board did not respond during the public-comment period; the meeting proceeded to routine business.
Dr. Campbell also recognized three upcoming retirements the board accepted earlier in the meeting: special-education teachers Dave Yopst (22 years in East Penn) and Alicia Mauer (18 years in East Penn), each of whom said they intend to retire at the end of the upcoming school year, and Laura Grow, who is retiring as community liaison after 13 years with the district (10 years in that role).
Votes at a glance
- Approval of minutes (regular board meeting, 2025-08-11): approved, roll call 9–0 (Ayes: Miss Bowman; Mr. Filegi; Miss Ford; Mr. Jankowski; Mr. Kelly; Miss Klotz; Mr. Smith; Dr. Whitney; Dr. Levinson). Motion and second: not specified in transcript.
- Personnel items (agenda item): approved, roll call 9–0 (same roll-call names). Motion and second: not specified in transcript.
- Contracts and agreements (business operations): approved, roll call 9–0 (same roll-call names). Motion and second: not specified in transcript.
- Curriculum educational conferences: approved, roll call 9–0 (same roll-call names). Motion and second: not specified in transcript.
The board set its next regular meeting for Monday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 a.m. and announced it had met in executive session earlier to discuss personnel, negotiations, litigation and other confidential matters.
Ending
Board members made no substantive responses to the public comment during the meeting record. The district asked families to update contact and health information online and listed multiple part-time openings on its human-resources page.
