Mill Creek board approves contracts, staffing changes and equipment purchases in June meeting

The Mill Creek Township School District board of directors approved a series of contracts, personnel actions and budget items at its June 23 meeting, including a reduced MAP assessment renewal, a Melmark services agreement with variable per‑diem tuition rates, spending on IT and facility equipment, and the purchase of a wheelchair‑accessible van.

The approvals were presented as a mix of individual motions and large consent blocks. Board members voted to accept instructional and student services contracts, personnel committee recommendations, monthly financial reports and a range of technology and operations contracts discussed previously in committee.

Board action highlights

- MAP renewal (agenda item 5.08): The board approved a one‑year renewal of the MAP assessment quote after removing grades 9 and 10 from the district’s MAP testing plan, reducing the number of licenses by 1,000 and lowering the cost from the figure presented at the committee meeting. (Motion made and seconded; voice vote: aye. Transcript blocks: 1619.795–1662.5801.)

- Melmark agreement (agenda item 5.17): The board approved an agreement for extended school‑year and 2025–26 school‑year services for a student with changing service levels. The transcript records the previous tuition rate of $797 per diem, a lower interim rate of $533 per diem from June 5–13, 2025 while the student transitioned, and a rate of $581 per diem beginning July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. (Motion passed by voice vote.)

- Instruction and student‑services consent block (agenda items 5.01–5.28, excluding 5.08 and 5.17): The board approved the remaining items in the instructional/services block in a single motion. The block included conference travel authorizations (examples: NCTM conference, WIDA annual conference, NSTA conference, NCTE convention, FETC), an IXL two‑year add‑on quote ($8,400) to add middle school science, affiliation and service agreements (Penn State Harrisburg affiliation; Barber National Institute extended‑school‑year aides at $167 per day for 23 days for four students; Pyramid Healthcare SAP program; Sarah Reed Children’s Center five‑year psychiatric services contract (07/01/2025–06/30/2030) for up to 20 student psychiatric evaluations per year), various therapy and nursing agreements, field trip approvals, and multiple special‑education placements and IU consortium contracts. (Motion passed by voice vote; transcript blocks: 1804.3651–2195.735.)

- Personnel items (agenda items 6.01–6.03): The board approved a final reading of Policy 204 (Attendance) (6.01), approved a revised job description for the athletics secretary (6.02), and approved the June 23 personnel report (6.03) that listed resignations, retirements, status changes, recommendations for hires, furloughs and other personnel actions across multiple buildings. (All motions seconded and passed by voice vote; transcript blocks: 2212.6748–2359.87.)

- Monthly financial and operational reports (agenda items 7.01–7.07 and 8.01–8.24): The board accepted enrollment and investment summaries as informational (7.01–7.02) and approved a block motion to accept student activity counts, budget transfers, bond summaries/change orders, the treasurer’s report and May financials (7.03–7.07). The finance and operations consent block (8.01–8.24) approved a range of technology/service contracts and purchases discussed in committee, including: • ConnectWise LLC remote support quote for $14,157 (8.01); • VelocityNet IT/network payment management consulting for $10,800 (8.02); • Incident IQ ticketing system quote $17,489.07 (8.03); • IU‑provided Microsoft licensing quote $45,674.60 (8.04); • Vehicle purchase quote adjustments for Chevrolet Express cargo vans (originally $129,720; updated $126,920) (8.05); • Grounds/equipment and liftgate repairs/purchases and a fire‑alarm installation project at five buildings for $123,456 (8.08); • Planetarium maintenance (ASH Enterprises) $5,250 (8.14); • Sanus Solutions autonomous cleaning equipment $466,090 (8.17); • A commercial insurance proposal (Hubbard of International 3 Rivers) for 2025–26 totaling $423,805.63 covering property, general liability, auto, cyber and related lines (8.19); • Write‑offs of student accounts no longer enrolled totaling $44,374 (8.20); • Capital projects summaries and capital reserve budgets presented in committee (8.23). (Motion passed by voice vote; transcript blocks: 2443.1902–2808.085 and 2818.68–2832.865.)

- Knox Law rates (agenda item 8.16): Board members held a roll call for approval of the Knox Law rates for 2025–26. The roll call recorded the following responses: Brink — yes; Dean — abstain; Philbeck — yes; (Kobilka not online); Nuschia/Nooshan — yes; Pascual — yes; Winchell — yes. The motion passed. (Transcript blocks: 2833.4849–2875.97.)

- Champion Ford wheelchair‑accessible van (agenda item 9.01): The board approved purchase of a 2024 wheelchair‑accessible Ford van (Champion Ford quote) for $87,007.98 to ensure student transportation needs are met at the start of the school year. (Motion moved and seconded; voice vote: aye. Transcript blocks: 2890.4448–2930.04.)

Context and next steps

Most approvals were routine or previously vetted in committee; board members took multiple consent blocks to vote on groups of contracts and personnel items together. Roll call voting was used for the Knox Law rates (8.16) where one member explicitly abstained; most other actions were approved by voice vote with no recorded roll call tally in the transcript. Several contracts (special‑education placements, psychiatric services, therapy agreements and autonomous cleaning equipment) have implementation timelines tied to the 2025–26 school year and may require further administrative follow‑up for scheduling and invoicing.

Votes at a glance (selected items) • 5.08 — MAP one‑year renewal (approved; licenses reduced by 1,000). • 5.17 — Melmark services (approved; per‑diem rates: $533 interim; $581 for 2025–26). • 5.01–5.28 (excl. 5.08, 5.17) — Instructional and student services block (approved). • 6.01–6.03 — Personnel policy final reading, job description, personnel report (approved). • 8.01–8.24 (excl. 8.16) — Finance/operations consent block (approved). • 8.16 — Knox Law rates (approved; Dean abstained). • 9.01 — Champion Ford wheelchair van $87,007.98 (approved).

The board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Aug. 4, 2025, with committee meetings beginning at 6 p.m.