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Board hears personnel recommendations, policy updates and curriculum adoptions; votes deferred
Summary
At a June 11 meeting the Ambridge Area School District read multiple recommended personnel actions, policy revisions, curriculum adoptions and vendor contracts for discussion; formal votes were deferred after the board voted to postpone legislative items.
The Ambridge Area School District Board of School Directors on June 11 received reports and recommended actions across personnel, policies, curriculum and contracts but took no final votes after the board converted legislative items to discussion-only for the night.
Personnel and staffing: The board read a list of recommended personnel actions submitted for approval, including a recommendation to hire Joanne Hoover as homeless liaison coordinator for the 2025–26 school year at a proposed stipend of $2,833. The administration also recommended retroactive hiring of Tammy Miller as a paraprofessional at the middle school effective May 28, 2025, and listed coach, mentor teacher and cafeteria staffing recommendations. Several retirements and resignations were read into the record, including a retirement effective June 6, 2025, and another resignation effective Aug. 12, 2025. A district staff presenter prefaced the personnel list and asked if there were questions after each numbered item; several board members asked clarifying questions about specific assignments and coach replacements.
Policies: The administration presented policy 103, “Discrimination/Harassment Affecting Students,” for a third and final reading to update language aligning with amendments to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and to reflect definitions related to pregnancy, race and religious creed. Policy 104, “Nondiscrimination Qualified Students with Disabilities,” was also presented for a third and final reading to align terminology and complaint-procedure language with policy 103. The administration characterized several other routine reviews (policies 827, 626, 626.1, 308, 408 and 707) as part of mandatory federal- or audit-driven reviews under Title I.
Curriculum and instructional materials: The board heard recommendations to adopt the six-year McGraw Hill Inspire Chemistry series at a total cost of $24,716.60 and the five-year Into Literature series for grades 7–12 at a total cost of $212,713.47. Administration said the adoptions include physical copies and online resources; a superintendent-level presenter noted some materials are consumable and that the committee’s recommendation included hard copies and online access. Board members asked whether there is a price difference between physical and digital formats and whether fully virtual materials might reduce long-term costs; administration offered to follow up with specifics.
Contracts and services: The board heard recommended agreements and renewals including an on-site dental services memorandum with Miracle Dental Associates (no cost/liability to the district), a Vision to Learn memorandum of understanding to provide vision screenings and glasses at no cost to eligible students, a one-year comprehensive services agreement with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, Title I agreements with Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit and Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV, renewal of Infinite Campus annual licensing for 2025–26 at $26,299.55, and a one-year agreement with Finalsite for website services with a $6,500 one-time implementation fee and $6,200 annual hosting/maintenance fee. The district also recommended purchase of alternate-education seats at the Class Academy with final per-seat pricing to be provided.
Finance and insurance: The administration read the recommendation to pay listed monthly district and cafeteria bills and personnel salaries and asked the board to ratify post-audit budget transfers for fiscal year 2024–25 after audit reclassifications. The board also heard an insurance renewal summary; an administration speaker reported a total package cost and noted the bid produced a lower increase than would have occurred if the district had stayed with the incumbent, and that the increase was driven in part by prior claims (for example, wind damage to a middle school roof). There was a brief correction in the finance discussion where one speaker gave alternate totals for the insurance package and an equipment breakdown totaling $13,001.67 was noted to be added back for the agenda next week.
Other items: The district read recommendations for extracurricular and athletics positions (coaching hires and rescissions), approval to authorize a teacher-led eighth-grade trip to Washington, D.C., on May 15, 2026 (parents must sign permission forms; district will cover three buses at approximately $1,000 per bus), renewal of third-party 403(b) administrative services, and a contract with PennsylvaniaEducator.net for the 2025–26 year at $2,175. The Beaver County Symphonic Wind Ensemble will use the high school auditorium for rehearsals and concerts through 2030; the board agreed to waive facility fees in exchange for free student enrichment.
Because the items were presented only for discussion on June 11, the administration will return the recommended personnel hires, policy approvals, curriculum adoptions, contracts and financial approvals as voting items at the board’s next meeting.
