West Chester Area School Board approves staffing, contracts and capital projects in routine votes

The West Chester Area School District Board on July 28 approved a slate of personnel hires, contracts and capital-project expenditures after brief presentations and limited discussion.

The board voted to add two positions recommended by the district’s personnel committee: a districtwide English–Spanish translator and a Plumbing Mechanic I. The personnel committee previewed the translator job description at a committee meeting immediately before the board session. A staff member said the district currently contracts most translation work and that more than 70% of the district’s translations are Spanish; bringing a translator in-house would allow the district to staff a Spanish-dedicated phone line, support registration and keep translation of large documents such as evaluations and IEPs inside the district. A committee member asked whether the district would prioritize native Spanish speakers; a staff member said the job would be open and the best candidate would be hired.

The board also approved a Plumbing Mechanic I position. A district facilities staff member described the item as a new, dedicated plumbing role split from the existing combined HVAC/plumbing shop so one employee can focus primarily on plumbing systems and repairs.

In a series of consent and separate motions the board approved the following contracts and settlements: - A settlement and release identified in the record as the JP settlement agreement (motion carried). - A second settlement and release identified as the IG and BG settlement agreement (motion carried). - A professional services agreement with the American Association of School Administrators, Inc., doing business as AASA, effective Sept. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2025, for a fee stated in the meeting as $24,500. District staff said the agreement funds continuing work on the district’s virtual graduate/portrait-to-practice effort and named consultants who will lead upcoming sessions. - An independent contractor agreement with Online Advisory LLC to serve as acting principal at Fugate Middle School at a daily rate stated in the record as $850 per day, effective July 29, 2025 (motion carried).

The board also took multiple capital-project actions after presentations by facilities staff: - Approval of capital project bid awards to address additional generator work at three middle schools. Facilities staff said the district replaced generators and is now funding additional associated electrical work; staff read individual award amounts for the three projects and reported remaining project balances in the district’s records. - Approval of a roof refurbishment budget item for East Bradford Elementary to apply a roof coating that staff said is intended to maintain a warranty for a minimum of 25 years; the amount read into the record was presented as 975,100 and $125 in the meeting packet. - Authorization of an initial capital-reserve project budget for solar arrays at East Bradford Elementary; staff said the project budget balance requested to start bidding was $485,000.

Board procedural items approved without extended discussion included minutes from the June 16 meeting, the July 28 agenda and the consent agenda. The board noted an executive session had been held that evening regarding a legal matter.

Public comment included two speakers. Judy DeFonzo of East Goshen addressed disability pride month and described local task-force work supporting families of students with disabilities. Sarah Lisett of West Chester offered remarks recognizing the departure of district staff member Jeff Palmer.

Votes at a glance (as recorded in the meeting): all listed personnel positions, contracts, settlements and capital-project motions were moved, seconded and approved by voice vote; no recorded roll-call tallies for individual yes/no votes were read into the public record during those motions.

The board announced administrative staffing changes and hires during the meeting, including the upcoming start of Dr. Alexis McGowan as principal at Fugate Middle School and internal reassignments noted by district leadership. A district official thanked departing staff member Jeff Palmer for his years of service and said a successor will begin making reports at the next meeting.