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Avon Grove board deadlocks on PSBA platform language after extended discussion
Summary
Board members debated two competing PSBA platform drafts — a concise ‘no cuts’ ask and a longer collaborative language — but could not agree on a district submission and took no final action to forward a single proposal to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
During new business, the legislative council chair asked the board to submit a platform suggestion to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) urging that federal funding for core education programs not be cut. The chair presented a concise proposal that explicitly asks federal and state officials to avoid reductions to Title programs, IDEA, and Medicaid funding that flows through school‑based access programs. Another board member offered a longer draft emphasizing collaboration with federal officials and inviting them to visit district programs.
Board members disagreed about which version to submit and whether it was preferable to attempt to combine the drafts or submit one and then amend. Procedural questions also arose about whether the district could submit two separate proposals; some members said PSBA guidance discourages overly long submissions and that multiple submissions might be rejected. Several motions to amend and substitute language were made; the motion to substitute the longer proposal for the shorter one was tied, and the subsequent main motion to forward the shorter proposal likewise failed on recorded votes. As a result, the board did not submit a unified district platform at the meeting and members were encouraged to use the PSBA member survey individually.
Those who supported the concise language said it was more likely to pass the PSBA delegate assembly and made a simple, direct ask to protect core federal funding. Supporters of the longer draft said it better framed the district’s priorities and invited collaboration. The board’s legislative representative said the platform process matters because PSBA’s legislative platform is used by legislators and other advocacy partners as a signal of member priorities in Harrisburg and Washington.
No PSBA submission was recorded as passed by the board; individual board members were encouraged to participate in the PSBA survey and the delegate process scheduled for October.
