Lower Moreland board approves personnel, contracts and planning retainer; public commenter urges continuation of student ambassadors program

The Lower Moreland Township School District board on Nov. 12 approved a sequence of personnel appointments, contracts and budget items, and heard a public comment urging the district to preserve a student ambassadors program.

At the start of the meeting, Dr Best, the presiding officer, confirmed the session was being livestreamed and the recording would be posted to the district’s YouTube channel. The board moved unanimously by voice vote to approve the minutes from earlier meetings and proceeded through a slate of recognitions for students and staff.

During the public-comment period, Carina Taylor identified herself and said she has worked with the district’s seniors as part of a countywide student ambassadors program. Taylor urged the board to keep the program, saying it benefits students across the district’s seven participating schools and helps build cultural exposure. She also described an uncomfortable experience at a prior graduation when she said wearing African dress led some community members to treat her as “a foreigner, like an alien.” Taylor said she would follow up with administrators. “I needed you to see my face. I need you to feel my heart,” she said.

Board and staff responses noted administrators would follow up with Taylor. Later in the meeting the board voted to approve a student ambassadors club listed on the agenda; board members clarified that the club approved during motions is a different student-club proposal than the program Taylor referenced during public comment.

On business and finance, the board approved the accounts payable checklist, a wire-transfer list and the financial reports presented by the business office. Specific dollar amounts for some presented checklists and transfers were described in attached documentation cited at the meeting and were not read aloud; the meeting record describes them as "amounts noted."

The board approved a planning and retainer services proposal with IC for professional engineering and capital-improvement planning tied to the district’s facilities assessment. The first-year retainer amount is $15,000 and will be included in the 2025–26 budget; board members asked about access to the vendor’s 360 software and confirmed the retainer features one-year terms with optional renewals.

The board also approved Weatherproofing Technologies (WTI) to perform roof restoration work on the Lower Moreland Middle School; the board record says the expenditure will come from capital funds and references the contract amounts in attached proposals (amounts were not read aloud at the meeting).

Other motions approved by voice vote included athletic and extracurricular coaching appointments, approvals of professional meeting attendances for staff, a contract with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU) for comprehensive-planning facilitation, a separate MCIU agreement to facilitate DEI council sessions and membership in the PENg Catalyst core team for 2024–25, and a contract with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association to review policy sections 600–900. The board approved Fox Rothschild LLP to serve as labor counsel for negotiations related to the LMTA and approved a $1,000 change order to James D. Marcy Inc. correcting a clerical undercharge on the high-school intersection improvement project.

Votes at a glance

- Personnel motions (appointments and leaves): approved by voice vote - Athletic/extracurricular contracts: approved by voice vote - Accounts payable checklist and wire transfers: approved by voice vote - IC planning retainer (year one $15,000): approved by voice vote - Weatherproofing Technologies roof restoration (Middle School): approved by voice vote (contract amount referenced in attachments) - PA School Boards Association policy review contract: approved by voice vote - Fox Rothschild LLP (labor counsel for LMTA): approved by voice vote - Change order GCCO 00002 to James D. Marcy Inc. (+$1,000): approved by voice vote - Student club approvals (Murray Avenue Interact Club; student ambassadors — agenda item clarified as a separate club): approved by voice vote

What the board said

Dr Best opened the meeting and handled routine motions and approvals. Mr McGuinn (business office) presented financial items and the accounts-payable checklist. Mr McGuinn and other administrators answered clarifying questions about the IC retainer, confirming the district has received the facilities assessment report and that the software portion remains under refinement.

Next steps

Administrators said they will follow up with the public commenter about the student ambassadors program; staff will begin work under the IC retainer once contractual details move forward and the first-year retainer is included in the 2025–26 budget. The board’s reorganizational meeting is scheduled for Dec. 3, 2024.

(Reporting note: dollar amounts shown only where read into the record; several approvals referenced contract amounts in attached proposals and were described in the meeting as "amount noted" rather than read aloud.)