Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves MOUs, staff salary items and a slate of curriculum contracts in consent agenda
Summary
During a consent session July 8 the Downingtown board approved an MOU with Teamsters Local 384, several staffing salary approvals including Act 93 and nonunion salaries for 2026'27, and multiple curriculum contracts and renewals including software, textbook and student placement agreements.
The Downingtown Area School District board approved a broad consent agenda on July 8 that included personnel MOUs, salary approvals and more than a dozen curriculum contracts and renewals.
Director Ross summarized personnel items that the board approved, including a memorandum of understanding with Teamsters Local 384 for a paraeducator tuition-reimbursement pathway effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027, a Talent Development Center partnership agreement with the Chester County Intermediate Unit (effective the same dates), Act 93 staff salaries for 2026'27, and nonunion support staff salaries for 2026'27. Motions were moved and seconded and recorded as passed; the meeting transcript does not include roll-call tallies.
Director Pitoni presented multiple curriculum items that passed on the consent agenda: fitness-center flooring at Downingtown High School West; technology and equipment purchases (for example, $29,903 for updated music/STEM equipment and a $35,227.30 AP business textbook order); two Melmark day-student placement agreements (each noted at $178,690) for students with needs the district cannot meet in-house; a settlement agreement and release for a student for $83,000; extended ESY and regular tuition obligations totaling $155,660.07; Pearson online-textbook software for $31,800; Discovery Education mystery-science kits for K'5 classrooms ($115,670); iReady/ELA benchmark assessments for $149,691; and other renewals and curriculum contracts.
Director Wisdom presented finance-related consent items including a student transportation contract with On The Go Kids and an administrative PlanCon K filing tied to refinancing 2017 and 2018 bonds to preserve state reimbursement eligibility. The board recorded that settlement stipulations arising from negotiations with property owners would reduce annual property tax revenue by $87,676.
Most consent items included a brief staff explanation and were approved without extended discussion; when board members asked for clarifications (for example, why a consultant contract appeared listed at a lower maximum than last year), staff explained cost-control steps such as hiring internal BCBAs to reduce out-of-district spending.
The board approved the consent items as listed in the meeting packet; specific vote tallies are not recorded in the transcript.
