Pennridge
The Pennridge School Board Monday, April 7 continued its discussion of a policy allowing parents to opt their children out of third-party surveys, the latest in a series of reversals of the previous GOP-led board’s decisions.
The current policy, approved in 2023, requires parental consent for student participation in any third-party survey as well as non-third-party surveys on “controversial issues,” defined as “topics related to personal beliefs such as religion, political and geopolitical materials, sexual orientation and gender identity.”
The policy also withdrew the district’s participation in the “Pennsylvania Youth Survey” (PAYS), an anonymous state survey of middle and high school students addressing drug and alcohol usage, bullying, violence and mental health issues. The purpose of the survey is to assess the extent of problem behaviors among students and allocate the necessary resources.
At the time, board members argued that the policy was needed to protect children from inappropriate questions, while parents and community members castigated the policy as an attempt to cover up a “toxic environment” in the district.
Under the new policy, the superintendent, in collaboration with the cabinet, will be tasked with approving third-party surveys. Parents will be notified of all third-party surveys at the beginning of the school year and no less than 10 days prior to the survey’s distribution, with the choice of opting their children out. Parents can also request copies of the surveys.
“It’s not gonna be opt-in. It’s gonna go back to opt-out,” said policy chair Leah Rash.
The policy also eliminates parental consent for non-third-party surveys on controversial issues and restores the district’s participation in PAYS.
At Monday’s policy committee meeting, school administrators and most board members defended third-party surveys as crucial data collection tools, while stressing the right of parents to opt out their children.
“It will be comfortable for us as a school district to have information about how kids feel about school, what their attitude is towards school. It can help inform our practices,” said Director of Student Services Ernest Johnson, adding that questions pertaining to a student’s home environment can “help our school counselors, our social workers know how to attack different situations in the home.”
“You also have AP Research and AP Seminar where students issue surveys to other students,” added Superintendent Angelo Berrios. “I anticipate our teachers will be surveyed regarding their opinions on the policy. There is a building climate survey we issued last week to all of our staff. So we see a lot of value in surveys.”
Brad Palmer, assistant superintendent of administration, added that the PAYS survey helps the district obtain grants to aid at-risk students.
“You want to show that we do have this specific issue. We know x number of kids are using,” said Palmer. “We will have that data to support obtaining those specific grants and supporting those students.”
Board member Ricki Chaikin, who voted in favor of the current policy, described the policy’s parental notification provisions as insufficient, arguing that parents can easily miss school emails. Berrios responded by promising “proactive communication” with parents.
“We want to put this on our website, I’ll send a notification. We’ll do our best,” adding, “If you have strong convictions against any third-party survey, you can opt your child out.”
The policy will advance to the full board meeting on April 28 for a second reading vote.
Federal programs
Palmer gave a presentation on the district’s usage of federal funds. Pennridge receives roughly $5 million in federal funding, which primarily supports programs for special education and at-risk students, said Palmer.
The district’s federal funding specifically includes $1.6 million for the national school lunch program, $1.1 million in reimbursements for direct special education services, $1.3 million for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) services and nearly $900,000 in Title 1 funding, which promotes education equity for low-income students.
Palmer explained that the district’s Title 1 funding pays for additional reading specialists at several elementary schools, a math specialist and a teaching assistant at South Middle School, a targeted full-day kindergarten teacher and an English Language Development (ELD) teaching assistant. Other expenditures include a county radio system, safety and security equipment, back-to-school nights, open houses and stakeholder meetings.
Palmer cautioned that the district’s appropriation may be reduced due to lower state budget revenues. The decision will not be finalized until June, said Palmer.
“If we get less money, we’re gonna have to make some really tough decisions, regarding teachers, teaching assistants,” said Palmer. “Those programs are very important to us, so we’re gonna watch very closely.”
The presentation follows a 50% staffing reduction at the Department of Education (DOE) and an executive order by President Donald Trump to abolish the DOE. Rash inquired about the district’s financial future amid federal funding concerns.
Palmer noted that the layoffs will hamper the grant approval process. Berrios added that federal funds are expected to be allocated to states as a “pass through” if the DOE is abolished.
“There are a lot of unknowns at this time. It’s hard for us to budget accordingly,” said Berrios. “In the worst-case scenario, we may have to scale back our programming for our students with respect to extra staff that is funded through federal revenue streams.”
Berrios said that Business Administrator Sean Daubert will have more information at the April 14 budget presentation.
Policy update plan
The committee gave an update on the board’s list of policy priorities. Among the top priorities is a responsible contractor policy, a nod to the previous board’s controversial decision to hire a Michigan-based consulting firm to review and develop the district’s social studies curriculum. The committee said that administrators are currently planning on reviewing similar policies in other districts and returning with suggestions.
Other priorities include a cell phone usage policy, which was moved to the student services committee, and a proposed dress and grooming policy, which was amended to include a statement directing staff to waive penalties related to a delay in student compliance for dress and grooming due to a students’ educational instability.
The next Pennridge school board meeting is April 28 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit pennridge.org
This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between North Penn Now and The Reporter. To read more stories like this, visit https://www.thereporteronline.com
