Act 1 Index

The Act 1 Index limits how much each school district can increase taxes in a given year.  It is set each year by PDE and is calculated for each school district.  PDE sets a base index (a limit), then makes adjustments for the districts requiring more aid, allowing them to raise taxes higher than the base.

Not all districts have the same Act 1 Index.

 

The base index is calculated by averaging the percent increase in Pennsylvania statewide average weekly wage (using the last 3 years average) and the percent increase of the Federal employment cost index for elementary/secondary schools (using the previous year July-June). (SAWW) (ECI)

SAWW from Jan 2017-Dec 2019 ($1064.89) to Jan 2018-Dec 2020 ($1,114.93) = 4.7% increase

ECI for Elementary & Secondary Schools from July 2020 (140.6) to June 2021 (143.6) = 2.1% increase

= PDE Base Index 2022/2023 (3.4%)

The PDE base index for 2022/2023 is 3.4%. The historical data for the Act 1 base index shows that the percent increase in SAWW has increased  considerably over the last two years. (Act 1 Index) (Historical Data)

Various state subsidies, including a transportation subsidy, require PDE to calculate Aid Ratios for each school district using the market and personal income data per district compared to statewide. (MV/PA AR calculation methodology) (Financial Data Elements)

For schools with a market value/personal income aid ratio (MV/PI AR) greater than 0.4, the Act 1 Index is adjusted to BASE * (0.75 + District MV/PI AR) (Reference)  Schools with a MV/PI AR 0.4 or lower will have an Act 1 Base Index. 

 

Schools with a higher aid ratio will have a higher Act 1 Index

PDE publishes this data for all school districts in the state. MV/PI AR and Adjusted Act 1 Index for all PA districts

Coatesville is about middle of the road compared to all 500 districts in PA

Calculations do not take into account the existing tax rate or charter costs leaving the district.  It is, however, directly related to needing aid.  

So school districts who need more aid from the state are given the ability to raise taxes higher

Chester County Act 1 indexes for reference... 

CASD School Board Meeting Review: January 11th

SCHOOL BOARD COMMITTEE MEETINGS 

 January, 11 2022 - 6:00 PM

For the new year, CCAP has decided to approach recaps by focusing on what we believe to be significant agenda items, including context and information to promote discussion. It is our hope that this will allow our community members to engage more in the district’s decision making process by voicing opinions on current school board topics. 

The board meeting in its entirety can be found on the District YouTube channel.  The agenda, documents, and recording of all votes can be found on board docs.  

 

Education Committee  (Agenda)

Curriculum Update  - Lynn Mancinelli presented for Jason Palaia and Cassandra Jones

• For the specifics of how the district is evaluating the piloted programs, please see the presentation.
• All pilot teachers, K-7 principals, and parents of students in formal pilot classrooms will be sent a feedback survey by 1/17 surveys (due by 1/31) and feedback will be on the district website for public view by 2/21.
• Presentation
• Supporting Documents

5. INFORMATIONAL ITEM(S)  

A. Enrollment Reports as of December 31, 2021

• Continue to trend positive, getting students back
• Additional 133 compared to a year ago 
• Decrease in charter enrollment by 86 students

 

A. High School Summer School - Tuition Fee - Sliding Scale

• Looking at sliding scale for tuition for summer school
• Students attending summer school (to earn repeat credit) have not paid any fees for the past several years. 

Comments

• Laurie Shannon Bailey commented - Mr. Hanna and board engaged with discussion and answers
  
• Admin is planning on presenting what the process is for adjudications at a future board meeting
  

 

Finance Committee  (Agenda)

2022-2023 School District Budget Update - Tomás Hanna and Lori A. Diefenderfer

• Tax increase can be up to 4.4%, recommending stay within 4.4% Act 1 Index
  
• CCAP Note: Act 1 Index is set each year by PDE and is different for each district
• CCAP will soon post a blog with an explanation of Act I index.

 

ESSRS Funding Report

• CARES/ESSRS1 funding total $1,346,239 (used $1,329,473 with $16,766 remaining)
• Used for salaries, BVA (cyber school), supplies, software, prof development, facilities related costs

• CRRSA/ESSRS2 funding total $6,915,330 (used $2,794,612 with $4,120,718 remaining)
  
• Used for salaries, services, software, health supplies, transportation, chromebook expenses
• Balance remaining is already accounted for
  
  
• Remaining ESSRS money allocated to district is still in process

4. AGENDA ITEMS

A. Financial Statements

• Finkbohner noted that the debt and legal amounts listed in financial statements include settlements 

Operations Committee  (Agenda)

 

C. Mainline Commercial Pools - Monthly Water Management Program and Chemicals  

• Rehabilitation work for pool, following through on all details and preventative measures

 

F. Wiggins Shredding Inc. - Updated Secure Shredding Services Agreement  

• Use of service is less, so reducing the number of times they come

 

Policy Committee  (Agenda)

F. Policy 236.1 Threat Assessment  

• New team being developed with annual board report (most policies are asking for this)
• Hanna said all policies will be compiled in a report in June
• Hanna stated there was trauma informed training over the summer, have two climate coaches at CASH, looking to add one at CAIHS
• Information on threatening behavior and how to report concerns will be distributed by school messenger, students taking info home, training online
• Board asked if we are prepared to put this in place in each building, Hanna says yes 
• Discussion about developing an individualized management plan, but no specifics on what this looks like  
• IMP requires ongoing monitoring, follow up assessments, referrals, Mr. Hanna stated whoever is in charge of the team will be trained to do this

 

5. INFORMATIONAL ITEM(S)

L. 214-AR-0 Class Rank 

• Pulled to be discussed again and added back for next board meeting

 

7. New Business

A. Policy Presentation 

Dunlap and team of administrators engaging in conversations around changing four policies in particular.  Items below are changes to existing policies currently in discussion.

• Policy 204 Attendance
• Requires 90% attendance
• Better enforcement truancy follow through / Accountability
  
• Absence or cutting class could result in 45% for the day
• Fine for accrued absences / referrals to agencies & court
• Comments determined we are behind on SAIP meetings
• Snyder clarified that letters used to be practice, trying to reimplement -it is for lates to school, not lates to class
• In public comment, Shannon-Bailey impressed upon the board and admin that parents should be notified and held accountable for truancy issues
  
• Policy 212 Student Progress 
• Elementary
• Revamp report card to reflect new ELA program standards and curriculum
• AR to provide parents with meaningful information about student progress
  
• Secondary
• Review passing threshold to be appropriate - currently 50%
  
• Increase midterm value 5 to 10 percent
• Tie in attendance to student progress
  
• Policy 215 Retention and Promotion
  
• Add true acceleration for gifted students
  
• Update AR for clear procedure for acceleration
  
• Verify AR to clearly inform parents of issues in a timely manner 
• Policy 217 Graduation
• Updating with Pathways to Acceleration
• Aligning with state expectations across the board
  
• Updating AR's to align with pathways to acceleration
• Updating and enforcing obligations list
  
  
• Comments
  
• Fisher impressed upon policy writers that any policy brought to the board should be able to be enforced 
• A student can still receive a 50% if they don't attend classes or do work 
• If they could get a 10% in one semester, they cannot numerically make it up the rest of the year; therefore, 50% was determined to be the lower threshold, allowing a student the opportunity to come back after a very disappointing marking period
• This needs to be re-evaluated and balanced with the accountability factor
• Harlan - the goal would be to reach the student before the they fall to 10% 
  

 

Special Board Meeting (Agenda)

Agenda Changes

• 8D - Policy 212 Reporting Student Progress - deletion from agenda - presented as informational item, not followed proper procedure - will be reviewed later this month or February

Comments:

• When asked if we compared vendors for roofing, Pellegrin said we've been using roofing resources as they know our roofs

Items pulled from Consent Agenda

Finance 5 A,G 

Education 6 F,G,H,I student adjudications

BRIEF OVERVIEW | ITEMS OF TO NOTE

Consent Agenda and items pulled all passed

Comments:

• Laurie Shannon Bailey - sent info to board about resolution and asked them to support it
• Elicker - CATA thanked school board for their service and commitment to our community

Informational Items: 

Health and Safety Plan

• Current PCR positivity rate 28%
  
• Policy changed to reflect CDC guidelines
• Positive Covid case may return to school after five days of isolation IF asymptomatic, and wear well-fitting mask for additional five days in public settings (schools days and events require them.) 
• CASD Covid-19 Guidelines
  

You can watch the entire board meeting on CASD's YouTube

The Organization of CASD School Board Meetings

Thinking about attending a CASD school board meeting?  Awesome – We love seeing the community engagement!  Since your first time attending can be overwhelming and confusing, we put together some helpful information to assist you understand the format and procedures of these meetings.

 

2022 Public School Board Meeting Schedule

• Committee Meetings are held at 6:00 p.m. every second Tuesday of the month. 
• School Board meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. every fourth Tuesday of the month.  
  

Both meetings are held in-person in the Coatesville Area Senior High School Auditorium, unless otherwise stated (due to the COVID-19 pandemic or weather emergencies.)

Committee Meetings (Held on the 2^nd Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m.)

At CASD, School Board directors are broken into four (4) committees in order to divide the labor of the board into manageable categories. Education, Finance, Operations, and Policy.  Committee Meetings serve as the starting point for policies, initiatives, or planning and make recommendations for action of approval by the full board at a business School Board Meeting.

Each committee consists of three (3) Board Directors who have an opportunity to study and review issues within the committee’s area of responsibility in greater detail than possible at the entire board level as well as receive informational updates from the Administration.

Topics of interest to the public are generally discussed within a committee before going to the entire School Board for a vote. Public comment is accepted at the end of each committee meeting on topics related to the agenda.  (See Public Comment Guidelines) 

 

School Board Meetings (Held on the 4^th Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m.)

School Board meetings are official business meetings, at which the School Board meets in their official capacity to deliberate and take action on the business of the school district. In accordance with the Board’s adopted Policy 006 Meetings and based on the PA Public School Code section 4-421, the School Board is required to meet at least once every two months, at specified times and places, to conduct the business of the school district.

According to the Sunshine Act (65 Pa. C.S. Sec. 702), a meeting is “held for the purpose of deliberating agency business or taking official action.” The role of the School Board at meetings is to consider and discuss the information presented on the Board meeting agenda and to take official action by voting on motions made regarding that business, i.e., approving the hiring of personnel recommended by administration.

School Board meeting include two public comment opportunities: one for specific items listed on the agenda and another for general comment.    (See Public Comment Guidelines)

 

Special Meetings (Can be called by the board at any time with public notification of ten days, but typically they are held right after all committee meetings are finished.) 

These meeting happen after Committee meetings for action on matters that cannot wait until the next regular meeting. Only the specific topic on the special meeting agenda can be discussed.

 

Executive Session (Held on the 2^nd & 4^th Monday of every month.)

Also known as a “Closed Meeting.” These meetings are where the board discusses only items that are not permitted to be discussed publicly: for example, some discussions could center around anticipated litigation and issues involving attorney-client privilege; negotiations with labor unions and negotiating strategy; matters involving the purchase of property; and any discussion of student discipline.  NO voting may take place in the executive session; votes must occur in public.

The Sunshine Act restricts school boards to discussing a limited number of items in a closed meeting or “out of sunshine.” Such meetings are called executive sessions and may be held only for the following reasons:

1. Personnel matters.
2. Information, strategy and negotiation related to negotiation or arbitration of a collective bargaining agreement.
3. Consideration of the lease or purchase of property.
4. Consulting with an attorney or other professional adviser about active or pending litigation.
5. Discussing agency business which, if conducted in public, would violate a lawful privilege or lead to disclosure of information or confidentiality protected by law.
6. Discussion of certain public safety issues if disclosure of the information would be reasonably likely to jeopardize or threaten public safety or preparedness or public protection.

 

FAQ About School Board Meetings

What is the board agenda?

Agenda reflect the matters to be discussed in that meeting. However, the board is not precluded from addressing an issue that arises just because it was not on the agenda.  You can find CASD’s agendas on the School website under School Board > Board Docs

What is a consent agenda?

At every board meeting, at least a few items come to the agenda that do not need any discussion or debate either because they are routine procedures or are already unanimous consent. A consent agenda (Roberts Rules of Order calls it a consent calendar) allows the board to approve all these items together without discussion or individual motions.

What is considered a “Public” School Board Meeting?

The Sunshine Act requires that official action and deliberations by a quorum of the Board and most Board committees take place at a meeting open to the public.  Boards must also announce to the public, in advance, when and where meetings will be held in order for the public to attend and have the opportunity to comment before the Board takes official action.

Can the Board limit a community member's participation in school board meetings?

The Public School Code (section 407), Policies 006 and 903, and the Sunshine Act (Section 710) allow the Board to establish reasonable rules and regulations for conducting the business of the Board at public meetings.  School boards have the option to accept all public comment on agenda items at the beginning of the meeting, rather than before each vote on each individual agenda item.  Boards may set reasonable limits on the overall length of the comment period and the time allotted for each to comment.  The Board may choose to hear public comments on non-agenda items at the end of the board meeting.  The Board may also ask commenters to state their name and information for purpose of taking the Board meeting minutes.