The Seneca Valley School Board opened its August 11 action session with a moment of silence for Robert "Bob" Hill, a former board member who passed away August 2 after a long battle with kidney cancer. Hill served on the board for 16 years, including five as president and three as vice president.

“His leadership, passion and commitment to public education have left a lasting legacy," board president Eric DiTullio said. "He will be deeply missed but never forgotten.”

Seven of nine board members were present, with Jeff Widdowson and Kari Zimmer absent.

The board's most consequential action of the evening was approving the Act 34 Resolution for the construction of an Intermediate High School and Performing Arts Center Addition at 126 Seneca School Road in Harmony. The resolution specifies a maximum building construction cost of $114,651,741 and a maximum total project cost of $165,896,311.

A public hearing on the project is scheduled for September 8 at 5:30 p.m. in the Intermediate School Auditorium. The resolution directs architects and administrators to advertise the hearing, make the Project Description Booklet available to the public and news media, and submit all required information to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Susan Harrison motioned and Tim Hester seconded the approval, which carried on a voice vote with all present voting in the affirmative.

The board also approved general fund bills totaling $12,877,580.73 across both fiscal years — $5,531,288.45 for 2024-25 and $7,346,292.28 for 2025-26. Construction fund bills totaled $1,945,202.35.

In policy matters, the board revised Policy 342 on Jury Duty for employees and approved Policy 908 on Title I Parent and Family Engagement. Policy 442 on Jury Duty for Professional Employees was retired.

The board approved an Act 26 Memorandum of Understanding with local law enforcement agencies and acknowledged the federal program allocation spending plan for the 2025-26 school year. A one-time exception was granted for two food services employees who did not meet original eligibility criteria for participation in the food services incentive program.

On the instruction side, the board approved establishment of a Peer Empowerment Club at no cost to the district, under volunteer sponsor Jennifer Exler. The board also approved consultant agreements with Latitia Lattanzio-Paros and Hannah Brimkov to provide psychological evaluation services for special education and gifted evaluations.

Multiple service agreements were approved for the upcoming school year, including contracts with McGuire Memorial for special education programming, Watson Institute for training and consultation, University School for special education programming, Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit for programming at New Horizon School, Sign Language Interpreting Professionals, Hope Learning Center for occupational and physical therapy, and School Assist Consulting for professional development leadership coaching. All were pending solicitor review.

The board approved Schoolwide Plans for Haine Elementary School, Haine Middle School, and Ryan Gloyer Middle School under Title I, along with a non-Title I plan for the High School. One student was granted early admission to first grade.

Tiffany Hernandez announced several upcoming dates including New Teacher Induction on August 13-14, the SV Pie Fest on August 14 at the Secondary Campus, and the first day of school on August 21 for the 2025-26 school year. DiTullio highlighted the Veteran Recognition event scheduled for September 12 at NexTier Stadium at 5:30 p.m.

The next public hearing on the school addition project will give community members their opportunity to weigh in on the district's largest capital investment in recent memory.