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Back to current recordSeneca Valley School District SCHOOL BOARD ACTION SESSION Seneca Valley Senior High School Auditorium - 7 p.m. Public Agenda March 9, 2026 ** Subject to Change** 1. 2. CALL TO ORDER by Mr. Eric DiTullio, President A. Moment of Silence B. Pledge of Allegiance - “I Led the Pledge” – Lincoln Boehm – grade 4, Haine Elementary School. C. Roll Call INFORMATION REPORTS A. Student/Staff Recognition
1. A total of 18 Seneca Valley students in grades 7–12 presented independent research projects at the 69th Annual Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science Region 9 competition held Feb. 21 at Slippery Rock University. Fourteen students earned first-place awards and four more earned second place. First Place: • Paige Chesler (7) – How Does Temperature Affect Plants? • Anaya Kandikuppa (7) – Effect of Air Pollution on Plants • Lucia Parise (7) – How Plants Respond to Their Environment – Touch • Cam Swope (8) – How Flywheel Characteristics Affect Energy Conservation • Maryn Zupancic (8) – How Long Do Batteries Really Last? • Maddalyn Beichner (9) – How Does Gray Water Affect Our National Parks? (Perfect Score) • Cruz Sanders (11) – Aquatic Moss and the Pollution of Water • Everly Harrell (11) – The Effect of Host Bacteria on pGLO Plasmid Growth • Abby Huppert (11) – Identifying Radiation Types Using a Cloud Chamber • Mariana Marino Escobar (11) – Classical Conditioning, Hear and Act • Peyton Mounty (11) – Does the Color of Your Dish Affect the Taste of Food? • Mac Wilson (11) – Filter Size Impact on Soil eDNA Extraction and Purification • • Teagan Hmel (12) – Using Geneious to Advance Salamander Metabarcoding Studies YukKwan (Wilson) Li (12) – Using Low-Cost Sensory Device for Assistive Technology
Second Place: • Alyssa Mossor (7) – Coin Composition • Emily Schweitzer (7) – Biology Project • Imogen Culley (10) – When One Choice Leads to Infinity • Ziva Schmitt (11) – Pollinator NGS Metabarcoding Special awards: • Cam Swope (8) received the Ernst P. Hall Award in Junior High Physics for “How Flywheel Characteristics Affect Energy Conservation.” • Anaya Kandikuppa (7) earned the PJAS Region 9 Director’s Award in Junior High Biochemistry for “Effect of Air Pollution on Plants.” • Maddalyn Beichner (9) received the SRU Junior High Biology Award for “How Does Gray Water Affect Our National Parks.” She also earned a perfect score on her project. We would like to commend these students, along with Science Department Chair and Science Honor Society advisor Ms. Kelly Weston.
2. Two SV Jazz students, Camden Armstrong – Alto Saxophone – and John Rieger – Trumpet – were selected to the PMEA All-State Jazz Ensemble. To earn a position in the All-State Jazz Ensemble, students must prepare an audition consisting of five components: scale proficiency, improvisation, lead playing, section playing and a technical etude/transcription. This material must be audio and video recorded and submitted to the state in January for evaluation and scoring. Camden is one of only two alto saxophonists and John is one of only five trumpeters selected from across Pennsylvania. The All-State Jazz Ensemble will perform at the PMEA All-State Festival in April at the Poconos Resort Conference Center. 3. Ten Seneca Valley chorus members in grades 11-12 recently participated in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) Region Chorus held February 19-21, at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in New Castle. The chorus festival comprises students from Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence, Mercer, Washington and Westmoreland counties. 4. Last month, 24 Seneca Valley band students were selected by solo audition to perform in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District Jazz Festival, held February 13-14 at Slippery Rock University. The festival consists of three auditioned jazz ensembles comprised of students from Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties. Seneca Valley had the most students of any district represented at this festival.
5. The Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 5 Band Festival featured 17 SV Band students last month. Held at Sharon High School from Feb. 4-6, the festival brought together students from all schools in PMEA 2 District 5. It is the first step in the state-level music festival system, where students have the opportunity to advance to the regional level. B. Dates to Remember March March 12-15 March 13 March 14 March 16 March 19 March 19 March 20 March 21 March 24 March 29 March 30-April 3 April 1 April 1 April 3 April 5 April 6 April 10 April 11 April 12 SV All School Musical, "Disney’s Frozen the Musical" will be held in the SVIHS; Tickets are available for purchase on ShowClix by visiting: Tickets for Disney's Frozen, the Musical in Harmony from ShowClix Report of Student Progress Release Grades K-6 SAT Testing – Seneca Valley Senior High School Snow Makeup Day #2 Eid al Fitr Begins SVAOC End of Third Nine Weeks, Grades 7-12 Spring Begins ACT Testing – Seneca Valley Senior High School End of Third Nine Weeks, Grades 7-12 Palm Sunday Spring Break, No School for Students and Staff Paraprofessionals Appreciation Day Passover Begins Good Friday Easter Act 80 (Professional Development) Day, No School for Students Orthodox Good Friday ACT Testing – Seneca Valley Senior High School Orthodox Easter C. All-Star Award, Winner, March 2026 – Ms. Jessica M. King – Security, nominated by Officer Jason Young, Director of Safety and Security. D.
Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV Proposed Budget – Ms. Brenda Marino, Interim MIU IV Director and Ms. Maureen Werwie, Business Manager. E. Financial Reports
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Operations Senior High Activities Intermediate High Activities Middle School Activities Athletics Food Service Tax Collections Capital Projects Funds 3. PUBLIC COMMENT 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Work Session – February 2, 2026 3 B. Action Meeting – February 9, 2026 5. TREASURER’S REPORT 6. GENERAL FUND BILLS Grand Total: $1,511,790.36 7. CONSTRUCTION FUND BILLS Grand Total: $1,049,386.98 8. ADMINISTRATION 9. A. Kennywood Picnic – Approve Friday, June 19, 2026, as the Kennywood picnic date for 2026. B. Research Study – Approve Doctoral Candidate, Megan Oldenski, Teacher of Gifted Programming at the Intermediate High School, to conduct a dissertation study on gifted education. Specifically, researching distributions of project domains, technology integration, and how gender, grade level, and prior participation in the enrichment group influence domain selection. C. School Bus Drivers – Approve the additional bus driver list for the 2025-26 school year as provided by transportation vendor of First Student Inc. INSTRUCTION A. Conferences – Approve conference requests. B. Grant Disbursement – Grant permission to apply for and to disburse, the following:
1. Chemical and Genetic Analysis of a Local Waterway Grant in the amount of $900, funded by the Grable Foundation and requested by Mr. Tom Lavelle. Funds will be used for the biology class and students from the biotech lab to work together to delineate our campus waterway in terms of fish inhabitants and water quality. 2. Traverse Climbing Wall for the Inclusion of Students Grant in the amount of $7,500, funded by Highmark Foundation and requested by Ms. Ashley Salman and Mr. Tyler Mesisca. Funds will be used for a traverse climbing wall. 3. SVAOC Functional Fitness Lab Grant in the amount of $7,500, funded by Highmark Foundation and requested by the SVAOC Physical Education Teachers. Funds will be used to purchase additional exercise equipment. C. Book Disposal - Approve the sale, donation, or recycling of obsolete books from Connoquenessing Valley Elementary, Ehrman Crest Elementary, Ehrman Crest Middle School, Haine Elementary, Haine Middle and Rowan Elementary Schools. 4 D. Student Trips – Approve the following student trips: 1. Approve the Academic Decathlon Team to travel to Hershey, Pennsylvania, from March 12-14, 2026, under the supervision of Mr. David Reichard. Students will miss two days of instruction. The trip is at no cost to the District.
2. Approve the Pennsylvania Junior Classical League Club (PAJCL) to travel to the PAJCL state convention in State College, from May 23-24, 2026, under the supervision of Latin teachers Ms. Amy Seelbaugh, Ms. Sarah Deeds and Mr. Zach Cene. Students will miss two days of instruction. The trip is at no cost to the District. E. 10. Pittsburgh Art Region Agreement - Approve the affiliate partner agreement with the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, Inc. for administration of a Scholastic Art & Writing Awards regional program for the term of July 1, 2025 through June 30,
2026. Pending solicitor review. BUSINESS/FINANCE A. Budget Transfers – Approve budget transfers. B. Naming Rights Agreement – Approve an addendum to the existing agreement with the Khara Family for naming rights of the baseball field for Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000), payable in ten annual installments of Twenty-Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500) each year, effective July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2035. C. Security and Safety Equipment - Approve the sale of any security and safety equipment that is deemed to have resale value and the disposal of any items that are not suitable for resale in a responsible manner. D. Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School (BCAVTS) 2026-2027 Budget – Approve the BCAVTS proposed budget with budgetary reserve for the 2026-27 school year in the amount of $7,571,783. E. 2026-2027 MIU IV General Operating Budget – Approve the 2026-27 Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV General Operating Budget in the total amount of $4,552,816 with Seneca Valley’s contribution being $161,240. The official amount of the contribution is calculated on October 2026 PIMS information. 11. PERSONNEL – Approve appointments, leaves and retirements. 12. LETTERS SENT TO THE SCHOOL BOARD a. Jason Shorr b. Doug Boyd c. Sandy Thompson 13. ADJOURNMENT 5