L-S School Board Coverage

09/19/2026

The mid-month Board Workshop is scheduled for Monday 9/21 at 7:30pm. TBH, the agenda lacks items to highlight for the community. The public portion of the meeting will convene in order for the board to welcome L-S teachers who are new this year.

The Buildings & Grounds Committee meets at 7pm (also in the Administration Building). Agenda items include:
- New administrative regulations addressing service animals in school;
- Hans Herr renovation and Field House design updates;
- Campus updates. (TBD whether the committee discusses the top turf field needing replacement earlier than anticipated.)
Note this meeting will start later than usual, at 7pm.

Agendas are linked below in the comments.

09/04/2026

Each September, the Academic subcommittee of the school board reviews the annual senior exit survey. The 2026 survey will be reviewed on Tuesday, 9/8, at 6:30pm. The monthly school board meeting starts at 7:30. Both meetings are open to the public in the Administration Building, off Book Road. Agendas and the survey are linked below in comments.

September 2nd Academic Committee:

2024-2025 L-S High School Senior Survey Results and Graduation Data:
Dr. Westphal and the academic committee reviewed the results of the Senior Exit Survey, which had 188 participants:https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756402610/lspioneersorg/ljwcc9zenmb2dxcddgil/2025_09_02_AcademicCommittee_Agenda_Website.pdf
She began by reviewing the question types broadly and said no red flags stood out. Kids feel its a safe place and enjoy all activities and electives

Mrs. Herr asked about the results of the four questions on school counselors' knowledge around career planning, social issues, and degree of care. Dr. Westphal stated that the work with the counselors has improved. Last year there was a long-term sub for the full year; the HS is back to three full-time counselors in the High School this year.

Mrs. Knowles asked when the survey is taken: In the spring April/May during dissemination of graduation info.

Parido noticed the question, "How many years have you attended Lampeter-Strasburg High School?" Would be nice to know how long they've been in the district to see how the retention rate is. Wording around Chromebook usage is limited: asked whether Chromebooks are used often in class, etc., vs. "Do we like Chromebooks and are they the best tools?"

Mr. Parido identified the variety in responses for the question, "The L-S Drug Testing Policy affected my decision making on using illegal substances." Disagree and Strongly Disagree responses don't provide insight as to why or how the policy affects decisions (i.e., "I would never use drugs, so the policy wasn't a deterrent" vs. "the policy wasn't a deterrent, and I used drugs").

Mrs. Steinbacher brought attention to 20.2% of students who responded with Disagree or Strongly Disagree to the statement, "Students of various backgrounds (race, economic status, ethnicity, gender, s*xuality, etc.) were respected and accepted at L-S High School." She asked how to best move forward with this information. Mrs. Herr asked how it changes class to class, which Dr. Westphal will look into. Mr. Parido asked for a 2-3 year trend.
Mrs. Steinbacher asked what can be done to improve this? How do we use this to grow?
Dr. Westphal said she would go back to Dr. Feeney and his team and impact the program within the HS building.

Dr. Peart said, "What is the purpose of the question and how are they interpreting it? Clearly we don't have 20% of all of those groups [ethnic minorities and LGBT] - if you put all of those together that is not 20% of our student population, it is much smaller. So if you have individuals that are outside of that group saying that it is a large problem... Our minority population is minimal, so... how are they interpreting that, and what Dr. Feeney does is he looks at the trends and shares with staff what was reported."

[Editorial: Stats aren't public for the '25 senior class but the published district minority population is 20%. LGBT population is unknown.]

Dr. Peart explained the drug testing question was added because board at the time wanted to add it as a "tool in the tool box." Some kids in the past reported staying away from drugs so they could participate as athletes, marching band, etc.

For the statement, "Bullying was not a significant problem for me during my time at L-SHS", 13.8% disagreed, indicating bullying affected those respondents personally.
Dr. Peart said L-S only had one confirmed report of bullying last year that was reported to the state. Policy defines bullying, and 90% of students can't correctly define it.

Mrs. Steinbacher acknowledged the bullying threshold is high, but returned back to the 20% of students who experienced or observed disrespect and lack of acceptance based on "different" backgrounds.
Mrs. Herr recommended to keep in mind that a few kids will always mark Disagree for everything because they're wired that way.
Mr. Mccomsey said perception is a big part of results because definition is fluid between bullying and not bullying
Switching topics, Mrs. Staley said it was interesting that positive behaviors were recognized and encouraged, amount of disagree/strongly disagree. Are the positive behavior incentives the right ones?
Mrs. Knowles, back on the topic of respect and acceptance: Do we ask students this at any point before senior year? Answer: no.
Mrs. Steinbacher: It would be interesting to start with 9th grade and see how answers change or not.
Mr. Parido asked to look at multi-year trends. Also take at subset of these questions and follow a cohort of students of 4 years.

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IU13's MOU's for Title 1 and Title 2 program for non-public students. Mr. Parido verified with Dr. Westphal that no terms are changing. No further comments.

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Compass Mark's Catch your Breath va**ng program for 7th graders at MM:
Third year of use, we pay half the cost ($640) and the rest is funded by the Lancaster County Drug and Alcohol Commission. Mrs. Herr asked whether 7th grade is early enough to make students aware. Dr. Smecker has a 5th grade program that addresses va**ng at Hans Herr.

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Committee review of the following Policies...
103: Discrimination/Title IX Sexual Harassment Affecting Students,
103.1: Nondiscrimination - Qualified Students with Disabilities, and
104: Discrimination/Title IX Sexual Harassment Affecting Staff

Policies are derived from recommendations from PA School Board Association. Dr. Westphal provided an overview of small word changes and added definitions.
Mr. Welk said the policy is a deep read and should be broken out into smaller policies.
Mrs. Knowles sought clarification on differences between 104 (staff) vs. 103 (students).
Mr. Parido inquired whether there's a way to more clearly delineate the policies to make it easier for employees to navigate and interpret (not for action at the moment).

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With Dr. Westphal new in her role as Assistant Superintendent, Mr. Parido explained that the Academic Committee doesn't have a set schedule and is an opportunity for deeper dives into district academic topics, good or bad. Mrs. Knowles said she likes time to hear from student groups (spelling bee, FFA, etc.) about activities.

The meeting adjourned at 7:03pm (33 minutes).

09/03/2026

8/17 BUILDINGS & GROUNDS COMMITTEE, 6:30PM
attended by all but Ms. Osborne
audience members: 3

Almost $40k in change orders reviewed. Mrs. Staley asked whether change orders are about to taper off as projects wraps up, and this was confirmed that only residuals would come in from contractors soon.
Mrs. Steinbacher asked about the lock costs as an owner request. The front office configuration changed.
Mrs. Herr inquired about metal door framing and drywall above. Several existing doors had been filled in above with plywood, and needed to be brought up to specification.

The main sewer line to MM was replaced after a failure this summer, costing $42.6k to replace.

Hans Herr & Field House design presentation was given by Crabtree Rohrbaugh & Assoc. (Architects). Same Civil Engineers working on this as MM renovation.

New two-story portion planned to replace the front entry of HH school, and renovation of the rest of the building's wings.
New bus loop off Book Road.

Construction trailers will be needed at HH parking lot eventually. It will be patched for use this year but not overlayed with asphalt until trailers are no longer anticipated.

Courtyard options are being considered for activities. Outdoor play areas remain, but rubber play surface needs upgrades to address water issues.

Storm water flows down to left of Field House. Architerra is working on storm water quantities with added amounts due to additional paving at new bus loop.

Each wing for a specific grade will feature a collaborative space. Leftover spaces may be assigned educational value for small group instruction; up for consideration. Faculty input will be sought this fall, starting in September.

Classrooms will be similar to new MM's new classrooms. Ductwork and piping will get creative above ceiling plenum to deliver to the new 2nd story.

Ms. Herr asked about the worsening water issue at the rubberized playground pad, and commented on the large number of hedge row trees being proposed. A visual buffer is needed between homes and the new bus loop, but architect said they could reduce trees elsewhere. Mr. Parido mentioned West Lampeter township would have a say due to planting requirements. Two existing oak trees would be removed to accommodate the bus loop, as well.

Mr. McComsey asked the architect to recap efficiency and disruption with this plan vs. other options considered (i.e., new building in different spot), and Field House coordination plans. New building would have displaced field and impacted traffic at center of campus. Contractors will be on-site for HH and tying into stormwater by Field House, so it makes sense to get an optional bid renovate and expand the Field House simultaneously. Minimal storage, locker room needs, concessions and toilets are at same end and there's high traffic at once.

Ms. Steinbacher asked whether findings from Martin Meylin renovation change orders are being taken into consideration for HH. Yes, they are considering lessons learned and doing more due diligence to figure out anomalies. Extensive survey work has been done for HH because there aren't many building drawings for the existing school.

Mr. Knarr asked about asbestos remediation changes. The answer is they don't know but don't see any red flags.

Ms. Knowles asked when field house designs would be ready. Expected early this fall.
The board and administration discussed what faculty input might yield in the flexible spaces still being considered for educational value.
Mr. Parido asked about the timeline for design bid. Sometime next fall is likely.

Excavation currently outside and south of MM provides sprinkler water to HH and MM. Cost won't be part of HH renovation. This concluded the discussion and the architectural team left.

Campus & Building updates were briefly listed by Randy Hess. A dead tree outside of MM is being addressed. [Other items were unintelligible from the peanut gallery and via recording.]

Buildings & Grounds meeting adjourned at 8:15pm

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8/17 BOARD WORKSHOP MEETING
All board members attendance, with Ms. Osborne listening by phone.
Attendance: 3 + reporter

No public comments on agenda

Ms. Knowles reviewed Personnel recommendations 1-8. All items approved unanimously, with Mr. Knarr abstaining on item 8.

Business & Finance (Mr. Stoltzfus)
9. Two students were unanimously approved to receive services from the Winners Circle Center for the year with a 2% annual increase.
10. $40k in change orders for MM renovations unanimously approved. Cumulative change orders less than 1% of total project cost so far.
11. Sewer line replacement over summer at MM for $42.6k

Misc. Items (Dr. Peart)
12. Transportation approved for 5 kindergarteners to private schools where room is available for no added cost.
13. Dr. Peart recapped efforts aligning with student-centered Culture: advance tech, address needs beyond academic, and seek updates re: socio-emotional and behavior programs. Dr. Peart reviewed PSBA principle of leading responsibly.

Public comment:
Sarah Cook of West Lampeter mentioned a lack of shade at the Hans Herr recess space, and for the ongoing HH renovation planning asked the board to consider a type of large shade tree or shade structure that could minimize grounds upkeep while providing a respite from heat on hot days.

Meeting adjourned at 7:50pm

08/15/2026

The Buildings & Grounds Committee will meet Monday, 8/17 at 6:30pm. The agenda includes discussion of the middle school renovations, followed by Hans Herr Elementary renovation discussions. The photos shown here are from May 2025, indicating a new wing (shown in white) to be added. Since then, the board has considered stacking new classrooms as a second story, instead. Come listen to find out the latest and hear what questions are being asked.

Following the B&G meeting is the monthly Board Workshop meeting at 7:30. Both agendas are linked in the comments.

08/14/2026

8/3 SCHOOL BOARD MEETING:

All board members present
Three residents in audience (plus reporter)
29 min long

Board President Mrs. Herr mentioned the board met prior to this meeting in executive session to discuss a matter involving the evaluation of a school district employee.

No public comments re: agenda.
June 1st minutes unanimously approved.

Superintendent Dr. Peart thanked custodial staff for preparing for the start of the year.

Treasurer’s report by Mr. Stoltzfus unanimously approved, no comments.

Academic committee meeting will be Tuesday Sept 8th (after Labor Day).

Buildings and Grounds committee meeting Aug 17th. There was an emergency repair to a sewer line this summer. Cost not mentioned.

Finance meeting will be Oct 26th (one of three annually).

Personnel: Mrs. Knowles presented agenda items 1-12, 14-16 Unanimous approval no comments.
Item 13 (volunteers) unanimously approved, with exception Mr Knarr abstaining.
[Not discussed at meeting, but noting there was a new position of Athletic Event Coordinator added to the list of leadership positions, with three seasonal pay amounts between $4500 and $3500.]

Title 1 programs update: Dr. Westphal stated funding is planned for use, but still need some Title 1 staffing.

Mr. Welk provided an update on the CTC. CTC has a 500-student waitlist; every program is full. Talking with Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Assoc. (architects) to go over options of condensing to one big campus or other options for four campuses and one currently leased campus in order to reduce waitlist and meet demand.

Mr. Stoltzfus reviewed business and finance items:
17. Approval of LGH occupational medicine agreements. Approved with Mr Parido abstaining.

18. LGH Willow Lakes facility to provide counseling access by employees for $30k. Mrs. Knowles asked about coverage for minors 12-17. District not charged for minors, but minors 12+ are covered.
Mrs. Herr asked about whether counselors at Willow Lakes can meet the demand. Mr. Stoltzfus said they said they could provide adequate services but worth looking at. Approved with Parido abstaining.

Items 19 and 20:
Annual physician services agreement with LGH for $8k related to school nurses, up by $4.5k.
5-year agreement for Athletic training from Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster is $10k annually (dropped from $20k).
Total annual cost down about $5k. Working to ensure it meets needs and happy it costs less.
Mrs. Steinbacher questioned why OAL cost dropped and wondered is services Their business is growing. Dr Westphal said they’re actually adding services by providing a team physician for football and wrestling.
Approved with Mr Parido abstaining from LGH agreement.

21. Chester County IU $52.4k for one student,10% increase is market-driven. Mrs Herr noted L-S is transporting the student every day, in addition. Mr. Stoltzfus noted transportation is much cheaper than the contract for transportation. Unanimous approval.

22. Title 1 and Title 2 services with Lancaster-Lebanon IU13 provided to non-public schools.
Unanimous approval.

23. High school targeted support and improvement plan. Since May academic committee, no changes or adjustments. Unanimously approved.

Miscellaneous items:
24 baseball field sponsored by Rip Law insurance. Approved unanimously
25 Foreign student approval, first semester from
Brazil.

26. School dentist is White Willow family dental, $10 per exam. Unanimous approval.

27. Sports games ticket price unchanged from previous year, unanimously approved.

28. Policy 217 - Graduation was reviewed back in June to include law on students experienced educational instability. No changes since. Final approval unanimous.

No public comments.
Meeting adjourned at 7:59pm.

08/02/2026

Tomorrow night’s August 3rd School Board meeting is the first of the ‘26-‘27 school year. It starts at 7:30pm (no public meeting before). Agenda items will cover approval of updates to personnel, annual agreements and contract renewals. Policy 219 - Graduation will be receive its second (final) reading by the board. Full agenda linked in the comments.

This page has gained more followers over the summer, but admittedly detailed coverage of meetings ceased around February. This coincided with my own public comment - the first of three - regarding a gap in district policy that allowed for [now-halted] district endorsement of one religion in athletic programs. Covering myself is difficult to navigate, as I was dismayed by the dishonesty exhibited by Superintendent Peart, and the unwillingness of the board to acknowledge or investigate problems with policy — which is their purview. I may take time to go back and cover February through June, but am unsure I have the bandwidth.

Is future coverage of worth to you? Please let me know.

05/16/2026

A new district policy on AI will be reviewed on Monday, 5/18, at the board workshop meeting. It starts at 7:30pm in the Administration building. The policy under consideration can be found on page 75 of the agenda packet (see link in comments).

The image here is what Meta AI presented for this topic.

05/13/2026

An LNP article on Saturday incorrectly stated that L-S has a policy in place requiring athletes to play on teams matching the s*x on their birth certificate. This was incorrect, so I sent the reporter the sports policy approved in April 2026 and a correction was made (highlighted here). The article still features Kelly Osborne's claim that she has a proven record of defending girls' sports and bathrooms as a school board member. While I have no preference between either candidate for state representative, I do prefer that the activities of the school board are described accurately, so it's worth stating what is true. At no time since 2022 has gender in athletics been discussed. At no time since 2022 has a bathroom or locker room usage policy been considered. Repeatedly taking credit for events that never occurred in L‑S doesn’t just mislead voters — it erodes their trust. It also damages the L‑S community’s confidence in the district itself. When claims of ‘proven advocacy’ are based on issues that have never been discussed or acted on, the result is not leadership but misinformation. Accuracy matters, and voters deserve nothing less.

03/13/2026

2/17 BOARD WORKSHOP MEETING

Public Comment on Agenda item:
Sarah Cook (West Lampeter)
"Before you talk about policy 913, Non-school organizations, Groups and Individuals, I wanted to ask what is the policy and procedure for text materials that are chosen for school-sponsored extracurricular activities? So, by this I'm referring to L-S clubs and athletic programs. Since they're not "curriculum", the board's not reviewing it as that. Should they be covered within policy 913 as outside materials? Because I see that 913 includes a definition of outside materials. And if the board decides that is should not be covered there, I'd love to hear in your conversations tonight where it might be covered."

When policy 913 came up for review, Dr. Peart said stated this policy didn't cover school-sponsored activities. The board did not revisit the definition of Outside Materials, or relate it to policies 122 and 123 (Extracurricular Acitivities and Interscholastic Athletics), which were reviewed in the next agenda item.

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NEW POSITION AT HANS HERR:
Dr. Smecker presented an update of multi-tiered support services at Hans Herr. Core program meets needs of about 80% of students. 10% need support for academic intervention, behaviors, etc. 5-10% of students need more intensive intervention: School Wide Positive Behavior Intervention and Support. Provides structure and accountability for staff for behavioral supports for individual students. Dean of Students being brought in to support this.

Mrs. Staley asked if school store was wrapped into PBIS. Yes, Pioneer Gold is part of the positive behavior program.
Mrs. Knowles asked if SWPBIS would a full-time role for the Dean of Students. Dr. Smecker said they will be responding to students on a daily basis but will be able to work on a whole host of things, including follow-up after discipline, writing behavior plans, developing intervention expertise, and management of program. Will bring behavior emphasis up to academic levels.

Mr. Parido asked how this fits within the classroom and if this isn't one more thing for teachers to track. Most teachers have some reinforcement system in place already. That's not a new expectation, but this program will add uniform currency and recognition between classrooms so that specialists (such as art teachers) aren't adapting between 27 different systems over four days of class time.

Mrs. Herr asked how the board can support Dr. Smecker. He replied that allowing him to meet with them annually continues to be helpful, and that addressing staffing issues will help sustainability. The newly opened position of dean of students will be very beneficial once it's filled.

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BUSINESS & FINANCE:
Mr. Stoltzfus reviewed a special education contract with Valley Forge Educational Services for the school year to help a student who needs outplacement. Unanimous approval.

Martin Meylin renovation change orders received unanimous approval:
$35,257 for structural support steel, beams and plates
$28,755 for S9 walls to multiple rooms

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POLICIES:
Dr. Peart started the discussion of Updated Board Policies:
913 - Non-school Organizations/Groups/Individuals
916 - Volunteers
Mrs. Knowles asked who was paying for volunteer background checks. As volunteer clearances, they are free if you check the online box that you're a volunteer.
No other comments.

Discussion and review of Board Policies:
122 Extracurricular Activities and 10 administrative regulations
123 Interscholastic Athletics and 10 administrative regulations
123.1 Concussion Management
123.2 Sudden Cardiac Arrest
123.3 Student Activity fee
Mrs. Knowles asked who reviewed the activity fee waivers. Dr. Peart reviews them and all information is kept confidential.
No other questions or comments.

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GOVERNANCE:

Dr. Peart visited the PBSA principle for governance and leadership, "advocate earnestly":
-Promote public education as a keystone of our commonwealth.
-Engage community by seeking input, building support networks, and generating action.
-Championing education by engaging local, state, and federal officials.
Mrs. Knowles asked: when politicians are invited to visit, can we invite them at the same time Mrs. Staub does her presentation on special education needs and rising costs in order to make visits more personal around such big-ticket items? Dr. Peart discussed coordinated advocacy efforts.
No other questions or comments.

Dr. Peart reviewed the district's strategic pillars, item #2.
He mentioned a forthcoming proposed policy on AI.
Mrs. Staley said it's important for board members to be visibly supportive of coaches at sporting events.

Mrs. Knowles asked if the Red Raven scholarship and Keystone arts scholars could be invited to a board meeting for formal congratulations by the board, and to allow the board to thank Mrs. Lau and Mr. Cantrell. There can be 100 L-S students receiving these awards, consistently. The arts program brings in a lot of awards. After Ms. Osborne suggested cutting programs at the Finance meeting, Mrs. Knowles wanted to ensure that there is light shown on successful district programs other than sports.

No public comments.

Meeting adjourned at 8:42pm

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03/02/2026