Twin Valley Approved $617K Video Boards, Dugouts 8-0

The Twin Valley School District board voted 8-0 on Oct. 19 to buy $247,000 in video boards and $370,000 in new dugouts for the high school baseball and softball fields, a combined $617,000 by our arithmetic. The votes are now in writing: the district posted the Oct. 19 minutes on Friday, Nov. 13, by the file's server date, inside the packet for its next voting meeting, Monday, Nov. 16, where the board is asked to approve them (pp. 1, 9-19). The same packet shows the district has already paid the dugout maker $74,000 from its 2024 bond account (p. 25).

The dugout work "is expected to be completed before the start of the 2026-2027 Spring Baseball and Softball season," according to the minutes (p. 10). The purchases add to the A-Turf field renovation the board authorized Sept. 21 for up to $4,188,207, with a March 1, 2027 completion date, as our Oct. 19 preview reported from the approved September minutes.

What the minutes record

Eight members were present Oct. 19: Allison Bolt, John Burdy, Nicholas DiGiacomo, Trevor Glass, Gary McEwen, Kyle Moyer, Jason Oliver and Colleen Yenser. Tracy Phillips was absent (p. 9). Every roll call that night was 8-0 with no "no" votes.

The video board motion, made by Oliver and seconded by Burdy, approved "the proposal from Musco Sports Lighting, LLC for the installation of Videoboards at the Twin Valley High School softball and baseball fields at a cost of $247,000, under COSTARS Contract No. 014-E22-240" (p. 10). COSTARS is Pennsylvania's cooperative purchasing program, which lets school districts buy from state-managed contracts instead of running their own bidding, according to the Department of General Services. The minutes repeat the agenda's one-line background, that the proposal "outlines the costs and specifications for the video boards," and the proposal itself is not in the packet, so the boards' size and features are still not public.

The dugout motion, made by Burdy and seconded by Glass, approved "the proposal from M&W Precast, LLC for the baseball and softball dugouts at the Twin Valley High School, at a cost of $370,000." The background calls the purchase "part of the softball/baseball field renovation project" (p. 10). That proposal is not in the packet either, and the minutes do not say whether other quotes were sought.

Neither motion names a funding source, and nothing else in the minutes does. Nobody is recorded speaking against either purchase. Two residents spoke during public comment, Jennifer Eccleston on "Communication" and Whitney Kemp on "Budget / Recess" (p. 9); the minutes record only those topics, and Berks Beat has not verified the speakers' accounts.

Later in the meeting, under board discussion, the minutes say Moyer "commented on the recent scoreboard and athletic field renovations," noted that other Berks County schools offer sponsorships through local businesses and commemorative bricks, suggested a subcommittee or designee "evaluate the need for a sponsorship policy," and recommended "exploring potential naming rights for facilities, such as dugouts" (p. 19). No action is recorded. Bolt raised "reports of elementary school library closures," asked whether they were accurate and requested "an immediate resolution to ensure continued access to elementary school library services" (p. 19); the minutes record no answer.

Where the money is showing up

The packet's check registers, which run from Oct. 10 to Nov. 17, trace the field project through two accounts. The "Fulton 2024 Bond Checking" account paid M&W Precast LLC $74,000 on Oct. 29 for "Dugouts for Field Project," one-fifth of the $370,000 price by our arithmetic, plus ELA Group Inc. $19,480.63 for "Athl Field Renovations" and Caernarvon Township $483.75 on Nov. 3 in stormwater fees for the field project, $93,964.38 in all (p. 25). The separate "Fulton Capital Checking" account paid Musco Corporation $119,852 on Oct. 15 for "Field Lighting for Softball/Baseball," booked to the capital reserve fund (p. 26). That is the lighting job, not the video boards; the registers show no payment yet toward the $247,000.

The October books also moved September's field spending around. Our preview reported that the Other Capital Projects Fund, budgeted at zero, had spent $331,527.74 this year through September, with another $326,240.41 committed but unpaid, and that $278,286 of September's spending was booked to the fund's existing-building-improvement account. The new packet shows that account with a negative $278,286 entry for October, bringing its year-to-date total back to zero, while the fund's architects-and-engineers line now carries $175,390.44 spent and $671,333.06 committed but unpaid (pp. 42-44). The treasurer's status report for October shows a $278,286 disbursement from the capital reserve investment account and $304,942.05 in its "Interest/Transfers" column for the 2024 bond accounts, which ended October at $8,569,774.30 (p. 55). The capital reserve fund's own October report lists $539,733.33 spent on its existing-building-improvement line (p. 38), which is $278,286 more than the capital checking register's payments on that line by our arithmetic; read together with the p. 55 entries, the numbers are consistent with September's field spending having been moved from the bond account to the capital reserve, with the capital reserve paying the bond account back, though no page says so. The packet does not say whether the video boards and the rest of the dugout bill will come from the bond, the capital reserve or somewhere else. The district owed $13,620,000 on the 2024 bond and $44,515,000 on all three bond issues at Oct. 31 (p. 56).

The general fund bill list includes a $33,255.24 payment on Oct. 14 to Devopar LLC / Devopar Consulting for "SEPT SERVICES" (p. 20); our preview reported a $28,446.92 payment to the firm for "August services," and the board approved an interim support-services agreement with it Sept. 21. The packet still does not describe the services.

Also approved Oct. 19

• The September treasurer's report, with general fund expenditures of $7,508,244.28 and capital reserve expenditures of $50,492.97; general fund investments stood at $45,352,797.20 at Sept. 30 (pp. 11-13).
• An addendum to "Student Settlement and Release Agreement SSA 25:26:06," with no amount or description (p. 10).
• Policy 807 (Opening Exercises/Flag Display) on second reading, and first readings of Policy 209 (Health Examinations/Screenings) and Policy 246, which the minutes call "School Wellness" and Monday's agenda and the policy text call "Student Wellness" (pp. 10, 2, 102).
• An extension of homebound instruction for a 10th-grader, the resignation of a .9 FTE teacher at Honey Brook Elementary Center effective Oct. 29, and personnel nominations including a registered nurse at $59,355 a year (85 percent, $50,451.75) and a PIMS/data manager at $56,000 (pp. 11, 13-14, 17).

The recess change, from the Oct. 12 draft

The packet also carries the minutes of the Oct. 12 committee meeting, marked DRAFT, which record an administration plan to lengthen recess (pp. 5-8). The draft minutes' summary of Assistant Superintendent Jill Daloisio's update says that starting Oct. 28, the first day of the second marking period, grades K-4 "will go from 15 minutes of daily recess to 30 minutes of daily recess," as either two 15-minute breaks or one 30-minute break; grades 5 and 6 would replace Raider Time, an end-of-day period, with one 30-minute recess in the middle of the day; and grades 7 and 8 would alternate a 30-minute recess one day with a 30-minute Raider Time the next (pp. 6-7). The bullet notes that follow list "Middle school, 7th & 8th grades – additional research" and "Information coming back to retain Raider Time," so the middle school piece reads as unsettled. Superintendent Robert Scoboria said the state Department of Education "will be providing information on whether recess time will count as instructional time" (p. 7). No vote was taken; the item was informational.

Four residents spoke at the Oct. 12 meeting: Jennifer Eccleston on "staffing changes, farmhouse and recess," Jess Nugent on shared special teachers, Jeann Thompson on "staff cuts to elementary, large class sizes for special teachers" and Elizabeth Russ on elementary staffing and support (p. 5). The minutes record topics only; Berks Beat has not verified the speakers' accounts. In board discussion, Bolt asked for a re-evaluation of shared specials so the district can "pivot and add back special teachers if needed," and Moyer "requested a Project Update on softball and baseball" (p. 7). Glass was absent Oct. 12; the other eight members voted 8-0 to send Policy 807, as amended to say students and staff "shall respect the rights and interests of those who choose to participate or not," to the Oct. 19 vote (p. 5).

What is on Monday's agenda

Monday's agenda lists "New Business – None" and "Report of the Finance Committee - None" (pp. 1-2). The board is asked to approve both sets of minutes, hear a presentation from the high school student council, and vote on:

• Second readings of Policies 209 and 246 and a first reading of Policy 204.1, Virtual Attendance and Wellness Checks (p. 2; policy text pp. 99-112).
• The October treasurer's report: general fund expenditures of $2,436,940.35 and capital reserve expenditures of $369,002.71, which is the capital checking total of $275,038.33 plus the bond checking total of $93,964.38 by our arithmetic (pp. 2, 25-26).
• Three professional hires: Carolyn Fitch, teacher, $68,335, and Kimberly Wickstrom, school counselor, $90,980, both effective on or about Jan. 18, 2027, and Madison Galanti, teacher, $69,293, effective Nov. 2 (pp. 2-3). Also the winter coaching roster, led by $5,750 base salaries for the boys and girls basketball and wrestling head coaches (p. 3), six bus drivers and aides through the Eshelman and Krapf contractors (p. 1), and two support-staff resignations (p. 2).

How to attend or comment

The meeting is at the district office, 4851 North Twin Valley Road, Elverson. The agenda does not print a start time; the Oct. 19 voting meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. and the Oct. 12 meeting at 6:37 p.m., according to the minutes (pp. 5, 9). To comment, district residents and taxpayers complete a card and follow the posted procedure under Policy 006; the agenda says the period "is not a question-and-answer period directed to the Board but a time for the public to submit comments" (p. 1). The meeting is live streamed. The packet is linked in the School Board agendas folder on the district website. The district's Berks municipalities, Caernarvon and Robeson townships and New Morgan Borough, each pay a 31.252-mill school rate for 2026, per our guide to Berks property tax rates by municipality. Our September preview has the A-Turf contract as it was first presented.