Meeting Format

  • PMSD Board of Education to hold a Regular Board Meeting (also available virtually), Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 6 p.m.

    The Pocono Mountain School District Board of Education will hold a Regular Board Meeting in an in-person format that will also be available virtually to community members on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 6 p.m. 

    The public is invited to attend the meetings either in-person or remotely by video or by phone. To attend the meetings virtually, Pocono Mountain School District community members should register through the following link:

    Register for Meeting Here

    After registering, meeting attendees will receive a confirmation email containing the information needed to connect to and login to the webinar meeting.

    Public Comment at Virtual Board Meetings: Public comments will be accepted from Pocono Mountain School District residents and taxpayers either in-person at the meeting or through the email address listed below. Pocono Mountain School District residents and taxpayers who plan to attend the meeting remotely and wish to offer public comment on agenda items as well as non-agenda items should send an email by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, to public-comment@pmsd.org and provide the following information: 

    • first and last name
    • municipality of residence
    • whether your comment is on an agenda item or a non-agenda item
    • content of your public comment

    To view the Board meeting agenda for May 21, 2025, please click HERE.  

    The meeting agenda will be available on the Saturday prior to the meeting date.

    The virtual board meeting will be audio/video recorded.

    Meeting Format: With any meeting of a Board, there is a format that must be followed. This format is a list of agenda items to be discussed and voted on by the Board. This format is necessary for the meeting to progress in an efficient manner. The agenda items for the Pocono Mountain School District Board of School Directors are established in advance and are positioned to allow for proper discussion and resolution.

     
    The subtitles for agenda items are as follows:
     
    Executive Session: As required by the Open Meetings Act in Pennsylvania, the Board of School Directors must announce when executive session meetings are held and what topics were discussed.


    Recognition of Visitors: Since the Board of School Directors views the input of its constituency as being very important, the public is given the opportunity to comment at the beginning of each meeting on items on the agenda prior to discussion by the Board and non-agenda items following that dialogue. The Board requires visitors to state their names for the record and limit comments to three minutes. Groups are asked to appoint one spokesperson.

    Items For Discussion and Possible Resolution:     The Board of School Directors reviews and discusses items put before it that concern business in the District.

    Items Requiring Board Action:

    1. Consensus Motion – Many items that come before the Board of School Directors come with recommendations from the administration. These items are usually designated for a consensus motion which allows business before the Board to progress in an efficient manner.
    2. Business and Financial Affairs – The Chief Financial Officer places consensus motion items before the Board after reviewing the requests and making sure they conform to board policy.
    3. Personnel – The Assistant to the Superintendent for Human Resources places personnel items before the Board in a consensus motion that have been properly reviewed and conform to Board policy.
    4. Other Items or Concerns from the Board -This agenda item allows board members to bring forth items for discussion that have not been placed on the agenda prior to the meeting.
    5. Other Reports - The Board hears reports from the Solicitor and the Board Secretary.


    Recognition of Visitors: The Board understands the importance of hearing comments from its constituency. At this time, members of the community may address the Board on any matter of importance; these items do not have to be agenda items. The board requires that visitors limit their comments to three minutes and state their name and address for the record.

    Items of Information: The Board receives written reports from the administration on various aspects of the district.

    Students, Curriculum and Policy: Items included in this section of the agenda are provided by Dr. Catherine Sweeney for secondary and elementary curricular issues and Ms. Courtney Burrus for policy issues. The Board must approve textbooks and curricular materials, as well as all new instructional programs. Student expulsions, overnight field trips, and health guidance services are located in this section of the agenda. New School Board policy or revising existing policy as presented by the Superintendent is also identified in this section of the agenda.