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Heads up! Our parent watchdogs have scanned the upcoming agenda for PELHAM UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT. We found 5 items that need your immediate attention before the vote.
| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 9) |
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District Paying $40,000 for Social-Emotional Programming in Schools
The board is set to approve a $40,000 contract extension with an outside group, ‘Pelham Together,’ to provide ‘social-emotional skills groups’ for students. The vendor’s own proposal states they will use ‘trauma-informed practice, CBT, DBT and other evidence-based strategies’ on students. This is school-based group therapy, not academics. These sessions focus on emotional regulation, coping skills, and self-esteem, which are the responsibility of parents, not the school or its contractors. The agreement also includes ‘Parent Workshops’ on topics like ‘Managing Parental Anxiety,’ positioning the district to instruct parents on how to raise their own children.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email the Board of Education (contact info on the district website) and ask that item 4.6 be pulled for a separate discussion and vote. Ask: ‘What specific curriculum is used in these groups? Is active, written parental consent required for a child to participate, or is this an opt-out program? We do not consent to third-party vendors providing psychological services to our children at school.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: $40,000
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| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 8) |
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Contract for Student ‘Resilience’ Survey
The board plans to approve a $7,600 contract with ‘Authentic Connections Co.’ to administer a ‘Student Resilience Survey.’ These types of surveys are often used as mental health screenings to collect sensitive data on students’ personal feelings, beliefs, and home life, often without specific parental review of the questions beforehand. This is a form of student surveillance that can be used to build psychological profiles on children. Parents have a right to know exactly what is being asked, who will own the data, and how it will be used.
Recommended Action Plan
PACK THE ROOM: This is a data-mining operation on our kids. Attend the meeting on July 29th. Email the Board of Education (contact info on district website) before the meeting: ‘Vote NO on item 4.4. We demand to see every question on the Student Resilience Survey and the vendor’s data privacy policy before any contract is signed. We do not consent to the psychological screening of our children.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: $7,600
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| 👀 MONITOR (LEVEL 5) |
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$20,000 in Payments to Humanities Director Tied to Vague ‘Performance’ and IB Program
The Director of Humanities is set to receive a $10,000 ‘merit award’ for ‘outstanding performance’ and a separate $10,000 stipend to supervise the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program. The term ‘outstanding performance’ is undefined, and could be rewarding the implementation of ideological curriculum. Furthermore, IB programs often contain non-academic, politically-charged components like ‘Global Citizenship.’ Parents should question why the head of a core academic department is being paid extra for performance and programs that may de-emphasize traditional academics.
Recommended Action Plan
ASK QUESTIONS: Email the Board of Education (contact info on district website): ‘Regarding items 5.1 and 5.2, what were the specific metrics for the $10,000 merit award for the Humanities Director? Please provide a curriculum overview of the non-academic, values-based components of the International Baccalaureate program she will be paid to oversee.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: $20,000
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| 👀 MONITOR (LEVEL 5) |
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Secret Union Agreement with School Administrators
Under item 4.7, the board is voting to approve a ‘Memorandum of Agreement’ with the Pelham Administrators’ Association, but the text of the agreement has not been made public in the agenda. These contracts can contain significant policy changes affecting everything from curriculum and discipline to parental notification and teacher training. Approving it without public review is a major transparency failure.
Recommended Action Plan
INVESTIGATE: First, check the official agenda on the district website for an attachment to item 4.7. If there is no public document, email the Board of Education immediately: ‘We demand that the full text of the Memorandum of Agreement with the Administrators’ Association be made public for parental review before any vote is taken. Do not vote on secret agreements.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Unknown. Policy changes can have major downstream costs.
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| ALERT (LEVEL 4) |
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Taxpayer-Funded Grant for Undisclosed Administrator Training
The board is approving a grant for an administrator’s ‘continuing education’ (Item 4.8) without disclosing the specific conference, program, or organization being paid. While this could be for a routine certification, it could also be for training in ideological frameworks like Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or other activist leadership programs. Taxpayers have a right to know what kind of training their school leaders are receiving.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email the Board of Education (contact info on district website): ‘Regarding item 4.8, please disclose the specific program, conference, and sponsoring organization for the administrator’s continuing education grant before it is approved.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Not specified, but funded by taxpayers.
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