The Southern York County School District School Board convened for their monthly meeting on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.

The meeting marked the one-year anniversary of board members Joe Wilson, Bill Hall, Jeremy Hash and Jen and Nathan Henkel’s inauguration. It was used to reorganize the board into separate committees.

Board members were tasked with electing a president, vice president and treasurer. Outgoing President Joe Wilson handed the gavel over to the newly elected president, Nathan Henkel. Samantha Hall was handed the vice presidency, while Wilson was elected treasurer.

The roles of the different officers and representatives were also filled.

Trevor Carrington was reappointed both York County Tax Collection Bureau Representative and York County Tax Collection Committee member with Susan Green as alternate. Marylee Hall was reappointed as Legislative Liaison with Bill Hall as alternate. Elizabeth Dauberman was reappointed to the York County School of Technology Joint Operating Committee with Bill Hall as alternate. Trevor Carrington, John Lewis and Nathan Henkel were also reappointed to the Lincoln Benefit Trust with Susan Green and Lori Wooldridge as alternates. Jeremy Hash was reappointed Director of the Lincoln Intermediate Authority, and Trevor Carrington was reappointed to the Lincoln Intermediate Joint Purchase Board with Randall Buffington as alternate.

Henkel also confirmed the composition of the board’s committees.

Elizabeth Dauberman was reappointed to the Athletics and Extracurriculars Committee, Bill Hall to the Buildings and Grounds Committee, Jennifer Henkel to the Education Committee, Joe Wilson to the Finance and Budget Committee, James Holley to the Nominating Committee, Samantha Hall to the Personnel and Policies committee and Jeremy Hash to the Transportation, Health, and Safety committee. Joe Wilson and Jennifer Henkel were appointed to the Artificial Intelligence Committee, and Jennifer Jenkel and Jeremy Hash were appointed to the Wellness Committee. Nathan Henkel, Samantha Hall and Jennifer Henkel were reappointed to the Building the Warrior Committee, Jeremy Hash was appointed to the District Parent Safety Committee, Nathan Henkel was appointed to the Health Insurance Committee, and Bill Hall and Jeremy Hash were appointed to the Food Service Contract Committee.

The Board also took the time to recognize the achievements of Tristan and Emerson Rankin, whose organization Coats of Friendship aims to donate 10,000 coats to families in need this season. Henkel expressed his admiration for Tristan’s actions before he presented him with a gift.

“[Tristan’s] dedication, leadership and exceptional success will serve as a role model for others,” Henkel said.

After the dedication ceremony, the meeting opened up to public comment with two speakers. The first speaker, Krystal Pinto, spoke about her son’s battle with Coat’s Disease, and she hopes that sharing his struggles will increase awareness for Coat’s Disease and other rare diseases.

“I personally would like to one, [raise] awareness for Coat’s disease,” Pinto said. “I believe that February is National Rare Disease Awareness Month, and I feel like if the community knows what rare diseases are out there… some families [who] may not be comfortable talking about or speaking up [about rare diseases], just being there for them [will help them].”

Dean Pearson, a parent of a child with intellectual disabilities, also spoke at the meeting to praise one of the district’s bus drivers for a selfless act of kindness.

“Two weeks ago [my daughter] left something on the bus on Friday, and she was very upset about it because it meant a lot to her, and lo and behold, on Saturday evening, the school bus driver pulled up in front of my house to deliver what she had left on the bus,” Pearson said. “I just wanted to congratulate the board and the school district for having such phenomenal bus drivers.”

After public comment, the board went over procedural finance matters. The board discussed a pay raise for the Tax Collector Commissioner, but most committees had no items to report.

The full board meeting can be found on YouTube under SYCSD Warrior TV.