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all right you are live M [Music] presid 26 we will start reading of the open public meeting statement which says the New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public BS at which time any business affecting their interest is discussed an active in accordance with the provisions of this act Board of Education policy 0162 the Board of Education of the B of Bound Brook has caused notice of this meeting to be posted in the board office and at Bound Brook High School and other facts to The Courier News Bound Brook B cler South Bound Brook Board of Education and any person who requested individual notice and pay the required fee please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic stands one nation under God indivisible liberty and justice for all Mr Ki aoll call please yes sir Mr Bell here Mr Dawson here miss gazino here Miss Carlton Mr zco here m m here Mr minhas Miss H here Mr bulmer here and Mr board president here you have a quarum present this evening thank you Mr gski we are up to item number 1.6 where we are inviting Gwen thoron back to the district to uh provide some training on ethics for our program tonight thank you very much it's a pleasure to be back I feel like I haven't been here in a week but it's good to be back so I'm here to do your annual ethics training um I know that this is something most of you have been through several times um so so I'm going to try to keep it uh and be as succinct as I can soon as I get this thing to work there we go um this is the obvious disclaimer which is this is meant as information it is not legal advice that you should seek from your board attorney I always um it is really about accountability to your public to your community um as publicly elected officials you entrusted with the care um of all of students of B Brook and ensuring that the Public's perception is that you are adhering to what is best for all students ensures that you maintain um that credibility in your community by being transparent um obviously this is something you regularly do but you want to make sure that you preserve that credibility and acting on in an ethical manner ensures that that continues to be the case so the school ethics Act was adopted to ensure the Board of Education members in fact have a code to follow um I keep waiting for our legislative brother and I think I say that to you every year down the street from us and Trenton um to adopt the same kind of code I'm not holding my breath after 20 plus years um but again it's to avoid any kind of conduct or public perception um that there are any kind of irregularities um the school ethics commission estab the school ethics Act established the SEC which is the school ethics commission um outlined what are prohibited acts for Board of Education members establish the code of ethics um 9 years after the school ethics Act was passed lays out your mandatory training and identifies um your requirement to provide a financial disclosure statement which you all have to do if you are not newly elected by April the 30th so if you haven't done yours yet please make sure that you do so because the SEC when they reauthorize the regulations to this act in the last year last January they have now spelled out specific penalties for failure to take both mandatory training as well as those folks who are Tardy on um filing their public Financial disclosure forms it's really simple to do them I you know I keep a copy year after year I've been filling them out for 20 years I go back to the days we had to fill them out in ink in duplicate sign both the originals and give them back now you can do it all online and hit a button that says I certifi this is true so if you just print it out you can copy the addresses of your employers and all of those things year after year without having to look them all up that's not illegal that's just smart Okay so that you don't have to go back and redo it year after year after year um so please make sure that you do that who is accountable Board of Education members all Charter School trustees um are responsible for abiding by the code of ethics as well as the mandatory training requirements so again they apply to both board members and trustees the code of ethics in terms of conflicts of interest and disclosure statements also appli to school administrators or anyone with an administrative certificate but that is different from the code of ethics piece of it okay um you probably remember this slide there are nine members to the SEC School ethics commission five citizens two board members two administrators um they serve for three-year terms although oftentimes they serve for more than three years because they are appointed by the governor who often times does not replace folks and they continue to serve um for a period of time but um and only five people can be from the same political party I think that's important to point out um because it maintains the nonpartisan nature of Board of Education Service okay there are two responsibilities they have jurisdiction over issuing advisory opinions as well as actual adjudicating actual ethics cases advisory opinions you can see but on a prospective basis if you think you may be facing a conflict of an issue that's going to come before the board that you have a potential conflict and you want to get definition around that you can write to the ethics commission ahead of time ask them to weigh in and they will let you know if it's a conflict or not um but it's only on a prospective basis you can't write them after you vote down it's a problem um so you need to make sure you think ahead if you have that potential um typically they hear about 85 different ethics cases I will tell you in the last year or so the majority of Ethics decisions which I'm sure if any of you've been reading them in Schoolboard notes have noticed they're pretty much around social media um it's taking up an inordinate amount of time on their behalf and so we have tried to um redouble our efforts to have board members understand what appropriate use of um social media is as a board member not as an individual citizen because no one's suggesting that you're not an individual c citizen but your behavior as a member of a board of education of course is bounded by the code of ethics and so you have to be aware of that as well okay um anyone can file an Ethics charge against a board of education member any member of the public another board member someone from another town um could file a charge against a board of education member we are seeing you may have seen it on YouTube this past week there was a board um in Middle sex County where they had someone come up from South Carolina to weigh in on a particular issue um which did not go well in the community um they told that person to go home um but nevertheless you know if that person chose to they could file an Ethics charge against the New Jersey Board of Education member so that's just something to keep in the back of your head mandatory training there's some changes as a result of the reauthorization of this so for new board members this year beginning this year you only have 90 days to take new board member orientation that runs out April the 7th so if you I don't think you have anyone in that circumstance but um if you know any new board members who are talking about the fact they haven't done it yet they need to do it ASAP so that they don't find themselves out of compliance in their first year um gov by the end of the second year of your board service you have to take gov to by the end of year three you have to take gov three by the end the first year of any subsequent term to your first because you all love sitting on the board so much that when you sit for multiple terms the first year of any subsequent term you have to take go for again and that really is around legal updates change to statutory laws new ethics cases that may have been adjudicated that might impact um what it is you do as a board of education okay the disclosure statements again you have as seated board members and you're not new you have um till April 30th if you're a brand new board member you have 30 days after the start of your term to file your financial disclosure statement or if you're just newly hired as hired as an administrator you have those same 30 days okay what are the penalties they can um Levy against a board member a reprimand which is exactly what it says it's what you do with your children stop don't do it again a centure which essentially is a little more formal a statement has to be read at in an open public meeting of the rebuke bought from the commissioner of your behavior um and then posted in the district for 30 days so that's a little more formal um they can suspend you for a specific period of time and or they can remove you permanently from the board if the behavior is so egregious as to Warrant that I have seen them do it in the past but they have not done it very often in the last 10 years or so but they do have that Authority they've used it less when I started this work a long time ago they had more removals than they do now okay here's the actual Cod code and I know your attorney's been through this so I'm not going to spend a great deal of time um but upholding and enforcing all laws rules and regulations of the State Board of Education this has caused particular consternation when boards are faced with something that may not be popular in the public um where you may not want to adopt for for example a particular policy or give a test you may not remember but with the common core and they went to those series of tests and assessments there were some districts that they didn't want their students taking those assessments and they wanted to opt out but boards didn't have the luxury of allowing you to opt out because it was a state requirement that all stud students take those tests we're still facing that with New Jersey ask in some districts as well because they just don't want their students taking the assessments also F around HP as those standards changed and evolved and around the lgbtq AI um policy 5756 which is like tattooed across all of our brains um from hearing about it so much um so you are required as a board to follow all of those the ethics Comm actually did weigh in on a case and said you individually have the right to vote against it however if the full board failed to enforce it that would be an Ethics violation so it's sort of an interesting yeah um way of adjudicating that but that's what their decision was okay making uh your decisions in the interest of all students and not one segment of your student body or another not the football team or the cheerleaders or the AP students you have to make the decision in the best interest of all students regardless of who they are um and so that's something that's really not too hard to do confining your board actions to policymaking planning and appraisal and not running the schools on a day-to-day basis not administering the schools sometimes that's a challenge in some districts I know it's not here um and you should consult those who are going to be impacted by the decisions you make um oftentimes that comes through your faculty and through your Administration that consultation piece um but you need to be aware of it and this is you will not run the schools you will see that they are well-run they reiterated it sort of in two different components of the code but it is a significant piece um recognizing that the authority of the board resides in the all of you together collaboratively at a duly advertised meeting of the board like tonight you have that Authority but when you adjourn and go back out into your community you have no more Authority in your community than any other citizen in your community or any other citizen anywhere so you have no individual authority to have anyone act on behalf of the district no staff member not your superintendent the superintendent acts at the beest of the majority of the board um and not individuals okay refusing to surrender your independent judgment um to any kind of special interest or partisan political group um for the gain or to use the district for personal gain um again you know sort of the red line is is there any benefit that would Ur to me that is greater than would Ur to any other person in the district is sort of that guideline for making decisions around um when you make a decision or a judgment okay holding confidential all information that might needlessly harm students or staff anything that is conducted in confidential session or executive session must remain an executive session until the need for confidentiality has passed you have a policy that provides for how items once the confidentiality has passed for those items to become public and become part of the public record but until that time passes and you're there it won't become public there are some items that will never become public staff Personnel matters student matters will never become public because they have an alienable rate um to their privacy and confidentiality okay you're required to vote to the best qualified people after a recommendation from your executive um administrative officer from your superintendent that does not mean you have to vote Yes on every single appointment what it does mean is that if you're not going to approve a recommendation that your reasoning is not arbitrary or capricious and that is the legal standard for voting no okay um you will support and protect School Personnel in the proper performance of their duties um that simply means you can't stand on the sidelines of the lacrosse game anymore and criticize the coach in public you may have been able to do that before you became a board member um but you can't once you become a staff member again that doesn't mean if you see a a problem or you hear of something out there in the community um I say to board members all the time if it's no different than what they say the police say if you see something say something reach out to the superintendent if you're hearing things about a concern of the public public that you think needs to be addressed okay no surprises um but in the meantime you have to support your school Personnel in the proper performance of their duties you have to refer all complaints to the chief school administrative office officer your superintendent board members should not be investigating why bus 28 is laid every day and following it around the community and Reporting back to the superintendent I don't have to make these things up I've seen these things happen um that's not your responsibility you know you act only after an administrative solution has not been found the board is the court of last resort um and if you involve yourself early on in a dispute and it comes to the board you would have to recuse yourself and not participate and you don't want to find yourself in that situation what you can do and I've said this to you all a million of times is to give the public access by understanding what the chain of command looks like who do they need to talk to to get their concern or their issue addressed that doesn't mean necessarily resolved in the way they want it resolved but it's addressed so that someone has heard them someone has spoken to them um and and talked to them through whatever concern they have so the chain of command you generally say starts at the person with the person who is closest to where the issue exists so for example if it's a parent who is a concern about something in a child's classroom they would start with a child's teacher and if they weren't satisfied with the resolution from discussing it with the teacher they would go to the school principal or the vice principal and then they would go to the assistant superintendent and ultimately work their way up to the superintendent but not through you but what you need to do is be able to tell them who they need to talk to first you know if you have a problem with a coach you talk to the coach first then you talk to the athletic director then you talk to the vice principal or the high school principal whoever next in your particular configuration and so forth and so on till it would get to the administration so if you can give them access they can often times they will be able to have a solution to their problem and they know that they are being heard and oftentimes that's what they want now that doesn't mean that sometimes they still won't come to a board meeting and say no one's gotten back to me I wasn't satisfied but that doesn't mean that no one heard them it just may mean that they didn't necessarily have the solution that was optimal from their perspective but you want to make sure that that happens okay the chain of command for a board member sometimes staff inadvertently might come to you and suggest that there's a problem and actually be looking for you to solve their problem so as a board member what do you do well all of the employees in the school district have a process in place by virtue of their associations by which they can be they have an association that represents them they have building reps within their buildings they have agreements process whether it's administrators or its teachers um and so they know to not step outside of those lines and contact Port of Education members but sometimes they do um and if that happens you need to guide them gracefully back to you need to speak to your supervisor you need to speak to your possibly your union representative but there's nothing that I can individually do for you um because it's not different than dealing with parents you're not the problem solvers you can give them access tell them what they can do and then after that you need to notify the superintendent because staff does know better then to do that but sometimes it happens and they get frustrated okay so always let your superintendent know copy your board president it goes to no surprises so no one's ever surprised about what's going on in the district um we've included in this presentation a copy of a lot of the most recent cases um this is one um where someone copied and pasted a board email and have sent it off to the public and it had confidential information in it um again that's what I mean by social media I don't mean it's just they're out there on Twitter or they're out there on other stuff you have to be very careful um with how you use that um you know using your board email can give the impression that if you're going on social media that you're speaking as a board member and that's problematic you should never use your District email address to go on social media so if you want to go on social media um you need to use your personal email address and not your District email that's an important part okay um here's a case where a member contacted vendors and districts to get prices he thought he could get a better price than the business administration again that's way outside the role of a board of education member um this has happened before um I had a board member who went to the banks trying to get a better interest rate years and years ago for the district he wanted to get a higher interest rate on the Banks deposit so if you went to the depository whatever bank that was and tried to do that and the ethics commission has been pretty consistent in saying that's outside your lane as a board of education member if the board directs the business administrator to look for another bank or a different depository that's one thing that's the appropriate way to do it but not individually going out and dealing with vendors okay um so again you know making sure that you're staying within your guidelines and I'm not going to read through all of these cases I'm going to send you a copy of this um tomorrow this presentation so that if you would like to read them um you certainly can and I would encourage you to do that because the SEC has an expect the board members will be aware of their decisions as well as their public advisory decisions and work within those guidelines okay um but I'm not going to take all your time to do it today um because it it takes a great deal of time okay there are some areas where you have to recuse yourself because you may have family members um who are um have a business interest with the district and or some kind of financial or agreement with the District um again you have to be careful if that is the circumstance for you no discussion no vote you have to recuse yourself and I want to make this distinction sometimes board members will abstain and get confused between abstentions and recusals if there's a legal prohibition against your participation you must recuse if you feel you have you want to abstain for a particular reason meaning you don't have enough information not because it's politically difficult sometimes to vote on an item because you don't have enough information you can abstain but there is a difference between recusing and abstentions so it's when it's legally prohibited Behavior it's a recusal and if it's your choice it's not a legal prohibition against you're doing something you can abstain um but that's something that the SEC just was chatting about with all of us um most recently because they're concerned that it's not being characterized in which is not va's fault board members are not abiding by that distinction so you just need to be aware of it okay um and again you you can't take any gift or favor with intended to influence you that would be problematic um and you should not um acrew any benefit that is greater to any other member of the public and that's really that deciding line um to to think about it and so here is the piece around conflict and recusal recuse when it's a legally requirement to recuse to not vote not participate and that means you can't sit in executive session you can't discuss it at all and you can't vote okay if you're abstaining because it's not a legal conflict you you can sit in the discussion and you can hear everybody and then you can make a decision because it's not a legal legally prohibited item okay um your immediate family members and a relative um they have finally and I think I shared this with you and gave it to you last year um and I will send you this list separately as well a list of all of the conflicted family members you have ever met or may hope to meet that would cause a problem for you in the district you may know all of these folks um but it's a very comprehensive list and finally we can say with shy that's a conflict that's not a conflict so just be aware of that um in terms of hiring personnel if you have a relative that's already employed in the district you'll have to recuse yourself you can't participate in anything having to do with the terms and conditions of employment um or anything of that nature additionally if you have a family member employed in the district you are conflicted out of the superintendent's evaluation sending terms and conditions of employment of the superintendent and or if you were doing a search participating in search for a new superintendent I don't think any of you have that conflict but if I I do have boards that have to invoke the doctrine of necessity in order to just do a search or to be able to hire a superintendent because there's not a majority of the board that's not conflicted okay um so while it doesn't apply here um it's important your superintendent is prohibited by law to recommend the hiring of any relative of a board member once you become a board member now once you're off right that's a whole separate piece they can be recomended but as long as you on the board he can't and he can't hire his own family either by the way okay I know there that hurt but um that is prohibited as well in terms of collective bargaining um I know some of you are Educators um and so you're always asking about whether you can participate in negotiations um this is the go-to chart so if you are a board member and you can read the relationships um if your spouse your depend dependent child uh not your dependent your dependent child child who's not a dependent that's an expansion it used to just say dependent child um or a relative works in the district you can't participate in negotiations and you can't vote on the contract okay if you as a board member for yourself your spouse or dependent child works out of the district in a similar or the same Statewide Association because we do have njaa in most districts but we also have AFL CIO we have some districts that have Teamsters so they're similar unions so they just Clump them all together um you can't participate in negotiations but you can vote on the contract after all of the costs of the contract have been laid out meaning all the salary guides have been done apps and any other conflicts what are other conflicts if your family member who works in another district is a building rep an officer of the association or sits on the negotiations Committee of the district where they are teaching or working that's heightened Union activity then you can't vote so it's a little confusing but it's all on this slide and if you have any you know questions about it for any of you that have family members in that circumstance always check with your board attorney who will make sure that you stay within those lines appropriately okay as long as you can mount a negotiations committee you should be in good shape and if you had to you can invoke the doctor of necessity to approve a contract as well so that's not a problem okay um again you know here's something that's a little different that's just happened recently in the last couple of years the endorsement by the Teachers Association of a candidate used to conflict a new board member out of negotiations for the First full year of their service okay now they've said it's no longer an automatic kicking you out of negotiations you can stay in um depending but they've also we've seen instances some of these are not yet public decisions where they've been endorsed but now not only can they not participate in negotiations they can't sit on committees finance and Facilities mostly the finance component to that um in addition to the negotiations so they're sort of weaving their way down okay um these are all cases that have to do with conflicts and again I'm not going to take the time um to read through all of these because I know you have a busy meeting ahead with your students coming in um this is something that's particularly new um a board president who is conflicted his child's an instructional assistant in the district cannot choose any committee members okay so they're expanding how they're looking at these conflicts and the impact that they potentially have in the district a board member spouse is a 10-month employee in the technology department um the board member can't be involved in any and all matters related to Tech um directly or indirectly including Personnel negotiations and the finance committee so they are really expanding that look and and narrowing what board members can do um so again that's from result of the endorsement of the Teachers Association okay so it's a different it's a different thing um impact on Executive session we saw several instances where board members who have a family member employed in the school districts had in exec sessions where in some way they relatives were touched upon that's problematic whether it was an HIV situation for a child in a district or whether it was a relative who was an employee they could not sit in on the executive session for that discussion okay and so that you need to be aware of that volunteering really hasn't changed since the last time I gave you this presentation and that is um you can volunteer but you can't direct students or staff you can't take direction from students or staff and you should absolutely categorically not handle any kind of District monies that are coming in through your volunteer work and as I've said you know I used to run the school store when my kid was in second grade it was Nichols and for erasers and stickers and but now that would not be permitted right and you can't be a volunteer coach um in the district if you're a board of education member because it's repetitive contact with students and giving direction to students and so you can be a park and wreck coach Pop Warner coach but you can't be a boundbrook school district Vol even if you're a volunteer and not getting PA it doesn't matter um you can't do that okay um again you know you can um vote however you'd like but again you know you have to be aware of of what it is you're voting on and not violating um again this is the case where an individual refused to approve um the HP standards had the whole board done that it would have been a problem but individually the individual could vote no so you know a minority of aort could always vote no on that and you would still be in good shape but you need to be aware of it that's out there so um just being mindful again social media again tends to be the most problematic area my recommendation to all Board of Education members is stay off of it District business should be discussed at the board table that's where it's appropriate um your meetings are live they're available to your community the community can hear your discussion they had the right to hear those discussions now they can do it from home in the comfort of their home at their own time and place when they want to watch it um so there is really no reason to use social media but if you're going to just be mindful include a disclaimer that says this is my opinion solely represents me I'm not representing the board or its opinions um and you're just better Serve by not discussing District business on social media because just is um difficult once it's out there Additionally you know I have some board members have say to me well I I post because I I want them to come to the meetings and I want them then send them to your District website where accurate information is portrayed right where the upto-date information meeting dates school activities anything they need to see is going to be there drive them to those place not to your personal homepage they've also said that if you have a campaign page you created during the campaign for your election to the Board of Education after you're elected you cannot use your campaign page because it Le people to think um that you're speaking on behalf of the board okay um again I'm not going to read all of these cases um but again here's the disclaimer the following statements are made in my capacity as a private citizen um as and not in my capacity as a board education member they are not representative of the board it's individual members are solely represent my own personal opinions if you're going to do it make sure you include that does that give you 100% protection no they have said it depends on the content of your posts um and so you know I have board members that say to me but Gwen I put this I put the disclaimer up well yeah but then you spent 20 minutes talking about a staff member or 20 minutes talking about something that was an executive session you know so that disclaimer is not going to protection it's about the content which is why you know these cases are so fact specific um they trying to to make generalizations from them so my generalization is be smart don't do it again this is about the disclaimer um social media guidance you know they have said more than one time that the use of divisive language is antithetical to the reason that you sit on a board of education which is to benefit kids we would not want to read digits of language from our students on social media why we want to see it from adults if we don't okay just points to consider um we recommend that you develop a list of conflicts if you have folks that have that if it's appropriate um consult with your board attorney if you have any questions and continue to check Schoolboard notes we actually anytime we publish Schoolboard notes and there are new cases because they meet once a month we put all of that information in Schoolboard notes so it's always available to you okay so thank you for your attention as always it's a pleasure to be here I will see you in a couple of brief weeks um for meeting three of our strategic plan um I hope our members of the public as well as students um continue to come and attend because it was a really um wonderful meeting that we had the last time with their students and the community so I look forward to seeing you all then and hopefully the weather stays warm and sunny no more snow um and I will see see you then great it has all of the resources so if you want to read the cases dep and not just the summary you'll have access to those you're unmuted all right welcome everybody we're going to come back into session uh for those of you who are joining us for the uh superintendence report I'm happy to say that we can get right to that this evening so without further Ado Dr well good evening everybody Welcome to our February board meeting glad to see such a nice crowd come tonight get to welcome our students and our staff very special to us at this time I am going to call Mr Smith to recognize recognize my school all right good evening all right we have our first recipient of the Crusader citizen of the month for the high school we have Ashley Gonzalez [Applause] Lopez actuallyy here where are you Ashley come on come on Downy all right so Ashley has three siblings um Joanne inis and Isabella her favorite subjects in school are ESL um history and and art her favorite hobbies are basketball reading watching videos volleyball and singing and her future career plans she would like to study Pediatrics or Gynecology very [Applause] nice all right we're [Applause] good all right our next recipient is Ashley Farrell Ashley oh she's not going to be here but I'll read her information anyway her favorite subject in school is English Ashley has no siblings our favorite hobbies are cheerleading and competitive dance and unsure what her career plans are going to be but she definitely wants to go to a college or university so [Applause] all right we have uh Fabrizio Garita um is he here Fabrizio FAO has two siblings Marco and Francisco his favorite subject in school is Art and his favorite hobbies are uh talking on the phone phone playing video games and hanging out with friends and his future career career plans are to be a [Music] [Applause] veterian good [Applause] job and last but certainly not least we have Joseph bedya okay uh Joseph has one sibling Anna who also attends Bound Brook High School um his favorite subjects are biology and band favorite hobbies are photography and his future career plans are to join the Army and become an [Applause] ENT [Applause] hello everyone the Community Middle School is proud to recognize as its first student of the month this evening Ava Huga AA is a seventh grader was nominated by her language arts teacher Miss kabian has three siblings favorite subject being physical education enjoys playing basketball and volleyball and when it grows up wants to be a doctor [Applause] good [Applause] job the next recipient from the Community Middle School Xavier Davis Xavier is in eighth grade and was nominated by his teacher Miss pish Xavier has one brother favorite subject being film favorite hobby is football and when Xavier grows up wants to become a [Applause] firefighter [Applause] next up from small school we have Miss [Applause] Carbone good evening everyone we are going out of order tonight and you'll see why at the end so we're going to start with our third grade student of the month and this is Lauren Vasquez Lauren are you [Applause] here I'm so proud of you all right Lauren was nominated by her teachers Miss civella and Miss glasman um Lauren has two siblings aiming and Adrien Lauren's favorite subject is math because you can multiply her favorite hobby is soccer and gaming and she said when I grow up I want to be a a cashier at Target [Applause] so [Applause] student of the month is our fifth grader Eric [Applause] alaro all right Eric is a fifth grader who was nominated by Miss Campell and Miss Sandler his ELA teachers Eric has one sister whose name is and she's in um eighth grade she's in eighth grade he also has a brother named and he's in um second second grade Eric's favorite subject in school is science all right and his favorite hobby is um watching my phone what watching your phone yeah okay watching his favorite hobby and when Eric grows up he would like to be a professional soccer player a professional soccer [Applause] player [Applause] okay for our third and fourth students of the month I present to you the oand family Daren is our sixth grade student of the month and Laura is our fourth grade student of the [Applause] month and I think we also need to give a cheer to Mom and Dad [Applause] because you guys want to help me all right Lara let's go first for you okay all right Lara is in fourth grade and she was nominated by her Math teachers Mr Mages in this right Lara has one sibling Daran in the sixth grade Lara loves because she loves to learn new information learn new information her favorite hobbies is she loves to dance dance and hang out with her friends when she gets older she wants to be like your mom a successful businesswoman like her [Applause] mom [Applause] ready yeah okay our sixth grade do you remember I'll help you I'll help you I'll our sixth grade student of the month is Daran oando he has one sister in fourth grade Lara Dar was nominated by his teachers Mr melisurgo and Miss Mullen daren's favorite subject is math math when Daren gets older he would like to I would like to be a video game programmer and get a job at Nintendo and daran's favorite hobby is H it out with my family do F things with them watching Mone and watch TV very good job I'm so proud of you come on take a [Applause] picture all right let's get S all right come on [Applause] sis good job great let's [Applause] a our first grade student of the month is Genesis R s [Applause] Gomez her fancy new haircut today Genesis is in first grade with Mrs Haw she has two sisters she loves to read her favorite hobby is basketball and she wants to be a [Applause] chef [Applause] congratulations our second grade student of the month is Alan Rodriguez Allan is in Mrs Patel's class he has two older siblings his favorite school subject is math he loves to play tag and video games especially Roblox and he wants to be a police officer [Applause] congratulations oh one more [Applause] congratulations and filling in for S is recognizing lont lont and students of okay I think uh our first student is Ian Ian [Applause] guys okay uh his teacher is Miss Christina he has one brother Jared his favorite school subject is math he loves to learn about new earth science topics by watching videos on the volcanos tornadoes baby animals and more Ian says he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up to be big and strong and he was nominated by his teacher because he shows kindness to everyone teachers friends and other peers around him he is excelling in his academics so fast we can barely keep up he is a super student and deserves to be recognized [Applause] congratulations record can see and our prek student of the month is Arya [Applause] Davis ARA is in Mrs Sanchez's class she likes to explore in the art center and toys and Game Center she enjoys working with numbers and counting Arya likes reading books creating art and playing with her friends she wants to be a police officer when she grows up and she was picked by her teacher because she is caring sweet polite and a very happy child who is eager to learn and does well in school she is affection oh sorry her affectionate smile brightens everyone's [Applause] day [Applause] yes we did we did I'll call you [Applause] next let's have one last round of applause for all of our students of the month and parents next up I'd like to call misson for our employee of the [Applause] mon um hi I'm I'm so honored to do this tonight I have been so excited for this night for the past week when I heard that our very own Miss Guilford has won Employee of the Month um so I I wrote to nominate Miss Guilford for this for this award um because over the past year i' I've witnessed the incredible things that she has done in her classroom and for her team Miss guilford's passion for individualized instruction creative teaching methods and unwavering support for for each student's unique needs make her make her stand out as an outstanding educator Miss gilford's class is often in small groups working collaboratively Miss Guilford works with a regular ed teacher with oh I'm sorry Miss Guilford works with regular Ed and special education students alike to miss Guilford it doesn't matter if they have an IEP or not they are all her students and all people in her classroom deserve her expertise she shares a class with a coach to ensure that students all receive top tier education beyond the classroom Miss Guilford is an integral member of the third grade team she and her co-teacher are the most Senior Team in the win therefore her co- teer and she serve as models to the other teachers additionally Miss Gilford is a mentor to one of our novice teachers um and I'm going to tell you from experience I I know that all the teachers they go to miss Gilford and their co-teacher they trust her um they trust her as a confidant they trust her to give advice they trust what she does in the classroom and that says so much about what Miss Gilford does these efforts contribute significantly to the positive and inclusive atmosphere within our school it's funny Miss Gilford she you don't hear from her a lot she kind of does her own thing she flies under the radar but this flying is a fighter jet equivalent to the original Top Gun with Tom Cruz because that flying under the radar is pretty darn good I believe that recognizing Miss Gilford as teacher of the month would not only honor her as she deserves but it also shines a light on the importance of special education in our school and in our community thank you Miss Guilford for all you do come on [Applause] down your oh thank you to give you hug thank you for everything you did yes thank you to take picture take picture okay with all parents and students come on up to the stage to take a group that way please what up [Applause] everybody all right you are unmuted all right everybody we are going to reconvene uh we are up to item actually student report we have uh yes so we have a small report today um Mr Smith and I developed a new peer tutoring system uh the flyers for it were sent out this week and last week and we're expecting to begin connecting students hopefully by next week um tutoring has beun for the ngj GPA for the junior class and we'll continue until the exam comes two weeks from today I believe uh there will be a professional development day for student reps all over the county sometime in March and April I I don't remember the exact date to be honest and um for the winter teams boys basketball currently have their stage quarterfinal match about four minutes ago and their record is a 1610 the girls basketball team ended their season with a win loss record of 1510 wrestling has two athletes going to States in Atlantic City them being Del Ethan Del Cruz who's a freshman and L sportb who's a senior and four time Regional champion and for winter track and field uh in their first season back they have two athletes going to the meia Champions which is the level uh four Nationals those being Alana Landers who's a thrower and Mal the and sadly I didn't make [Music] mark thank you for a great report congratulations to all of our student athletes and coaches all right we are up to item number 4.1 these are committee reports we'll start with the education committee Mr dawon good evening Mr President we met several weeks ago there few topics on our agenda we talked about um using a modified schedule for the GPA we also talk about the high school course of studies being finalized and uh the process of using the Genesis software for inting uh teacher course recommendations for our students so very good and exciting work taking place at High School level to get all that work set up and underway that's great thank you Mr Dawson any questions on education committee all right here Mr okay we spent the majority of the time talking about strategic planning in our first meeting the one thing that I really want to point out we we kind of looked at the common themes of strengths and challenges and I found it fascinating that the biggest um strength that was throughout almost every common people left were about culture warmth of environment um by staff and administration um the second was actually the you utilization of datadriven instruction to improve achievement the reason that I'm written these up is I'm not making this up these really were the top two things because they are they are a perfect reflection of our board and District last two years they are exact the things that we are trying to achieve so as we move forward we obviously want to keep those things going um but it's good to see that the public at large does see those changes that we've been trying to make um we did spend quite a bit of time also talking about how to get people out to the next two meetings Dr Freeman um had some great ideas as the committee members and for those of you that attended the second meeting you saw that in action as we did have quite a bit more uh quite a few more people from all walks of life attend the second meeting so it is working we got a lot more people and for those of you out there we still we have one more meeting to go so we'd love to see even more people next time if possible um lastly we talked I talked briefly really to Lisa about her Athletics and extracurricular committee and it technically in the charter does fall under operations and she agreed that it it's it can probably go back to operations but we would still like to probably meet with Mr Steel once before each season begins so that probably means August November February but those months to be determined but we still meet them just to have updates before those Seasons begin and that was it for govern very good Mr B any questions here you let's move on to Human Resources okay um we have a few things on human resources not not a heck of a lot but one of the things that was discussed was the Maru health and that is mental health component and um we were informed that there are more and more people just registering it registering for it and that there has been positive feedback on it there's also um department and met and there is a streamlining of responsibilities um just to make like one for the interviewing process just the for the forms that are going out to candidates and then coming back and just procedures or signing contracts it's just getting uh more and more streamlined so that it's really the responsibility of a certain few rather than going from place to place um there was also a letter of intent which is really nice it it was when somebody comes into the district and is you know with the uh intent of joining the district just to welcome them into into the U District um HR continues with uh updating job descriptions policy and regulations that's something that's always ongoing and um our final thing is we were talking about negotiations and I see some from new faces back there hello hello um but you know what we have worked really I think very well with the found Education Association um it's been a a process it's been in my opinion it's been a respectful process and we are very very close so we're looking for for those updates and I'm sure that we'll be having another meeting just to make to finalize everything so I think that's all I have to report thank you Su for the members of the board I would point out that there actually is a version of an MOA with the BPA on tonight's agenda it's agenda 9.8 we will have a threee executive session just before we vote on item n in case any members not participate in negotiations have questions or would like to discuss it further otherwise we'll return to the table take care of business and thank you Su any questions on human res hearing none Mr Z on operations operations is usually busy this is a busy report it's actually because the me are always very interesting so when to talk about independent verification of remediation that was performed at lafette Mr Molina Andi updated the committee on the district solicitation two proposals to independently verify if the remediation work performed by pH construction to prevent the water seat to the new basement is satisfactory Mr will provide specifics to define the scope and U we'll verify everything Mr bmer has also provided to observe verification service Mr gorson you can chime in we also have a budget update and I wanted to say Bo is thanful for our administrative team working so diligently with the budget Mr gy informed the committee that all revenues have been estimated and appropriation C we are ahead of schedule prepared the last year I want to repeat that again ladies and gentlemen we are ahead of schedu compared the last and I want to give a shout out to our administrative team for that so thank you very very much um certain material estimates that remain including on the revenue side state a to from South Mr can you give a little bit update in relation to that please yes sir Mr Z we discussed some of the material update into the budget from the beginning Health um premiums are one of them the initial quote that we got from Horizon was a 17 a half% increase we talked about that the previous meeting that's because of claims experience um becoming negative and uh Dr Freeman and I requested that our health insurance brokers solicit alternative quotes from other carriers this would be like kind or better Insurance just of a different provider for example Etna instead of Horizon and we have one proposal from adna that came in at 9.6 which is about half of the proposed increase from Horizon so we are still negotiating all of these and um there'll be more to come on that one of the bigger estimates that we have in the budget right now is on the revenue side and that's State a those numbers are expected to be released on Thursday this is the last installment year under S2 which is an adjustment to the school funding Reform Act that brings districts like boundbrook who are underfunded for so long to full funding so this is the year where we should finally hit full funding according to the school funding formula and we received rable information from the township the ratables have gone up in town about 7% That's very favorable for the school tax rate and we'll have a lot more to come at the next meeting once we finalize everything after Thursday's release of State thank you sir appreciate we also had a ransomware update Mr morski updated the committee that the district was successful being granted a$2 deduc $250,000 deductible because the district was successful providing evidence of compliance with brother cation con a cyber policy again thank you if it wasn't for our administrative team we would have AER the committee was also informed last week that we received a check of 153,000 for Approved costs cost net of the deductible and also fund $3,383 of the cost not approved and uh it will be appealed to be reconsidered Mr do you want to add anything no that covers it we haven't heard anything about the appeal yet but we're confident that at least half or maybe the full amount will be covered with our class um our robotics club which we are so proud of uh the staff is requesting to use District truck robotics competitions uh advisers of wanted to use the U those like I said the computations Mr told the that our insurance worker suggested that the two advisers furnish him with the driver's license and the transcripts once reviewed and approve the two advisers beur of the activity committee recommended the action for resolution work has been submitted going on to District signage District signage is the committee spent the majority of the meeting discussed in this stle be fix small schol sign EV District signs the matter not be included we for addition um and again I know this is something that's going to affect all building So eventually this will be uh I think that it's good that we're putting some time into this and I think it's going to look phenomenal once it's actually reled finally um the operations commit recomended the disolution of the ad Haw committee and that the Future these related Athletics and co-curricular activities be included operation meeting agendas which me I'll have two more paragraphs to but other than that I just want to again thank for all of the our administrative team the incredible work on budget and all of the subse issues that we had tonight Mr President you have any questions you thank you Mr Z any questions from the members on operations the only comment that I would have because I president's announcements and it wasn't a part of the students report was I think there's a robot reveal coming up later this week for the robotics team as well so thday yeah Thursday thank you so this Thursday it's in the cafeteria correct yeah I think so I would just encourage any m interest attending to to do so of general watching to so we are up to item 4.5 the Somerset County Educational Services Commission that's me um it was a a quiet meeting really um there were three presentations at this um at the U Su CID Services Commission one was on the um 2023 audit the second was the uh presentation of the 2425 school year budget and the last presentation were for uh governors of the year uh the other thing that goes on at Somerset um ESC it's very similar to what goes here you know they one booking a calendar updating of policies um adoption of policies and in some cases um abolishing policies that are no longer current um and that really is it right thank you any questions for Su on Su County Ed Services Commission all righty uh thanks again for all the committee reports it seems like another good set of deliberations and discussions I appreciate with all full consideration of everything that the administration is asking for our feedback on and seems like we continue to just make progress at every possible opportunity so thank you all again at this point we are up to item 5.1 open to the public for agenda [Music] items so public participation in board meetings uh is in accordance with District policy 0167 or members of the public can sign in at the podium online WR their name address and group affiliation if um this particular comment session is for agenda items open um each participant May uh ask a question and participation is limited to three to five minutes in duration no participant may speak more than once on the same topic until others who wish to speak on that topic have been heard any comments agenda items okay is there any questions online all right so we are up to item turn my microphone off sorry we're up to item number 6.1 be resol Board of Education upon recommendation of the superintendent approves the minutes for the following meetings executive meeting minutes of January 31st 2024 can I have a motion 6.2 and 6.3 my apologies so that is the minutes from our February 21st meeting as well which was our strategic planning meeting that's yeah and Fe and February 1 as well yeah thank you yeah think clear so 6.1 6.2 and 6.3 uh are being moved for approval can I have a motion motion thank you Mr B second second thank you any discussion all right call pleas yes sir Mr Ji I have Miss Carlton that's second on that is that corre that is correct I'm sorry yes Mr B yes Mr Dawson yes Mr yes M Carlton yes to 6.1 abstaining 6.2 and 6.3 thank you so not Mr zel yes Mr minhas yes Miss High yes Mr bmer yes and president yes motion passes thank you item 7.1 resolve that the superintendent commends for approval the resolutions as outlined the district Personnel resolutions this is 7.2 7.35 can I have a motion motion thank you Mr second second thank you Mr any discussion all right here Mr can over yes sir Mr B yes Mr Dawson yes m cazino yes Carlton yes except for items marked by asress than Mr zco yes Mr minhas yes Miss High yes Mr hmer yes Mr President yes motion pass thank you we up to item number 8.1 approval of District education resolutions resolve that b Board of Education approves the resolutions is outl District education resolutions this is 8.2 8.12 I have a motion motion thank you Mr dwon second second thank you Mr any discussion Mr Mr B yes Mr Dawson yes M yes Mr Carlton Yes except for items marked by as thank you Mr zco yes Mr Min yes m h yes Mr Palmer yes and Mr board president yes motion passes thank you at this time I would like to move to go into executive session or a motion to go into executive session to discuss contract negotiations motion thank you Mr B second second thank you Miss High all in favor any we are adjourned to Executive session have fun in there guys gooded thank you all right everybody we are back in session we are up to item 9.1 we resolved that the bound Board of Education appr the resolutions as outl action resolutions this is 9.2 922 can I have a motion motion thank you Mr B second second thank you miss any discussion thank you for the donation please turn sorry do your thank you oh sorry thank you for the donation of the B very [Music] generous on items 9.3 9.14 came at the phah construction work I was prepared to make a motion to table resolution on that until I was told that we could not not pay them because of order shot so I was suggest that I address the question to our board attorney as to why we not with yeah the um because the work has been done the architect signed off on it at this point really not a basis to in terms of some of the other remain items other ways that can be addressed separate part pay completed so we can certainly talk about some of the other options that cleaning up some of the other items are so sorry it's only because the architect sign off not a representative from the school district does that not need be included well I mean the architect yeah The Architects overseeing the project generally they certify that works to complet I think we also have a CEO if I'm not mistaken on the project most has been done baring you know just buch list items items that are covered by the performance and are and there's still some money not a lot but there's still some so I think the feedback for now is that we do not have grounds to withhold being the Bas on the situation that you're currently in however that does not mean we are without tools to address the situation and we can talk about what potential options includ go to Executive session minut thank you any other comments or questions on anything section all right call please yes sir Mr B yes Mr Dawson yes M Gazo yes M Carlton yes everything but 9913 9:14 and 9 22 133 14 and 22 Mr Z yes Mr menos yes m h yes Mr Palmer yes with reservations yes and Mr board president yes moot passes thank you we are now up to other matters to come for the board which none have been remitted and do business if any of the members wishes to speak on anything that was not on the agenda I think we have some audience members who want to [Music] [Applause] clap all right we're now up to item number 12 to the public for discussion I'll save everybody in trouble listen to me same Supply to minutes sure sign hello Lauren Paxton president of the Bound Brook Education Association I'm not up here for a discussion or ask questions I'm up here to thank you for the uh three-year contract uh this was a a two-year process to get here and you kind of stole my thunder before I actually wanted to say um that the two-year process we learned that this board is different than the old boards um we do have good conversations sometimes it's a tough conversation but it is more cordial and I'm not going to say I can't wait for the next round but at least I'm not afraid of the next round so thank you very [Applause] much no questions so we are now up to item number 13.1 move to to Executive session resolve B Board of Education enter executive session is allowed by njsa 104-1 for the purposes noted on the agenda number three four and have a motion I'm going to give the motion to misso and the second to Mr B all in favor I back all right you're unmuted all right welcome back we are up to it 14.1 education approves resolutions as outl approval of HIV cases under high school this is 14.2 and 14.1 have motion motion thank you Mr B second thank you Mr have Sir Mr Bell yes Mr Dawson yes M gazino yes M Carlton yes Mr suco yes Mr Minas yes m h yes Mr bumer yes and Mr board president yes motion pass thank you sir 15.1 we resolved that the B of Education approves the resolutions as out hi cases under M and elementary schools this is 15.2 and 15.3 can I have a motion motion thank you Mr second second thank you Mr M roll call please Mr B yes Mr Dawson yes M cazino yes M Carlton obain Mr zco yes Minos yes Miss H yes Mr bumer yes Mr board president yes motion passes we item 16.1 motion motion thank you Miss good night

call please Mr seron here Mr Gatewood present M Johnson pres Dr Maria present Mr present Miss Simon present miss Ben present please student ambassador Luke please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all okay good evening everyone I am thrilled tonight to engage in our fall and winter athletic recognition I'm going to invite uh Teresa Kamas to to read out um some of the exciting acknowledgements but I do want to say that I'm so proud to be part of this community where our student athletes put their heart and soul into the Excellence of what it means to be on a team and in that recognition we'll now turn to Teresa we're going to invite all of you to join us in the middle okay okay good evening the board of education is proud to acknowledge the award-winning efforts of our students who have received State Andor National recognition for their school related and athletic related activities tonight we're going to recognize our 2324 asigo girls Co-op swim and dive team for their accomplishment of having achieved ihsa's combined state championship at this year's ihsa state swim and dive meet um this evening any students and coaches here this evening as you're called please come forward to be congratulated by the Board of Education and our superintendent Dr katti we'll ask that you hold Applause until all students have been recognized yes we'll invite everyone Chloe Diner Maya fenninger Addie Miller mateline Lisa Molly Gonzalez Katie gresk Katie M and this evening with us we have Lauren sidorski from us we go east she placed fifth in the 500 free and 11th in the 200 free relay and also here with us this evening um swim and dive coach uh Mr Bob sprunger and also coaching this year was Mr Ryan penine and Ariana trus and we will also invite forward our OE principal Mrs Laura Bowski um I don't believe Mr Grace if he's here this evening oh he's back there come on Chris Grace come on forward and we're also joined this evening with our athletic directors Tony and [Applause] Darren Tony and Darren you come up too congratulations everyone we're going to take a group photo congratulations thank you okay now we'll move to 5.1 public comment on behalf of the Board of Education I would like to thank the public for attending tonight's meeting we value the feedback we received from our residents and encourage everyone to take an active interest in their Public School System residents interested in speaking to the Board of Education this this evening are asked to have completed a comment card and presented it to the secretary to the board when the secretary calls your name I ask that you come to the microphone state your name for the public record and provide your feedback and order to hear from as many as possible comments are limited to three minutes per person comments should address the Board of Education as a whole and not be direct ired to an individual board member audience or staff member the board does not participate in discussion during public comment followup to your questions or concerns should be addressed by Administration through the contact information provided on the comment card thank you John McLure good evening everyone uh my name is sha McClair and uh I've been a resident here in Igo for about 23 years and the reason I'm here tonight is to uh hopefully get your guys' support on uh expanding the sporting uh programs here in iGo um my son is a 14-year-old getting ready to come to iggo high school and he plays lacrosse he started the sport when he was in kindergarten and uh myself and another father volunteered to help coach never playing lacrosse and uh over the years I got to know a lot about the sport it's a really exciting and upcoming sport here in North America it's an Olympic sport now and uh I think that as we look at our community there's a lot of sporting opportunities but there's also a lot of room for expansion and growth uh from a sporting uh event standpoint so I would ask that uh the board please consider looking at lacrosse for the next uh season because he will be going into high school and I would love nothing more than to wish or get him his wish and dream which is play High School lacrosse because unfortunately if we can't play lacrosse enough we go we do have to look at maybe going out outside the district and uh I would love nothing more than to get my son in that inaugural program and then I have a 10-year-old that will follow in his footsteps and uh the park district I think also is a good venue to help bring knowledge and interest in the sport for the community so thank you for your time thank you thank you Christopher Kennedy brought my wife to make sure she watches the clock for me uh well good evening my name is Christopher Kennedy we're new residents to the iGo sd308 School District really excited we moved from Carolina a few years ago we've got four children three in the district now one threatening to come in here in about a year and a half uh so we're very excited first part of my sentiments are to tell you all thank you uh from the new Resident perspective tremendous experience um at Prairie point and at trer uh actually I think every event I've gone to I've sought out at least an administrator to tell them how impressed I've been so it means a lot to us to to move and take that risk to leave Carolina where they're really well-known schools and so that was a question mark and we came in and so we're very proud to be here um but the other thing I really want to highlight is my career uh being in the healthcare Biotech Industry has a lot of similarities to education now it might not seem like that when we first think about it but we're all patients like every everyone in here with our shoes on we came in as patients you'll unfortunately probably leave as a patient and we were all students and most of the time what you remember unfortunately in healthcare was bad experiences and even sometimes in education it's an experience that held you back and I can recall a few different experiences myself and then there were the beautiful ones as well and so I kind of framed the discussion tonight around team and it was awesome to see these Champions that just got their photo taken because I I came here with my wife to invest in the community and to be a part of it and to recognize that we're all on that team now on a lot of teams you join and you say I want want to be on that team sometimes when you move to an area you forget hey we are all on this team and so I think it behooves us all to take the approach that I want to do something I want to be a part of it I talked to a gentleman from the healthc care side who started an organization 1987 when his son passed away and on his way out he was a young infant and he had primary immune deficiency and his quote was can you do something for me his wife just passed away after 30 years and they did something they brought cures to people all across the world and I talked to him to kind of give me the energy to land on my last minute here we're we're talking about lacrosse here you'll see some the lacrosse booster club but we're not really talking about lacrosse we're talking about a new opportunity and a case study of effort that you'll see on the little uh handouts that we sent around of the effort you can do when we engage private relationships and all the stakeholders that haven't had a knock on their door in a long time you'll see some logos on there um and but I I do want to pull everything together and just say this there's always meetings like this I serve on run a number of boards but behind closed doors and those Late Night Calls those are the ones that often times don't get don't get recognized for when things get done so I commend all of you for the work you're going to do after this meeting and I and I do ask that you lean on us not just for the cross still got 18 seconds but for any other activity because this lacrosse case study translates into the drama club the International Studies program and I think together with the energy of Dr katti and his tremendous staff that I've had the pleasure of meeting and Darren and team together we really can do something remarkable here and put our SW on the map as a [Laughter] leader the first I know Heen I'm going to set because I'd like to be on on the same level as you all so thank you for having me here I wanted to bring up some concerns that I've noticed over the last four years you might have known us for a trades booth that continues to serve Kendall in King County advocating for the travel trades and for visual canese Learners are who are helping build and restore your communities but the biggest concern that I've been hearing from students uh when we were visiting oehs earlier in 2023 was that our Building Trades classes they have to get bused to OHS and if their schedules do not line up they are not able to take some of those classes and I'm concerned because then I'm worrying that we're underserving some of our students who could be earning prevailing wages in that industry who are not getting the experience and the education that they need and also as a parent of four children in the asigo school district and of course being being a trades family we push the construction industry as well our son's CAD class is not going to happen next year there were not enough students to sign up to make the next level advance and so I'm constantly concerned we're we're marketing colleges you know we're marketing universities community colleges where are my union hall banners in the high schools where's the pipe fitters where's the local 21 where's the electrical Union where's the carpentry Union if we want kids to get engaged in the construction industry which has a huge decline it starts at home with the parents and it starts in our schools they're not going to know that these opportunities exist if you guys don't Market it and if we're not marketing these electives and these classes students are not going to sign up because there's no engagement for it lastly what I wanted to bring up was a resolution I would love to bring up a resolution for you we have wonderful men and women who are serving District 308 within building operations imagine if you could take your deferred maintenance cost which obviously is a huge cost when it comes between state federal and local taxes right imagine creating a curriculum in a syllabus with a teacher and an instructor where we could teach kids to tucko our buildings wash our buildings them restore them learn a little bit about PVC work all these things are possible and we could decrease our liabilities with insurance because we're having it on the premise at our school and we would be creating opportunities on school grounds for me as a parent and as a business owner I would see it as a win-win because you could then reduce your deferred maintenance cost by possibly 25 to 30% maybe even 40 if you're really creative but I hope that we can continue the conversation to create new opportunities for students within District 308 thank you thank you Craig Kaufman hello hi all right hi Bor uh my name is Craig coffin asigo resident for the past seven years I believe seven or eight years moved into town and um I'm a part of the um lacrosse I guess booster club if you'll call us that so I just had a couple quick things um similar to what Sean said at the beginning my son began playing um at a very young age thanks to what I'll call some uh Lacross evangelist right other parents that were able to share their love for the sport and pass on the game that is pretty much a mystery to a lot of families and I think there's a lot of good things about it that um we're very grateful my son had found his passion but more than that it's just a sport that I feel like is a is kind of a Hidden Gem and be able to be one of the schools inside of the state of Illinois that offers that through the high school I think would be a huge perk as well as be beginning to start kids at a younger age and to create some sort of like a feeder program it's a very um familyfriendly inclusive sport that no matter your athletic ability I think there's all shapes and sizes there's um male female can all all play it so I wanted to to talk to that and just the fact that um it's very um parent driven so to my second Point um I know that the funding is kind of a big deal um we had Chris had handed out the sheet to you guys there there had been already discussions about how much funding is needed to start the program and I just wanted to speak to that as well I think that the numbers that that were initially discussed are a little bit High there's some grants available through USA lacrosse that will help offset some of the costs as well as um again giving Chris Kudos he's already started fundraising efforts and I think you'll see that that is very indicative of the parents that are involved and the families involved they're super passionate about it and they continue to contribute and find local businesses to contribute to kind of go with that sort of team attitude where it's not something that's going to fall on the district to fully fund the program um and then the last piece was the same same thing as like for my son coming into the 308 District at the high school level he played basketball in the junior high this is a sport that he he's very passionate about it if the only option for us until this discussion been put on the table was to look outside the district at like a private high school and so up until this discussion that has been where we looked at Ben in academy or Weeden Academy some of these other school tools at offer lacrosse so to be able to have it um in our own backyard it's a huge blessing so it really um just encourage you guys to consider moving forward with it thank you thank you Michelle Trager hi Michelle trer four kids in the district I want to talk about every single thing on the agenda tonight um as you discuss adding more Sports please realize that this is the second year that plank Junior High has not had any theater Productions while the other four Junior highs have can you imagine if this were the second year that plank didn't have any sports while the other four Junior highs did so I want to thank Chris for also mentioning those other things um there may be something in the works now with the ASO Park District theater Community uh company through their generosity and that that's because same here the parents are the ones who spearheaded that but we could really use some District support you're going to be talking about facilities tonight Boulder Hill please broken playground equipment broken air conditioning last week it was a foul smell in the gym and for months there have been ants some of which are reported to fly um you're going to hear an El report we have momentum in the Dual language program one concern is that an assistant superintendent who's been helping to that is retiring and we want our el director to have that continued support from Dak especially as we expand the elementary but because just now we're getting into how to improve the Junior High um everything we've done so far this year for junior high has just been to bring us up to the bare minimum we're not even into the Improvement of that program yet um you're also going to hear about Recruitment and Retention tonight I it was really cool to read that I'm excited to hear that present presentation tonight it looks good reading through it um but please don't forget the resource of parents especially in our DL Community some of whom had professions in their countries of origin and they may not need that much training to become bilingual Tas or even teachers um to take it back to the junior high we haven't filled a position of el coordinator there I think we have a couple teachers who are qualified for that so are we doing everything possible to make that position attractive to our own staff and then lastly I know last um meeting there there was a special ed report part of that report was talking about how in the really young grades in kindergartens we're seeing um some some frequent and extreme behaviors um and I know there was some talk about oh that's because those kids didn't have socialization during the pandemic but I I want to look at that logically that made sense for our kindergarteners two years ago when my daughter was in kindergarten because at as threes and fours in preschool they were home so they didn't know how to take turns wait in line follow routines that's the socialization but when we're seeing students being physically aggressive to their classmates to their teachers ripping up the classroom that's more than socialization and when one and two year olds are socializing they're mostly at home unless they're at daycare so they are socializing with their families anyway their families though during the pandemic it's been shown many parents have been going through depression and anxiety and it hasn't gone away and I think that's where we need to look get when we're trying to help these kids with their behaviors and as you know of course one of the board members said we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg with the pandemic and you know I'm always talking about how alcohol consumption increased during the pandemic and that half of our pregnancies are unplanned so we're just now going to see those students start to come into our early childhood programs so I covered a lot and I hope you'll consider it all thank you thank you thank you David Julian hi I'm David Julian uh asgo resident uh been here for eight years going on nine I have two kids now I'm going to preface this by the other dad coach that Sean said he met when his kid was six and the other guy's kid was five that was me Craig coff and start talked about uh his kid starting when he was little at the club the other dad on the sideline next to him that was me I want to talk a little bit about lacrosse I'm not going to tell you anything that you haven't heard already what I want to speak to is the opportunity to build a team and build a culture in the high schools now I mentioned I have two kids my son is in seventh grade at trer my daughter's in sixth grade at trer I have no horse in this race as of today I'm looking further down the road for it to be an opportunity for my kids to continue what they feel is their dream my son's dream is to go away and play at Notre Dame or Duke or Virginia or Maryland or North Carolina those are the Blue Bloods of college lacrosse my take is hey why don't you go to Lewis right it's right here great school great education ultimately it's going to be his choice my job as his father is to help facilitate what he wants to do and paint well yes absolutely put a lot of miles on the car as I mentioned I'm in a bit of a unique position because I'm able to take what happens here whether there's a lacrosse program or not a lacrosse program and make make our own decisions as a family as to whether or not my kids are going to go to school in the district or we have to seek things Elsewhere for my daughter who is also a cheerleader ASO High School makes perfect sense however she can't continue to play lacrosse my son only wants to play lacrosse played hockey played football wants to play lacrosse plays at the very highest level nationally in the country right now as a 7th grader in the state of Illinois and I will say this on record Craig Kaufman has an eighth grade boy in Illinois who's probably one of the best lacrosse players in the state of Illinois for his age my son at his position is the best player in the state of Illinois we have some really great athletes and students right 4.0 and students that are coming out of Illinois Craig and I a year ago had the opportunity for our sons to represent the US on a team for the Indoor national championships they played for the East Coast uh version of of Team USA not only did our Illinois student athletes stand out but they excelled with kids who were born with lacrosse sticks in their hands the opportunity here is to help to build a team unify two schools together and build a culture based on building great young men and women in our community I hope you will consider it moving forward thank you thank you okay so this evening I'm thrilled to welcome we've got members of our team I'm going to invite uh Miss Faith delist to open up on this presentation around some of the most important work happening in our district around um our English language Learners direct okay good evening Rene Sor director of English Learners great to see you tonight so tonight we're going to be talking talking about uh multilingual learner programs for the coming year our presentation we're going to provide updates to some of the enhancements that we're making in our programs but I wanted to start first by publicly thanking a couple of people who have really helped through this process but as you'll see the feedback and input of many partners has helped with this but I would like to thank first eron gleon who is our language acquisition instructional coach prek um without her Insight on everything elel and her deep historical knowledge of the programs in our district uh this wouldn't have been possible also I want to thank another thought partner who has helped me through this uh fa dalquist right here so her uh experience of both Global and detailed work in a districtwide system has been invaluable so I want to thank them both so can you do that okay so the guiding principles that have guided our programs has been first to promote inclusion and Equity within our Continuum of services that we offer for our multilingual students we also want to Foster bilingualism biliteracy multiculturalism through programs such as dual language and the Seal of biliteracy and we also want to actively involve parents and the community in their students education I'm going to start by talking just briefly about the different types of programs we have um Early Childhood has uh different offerings both uh bilingual and English for students uh every school in the district has English as a second language ESL resource that's where a teacher will push in or pull out small groups of students usually to help them with their language proficiency the next highest level is shelter English instruction this is where students who are English Learners are in a self-contained classroom with a teacher who has her certification in English language Learners and they study all together it's all in English but they learn all of their core subject areas with that lens of the increased in language proficiency and then the lastly we have our dual language program this program helps to build students bilingualism the classroom is made up of both students of Spanish Heritage language and also students of that you know come from just monolingual English families and both groups of students are in the classrooms together learning Spanish and English up through their 8th grade this uh slide just shows what happens at the secondary level uh dual language continues at the junior high at plank sheltered English continues at Junior High at Murphy and then the high high schools both offer a mix of sheltered and co-taught classes for our English Learners in our district we have over 75 uh languages that are spoken here uh the number keeps expanding and differentiating every year as you can see though Spanish is by far the largest group of uh languages that we have here and that's what allows us to offer dual language in Spanish because of the number of Spanish speakers we have in the district this graph shows that over the last 5 years the population of English learner students has grown about 800 students in The Last 5 Years so that we now make up about 133% of our district if we look at how many students that are still in our district were formerly English learner students and that have since exited based on the exiting criteria we're looking at 22% of the the students in our district as you can see we are just growing and growing so we really needed to look at space concerns and we knew this uh last year uh so we got together a group of Administrators we had Transportation there we had Finance we had special education all of these to address this um need that we knew was coming uh for space concerns so some of the things that we really wanted to look at at is we wanted to minimize the impact of moving students if they've already started at a school we wanted to prioritize keeping them at that school we also wanted to maximize if we could student attendance at their home school so that they're also going to school with their neighbors and the people that they see uh out on the playground uh and then we also wanted to make sure that we could have enough room that we weren't just making a solution that would be good for one or two years so we looked at all kinds of things demographer reports we looked at bus routes um we looked at languages uh if you went to my office right now you'd still see this uh great big map with all this information and we had many many people in many eyes uh and what we determined uh is that there is a great increase of new English Learners around Grand Park and the wheatlands and we see that Trend continuing while it's diminishing around Old Post we also knew that we had dual language space concerns uh that there is not enough space to keep going as is at Boulder Hill so we wanted to get together and we made many solutions talk through many different groups I'm going to turn it back to Renee to talk about SEI so where we focused our our efforts were where we saw the largest increase in English language Learners which we saw at the area of the wheatlands and Grand Park year after year the students kept the student numbers kept growing there so in 2425 so next school year we're looking at having kindergardeners and first graders who would qualify for the sheltered English instruction program go to Grand Park or the Wheatland based on their uh what their home school is and we're thinking of having two kindergart two sections at each School of kindergarten and a first grade the reason we're starting with a kindergarten first grade is we would prefer to have not just one single teacher there as the sole teacher of sheltered English that way they could have someone with whom to collaborate uh what we have now is there are eight current students that are in Old poost our current sheltered English site those students were offering for them to go to one of the two sites depending on their homeschool location this here is an outline that shows the feeder patterns for the the students from the various schools where they would be attending right I'm going to talk a little bit about what we did with uh dual language dual language is a really exciting uh program here we were one of the first districts to offer this and we want to continue with that and when we looked at all of the different options where we went was starting a third dual language site and we'll start it just with the younger students first uh and then be able to grow that so when you look at the new feeder patterns that was where the old schools were what schools attended if they were interested in dual language and then on the right you see the new pattern uh this is another chart that just shows the same thing unless you like charts okay so in November we had our first English learner Forum so here we invited parents to come and discuss at tables what they felt were opportunities challenges good points about our different programs we took a lot of feedback from that meeting from that meeting we also uh Garner garnered interest for having a district dual language committee so this committee has been meeting monthly since January uh in this school we've in this District we've been addressing different issues that the parents have brought forth and not just the parents but all the dist the committee members which is addressing the transition from elementary to Junior High identifying future topics such as gifted education within the Dual language program professional development and assessment of students and in this committee we've had representation from Dual language teachers of every school uh dual language administrators of Elementary and Junior High we've also had uh members of the bilingual parent advisory committee we've had Parents of both English Learners in the Dual language program and students who were who were not English Learners in the program and we've also had instructional coaches in the schools where dual languages on this committee from this committee I was able to Garner some uh testimonials from some of the members and I really like uh I I like the last one actually uh the most which says for my students for my own children it has built a sense of belonging I think this is the foundation of dual language and why it's so important to keep this as a program here and help it grow and help our families feel part of the community now our continuing work in this will be to we are in the process of informing the kindergarten students about the various programs and the changes that are happening we've been doing this through our uh kindergarten registration and then we'll be emailing specific parents at the schools that are you know most affected by the changes we're collaborating with other depend uh departments around the professional development plan for staff and administrators uh we've been meeting with the Dual language committee we're working with supporting our bilingual parent advisory committee and we're going to continue to analyze our access scores and other data points to evaluate how our progress is going uh just one more thing that we had uh talked about at the Dual language committee is the importance as we create a third site to have continuity between the different teams one of the great things that is now a part of our new contract is time for Teacher teams to get together uh and this can be across different schools it'll be really important as we expand that we have kindergarten teachers of dual language from the three different schools get together uh and be able to coordinate and talk with that and then also next year we will have the opportunity to have full day school Improvement days so there will be time to travel get together and see people face to face as well and I'd also like to add that in preparing these new school sites we're already in the works for let's say for wolf's Crossing where there's dual language we're going to be um offering what is an effective dual language program to all of their school staff and when I say School staff we're talking about all of the staff office staff nurses teaching staff Tas you know special education teachers that are there also what is dual language and how does your role support this you know to uh lunch and recess staff and custodians we want the whole school to embrace and understand the program that that they'll be getting also how to make a welcoming School for students and families and then we want to offer site VIs visits for the admin and teachers of that program to visit the sites where it currently is housed we also have already had the administrators uh participate in webinar webinars on Dual language so they're already starting that process and garnering what questions they might have to help us F further along their understanding of the program likewise for the sheltered English and program we're going to be talking to the staff admin office staff teaching staff what is an effective SEI program you know SEI sheltered English you know how does your role support the sheltered English program how do you welcome students and families into your school when you have this program and also offering to them to go visit the current site of sheltered English to see for themselves so those are a lot of the things that we have in the plan while working towards this this process so do you have any additional questions or well I I I appreciate the work that was that's been done um we definitely had to to make some facilities changes and um make some improvements and I'm appreciative of all the thought there um just quick testimonial um my kids went through dual language they're basically straight A students um it it just language second language acquisition just helps your helps your mind develop um there's more connections there um so uh if you have an incoming kindergartener um please uh you know consider the Dual language program uh if I wish I could speak Spanish um but if you're um uh if you're a Spanish speaking family and your student uh is coming into the district please uh it's a default program please accept that um and your students will be better off I wanted to go to uh slide seven um basically it just gives the numbers and this is so one of the things that I I've said is is so 22% of our students have either been are either currently considered English Learners basically once they pass a test they're no longer English Learners so it's it's it's hard to analyze and you have to be very diligent in analyzing how they're longitudinal um uh performances but when 22% of your district is uh English Learners how our English Learners perform is critical significant y so we have to make sure that we're um um it's it's has to be a priority so I I again thank you I just wanted the community to kind of see one out of five children um and it's growing I think that one of the one of the this was so that 30% number I think that you had mentioned that it was 25% for kindergarten this year that was um this school year 23 24 the entering kindergarten class of nearly a th students 25% of them were English Learners so that's so if it's 25% again next year so that 13% is oh it's just this is a huge number um and it's going to just continue to grow so um I had a couple questions but you all answered them in your presentation so thank you so much for that I wanted so I'm just going to offer an encouragement in regards to the collaboration piece um you know when you have programs that are kind of spread out between schools and stuff it's harder to connect with another second grade teacher that's doing the same thing or a fourth grade teacher um and I know that we have some plans for that it sounds like um I think I would be supportive of even more planning around collaboration for our dual language teachers considering you know some of the stuff you want to that's on your list your to-do list uh that that would you know to even go beyond kind of what is in the contract or maybe even the things you're currently planning and I know that know that we have uh or we will soon have um an adopted uh Ela curriculum and so I'm hoping that that will also be time uh for them to you know collaborate on on some of those pieces as well so um thank you for that thank you go ahead yeah I was going to make sure Jared had a chance too do you want to go ahead yeah um I just first of all want to say I fully 100% support this program I do want to however be cautious and really sometimes we have to go slow to go fast the increase is fantastic we know we need it we know to Dominic point it increases cognitive dexterity problem solving skills brain density having a second language also is being shown to help uh ward off Alzheimer's so we know this is critically important right we really need to work and be better at an authen authentic immersive exper instructional exper experience I think that we have obviously had a lot of challenges this year and the last couple of years what I really would love to see is some of these check-ins um for the board so you know what what support can we give how can we help um and then uh I want to just talk about the question that I get from a lot of parents I completely regret not putting my son in this because we live in Hunt Club um but one of the questions you hear a lot is what if my kid can't keep up what if my student can't keep up I know that's a lot of times um the question that parents bring to me and I'm probably not the best at answering that um but can you from your perspective kind of I think there's a variety of avenues here but it is scary going into it and you know what is this going to hold my student back is this going to hurt them it is going to be tough at the beginning but can you just talk a little bit about that those first steps and how we support families and students I'm sorry I'm really focused on the DL part of this sorry um so that parents that are out there making those decisions literally right now um feel comfortable making taking that step so sure so when incoming kindergarten parents are considering this we hold meetings that we tell them they have to attend or you know watch a presentation so that they understand that yes at the beginning if you don't speak Spanish at home it is it's part of a natural process that your child will be challenged so a lot of you know students can show um fatigue things like that but once they work through that they will you know that they will just Blossom now also it takes several years to acquire high levels of language acquisition so while students while young students they say are sponges actually they are very well equipped to learn a you know how accents and how to talk and to understand and glean meaning from actions just like a little baby when they're born you don't give them a dictionary to teach them how to speak your native language it's through you know actions and visuals and working things out together and discussions and a lot of language so it's similar to learning your first language how a student would learn a second language and the teachers in the classroom room they're trained in you know providing that type of instruction um let's see what other question did you have that that was really you answer it very well and I think there also is I I think you fail if you don't try it is okay to say this program doesn't work for us and we have had students you know go back into their you know General Ed classrooms and and that's okay too but don't I think don't if you if that's your fear at least try you know and and take that leap so thank you very much thank you so okay so some of the challenges that we've heard about our in regards in regards to Quality Staffing or Staffing in general and now we're going to an expansion and so I just want to know how are we handling those challenges Dr we do you want to I I yeah yes I that just itself to our next presentation of which I've been working together with the human resources staff on how to bridge that and and to build up our staff capacity in that respect so I'm excited if you just hold on you'll hear from them okay we have some great mentors for for our e programs that's for sure so Jared would you like to ask any questions yeah just real quick um you can hear me correct yes yes okay so I just wanted to make sure the historical piece to back up what Dom said you know back in 2015 when I first ran for the board I think our population was about half what it was and the argument was about whether this was going to increase and so I I you know it's ironic just this weekend a parent sent me a message just to kind of remind me of where we were uh at this point almost 10 years ago compared to now uh and the timing it was not lost on me the irony um but as you know I'm always kind of a long-term big picture and I know this might go into the next presentation which is fine but I am curious um you know uh at the point that we have three Elementary sites at what point do we need to start having a conversation about uh middle school and what that looks like yes I know I said Middle School uh what that looks like um and what our needs are going to uh mean from uh the facility piece that I I'm not expecting like an answer right this second but it's something that I want in our mind because uh while while it may be fine now when um if once wolf crossing those those kindergarteners are fifth graders I I'm curious about what that conversation is going to look like do you want to come back to that or faith do you wantan to sure so we did look at projections and obviously the the younger students kind in first grade is where we see that really growth So eventually that may need to be looked at but for right now even the next few years we don't see needing expanding to a different Junior High site or expanding it past that we will keep looking at that um but right now that's not an immediate in the next two three years I I'd love to see uh um EC uh DL since we're going the uh vertical uh line here so I just want to thank your team I know that it's been a lot of pivoting this year and starting to really pay attention to just what the voices are in the community and really increasing that engagement significantly and so I just want to say that that that is not always easy and especially when we have such care and commitment to these programs um your your efforts have been recognized for really taking it in and being willing to listen to hear to to to change to grow and those aren't always easy so I just want to thank you for your courage and perseverance thank you if I could say one more thing I just looked at my notes can we please put some data and financial analysis around our district program versus how many languages and kind of dle on in the general public can we look at our access data and start to um we've kind of asked for this in the past and I think it would be very helpful I think sometimes people question the um success of the program and then you know some of it leads to a seal of by literacy and so forth so if we could start to connect those dots I think that would be very very helpful that's a very good point just just because we talked just because that came up um this is again where that former eel and this is you know looking at the longitudinal data yes um the point in time so I I I had a discussion recently with with with somebody I'm not going to but basically once you break out the El versus nonel it it kind of enlightens you um as to because basically as soon as the child knows enough English they are not considered El anymore so the El numbers it's that's tough to yeah you got to look at former e if that makes sense yeah so makes sense okay than thank you both thank you thank [Applause] you we have this crowd every week so uh yes we appreciate the the everybody coming out this evening so next we have our annual report on facilities by Mr Queen and I'm going to invite Mr obafemi to open hello everyone uh it's that time of the year where we asked to provide an annual fac faity update and this is uh my first year working with Mr quain and I will say to dat I've been very impressed with the work of our facility team and we've decided this would be a good opportunity to showcase the hard work now Mr Queen and his very able dedicated team I've been doing and taking care of uh really large facilities come on the front y' come on in [Applause] I've asked Mr Quinn to uh to invite the Tim member here because I think it's easy to get carried away and say Mr Queen is a oneman band it's a very large team a very head uh dedicated hardworking group that keeps our facility running every day starting from the time the kids walk in they make it look clean fresh health and safe and I think this would be an opportunity for the community to get an idea of how much work goes into keeping our facility humming I'll pass it over to Mr Quinn thank you sir so as we get started here tonight um I would like to extend a a thank you to Brian zeny and his HR team um and I'm proud to say since 2019 we are fully staffed K through 8 so awesome job Dr Z Sarah La in the back she done a lot of hard work um and keep on coming out every first Saturday of the month 10 to 10 to one o'clock come and check out uh sd308 if you were looking for a job is this a new initiative you started it is it is this is something that uh Dr zimsky and I have been working on to get going and we've got it polished up and we're bringing the people in and we want to keep that going so thank you all right so we're provided or required to provide an annual report to the Board of Education here you will get an oversight of what our staff does day in and day out every day inside and outside of the buildings this is amazing right change so as you're looking at those two guys up there smiling those two young fellas I want you to keep in mind change change has put us in a position to no longer work reactive moving forward we've we've adopted a proactive approach our mission statement is easy our mission is to keep kids safe and a hang on our mission is simple is to provide a safe healthy work environment for the students the staff and the community our strategic goals are a key component to the work we do every day in these buildings outside of these buildings our strategic goal is in line with our mission to provide that safe and healthy place for this staff community and students 562 Acres stretches over Three Counties 65 square miles 27 buildings approximately three 3.4 million square ft under roof housing three over 3,000 employees 7 largest District in the state and we manage this with 171 District employees and and one director and one director out of those 171 we have 117 custodians 22 building engineers 15 techs eight grounds Keepers three District drivers with one's job is solely to deliver the inter office mail and copy center every day you have members of that team here with you this evening as well right excuse me you have members of the team here with you as well I do I have a band of members with me from operations custodial maintenance groundskeepers we've got them all they're here to help help make discharge so did you know did you know we had over a th000 deliveries over a th000 yards of mulch spread over 1,182 mulch beds if you think about that conze to your house that's that's huge right with over 2500 bushes 1,00 trees and and this one on a light in last year we we spent over 166 tons of salt in those 4.2 million square feet of parking lot that's a lot that is a lot I IQ reports is the place and the platform that we track and um keep track of our work orders and school dos as they come in this totally speaks to the dedication and the work that these people put in day in and day out with the completed ticket ratio of 89% um we're we're averaging about 7 to 10 day turnaround from the time they're submitted until they're completed which is phenomenal from this group so that that just that little portion in there is what you're looking at is open-ended tickets or waiting on parts very minimal work these people are knocking and out of the park every day great we were budgeted with 7.3 3 million we've expended 5.6 most of that money comes from our local taxing body and property tax we're getting about 37% from State about 5% Federal dive down to that lower pie chart you can see what we're spending in supplies these things are from custodial chemicals to that mulch that 166 tons of salt things of that nature that we need to to keep this District running every day purchase Services those can range from anywhere from nikore ComEd these are the things that we uh reach out on to when we don't have that extra need from our maintenance tax to buy parts and and things of that nature our salaries with 14% leaving us with 1.8% in capital wanted to share with you a timeline on what it takes to get the progress from a for a job from paper to shovel in the ground we have a lot a lot of interaction a lot of communication and and three to four conversations with the Board of Education before any job is ever approved I'm very proud of this thank you Miss Johnson we live this every day in FFC correct yeah the finance committee we hear it uh I'm like is this new and then no we're just hearing about it more you're just hearing about it more yeah so this work chart does not convey the true dedication and the work that my people do day in and day out with this $3.4 million or 3.4 million foot of of buildings and 564 Acres it's it's phenomenal to what these people put in day in and day out their dedication we spend time away from our families long weekends long long nights holidays it's a true dedication and what this staff does day in and day out to make make the district sd308 run and I couldn't be be more proud or honored and privileged to run you folks it's been a privilege and I'm ready to take them to the next level sd38 thank you thank you Mr [Applause] Queen thank you Mr Queen I just want to say again these are my heroes these guys in this room they really are my heroes don't leave cuz we want a pi because they do they do their work quietly and they don't they don't make any fuss but we need them in order for us to be able to educate our children and a lot of time we don't see them they don't ask for a lot but they do a lot for us and I tell them every opportunity I get that you are my hero and I appreciate everything that you do every day thank you thank you sir yeah Mr que and they clean up after our students as well which sometimes are not the most right um clean um but I just want to say two things I'm incredibly first of all incredibly proud of this um Raphael Bill and Amanda um I know she's on the finance side but she is a great partner um you the three of you have an incredible Synergy and have absolutely turned around um some things that um were really concerning I think to myself and some other board members so Kudos um I'm very very proud of the work that's being done and I've um I just want to say it's something that I know that myself and other board members have been working for many many years to bring to the Forefront and to show um the community that there is transparency we just didn't have the processes and the procedures in place and you've put them there so thank you very much for your diligence it shows this is incredibly um powerful and we know there's a whole team behind all of you and we're incredibly grateful they really are the like backbone of our school system so thank you thank you and and it's not lost on me that when everyone else is at home because there's a snow day or one of those other days you guys are here we're here we're here at 2:00 in the morning yep y you're here till that snow's gone right so we we're enjoying something because of you all and your work that you're doing behind the scenes so we appreciate that I'm sure um Mr Queen has there might be more questions I'm wondering if we can just get a quick picture of you with your team who joined you this evening Absolut think that seems important so please wher they oh wow Raphael get in there and the amazing Don Ceno joining that group the food okay we switch to the first slide switch to the first slide yep I'm going Teresa there you go Teresa you yeah we'll do one with the board after rapael you look proud I like it okay stay there stay there wait are there any more questions for Mr Queen any more questions Jared anything no no okay thank you thank y thank you all right strategic Road M so this evening you're going to hear really I would say a lot about the Bedrock the beginning Bedrock of this work that's been happening how does all of this come together and really the board's Direction was really at the foundation of the shifts you're seeing even the presentations and the the way in which we are looking to shift both the substantive but also the the framework for which we approach things so I've invited uh Dr K to speak on behalf of really the cabinet and the work that's been happening across the system to start to think about how we are moving and changing things and really what we're calling our strategic road map to really next phase of a strategic plan so Dr King K thank you good evening um so what I'd really like to talk about is beginning our road forward so as Dr katti mentioned we're really establishing that strategic road map focused on our mission and vision of empowering supporting and motivating all of our students through the foundation of our six core values of Integrity collaboration humanization dignity and empathy and courtesy we really took a look at the feedback of um through our surveys with our community our parents our staff our students um through our superintendent Advisory Group our uh superintendent student advisory Council our teachers staff Union admin both our building and our district um our collaborative partners that were mentioned this evening around dual language um our partnership with an's coming Hogans so with these various groups um we're going to continue to seek engagement as we prepare the system for a strategic plan we want to take the next um couple months to really focus on coherence community and building trust really Paving that road forward so through the work thus far and based on the feedback what we have come to is eight main priority areas through this establishment of the priority areas we're going to take some time tonight to focus on priority area one we will come back um at our next full board meeting on the 18th with a much stronger comprehensive group um from all of these areas so tonight our focal point is the organizational health and systems coherence as Dr kelti mentioned is really the foundation um to our pathway forward we are seeking part of this board and if you go back to that for a second is an opportunity to hear this evening some of the the structure by which we're thinking about these priorities and really to get your feedback um either both this evening but in the days to come as you reflect back on this around our priorities so right now what we have looked at in terms of our strategic road map is the building blocks of establishing a goal so really looking at the why um through our rationale of improvement around each of our eight priority levels then focusing on the what so what success indicators and strategies aligned to those goals of the priority areas how are we going to accomplish that so what is our action plan and then when our specific timelines and objectives so our first goal for our organizational health and systems coherence really focuses on the foundation building Partnerships networks of collaboration for all levels our district our school and our grade or course team levels in terms of the rationale we really you know this is the why behind why we think that this is important first of all it impact the impact of our collaborative partnership impacts our student achievement our teachers efficacy and more most importantly our school culture and climate it's imperative as we've seen and we've heard that there is strong alignment with our district leadership for a common Vision we want strong communication of that vision and Leadership along with that alignment of our district procedures our policies our practices so taking a deep dive into how our priorities impact not only our district level but also our schools and then most importantly and we've talked about this um in the past is really building out those robust Data Systems so how are we using data input and feedback to drive continuous Improvement so for our organizational health and systems coherence we really want to ensure that our success indicators focus on communication deliverables Clarity coherence collaboration through the use of student data and our climate survey so we want both the academic social emotional mental health and well-being of our students and our staff through our strategies we want a strong focus on collaborative Partnerships as Faith mentioned earlier this evening um we as we transition into next year we have the opportunity to really um focus on teacher collaboration time we're focusing on strong union Partnerships um the training and support of both our building and District administration and teams reestablishing that robust Information Systems we're looking at um and will be coming um in the next few weeks with a aligned Staffing plan um at both the district and District excuse me district and school level and then as we heard at our last meeting and and tonight some very strategic goals in the area of special education and multilingual our English Learners so through this uh priority area we have some def defined action steps with timelines so in terms of the next few months so the remainder of the year for this priority level um we're focusing on a redesigned organizational chart at the district level we're finalizing all eight of our district priorities um including the areas that we've looked at tonight we're diving into developing those meeting structures so how are we providing concrete and effective collaborative structures again both at the district and school levels um working with our schools in our district Department um we will have a comprehensive Staffing plan for the 24 25 school year um we are starting work um through ANS cumin bogans with um oea on a special education study committee and then we are assessing our support structures for our principles so that's our foundational work um around this priority for the remainder of the year as I mentioned um on March 18th for our next meeting we will be bringing um the focus of our strategic road map so our goals rational from Improvement success indicators strategies action plan and timelines for all remaining seven priority areas so at this time as Dr katti mentioned um we're really looking for some feedback you know what would you like some um additional information are there any questions um about kind of the the pathway forward I have one question about the timeline piece when just about the how you're organizing it I see for example today that you've presented through May m um when do you have like a next year plan or when is that like what is the cycle for like developing the next stage the entire cycle for what we're considering the road map um is in essence the next 18 months so our goal is to be on a path to have a strategic plan for the start of um the 25 26 school year that would go through the school year well would would would start now go through the school year so this will start now and go throughout the next school year so by the end of the of the 2425 school year we would have a robust strategic plan so we really wanted to take the time to establish not only the Foundation but to seek um feedback from not only our students our staff but our community um as many of you know there's work already being done through our superintendent Advisory Group um on our portrait of a learner which we will extend to our portrait of uh uh staff member building system yes so we're really taking the time to do comprehensive and um Collective uh efficacy not only on what's important to our system but then communication throughout our system so you know as everybody uses a phrase go slow to go fast we have to establish clear systems communication expectations so we really we we don't want the work to stop so that's why we're using this transition time kind of as our road map which we will have some very clear um actions and deliverables so we can monitor progress throughout uh building a just a strong comprehensive plan by the end of next year I think it it's even fair to say that when the board met with Dr katti we even he was had even very aggressive plans and we even said okay let's just go a little bit slower a little bit slower just because we want him to be able to have a full year under his um leaders ship here um because every day is is a new learning experience thank you so um we want to get this right and I think we're still also coming out of that covid fog and seeing where where that has um taken our students and our staff and I think that will be very helpful too to be able to incorporate all of that into um what that plan looks like in the future is there any rationale or any um explanation of how the priorities are listed yep actually we had some conversation about that um where Priority One was really establishing our foundation then we were moving into um systems around our students and our schools and then our organization including our staff and community so we really kind of did a a bottom up to be comprehensive from the student to the staff to our community level but um at our next meeting we will have information related to 2 through eight so we'll bring that all at one time thank you okay okay thank you Dr K I'm sure there'll be continued comments but I want to just thank the teams who've been working very diligently on this um it it really takes a certain level of foresight and also pay patience as we go through this process um last but surely not least in our presentations this evening I want to invite our director of Planning and Development uh Anamaria candelario anamarie Candelaria and uh Dr zmy Who's going to introduce the rest of the team and uh take us into sd308 next gen well good evening Lord I'm just so proud to um have the priv served in this role as the assistant superintendent for human resources with anamarie pendio is also R SRA who's currently serving as assistant principal of South and been wonderful helping us with our mentoring and induction program um and then we also have our Recruitment and uh our recruitment specialist Sarah La um Mr Queen gave a wonderful statistic today um regarding 100% Staffing that ultimately is the brainchild of Sarah from her recruiting specialist role all kudos to her for the for the vision to put together that 10 to one uh every other every every second Saturday of the month Sarah and I get to spend time together with not only Bill Queen but also Mike de Aran um and and other folks throughout the district as we are committed to 100% are but um kudos to you Sarah um I want to thank the board um I want to thank our entire HR team and our cabinet um for their support of Human Resources in our district um ultimately the the biggest thing that we do is really threefold um we really focus in on recruiting uh retaining and rewarding that is our motto that's what we live by um on a daily basis so I'm going to walk uh through a little bit here of the history of of of recruitment in the district um you know we recognize that it's important to have some traditional methods um you know uh some some career fairs today Sarah and I had the privilege of being at Northern Illinois University um doing things like summer open interviews um having an opportunity um for our district in that traditional sense um to engage with candidates but then we we we want to be Innovative uh we want to recruit on digital platforms we want to implement targeted Outreach groups we want to focus in on a diverse group to hire um so as we talk you know together here there'll be a few things U that we we go through um obviously there not a surprise to anybody uh in the district we have challenges as a a national teacher shortage um special education by lingual ESL um Renee and Fai spoke to that earlier today early child assistance I'm proud to state today that we had an opportunity to meet several EC candidates and we were so excited today to meet them that uh we have chocolate um but we certainly said to them hey come on over here talk a little bit about us weo and I we have such a great principal uh in Dr uh Jennifer broes that uh I sent her a text and I said hey I I want you to talk to some people today so she gets on the phone talks to five folks today um you know we sing up some before positions you know um are quote unquote officially uh posted we always are very impressive with our marketing and and meeting folks so that was a lot of fun today I'm sure Sarah was like all right Brian that's enough but today you know we also focus in kind of on a a resolution we're delving deeper into recruiting strategies um we're looking at residency programs that I'm very proud of um that an Marie has been focused on we're building close relationships we have a wonderful partnership with the gor University we have a new partnership with the teacher Residency program um and we're very excited so I'm going to turn it over to Sarah uh who can walk us through a little bit of a change in recruitment style um and I'll give it to you the microphone has turned up let's see can you hear me perfect okay well hello let me reintroduce myself my name is Sarah I'm the recruiting specialist here in the district my goal here today is to talk just to show you um our recruitment efforts for 2024 and how they might have changed from when you are last aware of them so we are we are seeing an upward Trend in our open certified positions and we are seeing a projection of over a hundred of these open positions by 2026 so that calls in for a lot of recruitment in the span of just seven months we've welcomed 80 new teachers connecting or averaging over 35 new applicants weekly so this suggests a healthy interest in our opport OPP unities here within our district our focus is to like you have to say that again Sarah that was just such repeat that last part my pleasure so in just a span of seven months we have welcomed 80 new teachers averaging over 35 new applicants weekly so that is a healthy interest uh in our employment opportunities within the district here our Focus for recruitment is two-prong so I am focusing on our external recruitment Drive connecting with the community and our academic partners to bring in that fresh and diverse talent and then Anna Marie karia over here is bolstering our internal recruitment so she is working on nurturing our current team and student teachers through professional development opportunities which you'll hear a little bit later on in this presentation so together these efforts are really ensuring that we continue to be a district of choice for all Educators at all stages in their careers District of choice what a change all right so this slide our multifaceted approach to external recruitment we're tapping into our recruiting platforms like indeed zip recruiter LinkedIn and specialized sites to expand our talent pool and really bring exposure to the 308 name in addition we are bringing creativity into our engagement strategies with unique events like paroa and touchdown to employment aiming to attract our Rich variety of new candidates in addition we're also harnessing our power of social media using platforms like Instagram and Facebook in LinkedIn to boost our recruitment reach and really highlight our current staff so hopefully you are already giving us a follow and a couple likes and shares we are also active in our local and organizational events including University career fairs and asasa events to forge those direct connections with our potential new hires in fact Brian mentioned already that we had a successful trip to NIU this morning we met just about 19 candidates in under 3 hours wonderful people that we met hopefully we'll be bringing them in shortly and no in no time and lastly we are committed to our efficient communication and streamline onboarding processes this will enhance the overall hiring and onboarding experience for our new hires thank you can we hear me okay are you ready for this on your mark k um so um I am an Marie candelerio I'm the director of planning and development and I have had the privilege to get to know so many people in ASO including hearing staff Stories the reasoning on wanting to be an educator or leader and just getting to know a little bit about the foundation of us weo um and that has been really truly about community and loyalty and I think by building on this we're going to build an amazing Residency program so just to start you off with a little quote um today's challenges will not be solved with yesterday's thinking and so I would like to share Equity story with you with some data from our district and also some data that I was able to gain from the asasa conference we attended and I will read each one of them because I would like you to just sit with it and to see the implications of why a Residency program is so important so R population has doubled over the past five years as you heard today our bilingual Educators have left us they have decreased 6% since 2020 currently we have 17 vacant special education and four dual language position since 2020 we have doubled in open positions and lastly we have only 121 teachers of color compared to almost 8,500 students of color that okay okay um with through a Met Life study only 12% of teachers are sa satisfied with their jobs 26% decrease since 2012 through retention although it's been steady um the metli Sera data did indicate that school climate has significantly worsened one out of five staff have a mental health concern a school building encompasses all generations from Baby Boomers to gen Z and we need to creatively address issue related ongoing change to our work life balance and admin support to maintain employee satisfaction and to prevent turnover so how are we going to do this we're going to do this through the Next Generation Residency program so by two prong approach we are going to grow our own and we are going to support our own our first uh Residency program is our Bachelor's in special education starting in the fall of 2024 we will have teacher assistants or substitutes within Associates of Arts gain their bachelor's and special education we will have our special education teachers um by the end 18 special education teachers by the end of 2026 we also have our masters in elementary Ed with an e and lbs1 endorsement not that many districts are going through this aggressive approach but we know these are the needs of our district and so we are pursuing the best therefore starting this may in 2024 our teacher assistants and substitutes and career Changers with the Bachelors are going to work their way through The Residency program the first year they will be a co- teer of record um provide an intensive support by the second year of 2025 2026 we will have 20 teachers of record within our classrooms lastly we have our alternative principal program which is a new type of principal endorsement program this is a year-long program through aora University starting in May of 2024 we will have 20 um Educators holding a master's degree to um add on a principal endorsement to support our own we have a couple of really neaty um we started our first Academy this year with the support and help of our directors and tosas with the aspiring teachers Academy this is a supportive program to teach overall skills for our aspiring and current student teachers through workshops feedback sessions peer groups and um different guest speakers they will engage in this immersive learning experience so far our um exit tickets from our student teachers um have provided 100% positive feedback and they are glad that they have joined the aspiring teachers Academy next we have our aspiring leaders Academy this project and um group is develop and enhance our leadership skills we know our leaders are facing many challenges and a huge part of leadership as we all know is building our leadership identity so through workshops um feedback sessions also peer advisory groups and guest speakers we are going to put them through a year-long engaging immersive leadership experience and then lastly Reagan will be talking about our NextGen mentoring Collective this mentoring program is a four-year mentoring program that aims a dynamic Network to focused on empowering our next generation of sd308 Staff through mentorship and support we have built some really solid external Partnerships um I'll Focus once on Aurora University this is our core um education preparation partner they are supporting our masters in elementary Ed and also our alternative principal endorsement what's great about Aurora University is that it's Community centered we have the individuals that I've been working with at the um Dean and administrative level are parents of the community they have students in our schools and they understand the need for the community and for our staff also just beyond collaborative they are helping us align our coursework with our needs and they're also serving as a Layon between Partnerships and school districts and connecting us with other school districts that may need to partner because of the lack of involvement with other teachers so we're partnering with them as well additionally um we are working with the national Center for Teacher residency this Residency program will put us in a large Network network of well-known residency programs Nationwide we will get our name out there um people will know who asigo um nextg residency is so with the help and support of this consultive program they're helping us plan and guide our Residency program they're supporting us through um supporting our design team they are helping us design our mentoring and our Milestones with metrics and outcomes providing resource tools and strategies to build our Residency program and lastly to help us become a registered Apprentice this program so funding supports the Big million-dollar question literally just kidding um so with the Bachelor's in special education um really working with the teacher vacancy Grant has been amazing um we had the opportunity to speak to one of our Senators just a few weeks ago and it was just great to share the work because at the state level they don't actually know what the where the money is going and they were like we would love to speak to you and and share like what are you exactly doing with the funds we're like we got this are you going to give us more um so with that um we are hoping to have enough funds between between our teacher vacancy Grant or Ida Grant and title one2 funding so the district can cover 100% of the Bachelor's in special education for the Masters and Elementary Ed with the El and lbs1 endorsement with the same grants we're hoping that we can request 50% of the program covered costs and lastly because everyone's just knocking the door to be a leader in in the nation um the teacher vacancy Grant um will be covering 100% of the alternative principal program I think I think this would be a good opportunity here I'm not sure everybody the knows but this is um we're in this position because of the foresight and vision of drade um in securing this grant for a teacher Residency program at $400,000 so the fact that we're sitting here talking about this is because of that sort of so I and I just want to share something I want to share something too it looks good for us to be able to get funding from the state uh for next year in the governor's budget uh appropriation the governor is requesting $45 million for the teacher Residency program Grant so we hope to be able to tap into some of that money yes going to get $45 million no stay don't no but if you have a rich friend out there who's anybody and if he's single call me thank you thank you um in the regards to funding the supportive um programs the support our own the aspiring teachers and leaders Academy and mentoring um will all be supported under the teacher vacancy Grant um with the academy we are providing 30 professional development hours and a $500 stapen for our aspiring teachers for aspiring leaders we're providing over 30 professional development hours with a $1,000 step sipon and a certificate of completion and then currently which Reagan will about to speak to is our NextGen mentoring Collective we are working with the committee and um discussing different leveled stiens to align with the level of support that we will have for our mentoring future mentoring program so some some really huge huge huge huge huge Partners um I want to highlight the tosa team has been incredibly supportive with I call it um just getting on getting on the the FastTrack train to um residency and they have been leading the work with the aspiring teachers Academy with our student teachers um and if you are on social media you could see all of the amazing work that they have done to really build up our student teachers we had over 25 student teachers together districtwide for our spring um cohort and they have just first time ever having student teachers all in one room to have a collective support and Collective just conversation and and discussion with them so that was just wonderful um we have been working with oea we have um you know created a mentoring committee we're working to build this program like I mentioned for four years um and build inclusive layers of support all the way from building level to individualize support which includes specific specialized uh professional development on-site coaching and Affinity groups and lastly um DC leadership which has been a huge part with working through them to figure out what their needs have been and then also to see what their strategies are and to align that with what HR is doing and so we have been able to identify Solutions and Improvement strategies to ensure that we are covering our most um our most needs that we have noticed through through the data dive okay so my name is rean sangra and I am currently serving our district as the interim AP over at Southbury so um I just want to share a quick stat with you from the national Center of teacher residency it costs a district approximately $117,000 for every teacher that we turn over so when we think about the recruiting of our highquality Educators we want them here in sc308 to sense to have a sense of belonging and feel supported so that they stay and want to invest the time energy in our district and our kids so that's something I wanted to share before we can share out um our nextg mentoring Collective so in the past we have had um we're going to kind of go through like what we've seen in the past and what we've done and we know that we've had some some great mentoring um systems in the past but always moving forward and and being evolutionary with what we can do in the future so I do want to recognize too we have some of our OE OA members that are helping with some of this Collective Ming in the back um so I also wanted to say like so for the past we have really focused on our teachers our certified teachers now in the future we want to look at supporting everyone we want to look at supporting our support staff we want to look at supporting our related service members in that mentoring capacity so that is what we would look at for that growth right we want to be able to support everyone um then when it comes to our past we've been dependent on our our upper leadership and when I say that we've had a lot of change in our leadership with the change comes the change in ideas and what the the system looks like so we want to build the system more around areas of focus so when we build our structure we're looking at that emotional Focus people centered supports for a focus of identity like who are we who are we as sc308 teachers and Educators and um then we also want to look at our physical Focus so therefore like what do we need to set up a classroom classroom management um looking at individual building protocols what do our staff members need to do their daytoday um institutional Focus what are our specifics our systems of 308 what do we need to know about 308 and then an instructional Focus knowing that that needs to be differentiated we know that our kinetic Wellness teachers need something different than our gened teachers need something different than our social workers our DL our El teachers um then looking at the last point there the traditional in the past that we've looked at a uniform kind of one siiz fits all for professional development in onboarding when we move forward we want to think about how can we consider our incoming teachers experience levels we have teachers coming in with one year of experience right out of school with great best practices we have teachers that have been in the field for 10 years and they need a different level of professional development so keeping that in mind we want to look at Job embedded coaching opportunities to observe our skilled staff that we have in this District we have so many skilled Educators give them the opportunity to go see our our staff in action um and then really being intentional with our workshops and our professional development targeting it around those Focus areas and then what do we have upcoming because we can't do this all at once although I would love to so um we are working currently on a College and Career educational pathway to get our high school students to become Educators so we are currently working and been working closely with Dan artson um wanzi Community College um NIU to start designing an educational road map for our high school students um and connecting that to coursework so they don't have to feel um the tension between do I want to be an EC teacher or do I want to be an elementary teacher so we're working on streamlining that process but we know that there are specific um timelines that we need to follow so we're really looking at over a two-year road map to really design welld design that we also currently working with um Dr Waller um and then um Dr Paul to design a portrait of an sd308 um candidate and when I mean candidate I mean educator or leader and so really um digging into to what students say and what students want and so by doing that and highlighting um the student input we're going to build a comprehensive profile with highlighting the qualities and skills designed in these individuals um with also designed questions for when we interview our candidates in the future um so that we have a streamlined process across buildings we are also expanding our Partnerships we are focusing on the community and recent graduates and getting their feedback we're you know reaching out to wealth of organizations and meeting individuals to come into our community get to know us a little bit um and really buy into what we already see um and and welcome that and hopefully hopefully support us as well on this new journey and then lastly the grant opportunities um I you know part of my position really is to seek those funding opportunities to enhance educator training and development programs um as Dr concate is a really awesome Mentor so I'm learning a lot about um you know grants and you know individual details and that's going to go a long way because this we want this sustainable this model and we want to continue it with multiple cohorts and so I just wanted to say coming in March um we'll have a little more info on the sd308 educator and leader and then I know um Dr zi shared a moment of gratitude but I also want to share a moment of gratitude um and I've I've told my story multiple times to individuals but I I was there with burnout and as a leader and I've heard many stories of of of in asigo of single moms of individuals who came from different countries um who were engineers and came here and now we Tas and they want to be an educator and so understanding I've talked to teachers who don't know if they want to get into leadership because they've been through their ringer through the pandemic and so we all have been in it but just the Gratitude of of creating this program and to build Partnerships has been amazing and it's truly a rewarding um experience although Dr swpi says I have the fun job I really do um so thank you um and it's just been um a really great um experience so far so thank you um and thanks for for hearing us awesome thank [Applause] you so I have a statement sorry a statement and a question um first statement is really to Dr katti and the entire team these last two meetings and and and all of the presentations today just the way my brain works it connects the dots based on what's being asked the strategy and then what's being presented is it actually going to help us to get to the solution and I the plum line that I've seen the last two weeks has been extraordinary and so I just even today everything that been presented I just thank you all cabinet and everyone for all of the hard work that you all are putting in so thank you for that um so slide number nine it's just uh one quick question just in regards to the Masters in elementary Ed and El lbsi endorsement program it says they were covering 50% um I just wondering what that 50 other 50% is and uh and uh exactly I figured so then the other you know I'm just just but I would know the cost of that but then to to the other question is it's exciting to hear that we're now going to cover that we're getting to the point of recruiting and we're covering Staffing at 100% but have we really thought about the incremental cost that once we do reach that 100% um the projected cost to being at 100% and how given our budget how we're able to cover that we haven't been there in so long we have not been there in so long just so just to are we budgeted as if we're going to be lower staff or are we budgeted as if we're going to be 100% staff that's that's that's the question that's that's kind of [Laughter] have if we're budgeted for 100% then we're good yeah we've seen those numbers for next year Well it it's this is a twoyear cycle yeah and very minimum just I think that in general the trend is we want to improve service for our students right yes and my my point is is that if we if we're budgeted just for the 100% And growth continues to happen at the rate that we're seeing then immediately we're under budgeted so I'm just trying to make sure that we're covered we will take that into consideration as we just stumped it's a great question I also want to say like very you'll have that reallocation of the 177,000 that then the NCT says you lose you know every time you have to onboard a new teacher and I think in a couple years where we see you know some teachers retiring will have a different landscape of what those salaries could be so um to add to the Diplomatic answer I just want to say like this is really impressive um kudos to the whole team a lot of people in the room or some people in the room know that I work on residency programs during my day job and so I work with districts that are doing this and I had some questions and stuff but I just really really want to instead of going to my questions I just want to reflect along like just out loud with you for a little bit um when we were when a group of us were campaigning in this last election cycle not even like a well a little over a year ago I guess we were sitting on people's couches in the community and talking about how we need a local teacher pipeline um and then I know that you were brought on board cellario in you know after the school year started and just based on my experience to see all of this kind of already in place topnotch I've never seen know Nationwide with programs that I work with so much in place in such a quick time so thank you thank you for that tell that's in my box no to the whole team cuz I do know that it takes a whole team and those Partnerships and so um very well done um and I think this is going to have really great impact on our district teachers are the number one you know impact on our students yes they spend the most time with them and so this is a true investment in that and that is what I'm most proud of the other thing I'll say is that we talk about we have talked about like this could be something you know that could put sc308 on the map right um when one of your small bullet points under NCT for the national Center on teacher residencies they talk about apprenticeship programs um that is going to be a thing um Nationwide and I'm don't think that there is one currently and except maybe and CPS there might be something similar but um but that will give us more funds because you'll be able to access those Workforce dollars at the federal level and so that's a sustainability piece uh that I'm looking forward to hearing more about too um so and I'll just finish my reflections with saying what you said at the beginning about I don't know exactly what the quote was but using old tools to to do the work that challenges will not resolve the yesterday's thinking all right thank you that was much better than my toolbox I to that's true for this but I think that's true for a lot of things in education so I'm proud that we're rethinking things um and um I had I just want to say job well done I'll end with that so thank you um so you know one of the things that one of the things that we are proud of and that we say a lot is that we are the largest employer in Kendall County right but to whom much is given much is required and um we can't just say that and then not follow through with all the that that entails and the responsibility of that and so when you say things like put with this put us on the map or um we want to be that District where people want to be where they want to come and where they want to stay and so these types of efforts are going to make that possible for us and so thank you Brian for your leadership thank you all I mean I just put down like in my notes impressive like capable and talented individuals you all are and so I appreciate the work thank you yes thank you I think I think on on slide you you either said it or it's on slide 12 something there's more to you're going to get us the details is kind of okay and then we'll we'll probably see this in the HR manuals and all that as well I'm sure um what am I what am my questions that kind of you'll probably give me those details later but I'm interested in um the programs that generally require teachers to take time off um is that are these you know this work with aora University and stuff like that or is this going to be a little uh you know less intrusive on their lives um where they be able to work and so our specific residency programs um are going to be either one course a week for a few hours they're going to be located on campus so they don't have to go to Aurora University um we are also going to have some hybrid options so with that um and then also they were going to go go through two summer intensive programs so we will be providing them professional learning around co- teing this summer before they go into a co-teacher of record and then the following year we'll providing a teacher intensive and then they'll go into teacher of record by being being solely part of of that classroom leading that classroom another layer is is that because I have an educational background I could support the mentors and mentees in that coaching level so I will be um on the ground with once the mentee are you know the mentors and the residents are on the ground supporting them as well and then they also will be automatically put into the aspiring teachers Academy so they're going to have that Collective support of other residents and then individuals coming in to support them as well and so again we are wrapping them around and giving them that layers of support I had one mom say she's a single mom that's another one that keeps arising too when I speak to individuals about being a single parent and so she goes I don't know what to do with my my my child during the summer courses I was like oh girl don't worry I'm Gonna Get You Daycare we're fine so like that's just something to think about is that that is a barrier and if we want to be barrier Busters we have to figure out how to really get that Busters bar bar Busters need t-shirts sit down t-shirts t-shirt we need t-shirts Teresa love me some good sag yes your Busters and and so really that is truly what it means to to to wrap our our individual our Educators and our leaders and so that would be an extra extra layer of support on top of the cours workk so working closely with our um individuals on the universities on the coursework to make sure it aligns to actually what is happening in our buildings and not so much at a theoretical level but what do we see and so integrating that piece um and then lastly our student teachers that are coming in from other universities um if they come in and and work for us as teacher assistants they could student teach and get paid so that back in the day when I had to take out loans to survive to be a student teacher and you all know what I'm talking about um that doesn't have to be no more like we can actually support and we know we have the TA positions open so we can kick two birds with one stone um by getting Tas in there but also supporting and our student teachers can get paid um during that time so again not causing A disruption in their life um which is that work life balance so some nontraditional new stuff okay and sorry that I asked about some details but it just interests me so yeah it's a great question very Dominic's going to be providing that daycare over the summer thank you since he asked um I did want to go back to the other question about the 50% because I I know you asked that um so one thing that has been largely supportive is that so certain programs don't cover um funding doesn't like financial aid doesn't cover certain things so for the Mt that program with the endorsements our endorsements aren't covered by financial aid for our staffing so what I've been sharing with the staff that the 50% which is around 10,000 they could you know either pay out of pocket or take out financial aid the cool thing is and it is very cool if that we put them in a special education position and they want to go into a high Needs school in a high needs position they could apply for something like the teach Grant teach Grant you get it for two times 5,000 that's 10,000 pretty much will get their whole Masters for like $750 so um been working working with individuals on scholarships um we have quite a few individuals that are minorities so we have the Illinois minority teacher scholarship so working with them to do that so although I'm not a College advisor um it's been really helpful for all the times I had to fill out financial aid because now you know knowing it through and through but those were the barriers for individuals is is things like that finding scholarships financial aid um and so helping them to support that and taking the exams we're providing that layer you have to take the 305 exam in order to get into The Residency we're going to provide support and coaching and tutoring around that exam so again breaking down all those barriers that got into way to individuals in the first place where they didn't you know teaching wasn't their first career choice or was but they couldn't go into it thank you that was I want to thank you Amar again for your leadership with the team and Dr zwy as well thank you so much for your leadership oh I'm sorry no way me too no way if you thought I was excited about Ela go ahead right if I didn't have a migraine I'd be jumping up and down first and foremost who runs the world right there um what a powerful group of women right there and empowered women Empower women so get out there and keep doing it I'm so impressed I'm so proud We 80% of our budget is our people and we had barely hanging on in a human resources team and it took someone like Dr katti coming in to understand that we needed to put the right people in place to support our staff so thank you very much for doing that also I think you don't want to go to any more um conferences and be hear that you're from the uh stepping stone District I'll tell you that story one day I want to I want to say that we have gone from act an active HR recruiting um strategy or a passive to an active thank you very very much to sit here and think that people are just going to come to us that's just not how the world works anymore so thank you for that um the teacher residen I remember six years ago sitting in my office crying when I was asked to start putting one of these together in another District where were you I had no idea what it was doing um this is literally blows my mind the teacher residency program for me is one Avenue of the critical function of succession planning and that we don't often in education get a chance to succession plan but it's so critical to what we do um so thank you thank you um also onboarding people think that when someone joins an organization onboarding is like the first week it's actually 18 months statistics show that supporting someone for 18 months successfully keeps them in your organization um so that is this is just brilliant and then the last thing that I have to or two things I want to say one of the programs that I did successfully work on and I don't know if you've touched on this yet but with NIU I put a waiver program in place so our student teachers that we placed we would then get credits for the rest of our teachers to take classes at NIU is that something you're working on so funny you said that um we we are partnering with um NIU to look at the El endorsements for our individuals and one thing that we were looking at funding because a lot of um Rene's Grant could support that but we're actually using our waivers to ensure that the teachers can get that fully 100% amazing and it's for tuition only you have to buy your books yourself oh yes thank you for that I have to always remind myself of that and then one last thing that you mentioned in there and I just went to a a very powerful uh webinar the other day about work life balance um it's kind of a a facade there is no such thing as work life balance we're talking now about work life Harmony and um Faith actually she and I were having a discussion many years ago about what that looks like for someone and we have very different like she's like I'm going to work on the weekends and like head into my inbox and get everything cleared out and everything and I'm like I'm going to have the Sunday scaries and just wait for Monday morning and deal with all of we really have to get to that point where if we're really going to be an equity District everybody's going to have different ways and it's really that work life Harmony that we have to strive for and it's going to look different for all of us so I just wanted to share that with it was something powerful that came out of my conference the other day thank you from the bottom of my heart Dr leny yep thank you everybody wait I have one more thing anamarie can you share what you shared with principles regarding the ability to be a professor an Adjunct professor but wait there's more I promise I will stop um so yes so part of the discounted tuition through Aurora University is the district taking on some responsibility so the responsibilities we are taking on for recruitment is a four-prong approach we are recruiting for them we are um getting uh the location for them we are providing the instructor so I will be reaching out to administrators and teachers that are interested in becoming ad junk and they will be teaching the courses so we will have our internal individuals social we get a lot of social workers from Au so as social work part of this or is that like a next maybe that's that's when they that's when my boss told me slow your roll and you know a little bit little a little bit but trust me I already looked into that too you know you can you could be a clinical get a shortterm license for school social work so so I always ask the question we maybe just wrap with this I always ask the question okay how many people do we have committed so as of right now what what are the numbers how many how many aspiring ad uh leaders do we have committed 10 out of 20 10 out of 20 okay how many um staff members uh for the teacher residency so for the Masters we are 19 out of 20 and for The Bachelors um we are seven out of 18 come on Wow all right so we are well on our way we are very early in this stage um but we are Unapologetic about the work that we're going to do um we work with everybody um and we are really really proud of the uh opportunity that we have here to really transform um our district uh with the next generation of Staff members I have one quick question I'm sorry the I wrapped it so well I thought I'm sorry I should Let It Go but do they they uh talking about retention when we give them supports like this and we provide some funding they're required to stay in our district for a certain amount of time correct that is correct so for our uh bachelor's program it will be four-year commitment after uh The Residency for our masters it is a three-year commitment and then for our leaders is a three-year commitment thank you one thing I will say is that this is a fertile field the receptivity of this community and the Partnerships the receptivity of our Educators um you mentioned the tosa team this evening quite a few times our Educators our administrators this is why this is Magic is happening right so I think the energy you've brought um Dr zmy the the and the the commitment and the expertise to this role as a team as a whole but also I want to just thank that this is a collaborative effort and really reflects the values and when we do this together look at how far we're going to go so I'm just really thrilled um and I appreciate the hard work really tonight Jared do you have anything uh no no anytime uh anytime I'm not saying much that's a that's a good sign like did I just did we just leave him speechless all right okay thank you guys so much thank you so you guys can I make a motion to move um our student ambassador report up to 7.1 to 7.1 so that we can get Luke out of here second okay I caught I caught URS law of guard over there it's okay Miss lmth hi Dr Mario hi Mr I M hi Mr hi Miss John hi Mr you don't even know your own name motion passes 70 all right go ahead am student ambassador Luke well thanks guys I appreciate it all right um so since our last board meeting we were able to put on our much anticipated Ascend event on Friday February 16th uh students experienced different speakers including Mr Cameron Bell um Mrs Sima Shaw and our very own uh Mrs candelario and Mr Gatewood uh we want to thank all of you for your bravery in sharing your stories and experiences with the students it was a success and it wouldn't be possible without you we also wanted to thank the rest of the ssac uh Dr Waller and Dr Paul and the administration at both high schools for making this event possible we were able to receive some great feedback from teachers and students on how the stories impacted them as well as ways we can improve this event for the future um moving on our teacher survey has been very encouraging um the ssac is deep diving into the data that we received uh we have gotten a total of 307 teacher responses out of around 400 teachers that it was sent out to teachers and staff uh between the high schools which far surpass surpassed our goal of around 200 responses which was half uh we began sifting um sifting through the data and we will continue to go through the responses on Thursday it was encouraging to see that all of the responses that we received were well thought out uh the ssac thanks all the teachers and staff for taking time to fill out the survey that we put out uh we hope to use this data to better improve student teacher relationships in the future and uh we will keep you updated as we continue to look through that data um in addition we are very excited about our public forum next Monday March 4th from 700 p.m.

what welcome everyone to this regular board board of school trustees regular meeting held here in public on February 2024 uh thank you for all coming this evening we will get started next with item 1.02 the Pledge of Allegiance in a moment of silence led by Mr Smith please rise to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you may be seated item two on tonight's agenda is Patriots comments patrons registered comments on educational issues we have one this evening evening um Mr is Justin wisuki uh Mr wisuki if you please come to the podium sure and just because it's you uh we hold it to three minutes just okay and if you just would say your name for the record and your address and we're all good to go yep uh Justin wisneski uh address is 322 Ellendale Parkway um fairly new to the Crown Point area happy to be here but I do have a question for each and one of you so it's really a yes or no question right um my question for each of you is this it's um where's my question at here do you each and one of you believe that e learning is equal to classroom learning so I guess Matt I'll start with you okay so let me just help you with this process this is just public comment we don't answer questions and all that okay okay so we understand what your concern is virtual learning and I will either myself follow up with you if you want to stick around for meeting or you want to give me a call I'll give me a a call and I can get everybody's possible why it's there can I ask maybe your concern of why your question why that question I understand why it's there due to covid um we're past Co at this point when I grew up we had in service days and the service days were a day off and it was made up at a later date um this past year Well actually well the past month and a half we've been dealt with some snow days of which then those were dealt as e-learning days which I think were taken away from kids I don't believe it's the right path for our children here in Crown Point to be successful to be at home now I'm very blessed to be able to be at a position where I am at home where I work from home and I can be there to support my children but there's many people here in Crown Point that don't have that ability so I'm here to speak for them as well I believe that our children are are missing out on days um my daughter who also goes to the YMCA which I commend you guys for hiring people from the Y they've been fantastic from an education perspective when I went to there on an e-learning day because we called off school they did not when I went there what was there hundreds of kids running around the gym they weren't at home doing e-learning and so I'd like to push back on all of you to challenge yourselves to go are we delivering the best education in Crown Point for our students to become the most successful people and drive education for other kids to be successful I mean that's why I came here is because of the diverse atmosphere that is in Crown Point I didn't want to be around a bunch of listers or people making a million dollars a year I want to be an income diverse area where people of all levels can be successful and I've got a first grader I've got a kindergartner and I've got a two-year-old and I believe that just doing this the way we're doing it right now it's a snow day call it a snow day add an extra day on so my perspective is that is I know that virtual work force is being pushed to go back into buildings you can't tell me that the kids who who get a packet who do it for 30 minutes on a day is getting an education for that day it's a day off okay so with that being said I wanted to get your idea behind that we'll get you an answer yeah and I make sure if we don't have your phone number or something or email address fine we'll get that or if you want to leave and don't stick around for the whole meeting leave it with Diana and somebody will follow up with you that'd be great okay but that's just not the process for the that's fine like I've never been here before right but to be honest this is something that's been talking about on my street it's been talking about at birthday parties that you know there's a lot less unfortunate people work Blue Collar jobs that have to call in and they don't have the flexibility I do I I feel for them understand I can just let you know on the board here we have two individuals that still have students in our school corporation sure and two of us that did have them and two of us that actually have them employed as teachers sure so it's not like it's not something on our our list okay all right appreciate all right thank you sir thank you guys I'm gonna take off but I'll all right moving on to item three consent agenda Dr Terrell thank you for your consideration this evening we have 3.01 uh the special Board of Finance minutes and then the regular business meeting minutes 3.02 the disposition of stale data checks 3.03 the Personnel agenda and then 3.04 or voucher of registered checks as listed you've heard the recommend recommendation of the administration for approval of the consent agenda may I have a motion please second a motion by Miss Basin second by Mr Smith question or discussion um being part of the consent agenda uh normally not the way it was presented but I can uh if someone would make make a motion to move those separately and we can have an individual vote for them okay um a motion by Mr Vasser to move the consent agenda items into separate voting measures if I could have a second for that I'll second Mr Smith second it all those in favor please signify by saying I I those opposed motion carries 4 Z so in regards to the special session 3.01 Board of Finance minutes meetings on 12224 and the regular business meeting on 222 24 I have a motion to approve item 3.01 so mov motion by Mr Smith seconded by Mr Vasser all those in favor please signify by saying I I those opposed motion carries 40 item 3.02 the disposition of slate stale tated checks may have a a motion for item 3.02 so second motion by Mr Smith second by Miss Basin question or discussion all those in favor please signify by saying I I those opposed motion carries 40 item 3.03 Personnel agenda may I have a motion so move second motion by Miss Basin second by Mr Smith question or discussion yeah I'll this this is why I wanted to vote on this separately um I've said this so many times before but I'll say it again is it it doesn't make sense to me that we're approving I look through the entire list of these approvals or not approvals as as it could be um there's only five positions in all that long list that have already haven't started work so we're approving something that's already happened I just don't understand that um I'd like to to meet us respectfully on this Mr Angel I'd like to meet as a school board in a special session to discuss these issues okay we will move forward with that request and get a meeting set up whether it can be in a special session or between at least just two members so that we don't have a a a quorum I prefer that we all meet because then we don't have splintered conversations okay and I will see if that falls into one of the guidelines that we can fit that under to have a executive session thank you with that uh those in favor of motion 3.03 signify by saying I I those opposed abstain uh motion 3.03 carries three yeses and one abstain 3.04 voucher register checks 17122 1 to 1 71569 checks 104 363 to 10444 checks 9981 to 9994 and Jal entries 1504 to 1513 May motion to approve still mov a second I'm sorry motion uh motion by Mr Smith second by Mr Vasser questions or discussion all those in favor of 3.04 please say by I I those opposed motion carries 4 Z moving on on 4.01 action items approval to apply for and receive grants funds from the Crownpoint Community School foundation for AP exam scholarships Mr Harman yes Mr President members of the board uh annually I bring uh we bring this to you uh as a grant uh that we're asking you to approve to apply for and to receive to the Crownpoint Foundation this supports the our students and taking a test uh currently the state does fund uh for math and language art or math and science uh for free and reduced lunch and what we try to do is offer scholarships for those students uh that uh maybe it's a a a burden uh for their families to take that test uh in the past we've asked for $3,000 this year we are asking the foundation for $55,000 contribution uh to the these scholarships uh to uh absorb some of the costs for our students there is an application process and a review uh by our staff uh to be able to identify which students would be receiving that uh those scholarships so seeking your approval tonight uh to uh apply for and receive $5,000 from The cown Point Community Foundation for college board advanced placement exams for cown Point High School thank you Mr Hartman you've heard the recommendation of the administ administration for approval to apply for and receive funding in the amount of $5,000 from the Crownpoint Community Foundation to support student participation on advanced placement exams for Crownpoint High School may have a motion motion second motion by Mr Vasser second by Miss Basin question or discussion Jim just out of curiosity I just think you pull your mic closer Brian just oh good now Brian um do you know uh what the unofficial School High School record would be for the number of AP exams one student has taken it just the record yeah I mean what's the most one student has taken um not I'm just curious It's not well I know that they can they actually can start taking a AP class in the I think there's one offered in the freshman year um think you mark do you you were there how any how I don't have the official record but I'm sure we might be able to find some good numbers for you Mr B well I'm just just curious yeah I don't know that we have that number handy with us right cuz I know the participation has really has been really good it is yeah yeah we can get back to you on that okay just curious yep all right all those in favor please signify by saying I I those opposed motion carries 4 Z 4.02 2024 Crownpoint school corporation summer school programming Mr Harbin uh tonight I bring to you the summer school program uh for 2024 uh the program is uh similar to what we have done did last year and in previous years um we will be offering uh courses at the high school uh and these courses uh help students to open up opportunities in their regular schedule uh by taking some of the courses during the summer incoming freshmen we also order uh offer some credit recovery for those students that are working towards U recovering their credits there is a a core restart program that happens so any child in a core class with a d ORF has an opportunity to have a grade replacement uh if they can demonstrate that they've accomplished those uh competencies uh we also uh do have a uh language arts and math program from kindergarten through uh seventh grade and I'm I when I say this I'm referencing this year's grades because eighth graders do go to the high school uh to take their their summer courses uh and then for special education the extended school year programming so we're seeking your approval tonight to uh um have this uh summer program for thank you Mr Hardman you've heard the recommendation of the administration for approval of the 2024 crowno School Corporation summer school program as presented may have a motion so moved second motion by Mr Smith second by Miss bason question or discussion I can just have a question so I see our dates are like June all June basically um out of curiosity has any thought ever been given to to pushing that you know I I get the core the recovery piece being able to maybe get something and and being able to graduate or still move on to um postsecondary education but in terms of like what's lost for kids over summer the idea of doing it a couple weeks after school has ended vers more of like a boot camp getting back into it has any thought ever been given to that or or research done on that that thought has been given to it and research has I think the U the Gap whether you do the begin and you still have a gap of loss and you're either recover it or you're trying to add on at the beginning um so I absolutely I think every year that is something that's discussed I know that some of our buildings title one for instance they have some money that uh they do look at some Boot Camp or some programming that takes place in addition to this that takes place U but it has been researched it has been looked at to see what is best we've actually done it both we've had both of those at one time where we did a session in the beginning and the end of the year year and came back and we've done that and that really reduces the summer for a number of people yeah I I mean I was assuming that you guys had obviously thought through but curious as to Which Way obviously either way there ends up being a gap soap interesting yeah thank you yes and of course Jim if this goes through at the state with I read Remediation in the summertime and then giving those students one last opportunity to take the I read exam to pass you'd have to have this summer school earlier to and we currently do that yeah kids students that do not pass I read three are in summer school actually they start interventions as soon as we get the data back with them and to support them and then they do retest right so yeah having the dates later might not serve that purpose then yeah the date for the retest ends June 28th yeah everybody okay all right all those in favor of uh this item please motion by saying I I those opposed motion carries 4 Z thank you very much thank you 4.03 disposition of revised and obsolete curricular material Mr Gan fer me thank you Mr President including your board pack is a list of social studies textbooks and materials that are no longer being used in courses at Crownpoint High School due to adoption of new materials classes no longer being offered or online only being used crown school is seeking permission to dispose of these materials in a manner that meets the requirements of Indiana code and administrative guidelines uh the administration recommends disposal of Crownpoint High School social sted materials as presented in the most economical manner that best meets the requirements of Indiana code 5-22 d22 Indiana code 20- 26-5 D4 and administrative guidelines 7310 which may include giving the students giving the books to the students sales donations or deeming it worthless and disposing it as normal refuse thank you Mr J fery you've heard the recommendation of the administration for disposal of the Crown Point High School social studies curricular materials is presented in the most economical manner that meets best meets the requirements of Indiana code 5-22 d22 and code 20- 26-5 D4 and administrative guidelines 7310 which may include giving to students sale donation or deeming it worthless and disposing of it as normal refuges you have a motion so moved a second that motion by Mr Smith second by Mr Vasser question or discussion all those in favor please signify by saying I I I those opposed motion carries 4.04 resolution 843 literacy Grant supplemental payment Mr keiwa thank you Mr President and board members uh on December 15th of 2023 the Indiana Department of Education issued guidance related to the early literacy achievement Grant established through the house enrolled act 10001 d223 also known as the literacy Grant uh Grant funds in the amount of $3,498 22 were received by the Crownpoint Community School Corporation for distribution to teachers instructional coaches and other school staff responsible for implementing and delivering litery in Reading instruction of students through grade three the stip in uh in the amount of $196 and3 cents will be uh delivered to all eligible uh individuals and to kind of summarize that a little bit we're not sure whether or not this grant is going to continue uh forward and we'll just have to see what the state says it's the first time we received this uh we tried to pattern of the distribution similar to tag but really focusing on those in k to3 um and so we have a resolution that we would like to uh have approved this evening so that we can distribute the funds uh before our deadline at the end of March I believe if I'm not mistaken Mr ree that would be the March 20 pay correct thank you very much thank you Mr Kiwa you've heard the recommendation of the administration for the approval of resolution 843 the literacy Grant supplemental payment as presented I have a motion move second motion by Miss Basin second by Mr Smith question or discussion yes Mr K is this in addition to to teaching then during the day or that is correct it's a it's a stien like like tag teacher appreciation Grant it's it's a supplemental stien delivered to a specific group of individuals for a specific purpose okay wow wish it were more than that doly noticed yes any other questions all those in favor please signify by saying I I those opposed motion carries 4 Z 4.05 policy additions and revisions second reading and approval Mr Kiwa thank you very much Mr President and board members last month I presented several policies and as a reminder we are converting uh to isba policies and in January we brought to you policy 61 10 for Grant funds policy 62 or 6320 for purchasing policy 6325 for procurements federal grants and funds policy 1130 for conflict of interest policy 3113 for conflict of interest and policy 4113 for conflict of interest this evening we would like for the board to wave a second reading and a and approve these policies this evening thank you thank you Mr Kiwa you've heard the recommendation of the administration for recommends waving a second reading and approval of the policies revisions Replacements and addition including policy 1130 6320 6325 one second here because I missed one on top okay policy 11130 3113 and 4113 may have a motion to wave the second reading and approve these policies revisions Replacements and additions I'll make that motion motion by Mr Vasser second by Miss Basin question or discussion all those in favor please signify by saying I I I those opposed motion carries 4 Z thank you 4.06 student fees Mr ree thank you Mr President members of the board tonight we bring before you student fees which normally is taking place during the summer prior to the start of the school year but with the change in the textbook rental and not having any student fees this year um we've gotten to the point where we need to start charging for replacement cost for those lost and damage items in previous years it would just be the cost of what the item was on the regular fee list this year with no fee list we need to establish those cost so with it we're asking for all replacement costs to be at the price of uh what it cost us to to purchase those materials the only thing we're asking for is a change is in a used charger to be $10 and we'll be given that option to the student and parent um what they'd like to do if they want used or new uh those use Chargers have come in when St Chromebooks and uh Chargers get returned every year we have a a laundry list of used Chargers a long list of used Chargers that become available also with that the second item regarding student fees is in our preschool program since program Inception you have waved the tuition fee for any free and reduced students who qualify so with that we're asking for that again this year so two recommendations included in here one's establishing fees for the replacement cost the items lost or damaged $10 for a use charger and waving tuition for our preschool students who qualify for free introduced lunch thank you Mr ree you've heard the recommendation of the administration for approval of establishing fees for the replacement cost of items lost or damaged $10 per Ed charger and we waving tuition for our preschool students who qualify for free and reduced lunch may I have a motion so moved uh I'll second that motion by Mr Smith second by Mr Vasser question or discussion so Matt are you saying that we don't have a list of those fees now but are you anticipating a fee down the road a fee list down the road then or no at this point it's only for those items that are lost and damage we provide everything once to every student right uh so think of a charger it's easy you lose your charger you need one to charge your Chromebook come to the school we'll provide you a charger but we're going to charge you for that second one the first ones are free can they buy those outside on their own I would assume that they could okay no we try to keep those within because that way we make sure that they match the exact Chromebook that we have so you read my mind that's that's the reasoning for that okay and as far as the fees uh for Chromebook repair and I ask this maybe on a little bit of a personal note my children are definitely guilty I think we've got two so far this year um are we sticking with the same fees that we have charged in the past in terms of the repair for Chromebooks that's correct okay all those in favor please signify by saying I I I those opposed motion carries 4 Z 4.07 Crownpoint High School Jerry Ross Lake Street Timothy ball col Colonel wheeler and Winfield Furniture Awards Mr Reese thank you Mr President members of the board um with the furniture we've approved a previous meetings we now come to you with the next wave of furniture approvals uh so we're we're using the same process we've used before through sourcewell we can use their RFP and that provides a a competitive bid that we can use so with that we're recommending approval of the furniture for McArthur Eisenhower Crownpoint High School Jerry Ross Lake Street Timothy ball Colonel wheeler and Windfield from Ki Inc just Tak a few Mouse issues bear with me all right you've heard the recommendation of administration to approve the furniture WS for MacArthur Elementary at $ 765,7 56 Eisenhower for $1,858 C Point High School for $231,500 72168 Lake Street for $597,500 Colonel wheeler for 1,621 2658 and Winfield for $11 17,45 3 from K I Inc may I have a motion for approval for those Furniture Awards grants cost motion by Miss Bas second by Mr Smith question or discussion I was just GNA ask Dr Terrell um this is the same company that we used for Taft and when we had the issue with not all the furniture came in or they were missing pieces and they made sure to provide us with stuff in the inter room is that correct yes that is correct okay so their service has been just yeah it's been great good and then um in terms of of how that furniture is going at Taft has that been well received good awesome and we have it in a couple other elementary schools and they love it as well so thank you any other questions all those in favor please signify by saying I I those opposed motion carries 4 Zer item five tonight discussion report items these are non voting items policy additions and revisions first reading Mr Kiwa thank you very much Mr President and board members we bring to you this evening for a first reading the following policies and these first three are we're bringing to you because they are State mandated and we wanted to get those updated so that is isba policiy is what we will be uh having you read 5370 that's display of flag and pledge isba policy 5371 which is moment of silence and isba 4400 which is Locker searches we're also bringing to you this evening isba 4005 which is non-discrimination of disabled individuals isba 4006 which is 504 grievance procedures uh again we are just asking uh this for information only to uh conduct a first reading thank you thank you Mr Kiwa would I recommend board members any of those go over those policies and obviously it'll be brought up in next month for approval so if we have any concerns or questions after reviewing those questions next month then yes please okay thank you thank you Mr Kwa uh item six tonight 6.01 superintendent discussion groups uh anything from our Redevelopment commissions Mr Bas we'll start with you um we have one coming up next next week and um I think I I texted Dr Terrell on this that Cedar Lake reached out to us first time been come been there 13 times now and the first time that they've ever actually reached out they're making a prom to communicate with us better uh on developments down there so I took that as a really good sign they have a almost an entirely brand new board and took that as a really good sign they reached out to us so I'm thankful for that great thank you Mr vaser Mr Smith anything with Crown Point nothing from CR point that would impact the schools and likewise the same from Winfield uh 6.02 director of Elementary education Mr China I didn't give you much time so that's all right thank you Mr President and board members for my report tonight I'd like to provide an update on our middle of the Year nwaa assessment data for grades K through five our students take nwaa assessments at the beginning middle and end of each school year this is a standardized Benchmark assessment that thousands of schools use across the country it helps us understand what students are learning and how they are growing nwaa provides a lot of information for us ranging from District Trends to very specific student uh strengths and areas for growth tonight I'll just share some broad District level themes for the Elementry grades when looking at this data an important measure that we uh examine closely is student growth uh this is reported with a what's called a growth percentile and this number Compares a student's growth to the growth of similar students so it Compares a second graders growth to other second graders taking the test at the same time time across the country um so a student with a growth percentile of 55 that means that they are growing more than 55% of students in that grade level that's just a point of reference for you um when we look at student performance from the beginning of the year to the assessment that we just took in the middle of the year we can get a growth percentile from nwaa I'm excited to share that our district median growth percentile for grades K through five in reading for this school year um is up to 59 at this point in the year a year ago that same measure was 46 in 2023 um that is a really substantial increase from last year uh in fact every grade level is median growth percentile uh K through five is stronger than a year ago in reading and every building's median growth percentile is stronger than a year ago in Reading um there's a lot of things to attribute this this progress to um you know I think a lot of it is teacher collaboration our instructional coaching um our data analysis and action at the building level the teacher level and the student level um and really the the hard work of our teachers and having another year uh of experience with our new reading curriculum under their belts in math when we look at that growth percentile our district median also increased this year compared to last year uh this year the district median was a 77 uh and last year at this time it was a 67 so a really significant bump this year in math when we're considering growth um besides growth another measure we look at closely is the achievement percentiles of our students uh the achievement percentile what that means that shows how well a student perform compared to similar students okay so a student with an achievement percentile of 55 uh had a higher score than 55% of students in that grade level Nationwide um when looking at both math and and reading uh in the middle of the year compared to the middle of the year last year we saw increases uh in both subject areas compared to last year as well so both growth and achievement measures um in grades K through five are indicative of some really good progress for our elementary Learners uh when we compare that to previous years we're really proud of the collective e Collective effort of our families our teachers staff members and students in emphasizing growth uh and having a mindset for continuous Improvement um it's important to remember that behind all these numbers are our kids and while these are just snapshots of one or two tests on one or two days uh we are proud of that progress and look forward to continuing uh to work hard to ensure our students are growing and thriving as much as possible um on another note not nwaa related uh kindergarten enrollment is happening this week uh online it's underway right now but um on Thursday we are are having leap into kindergarten at all seven of our elementary schools and get ready for this this is the class of 2037 so uh we're excited to meet our future Bulldogs this week um and I'll just finish with this uh we're approaching a a stressful time of year for our teachers and our families and kids with I 3 coming next week and the week after um but uh our our you know schools have been working really hard and our our kids are ready to go and just wish everybody the best of luck with that that is a a stressful thing for everyone to go through any any questions thank you Nick thank you I just put math together and I'll be 70 that year so I can promise you I won't be in this seat I'm hoping I'm still on Earth so 6.03 director of secondary education Mrs Ramirez good afternoon or evening Mr President and board members like Nick I'd like to share some information regarding data from from our secondary schools and I'd like to paint the picture kind of going back to the fall when we started with our beginning of your data for nwea with 45% of our students in the middle schools experiencing redistricting we were interested to see how that was going to impact if any impact um to our beginning of year data and what was really um I think a credit to our to our staff to our families to our administrators is that there was a lot of transition planning on the front end to proactive prepare for students to redistrict whether that was Bulldog Rush open house meetings with teachers um really welcoming all students the development of relationships was a primary focus in making sure that our students trans transition smoothly and our data reflects that in that our data this year is comparable to our data last year at beginning of year as well as we see very similar data between the two schools in um reading or Ela we are either at the same achievement percentile at at the beginning of year or within 3% meaning Taft and Wheeler very comparable and then for math same achievement percentile or within 4% achievement in one grade level so we're really excited that our students transitioned well and that again is a really big um celebration to our families staff and administrators what we've been doing is taking a lot of qualitative action amongst these two groups of teachers um our secondary Middle School teachers we have implemented to District plc's where they meet five times a year via Zoom we discuss data we share different reports we're talking about instructional strategies and then that work continues throughout the school year we also then have implemented during our e-learning days extended periods of time for our plc's to meet they have Focus questions that they work through and again they're looking at data instructional practices and then what their needs are that we can continue to support another action that we have taken is goal setting conversations with our students we think beyond our teachers understanding the data that we want our students to understand the data and why we're taking a benchmark assessment so that they can see what their growth looks like and why we're targeting certain skills and how they're looking to improve um with their growth throughout the year we've also implemented and are really working towards more implementation of data focused conversations at the building level so that the plc's are very knowledgeable about what the needs of their students are and can align resources accordingly last um lastly in terms of the qualitative actions we have implemented in both middle schools this year mind play as the ELA intervention and dream box as the math intervention and then we have added in fastbridge which is a tool to help us with progress monitoring that just came on board in January and so we're excited to be able to look at this data once we have a full year under our belt to see how that is impacting our um achievement overall and the growth of our students that's kind of the picture painting us back towards beginning of year as we look at the middle of year and we compare it to last year again what we're seeing is consistent data year after year meaning last year to this year which is really again great that we're seeing that at not only beginning of year but middle of year we would anticipate similar iearn results based on what we're predicting at middle of year and what we're excited about with I learn is that we will be and you guys have heard that we are opting into the iearn checkpoints for next year which we think is going to give us more specific data to really Target the needs of students based on specific standards that we're going to be able to measure throughout the year so we're really excited about how we can not only um remediate but then also enrich our students based on real specific data where NWA can kind of give us some broad data at the secondary level we're also working on redefining the Integrity of the implementation of our math curriculum CPM at the middle schools and right now we are conducting an Ela resource review to determine if we would like to maintain our current curriculum with some um changes in terms of look fors based on what we're seeing from I learn as well as from our NWA data to make um those necessary changes to create kind of an explicit um comprehensive curriculum or if we would prefer to if we feel that it meets our needs go with a packaged curriculum that again is That explicit systematic and comp apprehensive so that is what we're working on right now at the middle school level um if we do select a curriculum that would be implemented in 2526 switching to the high school there's a whole lot here so I will just kind of highlight a couple pieces of information um we have also seen that our achievement based on NWA at the high school is consistent from last year to this year in both Ela and math we are seeing based on last year's data these are numbers that we can Continue to update each year so last year's graduation rate which really um I think is a true Testament to all of the great offerings we have for students was at 98.3% last year we had 1,030 students enrolled in AP courses and they took over, 1480 tests collectively again then what we will do this year is we'll look to see how we're comparing in AP however we also see shifts because we are very fortunate that we have Career Technical education CTE we offering approximately 2300 credits through CTE um over the past two years then we also have dual credit through the core transfer library and we have offered over the past two years an average of about 7,000 credits so it's really nice to see that the picture is not only advanced placement but we have dual credit CTE offerings as well and then um we continue really to diversify the cphs course catalog when you take a look at that our students of uh you know have really every opportunity avail available to them which is a true Testament to your um commitment to really broadening their opportunities while they're still here in high school and to our teachers and to our administrators for looking for those opportunities as Nick talked about kindergarten and uh leap into kindergarten we are very excited at the secondary level we just had freshman orientation last week so we are looking forward to welcoming our incoming Freshman Class um this upcoming year and so parents were able to learn a little bit about diploma requirements course offerings and then um meet with Department shairs last week so I thank the administrative team at all levels secondary and all of our teachers and staff for their commitment any questions thank you Mrs Ramirez questions no I would thank you Nick both for that both those reports had a lot of teeth in it so thank you for that and congratulations on where you're going uh Curious on the Middle School conferences with this with individual students based on or to talk about their test scores in we H how is that conducted is that one-on-one or is that a group yeah it's oneon-one there is an individual tracking document that the student and the teacher maintain so that they can see where they were at what goal they set for from beginning of year to middle of year then they'll set another goal from middle of year to end of year and then there is conversation that takes place to show how the work being done in class or if there is extra work that's taking place during academic assistance how that's driving towards supporting the student that's great thank you you're welcome thank you thank you 6.04 director of Grants and assessments Mr Hartman thank you um my desire my goal here is to kind of talk about the different subgroups that we have within our school corporation based on the data that Sabrina and Nick have shared um one of the things I I guess these are kind of like cautions think about subgroups um that we don't want to get into a position where we're categorizing students because I think as uh Sabrina and Nick both stated in there that every student really is unique every student has their their own needs uh so we don't want to get into that place where we're categorizing for instance when we talk about National percentiles or the percentile uh growth percentile and Nick used the term of students that are similar well that takes in their academic record but it doesn't take in their their unique need into that all it's looking at is scores that this child has had so if you have a special education student or if you have a student that's economically disadvantaged or you have a student that has another unique needs that we might quote categorized and they're put into that bucket because they have a similar score but they are unique and different I we caution all of us including myself that we're not taking that and saying well that's this student and therefore they get this yes because every student is unique and and different so when we think of subgroups uh I think broadly uh every student is are is a subgroup that we need to be able to to work with the other thing when you look at subgroups I think it's important that you think about St statistical significance with this um we have some subgroups that have a lot of students in them therefore you can make some maybe some broader assumptions and uh Target some different strategies but then we have other subgroups that are very small in number and then you're basing a decision on a very few students and that becomes a problem also where it's best to uh uniquely meet uh each students's needs one of the things that we do do with the uh middle of the year and beginning of the year and the end of year assessments we do get predictive scores uh for I learn uh and we also do get that for sat for uh students at grades nine and 10 uh one of the things areas that we look at with all of our subgroups is we want to look at that approaching area for our students uh that is the that is the area that's uh below the passing level or the proficient level and how can we get our students to be able to make that continue to grow make that jump to get to uh the the approach or the the proficiency uh level in um uh all of our cases as we look at the students and their unique needs and you start thinking about how you're going to do that it is one student at a time it is one group at a time that we need to be able to uh to help our children uh uh to make those to take those uh steps forward um you know I've looked at it we've looked at it from the standpoint of ethnicity and I can tell you that you know our largest group of course is Caucasian and then we have students that are Hispanic which is the next largest and then we have African-American uh followed by Asian and uh the multi-racial populations I will say that when we look at that disproportionality and how are our students doing in those subgroups I think what we would see is that looking at the two big groups our Caucasian and our Hispanic uh in both of those in in in those areas um we see some comparability of what's taking place students that are at the above and at and how they're performing as far as their growth which is really good to see uh we also are uh are able to see how are they doing as far as from the four categories of a predictive score and whether or not they are on target to to pass this year learned uh for instance if I look at the Caucasian uh group um from the percent of students that above to the students that are below proficient uh it's uh kind of a gradual Trend down that we see in other words uh those students that are predicted to U excuse me uh to be at uh or above is 80.9% of our students uh for at it's 75.2% approaching 70 point 73.3 and 6 so you can see the decrease in that and the Hispanic po population kind of goes the other way so we do have an area that we got to look at and see how we're going to be able to meet our our children's needs um for all the subgroups we see higher levels of growth for our students at the at and the above and that's something that is some that needs to be worked on and addressed but it doesn't happen necessarily with uh big program this is about meeting needs of students through the one-on-one conferences that we have uh bringing in a curriculum working with our mtss uh people which is our Support Services it might be social emotional that needs uh to be taken care of but every part of that is unique so there is a piece of this that shows that uh our students whatever the subgroup when they're at higher levels of proficiency their growth is also higher and then approaching you see lower levels of growth and when they're below you have lower levels even of growth in those cases um there's two areas in population when we look at our special education that has the greatest population uh and those two areas are our specific learning disability students and are other health impairments all of the other groups basically are there's not enough students to say this is this is the you know this is stat statistically sign ific so when we look at our specific learning disability and we are trying to identify the students and what their needs are same thing happens those students that are performing at higher levels on the uh NWA are also showing more growth those that are lower at levels are showing less growth and so as we focus on growth how do you continue to help each and every student grow to meet uh to meet their needs and move them towards proficiency and when I say move them towards proficiency some of these students because of their unique needs may not get to proficiency but our goal is to have every child every child to grow so any questions that any of you might have thank you Mr Harman questions thank you thank you for the details of that report Mr har you're welcome thank you 6.05 assistant superintendent Mr ganir me thank you Mr President I think it's an understatement to say that there are a lot of complain complexities in education currently um after you heard from that that team um their leadership in navigating this throughout the course of the Year those are the coners those are daily conversations what you just heard when they come they come to you with that so I just appreciate everyone that just reported out and Miss pascus who's not here tonight uh for their leadership in the curriculum instruction area how they deploy our our language arts and instructional specialist a math instructional specialist to get down and to help our teachers because ultimately you know Mr kacina mentioned that it's a stressful time we have I3 coming up we have sat coming up for our 11th graders it's a stressful time for our teachers because they really truly want our kids to do the best they can it's not because of some number that the state put out there but just the hard work they do with their kids and really start to you know you just want them to do really well but the leadership of that team our Specialists our Blended instructional design specialist and getting the curriculum in the right place that is all so essential and um I get the pleasure of working with that team every every day and I really appreciate them and I just want to take a moment because I don't ever get to say thank you to them but thank you to all them and all those others that I mentioned for what they do to to help our teachers When Miss bunch out in the audience really do their work because it's there's a lot to it obviously okay a couple other things um points of interest there are so many competitions going on our and our students are really killing it out there but I just picked up one over the weekend that I I heard our our speech and debate team finished fourth in District One sectional out of the seven or 12 entries they have seven moving on to state competition but Austin Shackleton I was told made a history by being first one in crowno history to win a sectional title in speech so congratulations to him so hopefully we can get that team out here and do some accommodations in the in the near future uh want to remind you that our spring play The Giver will be starting in the next uh March 8th weekend and March 16th this is a change it used to be the spring musical but we made that change we already had the musical in the fall um and remember that change was so that we wouldn't have so many conflicts with isma competitions for our our band choir and Orchestra folks and so they were able to do this so there is a play um I'm sure it'll be well done and if you can get out there and then the last Point um this Thursday since Miss pasus is not here today I know she would remind you I think this is our last exceptional education basketball team the CP ke Ballers game uh they're playing Thursday night it is Sam biki night um a former student that we recognize annually and I also believe the football team might be out there supporting so I think we're going to have a pack gym and it'll be a lot of fun so if you get a chance to come out there it's it's a great night thank Thursday they usually start at Thursday night six o'clock thank you Mr J fery Chief human resource officer Mr Kiwa thank you Mr President board members um I have three U details to share with you and and thank some folks the first one's Brooke Allen um I'd like to thank Brooke because recently she's uh begun uh regular meetings with our school secretaries uh to help create consistency in messaging and teaming um and these meetings have been fantastic to get this group together has created a a sense of unity that I'm not sure we've ever had here with this group because they are out there working very hard in these environments so to bring them together Brooke outstanding job thank you um um and then just in that vein thanking our secretaries for for all the work they do out there um handling all that activity in the office and finally an individual you probably won't hear about but she's uh retired but fills in for us for subing in very unique of circumstances when we need her in that secretarial position and that's Cheryl Emory I don't know if that name rings the bell to anybody but there are times in need were short in the secretarial positions and I could call on Cheryl and she hops into an elementary uh front office position a middle school for an office position she's uh over helping out with the athletic director's uh uh secretary's position right now so I just want to pass along a special thanks to Cheryl for uh still supporting us in a Crown Point Community School Corporation so thanks Brooks thanks secretaries thank you sherff thank you m thank you Mr K 6 point 07 Chief Financial Officer Mr ree I have nothing this evening I'm giving Brook a chance on unwind from her chair because I don't think she was expecting that news I'm not going to make you run 6.08 director of communications Mrs Allen see how I can even slow it down if I have to doesn't happen often you might want to give her a heads up next time just like some hand signals or something okay hi good evening um I want to thank a couple of Community Partners who we visited recently Carstar um and owner Cory Liss as well as Community stroke and rehab center and their Education team there we visited both of these spots in the last few weeks to film a super things video which was a lot of fun but for me the best part was hearing their teams share information about our students um both places said they love the internship program and we have more than 2 86 students in internships in our community this year um both places commended Jenny zega at the high school and the amazing work that she does um putting this program together and uh a community they said we were a little nervous taking on high school students you know you hear a lot about phones and social media and are they responsible enough and they said not only are students responsible enough but it actually gives them a lot of Hope for the future watching our students work with their patients daily so thank you to them thank you Brooke 6.09 superintendent of schools Dr Terrell thank you to Echo what Brooke said there actually the quote was our students have reins stilled their faith in the Youth of our country so our community especially so um it has been a really a great opportunity to be out there tonight I'd like to thank the all the adults Markman and all the different activities that we've got going on we have got so many adults who sponsor trips with our kids many of those are overnight trips um the amount of energy and work it takes to do that and keep your sanity while you're with a bunch of kids um who are great kids but still it's just it's non-stop 247 the whole time you're gone um I just think it's easy to look at all the great things we do for kids but I think we really need to remember those who behind the scenes are putting those together whether that's traveling across our country or out of the country um just thank you to all of those also um our Community Partners as Brook mentioned with um almost 300 students in internships the Community Partners that have stepped up and the opportunities that we have as we look at making these videos um is just staggering at the numbers that we have involved so thank you again to our community as they continue to support us and what we do here I think it's just one of those things that makes Crown Point schools just something special and sets us apart from a lot of the other communities thank you thank you Dr Terrell uh item seven other business of the board School trustees 7.01 anybody have anything that they obiously I'll figure out something Mr vor's request from earlier in the meeting so we'll get that worked out um I do know that obviously sometime in the future board retreat I know dates will come out uh with from the administration sometime in March to get that date hashed out anybody else anybody else add no just legislatively um Dr ter and I were talking before it it's things are moving quickly to get thrown off the desk not added to the desk um so the big one well depends how you look at it but the big one remaining of course is the I and Remediation we don't know where that's going to land but it has to land by the 14th of March because that's their last possible day to serve down there this session so there's nothing really to report I think it' be better to wait till after it's over and then get everything on the table then appreciate that Mr fessor I think the the only thing I would add I guess it's more of a request of the administration is with all the changes in testing and I you know math and English through the years it to be frank it's it's kind of confusing uh from a board perspective let alone Administration so if we could be provided maybe a summary or or even how the school corporation is going to look at past testing past results as we've always done in light of the new testing and and how how are we cross comparing that data and information now would be helpful for the board as we go into our Retreat if we could get some type of summary that would be great I think that there inlies the challenge because as the new I learn test comes on it's going to be so such a different test to how you compare that to the old one is going to be a real challenge um I think a bigger piece of it is that we're really looking towards fortunately we had NWA for the last couple of years now to continue to look at student growth and how we're measuring growth as opposed to what the actual measurement tool is how are we looking at that growth as we get through it so I don't know Mark do you have anything you want to add with that or no I think we were planning on covering a lot of that the board retreat just the kind of we so thank you gentlemen um item eight board statements of appreciation and recognition uh Mr vast anything this evening Miss basy um so I I believe and I don't want to speak for Mr China on the elementary side but I believe that almost all the schools if not all the elementary schools have the elementary um Honor Society now the national Elementary Honor Society and I think over the last four weeks or so almost all of them have done their inductions I think they're all completed I was able to see a number of them um thanks to Miss Allen or whoever's been sharing those on Facebook but I know um we attended the one at Timothy ball and that was wonderful the teachers did a great job preparing the students and preparing the evening for everybody um but what I loved most of all and I know they did it at Eisenhower when my children were there and went through it but they do they have the kids make a video thanking everybody who kind of helped to get them there and watching that video of all of the kids taking a minute to reflect on what they're grateful for and they're all grateful for their parents and some even said siblings which is a big kudos to those siblings I wish I had some of those um going on but they were all so grateful to their teachers and such a good reminder especially as we head into testing season and things amp up and people get stressed out just remembering our teachers are so phenomenal and they've already made the best impact that they can on our kids obviously we want to see that reflected in test scores as well but um it was a really good reminder of that and how much uh they're impacting our kids and and how appreciative I am to be able to have my kids here and and to serve on this board thank you Miss bason uh Mr Smith yes thank you there's uh quite a bit going going on so try to cover some of the gaps but first and uh foremost I think our Crownpoint Varsity dance team won the National Championship two years in a row back to back so that's a big deal and that needs to be honored um I just want to commend Todd and Brooke just for the super things watching those videos and how they come out and and th those are fantastic those are just wonderful and you know I remember going back a couple years we were talking about exactly that how do we get what's going on in our community our school corporation out to the community so well done um you know I follow those and they're they're just they're awesome for the students in in our community to see what's going on um Mr BJ's not here but I believe his niece might have set a record for Point scored for the high school and I don't know if we covered that last month or not but we did we didn't but I had that down as well I want to say 750 something but we'll get that number and make sure it's in the minut congratulations but the highest one season total by an individual so Comm yes yeah that's fantastic and then um lastly one more sorry Miss bason said the gymnastics one sectionals so that's good we'll pie this together um and then the Science Olympiad team they place first at the UN Regional will'll be heading state competition at Purdue Northwest in March and then probably the one that sits near and dear to me is that the middle school program I believe they had a mock trial uh event which went well and you know um anytime students have a way to and learn how to be advocates for their for their stance and their positions I think it's a wonderful thing so I believe that happened at Wheeler so congratulate all the students all the individuals who participated and supported that event over at the middle school so hopefully you can clean up the rest Mr Angel oh good thank you Smith and I believe that was Mr bnd's class that put that on with help from uh adults that served as jurors so again thank you for all that helped that out oh I was wrong 711 points is the uh season records points scoring for Ava and then 1341 career points which is fifth all time um I mean 540 career rebounds was his fourth all time so just outstanding and obviously part of the State title team from a few years back so congratulations to her um my appreciation goes out to our food staff and Michelle crawl so those of you that don't know when we host a regional or sectional event for wrestling basketball there's a hospitality suite and I usually try to make at least one of those rounds of wrestling and I was there for the sectional and I've been to other schools for these same type of events and congratulations and kudos to Michelle and her staff because I can tell you it doesn't come close at these other uh schools and I'm telling you all of our DAC schools I'm I'm not not knocking them but I am saying that ours is top of the Notch and usually appreciated by every coach wrestling official and all that that when they have their break between going to the title matches things like that that I mean it's a spread that you'd be impressed of if it was a family gathering that any of you attended so congratulations and kudos to Michelle and her staff for providing that on even more of those occasions not just regionals and sectionals but when Hospitality or anything that food is required at an event she's there and making that from internal and our uh resources for that so thank you to her and her staff and that is all I have so with that I will look for a motion to adjourn so moved motion by Mr Smith second by Miss Basin all those in favor please signify by saying I I those opposed motion carries 4 Z thank you that

okay can we call the meeting to order with pledge please pledge the United States of America to the good evening and welcome to the regular February meeting of the Green Castle School Board think it's are nice enough native we wouldn't have this big of a crowd but um first item on the agenda is adjust ments to the agenda distri g yep so I don't have any adjustments this month okay next item public comments regarding agenda items tonight are there any comments regarding agenda items yes justed to GCT yes can yep yeah that was on the the previous one yeah thank yep um next item recognitions Mr g yep so uh with uh the bad weather last month we doubled up on students of the month this month so we'll go building uh by building if you don't mind doing January and then February uh Mr MCH we'll change it up on you I'd like to introduce you to Evan comes Evan's a first grader in Holly Hills classroom and nominated for student of the month and voted on by our entire staff at dear Meadow so he was a student for of the month for December and uh some of the reasons behind the voting here Evan comes is a IAL student that is fantastic leader in our class Evan always sets a great example for his classmates by being kind helpful and respectful he also does an amazing job of following directions which helps our class run smoothly Evan is an eager learner who loves to explore new things and ask questions he inspires us all to be the best we can be Evan comes is our December student of the [Applause] month and I would like to introduce you to our January student of the month Zeke Downey Zeke is the first grader Mrs herstein class and he received the most votes from our staff for student of the month Zeke is a kind hardworking respectful student he works well with others is a good friend to everyone and has compassion toward others Zeke models our star behavior and is very deserving of this denomination Zeke is a good leader Zeke [Applause] [Music] down we have our backdrop set up in the other room for pictures good evening I have Miss Maddie Stewart here with me she's a first grader from Mrs wied's classroom and she's our January student of the month so I'll read a few words that Mrs White it wrote about her Maddie is a great example of what the student of the month should be she is kind hardworking and does her best each school day she is responsible with her belongings and work and she's respectful of her peers and teachers I appreciate that Maddie comes to school each day with a positive attitude and a smile on her face her sweet nature and caring ways make her a friend to everyone I'm grateful to have Maddie in my class she's a great helper a good example for others and overall Pleasant to be around she makes our classroom a better place to be way to go Maddie we are so proud of you and then our other student of the month unfortunately went home sick today so we will celebrate him next month all right their own cheering Squad so I'm going to introduce Mrs fight the teacher of our nominee for January you ready all right here we go all right this is Molly Carrington and Molly sets a great example in our classroom by being a strong leader when working with a partner or within a group she is self-motivated and competitive but she goes beyond bettering herself when she helps her peers when they are struggling especially in math Molly is also willing to put in the extra time and effort when she doesn't understand something but one of my favorite things about Molly is her sensing humor she has the gift to be able to make others around her smile and laugh which we can all [Applause] benefit unfortunately our of the mon be okay we have mabery with us today our entire sixth grade team voted for her as our student of the month for the January I think that was our snow one that we canceled but her teachers have remarked how kind sweet and hardworking she is how diligent she is in all of her assignments and how they are are very proud of what a role model she is for our entire sixth grade they're excited excited to see her flourish as she continues her education at GMS she is an outstanding student and um they are happy to see her every time she comes to class so [Applause] congratulations our February one is at swim so we are going to honor her tomorrow morning our parents are going to come in and so I'll take one to go for the road so the high school I just want you know we all we have both that's kind of the first time we've been able to do that so our first student is Trenton brigh our character Ed trait was Trust trustworthiness so he communicates well not just with class classmates but his teachers on his work um he values hard work and dedication in everything Trenton is a well-rounded student with a Caring Heart and a trustworthy attitude and also you just got into National Honor Society at area 30 did you know that today okay did you know that congratulations right our second one is deia Tyler how's it going deia good okay also trustworthiness Dasia is always looking for looking out for individuals around her she checks on her friends and gives Green Castle High School staff a heads up when something is not okay she makes sure that the front area is tidy and back in order when her friends leave things in the mornings I don't know if you guys know how how a big deal that is but we have all that movable furniture and I think we get about 20 rolling chairs out there right and she's in charge not she's put herself in charge of helping remind everybody to put those back um Mr Gibney would not like that if they were left out she's helping she is helping I mean every morning um she's always polite and smiling getting to classes on time and organizing her friends deia Tha congratulations okay next item on the agenda is the approval of the consent agenda excuse me which consist of the meeting minutes the annual Board of Finance meeting of January 22nd 2024 regular board minutes from January 2nd 2024 the allowance of claims the financial report and Personnel reports Parts one and two Mrs R yes hello everyone hello how are you first in your um packet you're going to see the payrolls for January we had two regular payrolls well the first one was dated January 5th total payroll at 418 4242 and with that came the payroll taxes and retirement um the total for that January 5th payroll was 121 351 did anyone have any questions about that payroll no okay we'll move on to the second one dated January 19th total payroll 467 58674 payroll taxes and retirement 133 5561 17 any questions on that payroll all right we'll move on to some prepays for January um we predominantly make most of our debt service payments in January so you'll see that our prepays were exceptionally higher for the month of January total prepays uh dated January 20124 1, 3,375 did anyone have any questions about those no okay we'll move on to the claims date of today February 26th there's nothing unusual on this um this list here if you have any questions about anything I'm happy to answer them no I don't think okay I didn't see okay total then for the uh claims for February 26 2024 uh 52438 and we'll move on to the fund report if you want to take a look at the education fund this is the balance in each fund at the end of January 2024 education fund 3 m7111 1834 operations 1,35 9962 total in all funds if you want to go to the last page which is number six of seven total for all funds is 9 Milli 33,785 next in your package you're going to see the depository statement that's going to be our bank to fund you'll see that we are balanced to the penny on that that's a good thing that's where we want to be and then next in your packet you're going to have the fund transfer report we did have one transfer from Bank two to bank 10 and then we had the um education uh to Ops transfer as we normally do and then we had the um school lunch transfer total for all transfers for the month of January 2024 73,74 and then lastly in your package you're going to see some Bond expenditures for Bond 2021 did anyone have any questions about any of the expenditures on there for 2021 okay our total for all expenditures in bond 2021 as of the end of January 2024 is 31 million 104 39211 and then we did uh not have any expenditures in January for Bond 2022 any any questions um I'd like to submit for approval no question we're getting close we that's right okay nope no questions here I'll make a motion that we accept the cons agenda a second okay we have a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda are there any any questions comments okay hear none all in favor all oppos opposed motion passes next on the agenda is reports first coming from the Green Castle teach Association thank you for giving me just a moment to talk just be brief um actually I come with a lot of thanks for our board and for our superintendent assistant superintendent um for three particular reasons uh the first is just following through with our safety training safety protocol dealing with all the different buildings in our district making sure that we're keeping our students and staff safe we're always thankful for that for sure uh the second would be for some of the grant money and funding that's been acquired for our Literacy for our students and for our teachers uh that is going to go long way towards the education for our students our you greatly appreciates the work that's put into that especially considering that the teacher training component uh the third item actually has to do with the tutoring funding that's been acquired I know this is something that's been voiced by teachers and by parents in our community and being able to find that funding to fit that need for our students that's something that's greatly appreciated I know even on my own end personal end that I've been given time to students trying to tutor through the beginning of the year then now that there is you know funding attached that it does provide extra opportunities for other people who that that's a great incentive for and hopefully that pays off for our students as well so again thank you very much for the work put into other than that no other news so hope things continue thank you next the assistant superer reports this is I just have two things I want to share that we have have filled the middle school and high school Jag specialist positions um so we have Carson Brown who is going to be joining our Middle School Jag and we have Rachel Crosby for high school they're actually going to start Carson starts this week and Rachel will start I believe next week um they'll be doing some things in the building with the principals kind of setting the schedule for next year starting to um working with the students and identifying those students and contacting Ames um but then also doing some Jag training on that end so our program is up and running we're excited great and then the second thing is uh we have posted a shared middle school high school ad position so we'll be bringing ad back to uh gcsc we're excited about that um the plan is to grow the program in the Middle School um get that um feeder program there and then that way in the next two to three years we'll have a strong and stable foundation for the high high school and um also getting our uh gcsc chapter of FFA so lots of great things on the horizon thank you thank you next item is the superintendent report Mr G yeah so um during our my report this this month um have our team our team of Administrators and so we've been working for over a year now um on our mission vision uh core beliefs and we've worked through some uh goals and priorities and now is time for us to share them we wish to share them with the board tonight's a first reading ultimately we hope to adopt um next month and this is all part of our 2024 2027 um strategic plan so essentially we uh spent a lot of time on doing this work and developing this plan um to guide our work for the next three years and know that some of these things have obviously already kind of been a work in progress and have begun While others you know will start soon thereafter so um have each of our uh chairs um to talk about their specific um goals if that's okay unless there's something else you need to I didn't mention first nope so let's if we could jump right into our goals we should be able to present present them y yep so you so we could adise do that yeah right do you want to go over that again or we just we can so we adopt so we adopted our core beliefs our vision or Mission um previously and those are listed on the screen if you don't mind advancing the slide for and then um these are our priorities um listed and it's all centered around student and achievement because everything essentially that's the our core Focus next slide so now we have some we've developed some very specific goals and action items um that are measurable to address those specific priorities Mr Rogers okay so as you can see I'm not going to read everything up there but this one is about participation in activities Not Just Sports all of them um and I I can think just in the the first thing that we're going to do is information gathering in just the short time I've been here I can think of all the things we've added just to the high school Alone um different like like for example um Deca um um that we do FCCLA and so um we're trying to add the uh e-gaming and I know the middle school has added several Sports so one of the things that we need to do is we just need to figure out that's the first thing what activities do we currently have and the other thing is K through 12 obviously I know my building the other principles know theirs but we all don't know each others and so that's going to be the very first thing thing right there is to make sure that we can gather all that information um evaluate the cost that's really important um what do these things literally cost how much are we paying um I think we have good ideas but again getting that all in one one place um and then we want to complete that audit by May so I think that we can do that I think uh like final forms for example and sports will really help us get a lot of that information out in regards to participation and what we have but um each building should be able to do that help us out and complete that audit the next thing is this is maybe my favorite part is the communication piece and one of the reasons why we're doing that is so we can push this out not only to our community but beyond here's what we offer um so share the findings not only with our stakeholders that second one you can see and I I know I have a vision and I guarantee you there are promotional people that have better better things than what I Can Dream of but what kind of ways can we push that out what kind of advertisements what kind of physical things can we get to basically tell here's what we're doing also her rumor we spent millions of dollars on some some stuff at the high school that that U might be able to help us out there so promote that in the summer of 2024 and I think that that is super important the last piece um and this is really where um I know that we spent a a lot of time in our subcommittees or whatever those were called future planning um Sports example they they evolve some really get large numbers some start to trickle down I never thought I would have been talking about e-gaming five years ago in high school just wouldn't have thought that um so what things do we not even know are out there and how can we afford to do that so evaluate what our needs are stay up to date with what the community is wanting what the community is needing and try to make sure that we can provide that as things evolve so that's what we have basically fact finding send out the information promote it and then make sure that we can adapt moving forward is that my time that's it good thanks CH thank you so we can tag team we we can tag team so um Mrs hin and I worked on our goal to providing appropriate Wellness supports for our students um so one of the first things that we did was uh kind of an evaluation of what do we have right now so for um cumins we have mental health support in each building right now so we're really excited about that have a specialist what they call so that's degree um that work with kids on um frustration and emotional overload and those kinds of things within the classroom um and depending on where their needs are with one or two times a week possibly they also have a therapist it's usually a master's level person who does pull out and talk about things that are going on in their lives so this helps and reaches so many of our kids who parents work parents can't get them to comments to intake can't get them in there therapy so we found some money a couple years ago and luckily Becky um did the county Foundation Grant soing very very important and then I've been working with our counselors to look at our PBIS strategy so this is about positive behavior supports um and we have aligned our character traits that we're going to focus on each month K12 so that's something like you heard Mr Rogers talk about about the students who earned the student of the month was for trustworthiness so now K12 um next year when we do our student of the month each school is going to focus on the same character trait and so that's how we're going to work through that um and promote that within the buildings um and then also looking next year at um our K8 um looking at some different classroom management strategies and additional positive behavior supports in there and then we've also focusing on um our staff trainings I know um Mr Nance mentioned that but making sure that our teachers are equipped with the knowledge and the skills to be able to uh work with all of our students and so continuing our CPI training um this year we've had three staff participate in three different trainings about improving instructional strategies with working with multiple language students and then we've had 10 staff members work in 10 different trainings on positive behavior systems so um getting that opport opportunity out for our teachers will help support our students within the classrooms and we have roughly 16 staff members that training in the CPI so it's a crisis intervention it's 9% of it is escalation 5 10% is if we have to and then we have we have sta train and we'll continue to audit the offerings that we have based on the needs of our students thanks Mr Gib your goal three oh yeah so mine's really exciting um so so the financial aspects are obviously uh really important and so um what we tried to do with uh goals related to finance is we adopt our Mission Vision core beliefs so how do we make sure our finances or fin financial decisions align with that um so uh First Step um Ure fund balances 20 25% of annual expenditures for the operations fund and education fund so while we do want to spend um down resources and support all of our programs we also want to make sure that we do uh leave some money as reserves um because we know that flu or uh our our funding can fluctuate from time to time and so that'll help us help to get us through um any lean years um we want to continue to build Financial transparency U building trust to regular communication about fund usage so again um looking at the different funds and how we spend down those dollars so for instance each month you know Mrs RoR shares our financial report uh publicly um publicly during the board meeting um I have some very specific um benchmarks to where um I'm going to share more frequently every riew of our finances um with our cabinet level positions to our directors um and our principles because we just need more awareness um around our and because that will help to build understanding um of where things really are um collaborate with key administrates to refining long-term capital projects plan aligning infrastructure with educational needs so again planning for some of those deferred maintenance type options that we're working to obviously take care of right now um and also planning for um various educational needs so whether it's looking at student devices whether it's looking at um a textbook adoption or curriculum um all of those different things um so I will have uh schedule regular meetings um with our our building principles so I'm aware of their specific needs in their buildings um I'm going to start doing a building walk um with them so that way again we have just good communication and and good understanding um not just by by one person but more or less um by the team itself and then uh as is customary kind of this time New Year and something that you know it's not necessarily the most Pleasant to to talk about if if it enrollment is declining if enrollment is growing and you're getting to hire more staff that's that's always a positive but just making sure that we're reviewing our staffing levels and assignment so looking at our student uh to teacher ratio making sure they stay at at an acceptable level but making sure they don't dip down to you know 14 or 15 students per teacher because then we need to look at redu potentially reducing um a number of sections um and just because you know you may make an adjustment in one area you might be able to add back in another so for instance um what we've been able to do with Jag um is since Jag's funded from a Department of Workforce Development we had a position previously at the middle school um uh in our our alternative Ed or back on track program and said we're repurposing that as that split middle school high school Jag position so our resources are our resources and so just making sure that we have a good solid plan um on how to allocate those so that's what we will kind of be working on in the financial realm Mrs Clemens and Mrs eldrid we have the hardest by way they laugh because we did strugle through this and it's like the Sol just being honest with you so one of the things we want to highlight highlight are um amazing Educators that we have within all of our buildings and so one of the things we would like to do is next school year um recognize a teacher of the year from our corporation which then um proceeds on to the Indiana we recommend to Indiana State teacher of the year and we think that would be a really great way to highlight all of our Educators um the how and how we do that between each of the buildings is what we're going to be working through for next year um one of our points to do great along with that one of the things that our staff members told us that they really liked about the schedules that we had in place was that built and coporation piece so we are going to continue to monitor those Master schedules for that purpose and make sure that as much time as built in as possible so that teachers can work with their peers and kind of align those efforts to meet the standards and that will also be part of our year PD plan that we have in place with C other things um and then our plc's we don't want those to be a bad word anymore three letters together we want it to be useful for our teachers and for our administrators as well so we are going to work with k Rose Brock to align all of our efforts together so one of the first phases is to do an administrator understanding of plc's align our goals our vision and then we're able to take that to building leaders as well they are then trained in the summer I think we have July 27th already set out for that and it's a whole day of training where they get to collaborate and work together and then that goes into our buildings where we're all aligned all have the same vision and are in step with each other so we're excited about that thanks and last but certainly not least Mr McHugh and Mr Roberts goal number five is similar to goal number two you've already heard about goal number five when we talked about goal number two first one the district flag character the trait list aligns with our second step social mercial work program for example at primary schools our teachers teach our lessons and our counsel's going to reinforce those lessons weekly um but our districtwide character trades list um student of month nominations will allow to focus on particular things s what the high school already does right now if you've been in the middle school before you might have seen some different traits that are up there but this would be Corporation wide the 10 that are up there are the ones put in order that we would do and then hope you be able to have those widely supported by our team as well so in addition to that um working at um all of our buildings to um try to get some consistency with our PBIS plans um you know as students transition from primary to intermediate intermediate to Middle School it's important to have that consistency having some common language um to where as students grow and develop they able to grow and develop in their understanding of um those character traits as well as their as our PBIS plans um um and hopefully with that consistency it will help with those transitions that we have thank you guys so you know so obviously one of the the big takeaways in putting together a plan is if you don't have that Vision or Mission you don't have that plan like you have you could have a lot of people working incredibly hard doing incredibly great things but they're all different and so during uh when they were speaking uh tonight you heard a lot about consistency a lot about alignment and so really more or less that's what this plan is we want to align our efforts be more consistent K to 12 districtwide because we think that that will help Propel us um that much more forward and provide a more common experience too um to our students you know no matter whether you're at Deer Meadow or rid path um or you know even kind of moving on up the ranks once you get to TZ the middle school and the high school so um so we wanted to share that with you tonight um for first reading great great thank you next item on the agenda is old business and we have no old business so moving on to new business the first item is an approval request for supplemental payment resolution for early literacy achievement Grant yeah so this is something that kind of just landed on our uh landed on our doorstep um doe um issued a dispersement to uh the schools um in December without really much guidance on how to distribute it um so we worked we've worked through that the best we can and obviously how to distribute it um is pretty much tied tied to law and so um we have before you a board resolution for the board uh to adopt provide supp supplemental payments to K to3 uh certified staff members um who essentially assist um with literacy and this is based on staff members from 22 uh 2223 so last school year um so you can see roughly the Sion amount um total cost is $266 I make a motion we approve this resolution second okay have a motion and second any questions or discussion okay hearing n all in favor all all opposed motion passes next item on the agenda is an approval request for ever wise rate agreement with gcsc yeah so as you're aware we've worked with a couple of different uh financial institutions um and I think it was about a year ago um at this time we approached some various uh vendors about potentially an opportunity to earn some additional interest um take advantage of the competitive interest rates um when we saw our 2023 year end report we saw a significant increase in the amount of interest that we earned that we deposited back into our education fund I think we're earning right around 4% um at uh TCU which is now ever wise uh Credit Unit and so I approached approached them again and they're offering uh 5.06% and uh to me to lock in that rate um for for the next year and so to me this is kind of an no-brainer we have H money sitting in the accounts Let's uh let's put it to work and earn some higher interest while we can Mak sense to me big difference between now and five years years go interest rates yeah significant okay got get a motion approve so move have a motion and a second any questions discussion hearing none all in favor right all opposed motion passes next item is an approval request for a Green Castle High School girls tennis overnight trip to Floyd Central High School April 56 2024 so all the paperwork has been submitted uh in your packet ahead of time obviously they're they're meeting all those guidelines so be my recommendation to the board approve this opportunity thanks for the timeliness of it and I move to approve secondry you have a motion in a second any questions or discussion car none all in favor I all opposed motion pass next item is an approval request for MOS bid for for the Moss bid for Network switches at all locations within gcsc yep so as is customary um I think it's period about every five years um our buckets refilled for eate and so these are governmental uh funds that we receive from federal level and um essentially they help assist with projects in various categories um our reimbursement rate is 70% and so essentially when you see on this a proposal total you see a proposal total cost of just over $272,000 um that's discounted a rate of 70% so we pay 30% of that total cost uh so the our total cost would be 8189472600 uh Mr Hill to update and refresh um our Network switches of those locations which is important so he uh he did solicit quotes and bids um so that is the the lowest total and that is our recommendation we'd like to move forward and get this work accomplished the summer okay sounds great I make a motion to we except I'll second have a motion and a second any questions or discussion thank you Court yes thank you hearing not all in favor I all opposed motion passes next item is an approval request for the Metronet bid to replace the F fiber lease that connects all locations within gcsc small okay so on a similar topic so this would be our network activity or so essentially our internet access um Cory's looked at that did that out and it's the same same principle 70% 30% um it's a 10year lease and the recommendation um is to switch over to Metronet Metron Net's a local provider that in our area um we've had some challenges with our current provider Windstream and so moving forward to that 10year lease um pre discount ,650 a month um after our eate discount $495 a month and that is a lower cost also than our existant considerably less yeah considerably this locks Us in for 10 years yes 10 years will be considerably lessen okay I get a motion to approve so move second okay I have a motion and a second all in favor I all oppos motion passes next item on the agenda is an approve an approval request for Surplus kitchen equipment yeah scr it's a big pack so um I think we might may have at one time actually Surplus Mis catching equipment but I wanted to go ahead and make sure um before we did advertise um because we do have some interest in some of this equipment is excuse me in your packet is a list of items a list of their estimated new cost propos uh price to sell it at quantity and then potential return um working with ch chart Wells on this um these are things that are no longer of use to us primarily with our kitchen renovation um we've already shipped it around items from that cafeteria to other cafeterias so a lot of this stuff is just sitting in storage right now in our Maintenance building and we'd like to move forwards with selling it we are aware of some other schools that might be interested in purchasing some of it and those funds would be helpful to deposit back into our school SCH lunch F so be right my recommendation for de cleare these items as Surplus and allow us to move forward sell be a good idea to me yep I'm glad we're reselling that so that's good I make a motion that we approve the Surplus kitchen equipment being okay have a motion in a second any questions discussion all in favor I all opposed motion passes next item on the agenda is an approval request for two donations one from the butam County Community Foundation to Tonic is intermediate in the amount of $2500 second Mary Alison Children's Home Trust to De metal Primary in the amount of $600 I'll second okay anybody have any questions thank you very much comments thank you thanks for both donations so all in favor all opposed all motion passes um next item on the agenda is an approval request for the second reading of several Neola policies Mr GB yep so these uh policies were in your board packet last month and again this month last month was first reading of them and tonight is a second reading um and adoption and most of the most changes are resolve and changes of the last legislative session and so these things will these updates will bring us current I have no questions is Mr gney gonna read each one of these to I think so no he's no fair enough um any questions or comments about them the policies no no okay can I get a motion to approve so move I will second you have a motion to Second all in favor I all opposed motion passes next item is other business um do anyone to have any other business uh I I have a more of a question of and you may have already thought about it but if not I'm just asking you to think about it a little bit with your administrators maybe what are we going to do with our school grounds on the eclipse day and I'm not expec an answer I just sure we need to think about it because there's gonna be a lot of people parking in parking lots doing that type of thing we need to know how to handle that yeah we there have been a lot of different conversations my superintendent study Council and I know the county had I don't know the exact term of it but Emergency Management um essentially uh committee more or less and Mrs good pastor participates and uh participates on that um really kind of at this point we're we're treating it like any other day that schools not in session um as far as our our grounds um C certainly um you know some of our employee groups won't be here that day because it is a day out of school but those that will will just be on kind of high alert and just kind of uh looking looking after things um so it's something that we we have talked about and we we are thinking about y okay I have a question for you I know it's warm weather's around the corner soccer so track season CL we talked in the fall about some getting some handrails for the yeah existing home bleachers at the football stadium got any update on anything like that yeah so in order to modify anything you have to bring it up to the modern building code and so um you might think that say we add a simple handrail of bleachers it's not quite that simple we actually have to widen the aisles um but and originally we did get a did get a quote and it was going to cost $50,000 uh to do it um um but our owner rep we work with them they have a another company and found found a someone is able to do it for roughly half that cost um so they're actually going to cut the seats the bleachers to widen the aisles to I think it's 44 to 48 inches wide they have to be required like 40 um yeah but they'll have to modify essentially both sides and then they'll be able to um install some hand so we've actually already given them to go ahead to go ahead and do that work so now it's just waiting on the materials uh to get here we we've asked them if they we'd like to have it done by April um but we also understand that it may take time to manufacture um some of the supplies so yep that's already in process well good thank you I think it's money well spent there's been a lot of near misses on people getting hurt there so money well spent thanks for everyone involed than anyone else other business we took a nice tour it's looking great over there yeah um and I I think you're thinking about it um maybe an open house or in in the VAP r or something like that would be nice for the public to be able to come in and see yeah it's exciting the fence has come down and I know that we had a middle school swim meet tonight and you know when you see fence comes down you think entrances ought to be open and while we're getting really close we still have some areas that aren aren't ready but they will be here in the you know over the coming weeks um but yeah we we want things to be a little more final and complete um and even after we're complete some things to uh you know some corrections and things to to address but we'll plan for an open house this spring when we show off our facilities okay sounds good anyone else okay last item on the agenda is adjournment I get a motion I make a motion we adjourn second okay all in favor all opposed motion passes we're thank you um see you next month be careful going home

[Music] welcome to week 12 of the ihen competitive season today the bluff and cyber Tigers will be facing off against players from 21 other school totaling 36 players there are Indiana in the game of tetrio in a Swiss style bracket players will attempt to win best of three matches with a total of five rounds this is the uh third to last week of tetrio with the week of March 4th and April 8th uh resulting in double points for our team yeah the playoffs are going to be double points pretty exciting they're coming up this is the can either hurt or help us hopefully hurt hope mhm yet it's time to get things wrapped up it's crunch time now this is the last week of the regular season playoff start next week things are going to get serious pretty soon uh what two people that we are mainly looking out for are stalo which we've most people have come to um a consecutive agreement that he will most likely get first place and uh another strong Contender is Opie or opai uh we don't know how to pronounce that I think it's op maybe it would make sense like op like the like the term wow gasp no way I have heard some things about a player called toxic tan too I haven't seen much from him but I'm looking forward to it someone that did someone that did uh really well last week not last week the week before last week was zanu they did very well uh let's see if we can find them grip right therey yeah all right oh we got game playay going all right we've got EMT the Lego Master going up against rock and roll let's see how rock and roll Stacks up in the ranking and it does win the first round mhm yeah rock and roll is number four in the ranking this just underneath uh Jordan and Sam which is very good meaning that EMT can showing that he can perform well against one of these top contenders yeah this is impressive he's going he took the first round off of uh rock and roll meanwhile we also got Jordan the boss taking on Jaden 445 let's see the other match ups we got Sam going up against e Alvarado next could an enj match getting an all clear big all clear all clears are quite self-explanatory in this game it's just you clear all the spaces on the board and you get an all clear and it's big damage to the opponent I don't know entirely what I'm talking about when I say this but I do think there's a setup to try to get an all clear called a Neo it's called PCO PCO yep it stands for a perfect clear opener ah nice yeah there we go we got Jordan already won his first match there we go Jordan with the victory to victory over Jaden 445 Let's see we still got we still got EMT going up against rock and roll here still one to nothing in a bad position right now let's see let's see how he combats this pressure he is going to take the loss there one and one even match up here meanwhile we've got got uh we got Sam 1 and0 against Alvarado looking to make it one and two Alvarado fighting back let's see can minion finish him off yep he gets the victory there very nice all right now it's a first to three wins are the format of these games so one more round oh there's the all clear really good all clear yeah Sam's trying to finish him off just fast as he can but that all clear can be a double-edged sword depending on how well he can get rid of his um opening blocks into the trash blocks for a quad yeah see Sam getting the pressure going getting some good combos in just trying to get those smaller matches getting some damage piled on oh there we go here's a good combo that's a good combo from Sam looking to bring the garbage on the opposing side up oh he can get a quad choosing to not do he's setting up so he could try to get two quads oh you're just going to pop one right there getting a te- spin here we go good combos there o elvado also hitting some really nice combos on Sam right two doubles and a single there from Sam setting up the t- spin you just got to get that t block here it is we getting a t- spin double which is like getting a quad yep t- spin doubles are worth just as much as quads so very valuable mhm here you go small double single combo another little combo two singles yep as he would put in OverWatch just getting the chippies in getting another t- spin double let's see can he put him away they're slowly building him up a triple that might be able to do it and it does that square block kind of messed up elvado yep there it is Sam the minion with a good to yep still a one in-one match it seems to be a very even matchup MH very don't get discouraged let's see emit his screen is red the outline showing danger oops oh ah getting finish off by rock and roll one to two yeah for EMT he's looking to make the that comeback he's got to win the two following rounds yep to get the win in this matchup and it setting up for probably a double quad yeah probably some big quads and here's two line blocks here going to get them both a quad and a triple nothing here really could have done to get the double quad all right just getting some more space on the board more space to work with to build up to more of those quads getting a nice double looking to open up and chip away at the garbage those who don't know those gray blocks that get sent once your opponent make a match are garbage mhm Owen not Owen emit Hing a really nice combo oh oh rock and roll was quite the maneuver there couldn't even keep up with that looking to put the pressure on EMT ooh Miss placing his eye ooh I might have been wrong never up there go he's fighting back from that M drop fighting back very well showing great heart H nothing think I got a done because a square block square blocks do tend to be very bad unfortunate good fight from both parties there yep so how do you guys how do you do we are back over here with the face camera goofy wires going on here's a quick shout out to some of our sponsors thank you Adams Wills internet Telecom TV your local service provider with gigs speeed Internet TV and telephone services for businesses and residential customers in Adams well and Wells Community another sponsor real quick the Wells County Foundation very special thanks to them for the special grant that allowed us to purchase the computer that this stream is currently running on without their sponsorship we wouldn't be able to provide the quality programming that we are now providing to you huge shout out to the Wells County Foundation M let's see there any more matches going on uh now our players are just practicing for now well do you have a favorite nonprofit that give use an awesome fundraising idea uh auction it is an online and inperson auction platform that can help your nonprofit host a great Charity Auction find out more at auction.io that's auction.io go to the bracket for a while I'm going to go to the bracket soon show where everyone is at yep well it's getting set up up right here in town if you're looking for a tasty treat sweet obsessions bake shop has got you covered located on East Main Street across from Flagstar Bank can hear us might have been mute there we go the program's up all right W it yeah is it mute good talk Jord just got a new 40 line PB and for those at home who don't know what 40 lines is it is you try to get try to clear 40 lines as fast as possible and he just got it to 50 seconds yeah look at this 40 lines in 50 seconds my best time as like a casual player is like what was it a minute 13 yours is like 2 minutes something yeah I was like I was like I guess a starting casual player my best is uh 207 yeah this is impressive stuff I've been playing Tetris for a while not like stuff like Tetris 99 I've been playing for a bit a couple years ago yeah so i' so I've got like some pretty average experience with Tetris and I can't even dream of getting a time this fast and I just like overheard Jordan talking he even had a misplace meaning without that just like right there yeah right without without a misplace he probably would have got a sub 50 yeah he m still got a PB yeah which I guess just shows like how like detrimental like a like a misplace can be like one misplace can be the opp can be the end of a match yeah we saw we saw stuff like that with emt's match up against rock and roll W silliness back to theet all right yep just going back to the bracket more matches did Owen get a match yeah like what what was going on with Owen why didn't he get a match oh am I like in your way whenever I do this no you're not don't worry all right we got emt's next matchup who he facing Kyle the rep let's see where Kyle places em losing the first match is 0o to one interesting I apologies if I'm missing something very easy but I cannot seem to find Kyle the rep's placement so let's see let's just see how this matchup goes mhm so I can see Kyle the rep already has o emit countering the quad zip current standings in this matchup uh 0o to one oh missling the TPS we were just talking about The lethality of them oh we've also got uh Jordan going up against zanu oh who we were talking about earlier yep zanu 11th place currently and Sam is also going up against its faults is that his name a losing again I am all right let's see currently 0 and2 is in it against Kyle the ref looking to make a big comeback a nice quad ooh mhm that's a misplacement for Kyle the rep right there but he's looking to fight back and it setting up made a mistake we got this oh I can see that Jordan's match up just ended the winner of that match being zanu and um we have Sam currently going two to nothing against its faults Sam looking to put him away oh if he had a t block that would have been an all clear but he's just going to set up the t- spin right there m see setting up perhaps for a double quad there it is and a t- spin oh the the absolute like the speed it's just you blink and you miss it for these people yeah great combo I don't know how they do it so fast the blocks are randomly generated how do they do it I think there's actually a pattern to how like the blocks are yeah to make it like possible memorizing all that stuff is crazy cuz there's like like tons of just um like different openers that you can have getting a quad then a double then a single two singles both players just comboing this is a good match o Sam getting this place but that's okay that's this could be a blessing in thegu for a setup y fighting back from that mop just getting some simple little matches sets up the t- spin and gets the quad a Double T spin with a quad putting fults in a tough position that he's looking to fight out of oh oh where is he oh oh Sam just fiddling around with the with one of those L blocks trying to get it into the right place and it ended up going in a very awkward spot oh it's F in some trouble just trying to get try hang on yeah and we got Sam just trying to get some simple little matches trying to just put him away oh a couple garbage block there we go we got Sam with a victory there meanwhile EMT still facing off against Kyle the ref this m this round has been going on for three minutes which it doesn't sound that long but for Tetra that is like in that's like insane yeah but it is gonna end there Kyle the rep with a good match up good win unfortunate for EMT he will come back stronger though try um how do you do this forever put it on stream Jordan got a sub 50 time on 40 lines let's see this my goodness my very first sub 50 let's I remember when he screamed the loudest I've ever heard anyone ever scrim when he got like one minute the first time yeah when you got one minute I remember you popped a well under a minute actually same thing whatever wow same just look at these combos that he's doing look at him go top four the absolute speed of this demon oh my God look at this individual look at him go that's amazing his blocks move faster than mine he's cheating hacker man we need to check his computer he actually did so good on this 40 lines time I saw that confetti popped up off of his screen oh my God it's 10 lines and like not even a second right here boom look at that sub 50 his very first sub 50 might I add inan amazing achievement from Jordan incredible he can die piece now I think it showed a stat he dropped like two blocks per second yeah what yeah he dropped like over two blocks a second question I don't know how that's a thing that be done 53 really 53.5 wait he's faster than Caleb yeah I hope we're muted we probably muted are we why is it always the third round like from the third to Fourth that takes so long Owen versus emit this um teammate versus teammate let's see yeah very interesting they seem to have run into each other in the middle of bracket teammates which is very interesting mhm yeah we're going to see how our team Stacks up to our team have certain members of our team cheering for certain members that's got to be kind of demoralizing yeah who am I to plant seeds around let's go Owen em should I should I root for you or Owen EMT um oh I just noticed we've also got Sam going up against Opie we were talking about her earlier on in the Stream it seems Opie actually won yeah Opie got one round on Sam let's watch this for a second this will be quick oh my oh what is happening all clear oh Opie canel it canel the all clear cancel an all CLE I think that's a double te- spin another oneid this is uncomment yeah I I don't what what he places the oh wait a minute wait what happened what happened I'm so confused I don't know but the whole the whole entire room is popping off at that round Victory there wait who are you playing again Opie Opie wow here we go that's another all all clear beginning and Opie once again canceling it out my my goodness oh what I think I think those are quads right maybe I don't know how to commentate uncomment uncomment look at them go all clear that's like third a triple te spin what combo I looked away for two seconds and now Sam's Dead come on come on Sam don't finish the line oh man okay what what was that what happened I got congratulations to Opie on the congratulations Opie for whatever that was for whatever witchcraft was just committed I think I should get the police that was incredible I'm so confused that was something match of the night metaphor night it's not night yeah it's it's 5:34 for us in the present moment oh emt's going to get om's going to get two rounds up on Owen there we cool down a bit we cool down a bit from that retire this is this is now commentable as Jaden would say it's commentable once more yes is there which is very in German for those who don't know W zowi yeah y y yeah emit seems to be setting up for a double quad sign M oh I just noticed we got a Jordan currently two and0 two rounds up on Grim Reaper he's what number five let's see where Grim Reaper is I might just go ahead and beat you Grim Reaper is currently disrespect coming from emit that's disrespect disrespect never give up Owen go Owen go Owen oh oh there it is EMT going to score a victory there same thing with Jordan getting the victory over Grim Reaper and I believe that and I believe that wraps up round three Sam Sam you're the wait no I was going to say Sam's the only one that lost but then I forgot Owen lost as much cuz he was playing against I want to see Opie versus stalo I I want to see that pull up actually please do I I want to see thato how do you do that cuz that's going to be an that's going to be an insane match up owie ouch Wawa I assume we're muted yeah that's I don't know what's going on pump covers that that's what the shirt is it's just a pump cover this what I look like with a ponytail oh get the ponytail check check it check the man bun oh the man bun you don't want to S with a man bun Trust okay tell people what's going to happen right now scho are we are we mut we're going to be watching Opie versus stalo the potential uh two giants clashing for are we watching that cuz we got uh we got Sam going up against toxic Teran here okay so we're going to watch Sam verus toxic yeah it's looking like we're watching Sam versus toxic tan toxic tan is going to get that round one every time I say toxic tan it's going to be a tongue twister it's going to Bex trying to commentate fast and go tox turn you can s didn't have the right blocks to get that all clear opening very unfortunate he's got a Sam I've noticed from the matches I watched from he's he has a very different play style from me most people yeah just for most people I'm I just set up like a big tower with one row and then just drop a line block down he seems to be way more focused on that's what searates like the like I guess casuals from I guess like the more competitive players yeah I guess no one how to do all that they go for more like technical type of moves yeah te- spin Towers random stuff like that yeah I gotta believe oh finished already tox get round two on Sam there Sam looking for the comeback here oh okay one of our players Jordan has just infiltrated the lobby between stalo and Opie spectating they are probably very confused oh they seem to be chill with it oh good Jordan tell them that you're just going to spectate oh here we go all right yeah one of our yeah Jordan just infiltrated the lobby between stalo and Opie we need to see this oh no that's St already sitting up four blocks there's got to be extra pressure added knowing that there's an entire live stream of people just watching you because they getting very high oh you can see St there setting up the t- spin getting a tpin double then a I think a t-pin single what okay it's it's over already you you blink in the rounds over I was watching stalo and then in the corner of my eye I see that op's entire board is just gone that's all that matters oh Bo a moral win here they go doing something that's an all clear all clear and stalo fighting it off quick quad sending up a te- spin po a t spin double Opie also with a t- spin number one in the league fighting for their life Opie also with a t- spin again oh but St in a tough situation look to get some quick matches it's over miss that Opie is just too good she too good this is not good's the number one player currently in the league so this current yeah yeah not for long we got a new number one oh my go maybe the match isn't over the to Triple just te spins everywhere that's all the commentary that this match is te- spin te- spins they said a lot of lines lots of all the lines lots of te- spins look at all of them look at all the lines how do people just get good this good at it I don't know but look at all the te- spins if your eyes can even process it because it's a good another I'm trying to focus on both screens just to find out how to even commentate on this getting a te- spin double oh oh garbage sense op good combo oh almost put down that piece but then change it into a t-pin single the people hear Jordan through like proximity from our mics don't know yeah we have no clue this m this could be just UT chaos trying to commentate this match sto trying to fight back with the t- spin here he comes getting a quad single double quad he's coming back he found the pocket and he's fighting back but Opie is all the way at the bottom of the screen it's going to take a lot for stalo to come back now yeah oh and a bubble too what's that it's basically a little air pocket wow three and0 Opie with the victory BHS is Obsession Opie going to pick up the win there very impressive wait is Sam better than stalo confirmed wowe zo anyway we got uh wow okay I'm not going to comment em versus elvado did he face did he face um Alvarado before or did he or was it Sam I forget who Alvarado faced off against I think it was either Jordan or Sam might be another it might just be a rematch yeah all I know is that we've seen Alvarado once I think it might have been Jordan but that doesn't matter right now cuz he's going up against EMT going to make some matches here players fairly balanc fairly matched oh big quad there looking to get some matches Alvarado fighting back trying to chip away at the garbage o m is placing his Square that's okay it's fixable it's fixable very here we go the match seems to be going just perfectly in emt's Pace right now yeah EMT making up for his mistakes just like a good player should mhm oh he missed the little tower that he was trying to build up there alvado in a tough in a tough spot the outline is red there outline is red that means it's time for EMT to put him to bed o not really what a good line oh there we go just like Jordan I think Jaden should just quit Esports and become a rapper yes I'll be perfect in the rap game yes great idea dude instead of Jay-Z you could be JB for blue jay yay oh I just noticed um we got Jordan going up against rock and [Music] roll alv looking to get the sweep on E Alvarado mean Jordan down one game to rock and roll we saw rock and roll earlier today I believe he was playing m and he got Victory emit did manage to beat um rock and roll one time Jordan looking to show him the speed and efficiency there's the t-spin double you've seen a lot of these if you stuck around Jordan looking to set up probably some quads MH to try to finish the match up going to deny the quad there and just fix the little mistake that he made getting some good combos there sending a quad in a single both players doing pretty well getting a t-pin double rock and roll looking to handle the pressure that Jordan has applied to him Jordan just throwing some last minute combos to try to get that last line that he needs making a score now one to one let's see how well he can form with the score being evened out mhm see how it goes here two great players going at it good combo there from Jordan sending two layers of garbage to the opponent oh rock and roll misplacing here we go Jordan setting up for some big quads saying it right or perhaps just a little bit of a combo right there's the big it's a finish there we go okay gets rock and roll down for a second round all right so Jordan's going to need to win one more match up to win this match and rock and roll is going to need two more wins mhm G the all clear there's the all clear how's rock and roll going to handle the pressure line piece getting a getting a triple in Quad a triple and a quad meanwhile and it just won his match up right nice very nice onad do getting some combos there getting a teaspoon single all right getting the qu triple double all right just chipping away at some of his own Tower looking to probably get towards that garbage getting a quad another quad back to back here we go Jordan's rolling you got to think about some Maneuvers and he's right back to going at that full speed he did misplace this one might be coming down to the wire but Jordan still fting still hanging in there never up there he goes he's getting there oh miss just rolling around that one trying to figure out what to do when he figures out something oh oh seems to be coming back from this rock and roll can't seem to put him away oh my go another just m drops Galore unfortunately but he keeps fighting himself out of these holes no matter what Jordan has proven just to try it and he just will not give up no matter how much pressure and or trash has built up on his side just showing never give up John Cena would be proud of what he is seeing right now if he was seeing it rock and roll in a problematic situation the quad isord coming back from that position there we go Jordan props to Jordan props to both players yes but great performance there especially in the last seconds of kind of like last minute mhm he spent he spent so long in that disadvantage everyone's done oh we're done that's very quick that's like the that's the quickest it's been in a while all right well that's a brilliant way to end it off what an ending there we had such a great stream oh wait no oh wait one more round yeah that's what I was thinking don't leave yet if you already if you're still staying that was goodness gracious what my man what a time to be alive did he's going crazy you did very well he's going crazy look we're on the stream look at this man this of theet does that work hi Mom oh shoot I hurt my tooth all right yeah I think we're having we're having mid game interviews hi Mom wow I'm it's me your son no way your sweaty gamer boy it's me okay sure the sweaty gamer boy yeah so you wanted to ask me questions or yeah we're going to talk whenever like you play at like your I like as fast as you do like what's like most like your th thought process or you just like not think you just like just you just do what you do it's gotten I've gotten used to it I guess with all the time I've spent playing I usually just think of what pieces are available to me right now now I know that's not a good option because you're allowed to see the five pieces ahead uh but I don't really look into that too much except near the beginning when I have those openings like pico I always look through and try to see like what what um what pieces do I have in my inventory what pieces do I have at my disposal I guess yeah I turn on colored Shadow pieces which basically allows the Shadow at the bottom of the board to be a specific color yeah it does help a ton I can cuz I know them all by color I think except for snz those ones I'm kind of um weirded out on but other than that I'd say that do you know like the algorithm like how it's like if you get like a certain opener like this piece comes next or do like know like you don't know that not really I think it's a bag system like it picks seven and then there are seven different pieces and it just Cycles through those seven so just in a random order so from what I've heard it's also also the fact that round five is up so I guess it's time for me to uh oh oh oh hey you got this you got this R to me all right don't don't say that you just play that never give up mentality from that previous matchup this has been an incredible stream round five is going to be something give us all right read read yeah baby read well thank you to our sponsor Adams Wells internet Telecom TV your local service provider with gig Speed Internet TV and telephone services for businesses and residential customers in Adams and Wells County thank you to Adams Wells a very special thanks to Wells County foundation for uh special Grant that allowed us to purchase this computer for this uh that this stream is currently running on without their support you wouldn't be able to watch the quality providing that you are currently watching as of now without this pretty much none of them none of this would be possible yeah also do you have a favorite nonprofit that could use an awesome fundraising idea I forgot my line auction is an online inperson auction platform that can help your nonprofit host a great Charity Auction find out more at auction.io that's auction.io right here in town if you're looking for an easy and tasty treat sweet obsessions big shop has got you covered located on East Main Street across from Flag Star Bank speaking of easy and tasty treats this one isn't tasty but I mean we're looking treat for Sam yeah we've got a match up between Sam and EMT here this is another inter team meeting in the bracket don't know how often these happen this is my first time commentating one of these yeah one of these Tetris matches oh there is yeah emit audibly shocked at the all clear that Sam just popped go Sam just he be he beat Opie one time canonically yeah Canon yeah it happened in real life in the lore in the yeah in the L you got to read up on the on the tetris story yeah yeah St already getting a quad Jordan getting two doubles yeah this is sure to be an interesting match up we got Jordan going up against St quick triple even though despite the loss against Opie that we just did see early on He Still Remains the number one player in the league quad carrying the te- spin double here we go we got St lower down on the screen making some quick matches while Jordan trying to chip away at the garbage that has been sent to him by St triple than a single double single sto setting up a te spin okay stalo did something oh I think he hit like a t-pin double and then a and then a quad and then a normal double just whatever it was it was Lethal he's doing something and I'm not liking it a thing is being done as we speak very we got stalo with some more te- spin doubles tpin double te- spin double all clear he's up then he's dead I guess that's why he's the best player in the league Insanity Opie Opie yeah I know their Clash was crazy I would love to see them fight again see I can't beat this guy that's that's you need Insanity I don't I don't know what to say it's like and inste well what's going on now what's happening I don't know if we have any more matches to watch I don't know if it's over I don't know what's going on here for all I know I could be muted right now it's safe to say Opie is the best yeah if they're not cheating if they're don't say that on stream I don't know if we're muted or not yeah that's yeah I have no clue Dro you pull Qui between these all right G to screamy D my looks so long on the stream before we watch oh we're getting go ahead we're getting Sam versus joran Jordan Ramsey Jordan the jordane minister wait Jordan why are you from like wherever that is yeah I think it's a inside joke that he had with his friends I don't know what the inside joke is Jordan what country are you from Netherlands why inside joke can I Know It of a cult oh like you you're part of a lizard cult Sam yo new piece to the tetris lore yeah Sam is like a lizard or something yeah no he's a Minion from Despicable Me no you weren't here you weren't here how well all of the I believe all of the official matches are done but we've got a little scrimmage between Sam and Jordan inter team scrimmage just to end off this incred in day of Tetris so confused once again this is another match where it can be summed up with I don't know what's going on quad double quad the simple phrase I don't know what's going on oh [Music] no go we got minion I called him gamer tag whatever doesn't make a difference we got Sam with a quad with a single with a spin single got Jordan screen red Jord he's fighting back single here he goes baseball commentator Jordan now on the attack minion screen is red but that's mainly just just because of the big tower that he's made on the right that he is now widowing down with some good combos Jordan about halfway through the screen minion almost at the top I called him by his name gamertag again whatever whatever I Squidward would say whatever Sam we got Sam making some small combos trying to just get some of that dealt down Jordan going to try to put him away here with a good combo but minion countering it easily I'm just calling a minion now whatever me whatever it is you probably know that the gamertag of Sam Jordan with a double to end off the round oh you kept saying you you kep saying Jan you're going to win there we go impressive showing from both players here we go are we're going to see another all clear yes we are oh all clear off rip I'm just used to it by now oh I miss oh Jordan with kind of a kind of an ouchy Wawa there waha ouchi waha Jordan fighting back from the all clear and the personal mistake and the spin and the te spin all the stuff that he's doing an i piece oh Jordan yeah he's got a he's got a little quad there's the quad and the double sending some garbage to Sam both players are Midway through the screen oh all right we got fighting back oh he's going to miss drop there unfortunate and I wasn't looking at Jordan's screen but he did something to end the round oh my goodness if I were to guess probably like a te- spin double or something it was a t spin double quad uh double single and I think a triple yeah here we go oh oh the all clear again all clear off rip the all clear expert I can't even beat someone who has all players Here Comes Sam with a small M drop but nothing he can't fix Jordan with a t- spin I'm only good yeah same Jordan set setting up a te spin there it doesn't clear any lines so that's rather unfortunate all they want to do I'm like T spin single there from Jordan a triple we got Sam I'm just getting some small little as you would call them chippies chippy's not the YouTuber it's a YouTuber okay cool yeah yeah it's I I don't follow that I don't know what I was well I follow YouTube but I don't follow whoever chippy is yeah you me subscribe get the terms right we got Jordan oh a bit of an unfortunate M drop there he prob he probably halfway acord Jordan he's putting t-pin no the square piece always coming in at the worst times the square future sure future all right we got Sam he's looking to finish off this comeback he's got to get two more rounds all clear yep I again this point we might as well just plaster all clear onto the screen cuz that's all we're ever going to see from Sam yes the all clear expert all right Jordan he's fighting back very well from the all clearers as he has done every single round yep cuz every single round we've seen an all clear yeah that's a shame I don't even know what if you look at the differences in the board you can see that Jordan's got that one like really long air pocket and Sam has a bunch of like different Pockets scattered around that that shows like Jordan's been focusing on combos this game Minion has been doing his classic all clear you get that trademark it's basically part of his identity at this point he's setting up a t- spin and he's got a t block right here oh Jordan T spin double all right pretty big quad and a double and a single and a double and a single and a single he's dropping music albums big combo right Jordan beating Sam Jordan with a great performance Sam also with a great performance brilliant scrimmage to end off the day look at that little little pretty sparkles one all right yeah thank you thank you so much for joining this us this evening for this incredible Tetra stream we'll be back tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.

meeting to order would you all stand with me please and we'll repeat the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the rep it stands Nation indivisible and justice for all great uh we will now have our superintendent Awards and our above and beyond Awards crating [Applause] good evening Madame President Dr Smith and members of the board this evening we proudly present our Elementary District Vex robotics team and Dr Emily hos Brown will do the honors thank you Miss Johnson at tonight I'm so pleased to bring to you our three award-winning categories from our district vex robotics Championship held uh in January tonight we'll be celebrating two schools who earn the teamwork Championship those Awards can only be earned with a a partnering team will be recognizing the skills Champions and the Excellence award champions for each school I'll invite their principal to come up to introduce their coaches and the award-winning students and we'll begin first with Brook Park and the proud principal Mr posie Brook Park was the uh recipient of the Excellence award good evening um so I'm very proud of our Brook Park Bears um but we could not have done this without the leadership of our uh coaches Mrs Jennifer moer and Miss Lauren Olivia sh and then of course our students our bears that I am super proud of very proud of uh Miss Juliana Salazar and Miss Abby [Applause] Bailey families if you'd like to come up and also take a picture you [Applause] may congratulations Brook Park yes and now we're um I'm also proud to present to you the principal of Crestview Elementary Miss kir who will be introducing one of the two teamwork championship [Applause] teams good evening ladies and gentlemen we are a small but Mighty team from Crestview Elementary and we are proud to acknowledge our two students from our bot cats Mr Gavin Stinson and Mr Isaac heyen for their teamwork award at the Vex robotics Championship my coaches unfortunately could not be here this evening but I would like to send a shout out for their leadership to Mrs Abigail borer and Mr Josh paver m and finally I'm proud to present the principal of Skyles test Elementary Miss Franklin who has two award-winning teams the teamwork champion and the skills championship team good evening super proud and excited for our robotics team also would like to I first would like to introduce uh Mr Dave schaer who I'm excited and proud of his leader ship for leading our [Applause] team and now for our students I'd like to recognize the tea team for winning the teamwork Champions Award and that is for Tara pathen who's not here with us this evening Cassie Brown Piper [Applause] mccon Austin Morris and Lucy gramley yes all girls team okay we also have our s team that won the skills Champions Award and that is Christopher Moody oay Tate Fenner Arthur Thomas and hobo seik [Applause] quatle for this evening we are proud to present a above and beyond award to Mrs Nigeria Porter if she could come forward and her principal is with her Mr Jared Pennington Mrs Nigeria Porter exemplifies the Amy beverin elementary school mission in all that she does Miss Porter is always willing to step in and take on duties as a sign Beyond her before and after care sight leader role she provides AC additional academic support to students each school day and when a staff member was absent she filled in and nobody even realized they weren't there so we just really appreciate that Mrs Porter she covered lunch duty all day long she sees a need and she fills it thank you Mrs Porter and congratulations on this well-deserved recognition [Applause] ch [Applause] like while we gather I want to let you know that if you came for the awards and you'd like to go home to dinner you're welcome to do that if you don't want to stay for our riveting business meeting and nothing drives Excellence More Than Pride a lot of pride in this room CH robotics champ the robotics Champs give everybody a minute and a half what you yeah I just thought I'd let people escape that was super exciting good that was fun okay um we'll go on to the business portion of our meeting uh Mr Smith our Blue Ribbon upd date if you will thank you Madame President Dr Smith members of the board again we have experienced good weather as we have uh gone into this uh winter and early spring LC see you see some uh sight View how it's becoming uh the baseball and soccer matter of fact today they just uh punched the turf at the baseball diamond there at LC again the concession stand and the walkway still underway the LC pool continues on with concrete going down in the uh uh shallow end and also around the decking as well as uh inside continues on we're also working on uh next slide kind of shows the main hallway we're trying to open that up give it exess uh to the building after spring break again just other areas entryway Ln front steel uh again progressing on uh concrete and exterior walls are next the new Plaza we'll have it opened up here for sectional tomorrow night so it is underway way uh Ln concession sidewalk again continues on uh multi-purpose room is uh continuing on as well uh paint lights and flooring bells are Middle School auditorium uh again well underway and I just had to mention the two middle schools uh uh continue to be ahead of schedule uh so that's a good thing again inside for the auditorium six more classrooms uh should be turned over to the building in the next couple weeks and start six more LGI room is nearing completion as well uh Fall Creek Valley again the 700 space again will be uh there's three classrooms and several offices and we'll turn that over to the building in the next couple weeks as well main office about three4 of the way done uh LC Bridge we got some steel deliver uh today and hopefully start erection of that bridge starting on Wednesday uh transportation is moving forward we actually have all the walls Plumbing electrical in drywalls going up this this week and maybe even paint within the next two weeks so progressing on and uh again the weather outlook is uh to our favor great board any questions in the middle school since this is a new motion for them not like our seasoned high schools um the you know the moving in and out of classrooms um how how are they adjusting and what support are we giving our teachers and um faculty as they manage through this change what's nice is uh pow and Suns has worked with us on a couple different projects so it's all about a schedule so we uh schedule around the the kids and staff and of course we're following behind to make sure that uh they stay out of Harm's Way number one and have a clean environment uh to progress each and every day do we also provide Moving services on the day of moving or yes we do we uh we employ a company a moving company that does because we do it on in such a mass manner uh we need their assistance to get that done for the teachers thank you any other yes Mr Smith can you remind myself and the public when the estimated completion date is for the pool at LC uh the LC uh completion date will be uh June July of this summer okay thank you okay thank you very much um we will move on to um Mr Smith again the new LCC bid results Madame President Dr Smith members of the board uh we received bids on February 16th uh there are 15 bid categories and 31 contractors bidding bids came in about as expected per our estimations uh so good competitive bids uh the GMP contract for core and Garcia for this phase two would be 19,31 11,800 65 uh Corin Garcia will be rebidding two areas in of this Phase 2 bid uh plumbing and HVAC uh the bids submitted were either incomplete or did not meet the specifications so these two bid package are out and to be rebid and due March the 7th uh these two big categories will not delay the start of this expected project April 1st um before I told you we had some uh slight Savings in phase one uh but we're also seeing a slight increase as we move forward uh with this main phase two and the two bids coming up uh it's kind of an estimated 12 to a 15 uh% increase due to the market increase for product Mater material and labor so it will be the recommendation to approve the GMP for phase two and uh to core and Garcia questions for yes Mr Smith um as it relates to the increase in materials I certainly know that that's something that happens often right we saw that during covid um is this something that we budget for ahead of time these sort of increases knowing that the price of goods can fluctuate some yes we do do some anticipation and that's why Corin Garcia do a takeoff run and estimation so we're constantly looking at the numbers uh what's out there on the market and anticipating for the bids other questions board okay um thank you thank you for that very much we will move on then to um the results of bids for student devices Mr gine President must sorry Dr G okay president must and members of the board Dr Smith as you know the school corporation provides Chromebooks for all students from grades 2 through 12 Chromebooks come with an industry standard four-year warranty and so we anticipate those devices lasting four years and that's the replacement cycle that we work from so we issue devices at 9th grade hoping they will go 9 10 112 you approved last year that we Chang to um giving students at sixth grade a device so they go six seven and eight and then they come out with one year of warranty on them and we feed that into the 2 three4 five cycle however not every device makes it out of Middle School alive so we do have to ask on occasion that we buy enough Chromebooks to fill in the need in the 2 three four five cycle So based on that uh we had 17 vendors that uh responded to our RFP we took the most responsive six and based on that um we went and again I I need to point out with input from curriculum and instruction we did make a change we've always purchased touchscreen devices um we decided to talk to the teachers about that and they said it's not necessary 6 through 12 so that is a cost savings for us about2 200 $40,000 over last year um so for the sixth and and 9th grade device we recommend um virtue Comm at 1.025 so it's 1,2 25,9 40 on the grid I have that switched I apologize it's correct in the narrative below so we would go with that I did point out that even though that is not the lowest price that wasn't the only thing we considered this particular company is giving us a G10 model which is the latest model and we'll fit in some plans we have to move some software at uh McKenzie to the cloud and this will be more compatible than the G9 which is what we currently use for the 2 through five cycle we will continue to use a touchscreen we will recommend the 3110 uh coming from electronic strategies so those are the two for that one board do you have questions for Dr gag we ask another question oh my gosh I have so many questions tonight Dr gagin uh question for you as it relates to the device insurance policy that uh that we now offer to families um how how does that work when a kid I don't know drops it from say a bunk bed or like leaves it on the back of a car like do we get the replace then at that point or how does that work the cost will be covered depending if it can't be um if it can't be repaired um but instead of the parent being responsible for it it's just an insurance policy so we're going to do a better job um of marketing that to families and getting them to recognize that um I know just because we no longer can charge for it it's still a 300 to $400 device so we want to do a better job of getting parents to recognize it's a well it's worthwhile so if if a student avails themselves of the insurance policy and we replace their computer does that computer that that then comes back to us at some point yeah and so it's it's a net benefit to the district as a whole if parents are able to purchase it's a win-win for everybody yep thank you I have a question to picky back off of Mrs Lawrence's question because I was gonna ask about the protection also is that something that parents would have to acquire at the beginning of the year or is there what is the time frame for that typically yeah there is you can't do it after the fact so you can't have your you know my device is broken can I go get the ADP now so you have to do it ahead of time and our vendor that we work with they're out of Fortville and they do it they're pretty reasonable about giving us windows so we'll work with them on that so if a parent say now that the device is fine and they are hearing that oh wow there's actually device uh device plan are they able to sign up tomorrow if they need to reach out to us to see because it's a it's a it's a different vendor it's not us so we have to check with the company and see once if they would be willing to do that okay thank you for that can always ask there are deadlines with that there are are deadin there are deadlines deadin but we can talk to the company and see if they're willing to take somebody's money that's good to know thank you sir um great to continue on that line um and and I understand we'll Market it better to parents my question is that of course our Chromebooks are part of our curriculum fee what we used to charge for curriculum fees that we can't charge anymore um what if the family cannot afford insurance but want the insurance and can't afford it Matt we in on that piece that' be a Matt miles question on the finance side so it's it's a good question um if if they would want the insurance but they can't afford it um we can't fund that to the vendor as as M Dr gagin mentioned it is an outside vendor that that funds that so um we we hope the device is is safe and sound and and uh you know and we don't have to have any repairs it's not a required cost that it's the insurance is is optional do we ever if if a device is broken Beyond repair do we ever look at individual cases and make sure the child has a device anyway we we uh take care of the device first and foremost so that they're not uh without a device and then uh we go ahead and go through the billing process and then just have to play that out depending on you know uh payment Avail child would never be without advice correct so we do have good news Madam president and board parents don't pay for it anymore it's part of the textbook rental that's free for our families now so I got to remind you that Dr gag line pointed out we use an outside vendor we don't we don't pay it directly and we can't so we're we're we have found a way so when we return in school in Fall of 2425 our parents the devices will just be a part of our free textbook rental and so we have already figured out a way to pay for that board and our our community will be fine great so thank you thank you for that um yes absolutely Miss done so Dr gigline thank you so much for this information I um was wondering because it's super exciting that we are getting the latest and greatest for our high school students with that is the life longevity the lifespan of that device still at around a fouryear mark even though it's uh higher quality yeah it's still a four-year warranty okay but they will be upgraded for at least six and Google will continue sometimes will'll extend that I believe they've extended it maybe even out to eight years so awesome so basically the investment that we are putting forth and getting the more updated devices could pay off in the long run in terms of longev yeah that's our goal thank you so much great um we'll go ahead um Dr gag line and move on to internet service provider if you will so president must and members of the board Dr Smith I want to keep in mind that the next four items are all covered under eate and that is a federally funded program and that's that strange what are all these little extra costs at the bottom of my phone bill that's where it comes from the nice thing is we get reimbursed at a 90% rate so you're going to see some numbers that are big but remember we only have to pay for 10% of that which makes Mr miles very happy so internet service was the first one that we want to uh cover and that is simply what just like at home who's going to be your internet provider we had three responses for that and we will recommend that we go with cogent who is our current provider and they will provide it at a 40 gig uh level which is where we want to be uh across our Network I had a question Mr gagin um as a non-te person what is our current speed 40 that's where we want to keep it oh okay but we just for this point just okay part of eate requires you to bid out various levels okay thank you other questions about that one so we can move on to provider of network so we're going to build a new building on the fort and we'd like to have it connected to the internet so we went out and asked to uh again uh we had two levels it could be 10 or 40 gig and we'd like to keep it at 10 we had three responders and we will recommend that we go with zo at 393,000 to put that connection in the ground and so that would actually cost us um $9,300 which is very very low if you ask Mr Smith you okay questions board um are new network connections for Skyles test Sunnyside and Brook Park it looks like yes I believe as we've mentioned in the past Sky's test in particular is only connected to the overall Network by one fiber which got cut during the 71st Street overpass uh construction and so uh we don't want that to happen again and sometimes if the wind blows we lose Skyles test so we want to improve that uh connection and so we will improve the connection between Skyles test and Crest View and then we will also have a connection from Sky's test down to Brook Park so if that gets cut off again we can Route Around to Brook Park and up or if it gets cut the other way so they will have that what they call redundancy and we recommend that we go forward with that uh company um we go with on point oh excuse me I miss that we go with um well we I forgot we also have to not only do that part but we have to connect Sunnyside and sunnyside's issue is the 40 gig we have a big old 10 gig pipe for everybody else and theirs is one so everybody else is running their data on a nice big pipe theirs is a drinking straw and so their demand for data back and forth we aren't meeting the demand everything runs slower at Sunny Side it's very frustrating so um we would like to go with on point to install the fiber from Sunnyside to LCC and also go with onpo to do the fiber from Skyles test to Crest View and then um we' like to go with education networks for the least lit so we're just fibers already there we're just renting the fiber between Skyles test and Brook Park questions board good okay we're Tech Specialists we got we got this yes yeah I know this is all I got it and then finally we have to upgrade the switches and again kind of using the plumbing analogy what we have going on is if you imagine you have a big jug of water at one end and you got a whole bunch of thirsty people at the other end but you only have a drinking straw between the two yeah okay that's what we have in our elementaries in particular and a couple other spots and so what we want to do is replace that drinking straw with a bigger pipe that's essentially what the network switch is going to do is allow the data to travel faster and meet the demand and so we would like to go with uh Network Solutions to uh provide those switches and improve the capacity of our overall Network yes Miss L I was just making sure we were at the end of all of our Tech upgrade before I asked this question um so how how long ago did we install this um uh this networking capability in the district was it as the buildings were built or oh goodness it started years ago is we yeah with the renovations those were included in some of the bids as well and we've been working well the gentleman now works he used to work for us got hired Away by the vendor that's going to provide us with some of this because he's that good but he planned this out probably seven or eight years ago to make sure that we had that redundancy right that we're missing at Sky's test so every time we've had an opportunity and now um the eate funding has come around again to the point where we can finally do some of these projects we we used a lot of it the last time to fund Lawrence North and Lawrence Central in particular and now we're ready to do the rest of the district do we anticipate these upgrades um being like as as the internet continues to have demands on um and our our students continue to stream and um you know build robots and use Ai and do all that stuff yeah we are at 40 and we have the capacity to go up to 100 okay so Scott had that foresight who's now long from us but we he had that in mind when he built the network plan thank you Scott yes for the foresight thanks great um if there are no more questions for Dr gag line we will move on to um Mr miles the budget tax rate update thank you president must Dr Smith members of the board uh tonight in front of you you have our updated 2024 budget information uh as far as our actual total budget um our tax rate and our Levy so there'll be three different slides uh want to point out to you and focus on the 2023 budget versus our 24 budget which so kind of First Column on the left versus uh the right column as you can see you know the total budget went up this year from 221 million uh to 234 million and um the next slide will show how that what the local property tax rate and how that was affected last year we were just at a do7 and some change and we are happy to report we are still the third lowest local property tax rate in Maran County for all schools so very proud of that uh the TA tax rate actually dropped just a little less than a cent uh versus last year and that's due to our increase in assessed value so um your property tax values went up we were able to keep the rate uh basically level um at the bottom of the page there you can see what our total assessed valuation is and uh as well as our referendum value you may remember uh remember referend randoms uh are exempt from those property tax caps um as they are voted on by the local uh homeowners and property tax owners um so and then on the last slide you'll see what does that mean from a cash standpoint for our Levy um again 20203 total Levy a little over 71 million we are up this year to um almost 74 million little lender and um as you may recall when we put our budget together and we submit that to the state we always advertise that High um so you can see that in the advertised column knowing that the state is going to reduce that they're not going to give us those full that full budget um so then we kind of project our expected budget and then you can see how that matches up versus the actual budget once that comes in at the first of the year questions board um I just had a couple Mr miles so uh for the public um if the tax rate goes up it's because of their property assessment going up correct great question Mrs Norman yes in this case as as our rate is more or less level from last year if their tax bill went up it's not because of a rate increase is because of the actual property value has gone up Mr miles that you have some acronyms up there assess value that's where that's determined so so the public will know if our assessed value is up it's a good thing for the school district but could create some problems for homeowners because you have to pay more in your property taxes our assets value will land us well into the top 10 of the 292 school districts in the state of Indiana so we have a very high assess value in this community last time I checked Matt I know the new numbers are coming out we were number eight okay so which was very high at 6.9 billion 6.8 is that correct correct 6.8 correct thank you Dr Smith this is probably more a question for you than it for Mr miles um just for the public could you please explain the difference between um an operating and a capital referendum and explain the the fact that we've never had to go for an operating referendum and why that's significant Mr miles is my expert he's going to count all the pennies so the public will know he's our CFO and then we have to make a tough decision from my office to make a recommendation to the board to do an operating referendum we do not have an operating referend public that would mean that we would contact you and ask for your permission to raise your property taxes to fund our day-to-day operations and Mr miles is going to talk about day-to-day operations in the next pre presentation on our financial report we do have a capital referendum that was approved in 2019 to pay for our high schools that's how we're paying for the high school projects we hope to bring home Roger this summer with a completed project from 2019 okay and Dr Smith could you please explain the difference between the blue ribbon and the money that was being used for the from the referendum yeah the money for the referendum went specifically to those projects that we designated primarily the high school projects we asked your permission public because uh the high schools we do have two large high schools and they're quite expensive so we did not have the capacity to renovate them at the level we thought and so we asked for your permission to do that Mr miles that rate has actually gone down over the years so we're really proud of that that we worked hard to keep that rate down and I think the public would be very pleased with the quality of our Renovations when they're done we won't come back to you for another almost 20 years so thank you and Mr miles one other question that I love to ask every time this comes up um our bond rating could you please explain to the public our bond rating and what the importance is of it as it relates to Renovations and the fiscal responsibility of this District yes happy to do so so our bond rating um I would correlate that to for those of us at home our credit credit rating or your credit report the higher our bond rating or the better our bond rating is the better the rate that we can borrow money at so um it saves US money in the long run or we may be able to borrow more money as a result and our rating uh we get that updated each time we borrow money or we go out for a bond and we are at a doublea plus which is a great rating um it's it's been solid uh for years and we hope to plan to keep it that way that is put together by standard and pores S&P thank you so we're pre-approved for a car then if we needed to be okay that's good and I would I would also um add and make sure I'm correct that we keep a cash balance and that's part of why we have a great Bond rating and we have a rainy day fund so when people see maybe a $16 million $15 million cash balance and wonder why that's not going to the teachers it surely would go to the teachers in an emergency and so we save that for an emergency so those that rate our financial um Health look at that and realize that we're prepared also prepared for emergency absolutely correct I have a quick question um I understand circuit breaker on the third page but could you please explain to the general public what a circuit breaker is is when referencing our levies please thank you Mrs D I'm actually glad you pointed that out um not all news on here is equal as ex equally as exciting the circuit breaker actually hurts the school district um it helps the local property taxpayer um years ago the state of Indiana uh took steps at the State House to ensure that um to put a limit on our property taxes and so um as a result uh your property taxes are capped at 1% um there also caps for business property um as well as other investment properties and so the net result of that is fewer dollars to the school district we get that actual final number uh every year around April and so right now we're estimating that impact at about $8 million and that impact um directly reduces the amount we have for our operations fund um so it it hits um our trans portation budget our bus replacement fund and our cpf dollars thank you I think that's an important note for the public to understand that cap absolutely how do we make up for that short F that is a great question um and that's something we're constantly looking at um certainly we have to be very budget conscious with with how we spend our dollars um one one other step that we've taken here just in the last month through the or last six months through the help of the board is our Geo Bond so we've used that to offset some of our costs specifically for bus replacement and other things just to support where needed um and and just being very uh uh very frugal with how we spend our dollars um we've been fortunate to be able to maintain operations without any uh impact to what we do day-to-day uh despite the circuit breaker um but it's something we'll have to continue to to challenge uh going forward thank monitored at every board meeting board your financial so you're administrators behind the scene work very hard to make sure we stay within that budget and we've had to make some real tough decisions on ways to save money in that in particular area I do remind the public the tax caps are not set by the Board of Education those are set by state legislation so as we look at uh our general assembly when they make and those were set to impact all cities towns municipalities equally so and there's no Rhyme or Reason our our district may be totally our neighbors next door may be totally impacted different than we are so it is something that school corporations are very much aware of and as we speak with legislators board uh we talk a lot about the tax caps and their impact and uh our legislators certainly listen to us as they make those final decisions thank you great discussion board um I guess we'll move on at this point to the financial update which we've touched on a little bit thank you president must board members and Dr Smith uh we have have reviewed this a little um but this time of the year we're always slight delay with the yearend uh financials so in front of you you have our December 31st uh 23 general fund balance sheet and uh the the uh balance at the end of the year the cash balance was uh actually in a very good position we finished the year with almost $17 million in our uh in our cash balance there in the general fund um the next slide will show our transportation year end balance also in a good position with about $2.3 million in our cash balance at the end of 2023 moving forward to January um end of January for our general fund uh again in a good position uh just starting out the year we have um just over 18 million doll currently in that general fund noting that we do have some um additional payroll costs coming up over the next uh uh couple pay periods so um that helps have that extra cash balance in there at the moment and then the next slide will uh show our transportation fund um all green checks which is what we like to see expenses and and revenue both in line with original projections great job board any other questions questions about that okay that'll be it for the financial update Madam president can we just add we we we do the two months it's not because it's bored December we only meet one time so that does delay us reporting out our end of year it delayed a little bit so this is a normal occurrence for us as a school district this is not new for anyone that's in the audience that may be new this is normal what most School corporations have to do sorry so one of the things that I've noticed on our uh general fund monitoring reports is that our supplies and materials seem to consistently be over budget is there a way because it looks like we've maintained the same budget from last year to this year and I'm just wondering knowing that we are expending more in that area um what the what the rationale is behind that yeah fair question uh you're talking about the general fund yeah General so one of the um uh one of the changes that we've had there has been with some of our suppliers specifically with rjb um you may recall a few years ago um we moved to Outsourcing some of our um custodial and our janitorial um main or excuse me our um um building management thank you uh so that's that's one of the pieces um and so we've looked at that we're probably still just trying to adjust that and and kind of come to a sweet spot on that thank you you're welcome uh we will now move on to our board committee chair reports Foundation okay thank you thank you Madame President well the the big event coming up and feel free to add to this Miss Lawrence um is the annual Foundation gala which is March 8th at the Indiana Roof Ballroom from 6:30 to 11:30 um um there is still registration available although I think they're about sold out so you can go on msdlt f.org to order your tickets um this is a big this is our big fundraiser for the foundation and it's always a great Community event yes thank you you have anything further no just go to the gala it's always a good time I don't know that I've missed one over the last and can you remind us of the theme in case we want oh yes it's Magic School Bus although I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do to bring my best Miss Frizzle oh well we'll we'll let you figure that out oh I forgot to add one thing if you're unable to attend the gala um the there will be silent auction items available online and they will be going live on um on this Friday March 1st your board has a silent auction you just get on on there and see if you can figure out what the board is offering okay um Lawrence Parks and Recreation yes as we all know on April 8th um at 3:6 actually we are having a total solar eclipse so in preparation for that at Fort Ben community park at 1 pm.

not me you just raised your hand Terry it's too late I'd really like someone on the committee to take notes please I'll do it Kate if you want me to then we'll share it afterwards okay glattus that would be fine I'm not getting any FS so unless if if um Louisa want to do it let her go ahead Kate do you need me to I'm not on the committee but I will if you if nobody else can um it doesn't look like I have any other volunteers here so I'm sorry I'll do okay yeah either one gladus I can do them if you if need be can we just clarify who's going to do it I just don't want to continue until we've got that pin down please I'll do it okay glattus thank you very much thank you glattus yeah so Teresa is here before you get started I want Teresa is here Michelle is here ktie is here W oneita is out tonight she's sick oh okay and ala is here so Al is here and Louisa okay all right thank you very much glattus so Kim uh looks like we're doing Title Nine first yeah so Kelly you take over please y okay so last time when we met um we talked about um the draft Title Nine policy which we're ready to move into formal um I'm sorry I actually edited the version I filled in the blanks on that that's not this version um I had access to a different document so I just plugged in Danberry Board of Ed rather than blank board of ed um but if you've had a chance to read it there's a lot of language in there that's really just required by law and that's what this policy tracks is all of the requirements that the law um has for us to put in so Kelly if you can scroll down some um you'll see it tracks um the language of Title 9 and it describes sex discrimination what it is um and it describes both um direct acts of sexual harassment but also unwelcome conduct that may create a hostile work environment um title seven slow down just one little bit title seven there in Connecticut Law basically track exactly the same thing Title Nine is um the statute that goes with anyone receiving federal funds for Education title seven is your general the most well-known of the Discrimination statutes um but they all prohibit the same kind of conduct as does state law um it lays out the definition again very prescribed by the statute um and if you keep going it starts to lay out that there shall be a policy that will describe how you will provide evidence of a claim of discrimination or observing discriminatory conduct um the nuts and bolts of this will be contained in the regulations which we're working on now um the issue that we're struggling with right now that will continue to refine is um as we've written this policy it names one title N9 coordinator um I think Kelly and I have talked about naming um her role that assistant superintendent and Kelly's role as the um alternative or assistant because we're such a large District um you'll remember that there's two policies here there's this one that pertains to students and The Identical policy that pertains to employees and so we're talking about a lot of people in a lot of potential claims so um we we think that what we'll do in these regulations is we'll lay out a structure where um all of our building administrators will be the people who can are available to receive claims or reports of discrimination and we will triage with those folks with the Chiefs and Kelly and myself to make sure that we partner up so that anybody doing the investigation is not ultimately the decision maker under this policy again another required component um and those pieces will be buried in the regulations the reason why that's a really appropriate place for them um is because this is an area the law that changes frequently I alluded to it the last time that we met that depending on which Administration is in the in um Congress or in the um White House there are different standards that may come out about um for example things like burdens of proof so does someone have to prove um make an initial proof of harassment and then there is is a response and then the plaintiff or the person raising the claim has to override that response so those kinds of things they're a little bit Arcane but they're good to put in regulations because they change frequently so this policy gives you the skeleton it's an important skeleton there's not really any wiggle room for you to tweak it because it's all prescribed um so we would be looking for you to move through the again title N9 discrimination for students which is the first one and Title Nine discrimination for employees two different ones are there any questions from committee members Teresa so yeah so I'm looking at what we have and compared to what you're you have here it's quite expensive a big difference so the one on the screen is fleshing out all of what's required under these Federal statutes now for us to provide notice to people in our district of what they do if they think they've been wrong wrong so this is series 4000 it's just it was a separate attachment the Title Nine policies there were two separate agenda two separate attachments so it's not included in that 4,000 Series so you also want us to do the 5,000 as well tonight approving that just one just these two I mean these two are the same and they're new I mean they're new were to us because of the changes that go on in the law yeah so it's completely getting rid of what we had in the past and accepting series 4,000 accepting series 5000 no it's just Kelly it's I can't see what's on the screen but it's just the two title n policies which I think are going to get numbered in probably the students one will be in the student section and the employees one will be in this Personnel section of 4,000 so that's why you see that first one Title 9 series 4000 that's right employee one and Title 9 series 5000 is the same exact policy but it pertains to students because students have a right of action for the same kind of behavior so it's the only one that we skipped out of order because they're the same policy one in one section of the book and one in the other section of the book make sense Michelle yeah I'm just we just went through a whole bunch of pages and I'm just wondering can you highlight what is different I mean I know that you're saying this is kind of like there's no wiggle room and this is what's outlined that we have to kind of stick to right is that what you're saying this yeah what's in this pulling out of this information right so what's put what's in this one that we are presenting to you tonight is all of what the law requires that we put out as notice to people so we're required to have a policy that names someone individually is the Ombudsman or the coordinator we're required to have um reference to you know where they're located email addresses that kind of thing so those are all required components so you and Kelly will be co- no I'm going to remain as the title n coordinator but there's a lot of places that recommend having um supplements or other people who are also designes because of the size of our district and because there is a pretty strict prohibition that whoever does the investigation cannot also be the decision maker so you may need more than one person so we want to identify by role not necessarily by Kim or Kelly but by role who will undertake that you know if we step off the curb and get hit by bus or something like that and also we're going to in the regulations continue to even flesh that more um flesh that out more so that people know where to go if they have a concern thank you Michelle yeah um and not this policy but I was reading a different policy that was um about uh expulsions and that there was privacy issues that were being brought up and that they were looking to assign someone and to remove Board of Ed members at that role due to I thought my understanding was this privac you know to kind of remove the the um Board of Ed member that doesn't have the clearance or it's a private issue none of that would be pertained or applicable in this sit situation where it might be you know sexual harassment or something that is personal of nature like with the whoever you're you know your design the information personal information that maybe there's a I'm just trying to ask if you know if there's any kind of personal um records or anything that um the person in that situation may you know want to make sure that that they are have privacy or whatever the case is you know I'm not the word's not coming to mind I'm sorry I think what you're asking is what happens if the person who thinks they have information to share they have a claim either doesn't want to come to the design or doesn't want to put something in writing or doesn't doesn't want to be known to the person they're accusing is that what you're asking I'm I'm asking all those kinds of questions I guess what are the kind of what are the what is the um the where's the rest of control yeah like where where are the guard rails or where are there any guard rails are there any changes to that role that we should be considering as far as privacy issues um that's what I'm asking I'm sorry I getting that out thank you so so a lot of that is going to be in the regulations which can always be changed that the superintendent or the superintendent's design promulgates regulations because they change because they change so much but things that you're putting your finger on Michelle are exactly the same things that we talk about um in The Bullying context we have very rigid policies about what to do if we get a complaint of bullying who do you talk to do you have to put the report in writing how long do you have who do you show it to though all of those regulations are we we gave them to you in the first first look those are the things that will continue to refine over time so we'll continue to kind of tweak and push and pull and move those and those are ones that can change at any time but they don't require board vote because they're really not the policy the policy is you know you all need a foundational policy that this is the law and this is what we're doing to adhere to it that's what these policies do the nuts and bolts of it are the things that we do in the regulations just like we would with um a bullying case or an expulsion case or something so our guard rails mostly are set by law by privacy laws like um Freedom of Information Act could be Hippa could be um furpa so those all will set a lot of guard rails but we'll also write them in our kind of manual because we want people to understand what's going to happen if they come forward okay and when is that when do we discuss those in detail you don't as a general rule I mean as a general rule those are just the regulations so every policy that we're looking at tonight and that we've been looking at this whole time most of them will have regulations behind them but we don't generally look at those because those regulations are promulgated by the superintendent Ju Just to set kind of basic operating procedures so through the committee okay so this is only on harassment in specifically regarding harassment like in other words I'm looking to find out more of those details or how they would change so if you're when does that occur like literally talking about the changes to the policy not this is what's mandated and we're going to do that later it just when does when is later like for the details as to how you know maybe if I harassment is is handled or because I I remember you had mentioned it some time ago maybe last year about how that was going to work like if somebody was on the basketball court and they were you know hit on the on the rear or something was that an intentional and and so that's what I'm I'm waiting to hear what what you've been working on as far as those regulations when do we discuss that to make sure that we're in alignment all on in alignment with that so so we won't have let me see if I can back up a little bit so if we were to have a situation like what you just described so somebody's out on the basketball court and has a run-in with a teacher we wouldn't look to any regulations about whether you define that as harassment or not right that's sort of like um it's a it's a fact pattern that we have to decide how we're going to respond to everyone's going to be different every fact is going to be different the only guard rails we're going to have is number one there is a law that says that harassment based on gender is unlawful and we have a basic policy that says that that we're required to put out and that that person that that happened to can see in that policy where they can go to raise a complaint how we investigate how we find the facts how we um who we talk to what we decide based on those facts is is we'll have General protocols like there shall be an invest tigation you shall write a report you shall share the report with someone else but there won't be a world where we would sit as a group and talk about whether or not we have a policy against that kind of behavior on the basketball court that's that's the the fact pattern that we use our rules to decide how we're going to characterize in the end that's something that happens as a matter of course in an investigation much like a DCF matter similarly so then that fact pattern that you're that I guess I'm talking about is it like okay there's been one or two or three incidents is there's nothing like that as far as written protocol where we would follow that's what I'm looking to find out is the details of of our actions or if somebody else has an you know what can you expect so can I can I interrupt for a second because I you know we have a bunch of policies to go through in this meeting and and I certainly think you know getting an answer to that is important Michelle but I don't know that this is the setting for that discussion sounds good so I wonder if that might be something you could pick up with Kim um after after the meeting Absolutely I'll I'll touch on that Kim today or tomorrow thank you so much thank you Perry did you have another question yes um does this does this include uh allowing Boys in girls Sports again whether or not boys in girl Sports runs a foul of Title Nine is something a Court decides right so that's how you all ended up being sued because there were girls who filed a suit against D Public Schools saying that your title 9 policy was violated because we let boys play on girls teams so you wouldn't have a policy per se that says that describes that scenario you would have the the basic policy saying we all agree out there that the federal law says you shall not discriminate whether that behavior violates that policy is a question of law that lawsuits are made of and and you're in one or you were in one can I just want can when you clarify when you list these uh series 4,000 can you put next to IT personnel and 5,000 students just to clarify that there's a difference I I was confused at first then I noticed on the paperwork that it was personnel and students y you could put students after the 5,000 to distinguish the series thank you Kim I had a couple quick questions about um these policies uh the first is that I noticed that these were approved in 2022 is that just the paperwork because it's the draft version or or something of that nature but I just want to make sure we're going to go with whatever is most current so we don't have to revisit this again any time soon um and then the second question I had is when you were detailing sort of the additional folks that would have uh you know a role in in investigations or in in the process um are those is there additional training and certification that has to go for those folks there's actually a lot of training I think it's a mandatory couple hour training um Kelly and I have been through it all of your administrators have been through it recently um and I think it's an every other year requirement so um you know there are some districts that actually pay stipend to folks to serve in this role um it's a pretty it can be pretty heavy um so I think you know that's a a really important point that as we look to expand Beyond just kind of the two of us um we need to make sure that those people are appropriately trained um and they have to provide evidence of training and that kind of thing so it's pretty it's pretty rigorous okay and I assume that would be managed through your office yes y okay in the initial training if I could just add we actually brought in um someone from Shipman and Goodwin to do the training who is an expert on this area of the laws they did that training for our central office as well as our uh building administrative team thank you Kelly all right with that in mind um I guess I'm looking for a motion to make a recommendation to the board for a first read uh for both um Title 9 series 4,000 for personnel and Title 9 series 5,000 for students Teresa you're making the motion yes ma' thank you so much may I have a second please I need a second either from Michelle or Al please I'll second to Kate thank you Michelle sure uh all those in favor please signify by saying I I I I okay motion so carries thank you very much Kim thank you for the overview appreciate it all right so we are moving on down to the second item on the agenda which is series 4000 Personnel um and Kelly thank you again for uh putting this together um and I assume you'll be kicking off yes Kim and I will kind of tag team on these um so the 4,000 series is all Personnel related um so this has to do with both certified and non-certified staff um and so you will see I'm going to just jump down for a minute just to I received this question under security fingerprinting this applies to both certified staff and non-certified staff which is why you see the two different policy numbers um so anytime that a policy is going to apply to both groups we'll double code it according with the cave um recommendations as one series The the one with the second digit being a one is applies to certified the one with the second digit being a two applies to non-certified so I just want to bring that forward um the first policy yep the first policy will go into um is really uh the 4,000 uh policy and essentially this outlines what the purpose and intent of our 4,000 series policies are um so it's called Concepts and roles and Personnel um and you will see when you go uh through this policy um that it's talking about our roles and responsibilities essentially related to Personnel recruiting selecting employing retaining training compensating um evaluating staff um in an appropriate way um it also talks about our responsibility to assign Personnel um uh to different uh positions according to their certification um and then also uh talking about our human relationships right how we um again going along with recruiting and retaining how we build relationships with the employees that um that are within our school district um so this is really just the kickoff the 4,000 series that talks about every other policy to follow which goes into more specific um kind of finer details of of personnel I don't know if there's any questions really I know everyone I'm projecting on the screen just so everyone's aware the recommended cave policy um if we want to go back to the previous one um while there are um some slight differences in it there are not significant really in any policy we're going through tonight um things are spelled out a little bit more detailed than some of our prior policies um but as far as the intent or purpose behind the policy it's still larger Remains the Same is it possible or is it too much to highlight what's new as opposed you know versus what is already there just to see the difference the reason I've done the side by side I can for certain policies some are re written um kind of in their entirety um so to go for a word for word comparison is a little bit challenging um you know if there's a sentence or something inserted in that's certainly something we can do but the reason I provide the old and new with the hyperlinks um I think it's probably best if you put them side by side and read one following the other um but this again the purpose of this is to bring our our series 4,000 policies uh up to date with the most current legal references at the end um and C recommendation recommended language um that's really more specific to uh 2024 yeah I mean the there's a big difference here but it's it's almost uh almost 25 years since this policy has been uh revised um so you know it I think you know Kelly to your point some of these are the language and the way it's even presented is going to change substantially I mean I just switched um back to the previous one I think what you will see Terry is the one through six that they numbered and bullet pointed out to each specific thing is where the the chunk of kind of the update or recommendations are here but essentially it says the same thing it's just more detailed in the new policy but to go word by word there's so many differences it makes it a little bit more challenging yeah it's challenging to try to keep up what's the difference too that that's I realize it's a lot there it's just that it is challenging either way you look at it so Kate I will take your uh recommendation if we want to go to the original policy have everyone read it and then project the new policy we can do that um that's also why we're providing the links and information in advance as well okay yeah I mean to that point Kelly I that was something we talked about at the last meeting how important it is for folks to have shown up reading through having read through these um I think there certainly might be cases where we should consider it you know line line and kind of go over it um I don't know if this is one of them because it's it's essentially the same content it's just a little bit more expand you know the language is a little bit more expanded um if folks really feel strongly about it then we can do it I do feel strongly about it because language is important and how it's you know understood um and I thought that when we had spoken you know over the course of the last couple of years we were talking about about how heavy this load is going to be but that we were going to show what the differences were and so I I agree with Teresa I mean I understand there's a lot of polic here and and you really have to be well versed and understand how you're looking at it and that is what I would be looking to you to explain to me how the policy has changed over 25 years there's going to be significant changes and then some that are slight but I I would I would like to to review those in more detail I guess I'm just trying to think practically how we would do that because if you Kelly if you go back to the first screen you know a lot of times what we'll do like when we um when we bargain in contracts and you get a Redline version um so we almost couldn't Redline version this because it would be all crossed off with new sentences stuck in the middle that are just reaying the same thing in a different way um I think in these overview ones like this one this is like an this is like the Feelgood HR policy right the one that they wrote 30 years ago like we love everybody we take care that's what this policy is those that might create a burden like the one I'm thinking most of is that hiring policy with the different panels if we were going to suggest a change like we don't want to do two panels anymore we want to do one panel that would be one where it' be super easy to show you on a Redline version we could talk about what you know what the difference is what the impact on you know nepotism or whatever it is might be um but I think in ones like this one I think you just look at your eyes would glaze over because you just have a Big Blob of everything crossed out and all new words and they all are that like Feelgood happy words if that makes any sense that's my two cents on this one in particular I I guess I'm talking about the ones that that that do change that there's been significant changes in the last 25 years of how HR looks at right policy um so if there's like significant changes where we're not talking about one word that doesn't change the meaning of of it you know what I'm saying where that's what I'm talking about like where are the big the big changes or the ones that we need to highlight or hey you know what this was the case but now you know we've included this so now it includes this larger pool of people like those kinds of changes we're not are we gonna go over that okay great you have about these policies I just highlighted on the screen for you the spelling out while there are differences in the language written between the former policy and the current policy and you know minor wording changes the significant difference here is your one through six the numbers one through six which are highlighted on the screen which really spells out the you know the six different chunks or roles and responsibilities of the policies to come um so again the first one is recruitment selection and employing the highest qualified Personnel the second one is compensation the third one talks about inservice or training the fourth one about evaluation on the fifth one about assignments and you will see policies that that align to each one of these in the latter um the latter part of the series um in the last one of talking about human relationships um and so and that is kind of embedded within all the policies um in this series and others but that is where the meat of this policy has kind of spelled out different responsibilities in relationship to Personnel may I Kate if I look at the first one it says to recruit and select and employee the best qualified now we have a a program or we've we're looking to higher diversity um you know it so the best qualifi like that would be a a a word in there where it's saying the best qualified and I understand that we always look for the best qualified but we have other uh you know Michelle I'm gonna inter your for a second you have a policy that's coming up that talks specifically about recruitment of minor minity candidates so this outlines like this is like the 5,000 foot View and then rest of the policies are all the you know so there is a policy that that addresses exactly what you're talking all right so I okay great so the fact that it's not here we will be seeing that we will be seeing it yes there's a whole policy devoted just to that topic thank you wonderful thank you Kate any questions from uh any other questions from committee members thank you Kelly for doing that yeah showing the difference that helps thank you all right I'm uh gonna look for a motion to recommend uh the 4,000 number 4 the 4,000 uh policy for first do you want to wait until we do them all and just do a motion to those first you know I want to do them one by one Terry just because if we do bump into one that we decide we don't want to send for a first read yet or that requires more okay I make the motion thank you may I have a second please okay Kate I'll second thank you Michelle uh all those in favor please signify by saying I I I okay thank you motion carries all right right so we're looking at policy 4111 Recruitment and selection yes sorry to change screens it's just quicker to unshare and then reshare so okay here you go uh the next policy again this is the cab recommended policy uh talking about um Personnel this policy again will be signified by a 4111 and a 4211 because it's both certified and non-certified so you will see that on the recommendation um if you choose to send this to the full board um so here uh it is talking about how we recruit and select um staff members uh for uh the positions that we have within the district I don't up just a little bit you just scrolled past the diversity part can you see it now Kim yep so remember this policy particularly that um belief in ensuring um increasing educator diversity those all dovetail with the Strategic plan with the increasing educator diversity plan that you're going to see at your board meeting Wednesday night that will go to the commissioner to the grant so all of these pieces are all intertwined and so this is sort of of the bedrock in the policies piece from which these other things are going to flow out hey I'm not sure if you want to entertain I know everyone had this information in advance we can certainly go through it or answer any questions related to to the policy as written you let us know just a second here sorry okay so um with regard to the content about retired hiring of retired teachers Kim could you talk just a little bit about that so we can kind of understand the language is a little complicated sure so um basically the language there is just tracking what are our requirements with the teachers retirement board so when a teacher retires from service and there's lots of rules about when it's considered early retirement late you know regular retirement on time disability related all of those rules are set by the Teachers Retirement Board which is a state organization um they hold the pension plan and they make the guard rules or the guidelines so if a teacher and when a teacher retires there's some circumstances where they may come back and teach again with us this time as a retired teacher so more like a sub and they basically will continue to collect their pension while also subbing for us in order to restrict that double dipping idea the regulations have long had this 45% rule which means that the teacher the retire HED teacher cannot earn any more than 45% of the highest someone could be paid in that position including if they take benefits the value of the benefit plan so there's those are state run rules that again set the parameters this policy really just follows the big boulders here it lays out the big boulders of what can be some sort of Arcane rules some of those rules got suspended after Co some of them are are lacked because of um shortage areas so it's it's a whole world unto itself on how to navigate the the trb rules in order to get someone to come in and work with us as a retired teacher so this starts to really lay it out um but at the end of the day a lot of this we defer to trb to to be able to to tell the teacher what the rules are thank you Teresa did you have a question uh you have a listing I guess a uh listing all the uh legal references and stuff towards the bottom is there any way that you can separate that from the body of the policy just to Del delineate I'm looking at I'm thinking or is this more policy down here but it's like your um bibliography or what do you call it that yeah that that's exactly it's it's the required references that's right yeah right if you could just kind of put an Ask separate or or or broken line or something across just to show that it's separate from your policy yep thank you and then that um the line that's stricken out that's alternative language so um the because of our size um you delegate The Authority for hiring all of the teachers to the superintendent here um because if you were um a much smaller District like Sherman where you have 10 teachers you might go through the process and and nominate individuals to be teachers and you all would vote on each one of them um with the volume of people that we do in a given year um you wouldn't you'd spend all your time doing that so you delegate that to the superintendent and his team in order to go ahead and employ teacher so that language in parenthesis is if you didn't do that what you would have to do the board would have to accept or reject people within 35 calendar days so it's um really it's alternative language from um cab so do we need it because that's why it's crossed out we don't we don't need it then but it's not crossed out on our on our copy oh it's crossed out on the one you're looking at yep on the screen so it should be that way on the screen do is if you decided to move this forward we would remove it so there was a clean policy um Kim and I were just trying to show you that that was an alteration or adjustment um because it was in the recommended policy for consideration that we didn't want to remove it without um right right you had it in parentheses I just want to make sure I remember there's one on the fingerprinting we'll go over as well um the same thing okay any other questions from Comm members about this policy all right seeing none I'm looking for a motion to make a recommendation to the full board for first reading of policy 4111 revised policy 4111 Recruitment and selection um and that will also be for nope just that one sorry 4111 so motion okay thank uh thank you Terry and Michelle go get the second on that so all those in favor please signify by saying I I I where's Al where's Gladis is an ex officio member of the committee so or not ex officio what's a yeah yeah ex official yeah okay so she she does not participate in the voting okay okay but Mrs Cooper I trust that if you have any questions or concerns uh you're invited to speak freely in this meeting as well thank you I I'm reading as we go along yeah okay thank you all right moving on to 41124 so this one um this one's had a lot of evolution over time to be very honest we don't use a lot of um Health examinations anymore we use them in places where they're strictly job related so um you know you'll see there's a couple of things that are optional in here like the TB test that's just a hold over from a very very long time ago that's no longer required um so I think it's up to you I my recommendation would be that you leave in a permissive part of this procedure um because you do want to be able to use it in places where it's strictly job related if you started doing broad you know widely spread Health examinations for um topics or or functions that are not job related that's when you expose yourself to claims about disability discrimination or um you know perceived disabilities so we generally don't like to go too close to those um so um know if anyone's got any questions about this one this lays out the procedures were you to use the physical exam policy because of it being job related okay um for that language that's marked optional all new staff with a risk for having latent TB infection um can you give us some guidance there please Kim again I I I worry a little about um perceived disabilities honestly and so I don't think if if it is to the extent that it's optional that we don't need it that's when I'm not sure you really so don't need it so take it out take it out around a hundred million years I think people get emotionally well listen they got measles coming back they do I was shocked and you know those of us that got that shot when we were quite young it didn't work so good anymore I don't think shot I had the measles that's are there any striking through that that sentence in the policy okay are there any other questions from committee members here so Kim you feel confident that in removing that optional language that the rest of this is pretty broad enough to yeah and it's any kind of Y and I think it's available to us in the event that we think it's job related and we need to put people through the process all right uh seeing no other questions or comments I will ask for a motion to make a recommendation to the full board for first read on policy 41124 Health examination Michelle you want to do it motion second thank you Michelle thank you Terry all those in favor please signify by saying I I I motion so carries all right we are moving on down to 411 2.54 212.5 top so this has to do with h fingerprinting so allowing us to do both uh background checks uh so fingerprinting criminal background checks and DCF checks um and this is a policy which applies both to your certified and non-certified staff um the purpose behind this is to make sure that there are um nothing that we should be aware of coming in into um employment um in to protect our children uh to make sure that those employees that we are um that we are hiring do not have any concerns that they present to employment in our are questions from committee members here um go ahead Terry uh the old copy I kind of liked the way it's formatted with one section can you do that in this area to kind of because it kind of runs all in together can you be a little bit more explicit on which part that you liked in the former policy well like he says here number one prior to the first day of employment after the superintendent or designate then number two no later than 10 calendar days can you do that with this one because this just kind of runs into one another you know it's separate the paragraphs but delting it would that be a lot easier so you know to do one you know to do two you know to do three we can certainly do that um Terry can I just ask right here so I'm on the paragraph that's applicants as required shall make disclosures are you thinking here to kind of um tab them all in so you have number one two and three very clearly labeled or to use the wording of the former policy well no no not use the word wording of the former polic just setting it up of your former policy you have it you know different um paragraph one to do this paragraph two to do that paragraph three to do this you have it in the old policy let me just present it just so everyone knows what you are referring to sorry yeah I just this one has just a lot you've got a lot of paragraphs here remember this is the C recommended that we um right right decided to go so Kelly while you're pulling that up I'll say this is all statutorily required so we are required in Connecticut to do the fingerprint B check through state and federal authorities we're required to do the DCF um check so people have to complete the form and we have to submit that to see if they're on the registry and um the third thing it makes reference there without calling it explicitly by name is the employer verification so any applicant who is going to be considered for a job who has worked in a position in the past working with students um they have to give us the name and address and we send those employers a form and it asks if anyone um if there were any pending allegations of abuse or neglect at the time that the person left employment if there had been any finding of abuse neglect and we often will have to chase down employers because someone could give you eight or ten of those forms right from all different employers that they've had where they were for kids so we run all of those down um sometimes it takes more I'm going to on the plane here sometimes it takes more than five or 10 days and so I get a little nervous with date restrictions because um we try to make sure that we've complied with the line stare of them before putting anybody in the classroom as required by law but some of those like the eev forms take a while and and we don't always get them all back I just um put up the previous policy as Kim was talking just so you can see how it's numbered um one through five uh certain we can try to outline the process and the steps like the one two three that are in um two of the different paragraphs we can certainly yeah just to make it yeah so that it's a little bit clearer and easier on the eyes to read um but I would recommend going with the paragraphs as written in oh yeah if you can just yeah organize it uh I think would help we can go ahead and do that absolutely okay any questions or thoughts from uh committee members about this policy okay seeing none I'm going to ask for a motion to make a recommendation to the board for full the full board for a first read um on policy 411 2.5 and 42125 for uh Security check fingerprinting for personnel certified and non-certified motion second by Michelle second by Terry uh may all those in favor please on the second I I I motion so carries thank you now can I just ask a quick question um to either Kelly or Kim I'm not sure who is the best person to answer this in looking at the policies I see there's 1.1 which we did skip over I assume it's because it's actually supposed to be 4211 that is correct okay thank you just wanted to clarify point where we're trying to put them in order there were some um discrepancies from the audit and I'll actually speak to that for not this policy but the next one that we do as I do need to double check on on the correct numbering okay thank you Kelly appreciate you confirming all right so we're goad Kate no go ahead sorry sorry Kelly that's okay we were both gonna say the same thing I think the next one is uh 41126 which is Personnel records um essentially this states that in central office we are to keep a personnel file um on employees uh on each employee that is employed by the board um that uh the employee has the right to review that personnel file um and then um and cim I'm going to ask for you to describe this but in limited capacities we do have the right to release information contained within the personnel file uh pursuant with a foyer request and then there's some specific steps that we go through in order to do that so um just to scroll up a teeny bit the place where um I actually recommend striking out so a personnel file is not a location it's it's a series of documents so a personal file for Kelly might have her evaluations that are located in an electronic format somewhere they may have a performance related memoranda that was written and printed out and filed in her file um it may be contained in the superintendent's desk in a file so there is no legal personnel file location where if something's not in it it's not in the personnel file if that makes sense so um again to kind of use the words of Mr Mooney the personnel file is not a single location it's a series of documents and so when we get a request for one Our obligation is to gather all of those documents and produce them as anything affecting the terms and conditions of employment so I do think that that one sentence there is a little bit misleading which is why I sort of struck it out of the recommended policy um the other is um I just think it's a good policy for you everywhere that we can to have a superintend or design again you have an awful lot of employees so if you have 1,800 employees and you get 10 requests for personnel files um I don't think you want to funnel those all through one person it's just too much work so that's why I recommended that you put in or designate in all the places where are where they are relevant this policy really is just tracking um Foya requirements so as Kelly alluded um contrary to popular belief there is not a whole lot that is shielded from disclosure from teachers Personnel files um lots of things that they do um um certain parts of evaluations but not discipline are all subject to disclosure if someone were to make a Freedom of Information Act request so I think that this policy as proposed tries to kind of thread the needle a little bit between what would be required to be disclosed on request it's also an important policy because it alerts employees that that is very much within their rights to ask for a copy of their file and and we do get that a lot people say can I see everything that's in my file so that could be memos that Kelly's written it could be memos that were stuck in at the time of hire into that you know demographic file it could be any of those things so I think people need to have a right um to to understand that they can ask to see their file and and many do Teresa um the you added design it's not in the copy we got right I added that actually I was sitting here this afternoon looking at it again fine it's okay with me I just I didn't have it here I was looking at it again today so I thought that was probably an appropriate change I I agree I agree any questions from committee members about this policy all right seeing none I will look for a motion to make a recommendation to full board for first reading of policy 411 2.6 Personnel records Al want to jump in I'll move thank you Melle thank you Terry all those in favor please signify by saying I I I motion so carries okay so the next one I do want to start um har thank you for uh asking this one is labeled um in your agenda I think on one section five sorry 4113 and on another 4114 this is one that between what's posted on our Danbury public schools website what's on the cave website there's a difference um so I do want to get back to the committee on the numbering of it but I can assure you that the content of it is appropriate and so I would encourage that we move forward with it tonight um and at the next policy meeting Kim and I can just let you know is this 4113 or 4114 um I do want to verify that um this really is talking about assignment and transfer uh it is a brief policy um of uh personnel and this is for certified staff members um and so within this policy it references um as negotiated in your collective bargaining agreement and part of our teachers uh contract uh is a provision uh for transfers um that they can that a teacher can request um and there's dates uh and timelines for that so that is spelled out in your teachers contract but this policy essentially alerts teachers very similarly to the Personnel records that you have a right to ask for a transfer within your area of certification um and there's a process for doing that I don't know Kim if you want to add anything no and that's in that first paragraph you see consistent with any existing Provisions in negotiated agreements that's what it's referring to so teachers um teachers in their contract after you know many rounds of negotiations what what the way the system works is they can prior to March 1st request a transfer and they um will give you for example could be um I would like any elementary school or only in if you have something in great plane or only if you have something in third grade and those um parameters go on to a list now it doesn't guarantee by operation of the contract you're not guaranteed the transfer it means that you are guaranteed an interview with the receiving building administrator so um as and I don't get a lot of these anymore um it it also if someone were a teacher and were to not have requested to transfer but saw a posting for that third grade job at Great plane they're certainly free to apply as an internal candidate so it's kind of diluted down the transfer Provisions a little bit um in that everybody kind of has an opportunity whether they've said it by March 1 or not everybody gets a chance to kind of VI for a position they just may not be guaranteed an interview if they haven't put their name on the list so Kim this was uh this particular or Kelly this particular policy was broken down into two distinct segments on our original um information one which was I guess just general to everybody in the district and then one specific to administr of assignments uh for um it looks like administrator specifically like uh principles and again I think that may go back to way back in the day administrators and teachers were in the same contract okay so now over time yeah over time before my time I don't I don't know when it was exactly but they I don't think it was shortly before I arrived they split off into two different bargaining units so I think what you're you're seeing is kind of a hold over of trying to peel apart those policies to make sure that got all groups go to their designated contract first which makes sense it's a it's a lot cleaner to do it that way and I just sorry I'm sorry Kelly no I was just gonna say I just put up for your reference so everyone could see what you were referring to um and just to call everyone's attention this was last reviewed in October of 99 um so it was prior to uh the administrative Union breaking off as himim has indicated ter uh I noticed that the uh letter r is in front of these numbers are we going to keep sh I assume that means revised does that do we keep that or or no the letter when we revise these uh policies the r is the regulation or regulation yep and the P up above the policy so the p yep yeah so that one's the policy and then below it is the regulation with the r oh okay thank you I try to get this all straight this is for me it's a little bit of an adjustment too because what it used to be is in that three- ring binder which is I still think the best way to go in that three- ring binder that I think one was blue and then the regulations were green and they were pieces of paper right behind them so it was a little bit easier conceptually just to think about it as a separate thing right right thank you um any questions or concerns from committee members all right seeing none I will ask for a motion to make a recommendation the full board for a first reading of policy 4111 sorry 4114 assignment move move by Michelle thank you second seconded by Terry thank you both all those in favor please signify by saying I I I I motion carries um before we uh you're G to give us a preview Kelly before we do that I just want to give any board members who are on this call with us that are not committee members a chance if they have any questions or concerns about the policies we discussed this evening all right Kelly looks like we can move forward thank you can I just did you I just want to say thank you gladus because I really didn't want to take minutes because I wanted to review the policies and thank you so much that's all you're welcome no problem I second that just a little bit of a preview um here you will see this said policies for next meeting and right now just because I wanted you to focus on the ones we are going over to tonight it's just length the um the old policy or our current policy that's in place what I will do is you will see it populated on the next agenda where we'll create the link to the C recommended policy for your consideration um and you will see that we have 11 more to do so 11 more policies these are required policies um from our cave audit again they're all policies we currently have but it's bringing them up into current language um so our recommendation would be that we go through uh some or all of we can I can make the agenda to have all 11 policies and certainly um depending on conversation and timing we can certainly agree to Poston them for the next meeting that's needed I think Kate did got got this going I'm looking at the time we did okay I think I think we did very well actually yeah I think um put it all on for the next meeting that's my feeling I unless somebody else doesn't want to do it but um I'm I'm okay with that as you know long as we go into the new areas right we're gonna go into those thoroughly so yeah I'm fine with whatever you'd like Kaden yeah I'm I'm okay with having them all on there Kelly I mean I think worst case scenario we get to a point where we've spent a fair amount of time in the meeting and we decide we're going to table some of those for the following meetings and then um not on here but just so you know there are some for consideration policies um so what Kim and I will do for not the next meeting but the following meeting um is bring to your attention there are 17 in this series alone that are for consideration most of which fall under current state law and statute that we have to do anyways but if there are ones for this committee to look at our consider they're all outlined in the original you to just get that um but then we will also bring those forward I think for the following so we that would wrap up the series 4,000 um the next series we would move on to is 5,000 which is student or students I'm sorry students some of which are student excellent I appreciate you guys uh continuing to push us through push up push this boulder up the hill thank you all for your time all right any comments or concerns from anybody on the call here before we wrap up all right I'm G to call for a motion to adjourn please motion thank you Teresa second by Michelle okay thank you so much all those in favor please signify

to 8:30 p.m. this public forum is special because it will be led by myself and Isabelle we want to see as many students come out as possible to share their voices perspectives and opinions around our role as students and the roles of an educator and a leader so that's the student ambassador report for today excellent thank you so much thank you and grab some dessert in the back have a good night this one no matter where I go in the district is somewhere doing another rooll on another day I don't I just asked him when he sleeps try and fit it in we get we get the best don't we all right so I'd like to invite Dr katti to give his superintendent report good evening board I I just want to first start by really thanking um our teams who prepared this evening so um elegantly and with such dignity um reminds me of the work we started earlier in the year when we brought to the board the six values Integrity collaboration humanization dignity empathy and courtesy and I see I feel so proud this evening as I listen to the presentations and the efforts um we are we are just getting started but it's so um impressive to see those values reflected in the work that we're seeing emerging this evening um really and that goes on and that's really reflective of our community and that is just so apparent in so many different ways and uh this past weekend uh we were thrilled me members of our team Dr Harmon attended on behalf of the district the um and I know many people around the board as well um attended the hometown Expo on Saturday and what a wonderful event I Know Dan artson also was there um our district Booth featured the sd30 NextGen Residency program which you heard this evening about recruitment efforts were really on full effect and we thank the iGo Chamber of Commerce for organizing such a vast and successful event um last week um Dr Susanna Rivera Mills uh met with fifth graders she is the president of Aurora University the first uh Latina president um and female Latina and female president of that University and really the first gener generation to attend ATT college and just was wonderful our students and our Educators were so on point in terms of really bringing her in and the reflection and I was just so honored to be a part of that community and thank the opo staff for their efforts to prepare our students for that experience our superintendent's advisory had its third meeting and this work has really Blossom and I'm grateful to the steering committee under the direction of Michelle early um for really bringing together a a variety of experiences where we're able to hear from parents community members teachers and school leaders together at the table engaging in Reflections around our student handbook and the rights and responsibilities and our discipline practices and to be able to reflect together about what a profile of a learner would look like if we pursue this fullon what does that look like as we think about the next generation of creativity and I I got to tell you it's not in my notes here to reflect out but I was at the uh superintendent's National Conference last week in San Diego and I got to tell you it was so affirming I'm sitting here in this Workshop that I attended where the school three different districts naville a district in New York and a District in California all three had done transformative work and I got to tell you every single one of them start with a profile of a learner profile of a a vision and that that Vision helped them get creative everything from one day a week of an elective uh process for kindergarteners going from class to class doing creative work versus just the traditional learning models Blown Away blown away all standards Al line of course for those of you who are worried about that I am too I'm just want to say it's the whole the whole package so just really exciting and I thank the the parent that group last but not least I want to thank Dr Waller and Miss early who attended on our behalf of parent University experience in Chicago um you'll hear more about that board but I wanted to make sure that I went a record to talk about it where really it was an opportunity for them to go and see parent universities live and in action in Chicago learn from it um Mike O'Neal who's the executive director of the process was there um just to think about what does this formal experience of a partnership with parents look like as we start to build this out we have to go beyond the informal expectations but really build systems for making that partnership successful and some of the comments earlier this evening reflect that and uh that that comes to close my more formal comments this evening so thank you Madame President so do you want us to do our before you go i' just like to say thank you so much for your reports they are aligned to the goals um focused and and detailed and so we really appreciate that thank you mam president so is everybody ready to do their shout outs ready okay go ahead so over this weekend the ASO Co-op boy swimming dive team participated in the ihsa state finals so congratulations to state I'm sorry to chase mayor who uh mayor who placed second in the 200 free and the 500 free ether shraer placed 13th and the 200 individual medal medal and the team of Chase Ryan Tanner and Ethan took 13th Place in the 400 free uh relay so this season the team set eight new school records so congratulations to everyone [Applause] sorry um this weekend 67 members of asigo East chapter of business Professionals of America attended the state leadership convention in Oakbrook their competitions ranged in topics of Finance Health Care law marketing technology and business 37 students achieved medals in their respective events some winning mult multiple of those 37 22 students qualified for Nationals in May congratulations to these wolves and I just have my a few of my own board comments number one can you do that can we do that um in um 7 is that separate yep oh yep okay we're getting there good to know uh geared forward robotics hosted its week zero scrimmage this past weekend and I was there um actually I was there uh Dr wmy was there uh Jared was there I was there were you I I missed you at the beginning yeah Jen Jen was there um there were several of us that were that were there in attendance to to witness what was going on and and um it was really awesome um thank you to the to Illinois State Representative Stephanie kwit and asigo Village president Ryan Kaufman for attending uh the team invited other first robotic teams from the area to join them during their week zero scrimmage all teams now have three weeks until the competition begins uh they're aiming toward going to worlds in Houston um and the talent these students showcase is unbelievable and that's probably an understatement there is there are some really talented students that we have um and and also uh the the cooperation between teams if there were issues with um anything on the robots uh everybody was helping out in a collaborative manner which was I thought was really very cool so uh it was a great event good um we are excited that next week will be our first student Le public forum uh please join the board on Monday March 4th 7 to 8:30 p.m.

for an exciting match of OverWatch 2 where this guy's going to be on the JV hello I'm going to be playing tomorrow yeah Special thanks to auction B speed Indiana east Sports Network and the Army National Guard for their support of our program thank you have a wonderful rest of your [Music] day [Music] n [Music] a

join us for a wonderful evening filled with food trip food trucks vendors family activities and all that fun Jazz so mark your calendars were total solar eclipse so the community park if I'm not mistaken that's where we have the fireworks Gathering it is right right behind building one there yes okay 1M we don't want you to show up in the town square and wonder where everybody went yes please don't although you still will see the eclipse be by yourself I don't know it's Indiana I don't know I don't know it'll get dark though um okay policy Miss dun thank you to Dr herburger for continuing to keep me on my toes I have an update from our Mighty Committee of two we are now past the Midway point of the 2024 short session this week we will see education bills in second reading with third reading scheduled for Monday and Tuesday of next week the short session is scheduled to aurn on March 8th bills that do not Advance out of committee before the committee report deadline are considered DOA Dead on Arrival or maybe after arrival after a few moments being in the session um once the session is complete we should anticipate um what we do here is our Neola policy revision package and that is what we will be working on over the course of the next few months to make sure that we are updating our board policy to make sure that it is aligned to our updated uh State statutes or laws that have been enacted so thank you again for for continuing to make sure that I am prepared for these meetings I want to thank everyone on the board thank all of our board members for the extra work you do in the community outside of the board work and keeping us informed on that thank you so much um so we'll move on to our action items the approval of the new lecc bids uh Mr Smith Madame President Dr Smith members of the board I recommend the board of approv the GMP contract to gore core Garcia for the new lecc as submitted so moved second properly moved and seconded any further discussion all those in favor I I any opposed we have approved the lecc bids Madame President I'd like to acknowledge Ryan Albright with core and Garcia also to add to that he is a resident in Lawrence Township so we got A plus there thank you very much for being here with us okay and the next action item would be Dr gag line the approval of student devices bid results resident must members of board Dr Smith I recommend the approval of the purchase of Chromebooks as submitted so move second properly moved and seconded if there's no further discussion official move on that I move I moved and Jessica seconded thank you we're we're always competing on the moving and the seconding it's justed um so properly moved and seconded all those in favor I I any opposed we have approved that action item the next one is the approval of the internet service provider president must and members of the board Dr Smith I recommend the approval of the purchase of internet service as submitted so moved second properly moved and seconded board any discussion if not all those in favor I I I we have approved that was was that the provider of network connection to the new lecc it's next all right it's next pretty fast president must and members of the board Dr Smith I re recommend the purchase of the fiber to connect the new lecc to the internet as submitted moved Marta got that one and second Crystal properly moved and seconded if there's no further discussion all in favor I I any opposed we have approved that the LCC connection um were to the provider network connection for Skyles test Sunnyside in Brook Park president must and members of the board Dr Smith I Rec recommend the purchase of the connections between Sunnyside and LCC and to provide the redundancy at Sky's test as submitted so moved second if there's no further discussion all those in favor I I I any opposed we have you we have you ready there Skyles test okay Madame President I move we treat action items sorry I jump I know there's just they just keep coming I know I'm sorry e won't let us off the hook I know we got to get these approved so we can get the money we got to get us some network switch up that's right president M and members of the board Dr Smith I recommend the purchase of network switches as submitted so moved second properly moved and seconded all those in favor I opposed all right so we have Network switches now thank you very much Dr gag line that kept me on my toes it's a lot of paper okay now Madame President I move we treat action items 4.7 through 4.12 as a consent agenda we have so moved or seconded um properly moved and seconded um all in favor of treating those items as a consent agenda I I I I oppose they are a consent agenda I move approval of the consent agenda second properly moved and seconded um if there's no further discussion um all those in favor of approving the consent agenda I I I any opposed we have approved the consent agenda and again just for public awareness our consent agenda includes minutes Personnel reports um approval of service agreements approval of pay apps approval of field trips um so I I they're they are all available to the board ahead of the meeting and their standard standard issue items if you want to know more about them you get um we are to our the end of our meeting at the end of our action items we are to board comments who wants to say it first who's most connected to Lawrence Central that may be you miss bucket that be me I mean what goes saying that the excitement for Saturday like what do you say to that it was amazing it was it kept us on our toes it's historic and so just congratulations to Our Lady bears and just the leadership it was amazing it was amazing I have a I I have a senior at Lawrence Central so it's just cool to see just all the sports I never thought that I would be into sports but I'm really into sports right now so um there's that and then also too I have to pay um respect to the fact that but it is Black History Month and so it is celebrated every day in our home but I do want to say I've been in Lawrence born and bred so I want to say just I'm excited and I'm grateful that we have such a diverse community of Educators and leaders and just how important that it is I remember Miss Hamer at Harrison Hill the third grade she taught I was I was a wild one and she pulled out the golden me and she just made me realize just how I could cultivate my skills I remember um Mr Ron Davy he had such a patriarchal presence and just excellence and just pull the gold out of you I remember um Miss Teresa Brown at beler she taught me the fact of just disip discipline being the highest level of self-love she did drill team and so it was a whole Squad of girls that just she loved on fully and so it's just so many memories I even bless his heart Mr Paul love he dealt with me and my witty humor and getting I'll be honest you guys I got put out of class A few times for that witty humor I did but he would let me try to advocate for myself and so but I say that to say seriously even with that it was I was able to see myself in them and so I'm grateful to Lawrence that we are inclusive we are inclusive and it it has it has raised me and it has made me the woman that I am and the leader that I am and so thank you Lawrence like history want well said Miss Norman yes I mean um yes to everything Miss Pucket said um Black History Month heart it's heart health month I believe um but yes I've enjoyed the projects the kids have been working on um it had brought some discussion in our home and with me being a science uh nerd I said you know my favorite uh person from black history as far as science goes is George Washington Carver um because of him they developed over 300 uses for the peanut um in many products that we use today so um just the discussions that we have the Educators that we have everybody across the board I'm thankful for um and then um again go Bears and I'm looking forward to um the boys have their turn this week but um it was a great Community event um it it really brought the community together and it was an exciting season so um thank you to everyone who's been involved got add that the um the boys play sectional so they will be at Len tomorrow oh I'm sorry I got a little excited my boy is playing tomorrow so I'm sorry let me leave it let me pause that I know Miss Pucket I was surprised to hear you say you didn't really care too much about sports because got you got a big one coming up um you know I've I've been reflecting quite a bit just uh over over the last few days I think many of you know I used to work at the NCAA and I was there for almost a decade and when we think about um Black History Month coinciding with these really incredible um opportunities for young women to do amazing things on the court and in the classroom I can't help but reflect on how important um Sports has been as uh an opportunity for raising social awareness and social justice and when I see our kids representing our school district with the kind of integrity and the kind of um the kind of dignity that they do when they're on the court in in that sort of way like they did on Saturday night I can't help but be impressed and then I also want to just genuinely acknowledge the staff and particularly those of you on the de who are part of the African-American Community my family chose Lawrence Township because of the diversity and because of the exposure my kids have and I am incredibly grateful every day for for that opportunity so thank you I would just continue to reiterate all the things that my fellow board members have said it certainly is a pleasure to live here in Lawrence um I want to share something with you all because I am not going to be as present for this wonderful community that I love um as much over the next several months um I found out recently that my father has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has just several months to live and I share that with you because I wasn't present um and I told myself I wasn't going to cry and I'm so sorry um but I want you to know that it's not for a lack of love and care for this community um my dad dad taught me one thing he's a retired FBI agent and he talked to me about commitment and commitment is something that I truly believe in and it really bothers me that I'm not going to be as committed as I want to over the next few um months hopefully it'll be longer um but I don't think it will and so just to say that I love this community I appreciate you all and I will be here if I can't be at the deas I will be here with you and I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that the greatness that exists in this District continues to to continue to grow so thank you Miss done thank you for sharing that very personal information and I will say that I know you very well and though you may not be as present as you would like to be I know you will be still fully committed so thank you for for your commitment during this difficult time I don't have very much to add to the eloquent um statements from the board I agree with everything that's been said uh but I will say that the Bears win this Saturday was a win for Lawrence Central it was a win for students our faculty our stakeholders our entire Township and you could see it in the joy if those of you who attended the game you could see it in the joy of mam dancing in the aisles it was beautiful we were we were way better we we won the dance contest we won more than just a dance contest Dr Smith let's be honest and nothing drives excellence in our Township More Than Pride and I want to say um a huge all credit to the girls on the Bears team and to their coaches but I want to say a sincere thank you for Dr Smith when he joined our team in January anuary of 2014 he promised he would um Institute a vision of excellence in our district and Through The Hires that uh we have made over that time and the direction uh of our schools you can see the pride in um all the renovated facilities and the new high schools and the fields and I was talking to Miss Brown as we walked in the boys are so excited about their new baseball field and um you know we have solidified pride in this Township and um thank you Dr Smith thank you very much um I I will add before I hand the mic over to you that board we have a visit on Friday morning at Sunnyside and on March 8th we have our Retreat okay and our next meeting for those of you listening will be be Monday March 18th at 5:30 and that will be a combined work session and school board meeting due to spring break all right thank you madam president if you're from Indiana if you're not Indiana is still the mecca of basketball so the state championship still a big deal in the state if you were at that game um I just enjoy watching all the class obviously we got there early to watch the 3A Champions but I got to thank all four Champs today uh those communities are really proud it's a PRI thing in Indiana basketball so our girls at the top of the hill 30 in1 a great season enjoy watching them and they will all be back next year so get ready um and then I also got a little pride with we want to congratulate L Central but I know the superintendent personally so and um I'm not going to say anything about the indie star that made a prediction but Dr NES but go to the microphone and let's share with the community a big thing that we are hosting beginning tomorrow and for the entire week it is now time for the boys sectional 10 basketball what can we expect yeah sectional 10 starts tomorrow that all games are at Lawrence North uh so tomorrow night Tuesday Lawrence Central will take on the Warriors of Warren Central that's just a single game at six o'clock Wednesday night is a two night uh six o'clock game be Tech versus adex and then Lawrence North will Tred to beat North Central for the third time last time they played it as a two-point game uh Friday night we hope to see Lawrence Central playing Cathedral Cathedral got the buy and then uh Lawrence North we hope will be playing either adex or Tech and then Saturday night 7 o'clock will be the championship game again all games at Lawrence north thank you um do we have a motion to adour so moved we have a second second we are [Music] adjourned got sign everything I think so yeah thank you

at plank Junior High School our student board ambassadors Isabelle and Luke will lead the discussion alongside the board in developing a shared Vision or portrait of a learner an educator and a leader it is essential to hear from all voices we encourage all students parents staff members community members and Business Leaders to attend um fill the seats please come and uh tell us what your what your opinion is on these uh important topics a shout out for our journalism programs at ohos and oehs um they took place in in the SPC SBC conference journalism competition at planfield East High School on Saturday the 17th congratulations to asgo East for placing first and to ASO high school for placing sixth both teams have qualified for the sectionals competition on Saturday April 6th and so good luck to those [Applause] programs and last congratulations to trer Junior High Panther choir who had the amazing opportunity to sing at a Chicago steel hockey game on February 17th they did it a great job what a great place to be congratulations to all of our um teams and our efforts and I want to thank the board for joining in these shoutouts um in uh in sharing this good news and I know we'll hear more I look forward to hear more from the board's public comments thank you all right 7.3 board committee reports so we'll have a report on our finance and Facilities committee um what would you like to add well the report is available in the agenda yes um does anybody have any questions no questions no questions no it's late at night so it's it's it's there we covered a lot of topics they're all they're all here absolutely very good perfect okay so we can move on to 7.4 board member comments Jen would you like to start I just I was so um inspired tonight by the parents that came to speak this is truly how we the the best pathway for our students is when we collaborate as a community as parents administrators board this is how it's done so I really love seeing that energy uh last week I was able to join the superintendent Advisory Group I had sent an email to Dr katti saying you know portrait of a learner is very important to me is it something we're looking into and Dr Waller said hold my hold my water my water um and really the presentation um that uh she shared about what we're going we're going to go through portrait of a learner portrait of a system portrait of a leader portrait of an educator really absolutely BW my mind um and I happen to attend at our conference that we go to a portrait of a learner and so I was very excited this is 10 times better than what I saw um and then I really encourage every parent to fill out your five Essentials and um in honor of my two goddaughters who um are in Lacrosse uh they are in Carmel Indiana and one of them got a full ride to Yukon and is playing there her first year I am very excited to support um lacrosse and her little sister is right behind her and we're hoping to see the two sisters at Yukon so come on Yukon give her a uh a a a scholarship so um I've really seen um what amazing things lacrosse can do it's a great sport for all people to get involved in and um I fully support it coming to our district and girls flag football come on yes of [Laughter] course all right anyone else you Jared any board comments yeah yeah actually I do have one um sorry real quick um excuse me w nine Aurora uh scholarships are coming up and so if there are any uh swo East uh students uh who uh reside in um Ward n make sure you contact the uh career center and also if you live in Ward 9 and you're a student um they are awarding um some of those scholarships all the way up to um junior year in college so um just keep that in mind thank you again to Alderman bug for for doing this every year it's uh greatly appreciated so I just want to make sure that was uh mentioned tonight thank you for that I just if I can just do one real quick um I just wanted to commend the bands at both um o and and OE um I ate a lot of Pancakes over the past couple weekends um each of them had their own respective pancake breakfast um they were well attended pancakes were wonderful um and the bands that perform there um I mean we should band parents you should all be proud if at both schools um again goes back to more talented individuals we have in this District speaking of talented individuals yes I was uh uh pleased last time I shared a little bit about this past weekend joining our black student association their black Thai event in honor of Black History Month at OS and really a powerful evening um I had a chance they had a guest speaker there uh Congressman Underwood was there there and really spoke to the power of voice and the importance of advocacy and so reflected in our students I want to thank jaaya and Brianna to the students who really were spearheading and Miss Thomas for her leadership of this event 44 students came up and presented their um they all received honor rooll so they they honored those students for receiving honor rooll this year as well as they each got to present their career choices F from biotech fields um interest lawyers everything and really to speak to tonight we only had one person this evening want to be a teacher but it was so affirming for me that we are planting these seeds now through the apprenticeship work and through what's to come so I was just so proud to be a member of this community and I kept asking students and what grade are you in and they're like ninth grade I'm like what so just so talented and so many parents came out so really a heartwarming event yeah our our future is in good hands right they are they are yes okay okay moving on to 8.1 the consent agenda can I have a motion to approve the consent agenda please make a motion to approve all items under consent including 8.1 minutes from the special Clos Board of Education meeting from February 8th 2024 minutes from the Board of Education meeting February 12th 2024 open and close session and 8.2 to acknowledge the foyer requests received by the district second are there any questions on the consent agenda before we before we we second first okay sorry I I jump is done nope you're good second okay so now are there any questions on the consent agenda no okay Mr Gatewood I Dr Mario I Miss Johnson I mrone hi M Simon hi Mr hi am I okay motion passes 70 okay uh good evening I want to invite uh Mr artson Mr milard and uh Mr Howard to please come up uh welcome this evening I think is an important progress in establishing what I would say is some systems and structures around formally how we think about adding new ihsa sports we know that Sports play ancre incredibly important role in our students lives and we want to thank you for your leadership in preparing this evening's presentation for the board and how we think about uh future opportunities for our students sure thank you Dr katti good evening board uh as Dr katti said my name is Dan arson the executive director of high school to my left here is Darren Howard the ohos athletic director and to my right Tony Miller the OE athletic director tonight the uh what we will be discussing is really why we would add any new sports to sd308 and really the opportunities present themselves uh to grow our students in a lot of different ways uh and we look at that the second bullup there really kind of hammers things home for me is not every student may excel in something that is very much a traditional sport so when we talk about adding new sports some of the sports we going be talking about tonight regionally may not may be new to us but of course Across the Nation and even across the world not so much but you know I was was lucky enough growing up I was I was a baseball guy through and through played baseball through high school and into college and coached as I started teaching and still coached to this day in some capacity um Darren was basketball through and through and then Tony was baseball as well very traditional Sports uh locally and then even Across the Nation but uh as we had in public comment tonight you see that there's opportunities for other sports to be added that that would would provide our students opportunities that would be great for them and great for their maturity as well and in this and here uh I I've included a couple of different things from US Department of Education and then the last thing I put on there is the increasingly important role of Athletics in schools and this is an important article because really what this article uh displays is Athletics means a lot in our in our schools and probably now more than ever and really this article goes in details that you know our country is divided in a lot of different ways for a lot of different reasons but Athletics is one thing that's it's a uniting force and when teams get together they have that that that common Bond and they share that experience that really is more important now than ever probably in our history so that's one of the things when we look to add Sports we're doing this for our kids and and really to grow them in almost every different way for the ihsa Athletics uh there's a few different ways that new sports are added and we have here the emerging Sports and activities list from the ihsa website and then of course we have the ihsa state series here in here in 308 every sport we offer is part of the ihsa state series on the emerging list and to some degree every everything that we talk about is on the emerging list at some point what the emerging list is means that these are sports and activities that um some local communities have started teams or clubs things like that but they're not enough to the point where there would be uh the ihsa said says that we can Crown a state champion there're just a few few teams here or there and there is a threshold and we can talk about that later of when the ihsa says you know what now is time to move that from an emerging Sporter activity to an ihsa State series what we're going to talk about tonight is is what we would do with ihsa State series and again everything we offer here um in sd308 is part of the ihsa state series except for boys and girls lacrosse boys and girls water polo and girls wrestling and right now currently our girls participate in the boys wrestling program uh the ihsa state series for girls wrestling started in 20 2022 2023 so it's been a state series now for a couple different year for a couple years um as was mentioned earlier tonight girls flag football the ihsa came out last week I believe and said that they will make a state series NE starting next school year for girls flag football um and we can talk about that a little bit tonight but that would be a future conversation for us as well what we have here is the sd308 new sport evaluation process and I think every board member has the three sports that we're going to talk about tonight has memos uh really indicating from start to finish from the interest assessment all the way down through of course tonight would be for board approval is how we have evaluated each of these steps and where we are right now as far as um uh our comfort level with with moving forward with some of these we proposing these to you so interest survey is the very first one on there and that's kind of what we're going to talk about next is with the student interest survey so we put together a student interest survey it was it was sent out um to all 8th through 11th grade students obviously 12th grade students weren't included because this is for next year um but this was conducted from December of this school year to January and we had some very basic information we want to see what school they were at grade level gender and we asked one very simple question it was I would be interested in playing the following if they were offered an sd308 and this this slide indicates boys lacrosse girls lacrosse boys water polo girls water polo girls wrestling and then girls flag football and of course these are approved and girls flag football will be next year approved State series for the ihsa and that's why we asked these specific um these Sports here you'll see the responses there 832 total responses um really showing very strong interest in a lot of different ways for athletics which you have to recall here or remember that like a boys lacrosse team or a girls lacrosse team might have 25 people on a roster in total so if you're looking at that and there's 117 girls say they're interested in girls LaCross that is way more than enough to fill a roster right and that's just right now on our first year who might be interested without potentially even seeing the sport played uh firsthand so this is where we're at right now with the responses we've had 832 total responses and this slide indicates there's 644 students that actually completed the survey well you might might say old 6:44 and 8:32 that's because some students are interested in playing multiple of these sports right so the interest is there from our students and it's a really great representation through 8th n9th 10th and 11th grade uh across the board of who might be interested in playing this if it were really lopsided one way or the other this might tell us something but the reality of it is we have students across the board in really kind of a pipeline ready to play these and participate in these Athletics the first sport we're going to talk about tonight is is girls wrestling in girls wrestling uh girls have been competing in the boys wrestling program here for several years uh as I mentioned before in 2022 and 2023 the ihsa first introduced this as a state series uh for Girls We Believe As girls numbers continue to grow as well you'll see quite frankly girls wrestling explode over the next few years even more than it is right now as it currently stands that ohos has 15 girls involved in wrestling and OE has six girls involved in wrestling we believe that once we are able to officially split and say well girls will wrestle other girls this will be a lot more interesting for for some of our athletes because right now there's some question marks about do I really want to do this do I feel comfortable doing that our feeder programs are also introducing girls wrestling at a younger and younger age so that pipeline again is there for us uh and of that survey 61 girls in grades 8 through 11 are interested in girls wrestling and based on this the level of interest for this um this is where we would recommend not a co-op team that OS and OE would have their own separate teams because of the interest level of this of the sport and the nature of the sport and this is high school right this is high school Yep this is High School girls wrestling budget and resources uh a lot of what we're talking about tonight uh the girls have been participating in boys wrestling for several years um which whoops sor sorry I didn't turn my slide uh we have uh currently been operating the boys program so uniforms have been purchased along the way to support that growth mats space and other equipment is already there for us it's nothing really new we have to buy for that um the really the costs we're talking about here are associated with stiens for a head coach additional uniforms officials workers things like that that would be normal part of participation for sports and Athletics this is the 5-year break down and I believe in the memo you guys had this as well in a link to seeing the kind of the full uh spectrum of all of these notes up here year one at 247 going down to year five the year four and this is just a projection what this would include in year four is that if the program continue to grow this where we might have to split to a varsity and a JB level right so we're introducing a new level at this time if we can see if we continue to see consistent growth and that's one of the things that we just don't know yet we can predict it we think that the sport will continue to grow we wanted to provide you guys the numbers tonight so you can see that what that might look like in a potential year when that growth might happen now on to Lacrosse boys and girls lacrosse um again we have referenced this before um I think someone here in public comment had me mentioned this um it became a state state sanction ihsa uh Series in 2016 2017 it's been it was on the emerging list years before that and there's currently 96 boys teams and 86 girl teams uh throughout the state of Illinois participating in this and many of them are Co-op and that's what we're going to talk about tonight as well many of these teams are Co-op teams and there's some rhyme and reason to that and and Darren and Tony can help explain that as well but there are five teams currently in our conference we belong to the SBC or Southwest Prairie conference five teams that offer this and and many more are are thinking about adding this as well because of the the growth of the sport um you know one of the things in that interest survey again for students 88 boys and 117 girls are really interested in in pursuing this and and taking kind of a chance at what this might look like as well for girls lacrosse growth um we have year one and then of course we put in asterisk near year two for potential split again this may be delayed to year three four five or or it may not happen depending on what happens with the sport but the reality of it is the the sport will continue to grow and at some point we will likely have to split and what that would be is of course additional uh Transportation cost sement cost uniforms things like that that are involved in each and every sport and then we have the same thing for boys lacrosse you'll notice boys lacrosse is a little bit more expensive uh the reason for that is just simply equipment uh boys lacrosse and girls lacrosse are two very different games the boys lacrosse has lots of physical contacts helmets shoulder pads things like that the girls lacrosse game is not like that whatsoever um again very different sports but also two sports that are very excited in their own right and this again would be if in year two the boys lacrosse program continue to grow this is what the cost would break down from year two on uh but again this might not happen until year year three four five it just depends on the growth of the sport uh the lacrosse addition plan really we would look to add a JV code OP level for each boys and girls lacrosse be beginning next school year uh this will give us the opportunity to develop the program really work with our local community to provide camps and other other opportunities for kids to to gain interest um you know if you've never played lacrosse before it's it's a learning curve there's no question about it uh we have many people who are very um as mentioned here tonight very skilled uh in Lacrosse but we're going to have also teams of um you might have four or five kids that are very good in the team and four or five kids that are still learning so and it's it's not abnormal whatsoever uh we did this in one of my previous districts to add a JV level first and to gain that support as we go on and then from there we will look to to build within a year or two to a varsity level program uh but that would be what we would tend to do um again there's opportunities for um participation on JV soccer fields at either high school right now so the field space and and practice facilities are there for us one of the things we're looking to do as well I reached out to our our our PE programs talking about gaining interest in the sport is at Junior High and at high school there are units of Lacrosse that we have uh during Advanced team sports for the high school that they rotate on a kind of every other year basis just to keep things fresh and Junior High does this as well we would look to increase those as well to a yearly basis to make sure students are who aren't used to playing a club sport of lacrosse get exposed to that during the school day because that's a lot of what our our PE and kinetic Wellness teachers do it's about exposure to sports and teaching those skills and if we think we can grab onto that and capture that we'll have an opportunity when we even partner with Club teams or anything else to gain those supports that will just add um to the fire funding plan for girls lacrosse this is a brand new program for us so one of the things we we're looking to do is to get this really fully off the ground in Year One is to really uh harness those Partnerships and the startup cost with the district would be about $155,000 for year one everything else would come in uh would come in really from our support from our community as as some of what you guys have in front of you here tonight um and then year two and Beyond this would be looked to fully funded by the district just as every other sport here in sd308 but getting it off the ground does take a little bit of momentum and initiative um and we have people that are willing to help and support with that and we're going to harness that um and and use that and work toward really building that challenge together and I know I haven't let Darren or Tony talk today so thanks a lot for coming tonight guys they're going to answer your question very safe this the last slide take home guys handled the mouse this is Tony did a great job Darren I tell you what Darren I we couldn't have done this without you Darren he did a great job uh so this is our recommendation though and based off what you have in your packets tonight as well we went through a pretty extensive rubric uh and really kind of a one through five scale of some feasibility through all 14 of these different areas um and we kind of rated these totally separate and ironically all came in with the same ratings ourselves and you guys saw that hopefully in your packets as well basically indicating that we believe we have everything we need to move forward with these Sports and we should move forward with these Sports So based on the information we have um we believe is and is our recommendation to move forward with girls and boys lacrosse and girls wrestling starting next school year what are the seasons for these yeah good question wrestling is in the winter lacrosse are both in the springtime you could have passed this at any time you said there were five other schools I think I think it was for lacrosse that are in our conference that that offer lacrosse they have no problem feeling teams do they or no and another reason we're probably are we the biggest one biggest in terms of well planfield all four schools are Co-op together oh okay wow yeah so as Dan presented most of the teams in the state are Co-op for that very reason because initially you're not going to have the numbers uh the other reason we would start at JV is because it doesn't lock us into a conference So currently our conference the SBC does not have a lacrosse conference the teams that are part of that part of a different conference we would not be tied to that as a JV program so we would have the ability to travel as far and wide as we wanted to fill a schedule at the JV level before we moved to a varsity situation and we're tied to a conference Dan can you share a little bit more about the survey that was administered how was it administered was it all of the PE classes or how did it happen yeah well we actually had Teresa help us with that survey so thank you Teresa uh it was shared just through through student email um to make sure that they were trying to reach out we pumped it out several times throughout the course of the month making sure it was not just a one-time uh event it wasn't during a particular class where we had students sit down and take that it was just through an email survey okay so um but every it was disseminated to every student high high school 8 9 10 11 every student in the district yes and then um I I appre appreciate the fact that um you're going to advance um PE and the exposure for students to have lacrosse um not just every other year but consistently so that students get more exposure to it um one of the things I saw I noticed on the funding plan um it looked like the booster club was going to um chip in some funds but then in the year that was going to fall off and so I just like to ask like why would that be when I think most of our booster clubs who support Athletics they do continually um support the Athletics of what you know their the funding some to some extent so it's like you know what what skin do they have in the game what what investment do they have in it sure I think the original investment is looking at some some of the the large ticket items that we'll need to fund that goals Nets that sort of stuff well that falls off in year two but as you said the booster club will still be there and they're going to support in other ways um additional you know additional equipment for kids uh uniforms you know all all the sorts of stuff and uh we have booster clubs for all programs and so they just support in different ways for you know whatever it may be over Night Trips because lacrosse we may have to go on an overnight trip just to play some of the teams um in the state because of their location and so help with those types of types of things as well so I'd like to see some I'd like to see that commitment be a commitment as opposed to fully funded by the district kind of a thing so it's my thoughts thank you I want to can I just say all our sports are funded by the district so this wouldn't be anything different the L the booster programs would do what other booster programs do in helping with the ups and Extras y I want to thank um the team for bringing the these forward I think any OPP extra opportunities we can offer to our students is great and I appreciate the process around it as well because I think that's really important too um I've seen momentum for these Sports growing for a while now um both girls wrestling and Lacrosse so it's good to see that we are keeping up per se I had just a wondering about the survey as well um I don't know for how how soon in the future we might add another sport right but I think there's an opportunity even gain more more respondence to that um considering how many students are in eth to 11th grade uh and the only other wondering I had is and we won't know till people register or sign up for lacrosse but if I'm a student and I say oh yes LaCrosse or wrestling sounds interesting but if I'm a softball player am I willing to give up softball to play lacrosse so I wonder if we have any cross over there but I think that we'll have to wait and see what that play plays out like so that was just a wondering on on my part my other question is that's not that was that was a wondering you can respond to that if you'd like but my other question is about junior high is there a um I'm not suggesting anything but do we have a similar process around Junior High if we were ever going to think about adding Sports uh at the junior high level yeah I think and Darren just said we would follow the same process right I think that's something we have to take all those all those aspects into consideration um because obviously with Junior High Sports the growth of and I was talking to someone earlier tonight and of course we talk about all kinds of things with Junior High Sports and you know IA comes up about joining there there's all kinds of but we would follow the exact same process because we want to make sure the process is is consistent from start to finish with the same lens right that we're not trying to skew something something yeah so if and when a time were to come of adding a junior high sport or activity we would we would need to follow the same process and make sure that and again you know we did it you saw that boys and girls water polo was on there it's a state series for us we actually were not recommending that tonight because when we do the rubric and follow things out we don't meet the qualifications to where we need to be with that right um so just like anything else if someone were to bring something to us um we would always have to look at let's follow the process first and for us at the high school level is it an ihsa State series that's our first marker and girls uh flag football was brought up next year girls flag football will be an ihsa State series we won't move forward next year with it with that we will move forward and Os has already in place of a club team for girls flag football they have a ton of girls interested in playing this so there might be something next year where we're sitting here again talking about girls flag football because that is something and that has NFL money behind it because the NFL is very much involved with this too that that is spreading like crazy and it I've never seen that in action as far as what it looks like from the ihsa St I'm sure it's pretty fast-paced and fun so yeah thank you two thank yous one thank you for including the curriculum piece I think that's an important piece uh and then thank you to the parents that spoke during public forum tonight I appreciate your involvement in the process how many in the in SBC how many if five of them have teams how many are total school yeah total teams uh there are four total teams that include seven of the 12 schools okay and then you we're considering lacrosse as a co-op correct okay Junior our JV Co-op correct to start that's kind of like our pilot if you will so Raphael our budget is done for next year not quite not quite so where does this fit into I mean obviously Dominic loves to say oh well it's just a few dollars I mean in our big budget but do we have room for these yes yes so we in the we in what I'll call the shadow budget uh right now preliminary numbers and the way it looks right now we actually looking we're looking good we've been reducing expenditure in certain discretionary area so we've been meeting with departments and we've been uh really we're doing zero base budgeting so we are actually asking deep questions having folks justify the uh the amount that they requesting and with that is led to so far it's led to saving so far the budget would not be uh finalized if you will till March so we're still in the thick of it right now and we actually talked about this before it was brought to the board and based on the amount that has been requested it is something that we can do fantastic I just want to say to latata and Amy both pointed out I have I talk to a lot of high schoolers they don't read their emails because they get too many so I just want to make sure all all of our kids are getting messaged and kids that may not normally think about lacrosse I would love to get them however we reach them I don't know maybe through Power School or whatever but also we didn't even ask the parents yet parents are going to be like you're playing La you know like so I think there's going to be a tremendous amount of uh maybe we can have a board Clinic uh lacrosse like introduction moment at one of our turf you know as long as they sign a waiver of liability I know Dominic's ready I still have that did you hear me Dr K what' you say you have to sign a wave of liability yes of course we would make sure of that oh jeez National so Jared do you have any questions I got like four okay go ahead I'm not kidding either first one I have is does the cost include Transportation so that's question number one yes Mr Howard yes sir Mr ploger it does okay thank you uh question number two I have knowing that help me reconcile this I'm looking at these percentages and knowing that some of the schools in our conference are moving from Club to participating in the state series for girls football can you help me with why we decided to postpone that one a year we have have a process in place and it has to go through the process so it doesn't become a state series until 2425 uh which does not give us the opportunity to do that so we'll start with the club next year put it through the process and then bring it back to the board for 25 26 okay yeah I just I know I know one of our schools uh in our conference that they're they're moving from they're jumping from the club to uh the state series next school year um so I was just curious about that my third piece was I forgot my third piece so I'm I'm going to go with this one um I it's just a reminder listen I'm I'm all for expanding all this stuff so I don't want this to come off the wrong way this is good stuff oh I do remember my third one uh which was are there any Title Nine implications I'm going to assume no but I always want to ask and then my last point is I just want to remind us that when we made all those cuts years ago we decimated Middle School sports and so I just want to remind us that as we're adding these things for high school and I'm not saying they're not needed that is not what I'm saying but I also want us to have that historical piece in our mind as a unit district that we still haven't reconciled everything at our at our Middle School level but um that's just a historical piece and I'll I'll I'm sure I know the answer to the title 9 question but I want to make sure it gets asked no title 9 implications correct if we do this that's correct okay thank you is there ever I'm sorry this is totally off um lacrosse and all this sixth grade sixth graders is there they do we have basketball for them at some point and we had to cut it it's just never been a it's just track and we don't we don't have designated sports for sixth graders sixth graders can be part of certain Sports and we also reach reach out to sixth graders if we don't have enough seventh eighth graders to fill teams question how many teams and I I'm starting with there but I'm also just thinking it through so I'm thinking about the students who who have never had access to Lacrosse yes but I'm also thinking about the students and all of the parents who are here advocating for their students which is phenomenal and if you have tryouts and those kids of course have been playing for however many years but now you have these new students who have never been exposed but are interested but if you have 25 kids who are experienced then the other kids who don't have experien don't have access to the sport so I'm just thinking about um how many teams and then how do we ensure the kids who are interested who don't have who has not who have not previously had access how will they get an opportunity to play in one sense it's not a lot different than our other cut Sports we have that situation pretty much in all our Sports where we have to make Cuts uh the growth of the sport would help to a degree so we start out with a larger roster than you would normally we're going to keep 25 on each of the two JV teams to begin with We Believe within one or two years it will grow to a JV and varsity level which would up that number to 50 at each level okay obviously this is projecting into the future budgets all those other pieces but I can see within 5 to seven years where each school has its own program with the JV University level and then you're talking about 100 so it's naturally going to grow and take care of itself okay and it was one other question budget oh you said that we were traveling in overnight does that account for the 4,000 that I saw in the budget for transportation no so those we were talking uh I think the question was what where would the booster club go that following year and so we were talking about the potential for them to help cover some of those overage costs um especially if we do have to travel I know one of the conference conferences that we had looked at for lacrosse if we get to that point there's I think Washington Dunlap and some other Central Illinois schools are a part of a conference with some Southwest Suburban schools to where you may go down on a Friday night and play Dunlap on Friday night and Washington on Saturday down there where you would have obviously some hotel costs that might um be a part of that so that is not necessarily in that the 4,000 is just kind of Representative of our local travel got it and would that be covered by District or are you I'm just trying to I'm just trying to think of overall cost over overall cuz I saw like 12,000 for equipment I get it and some of those costs are one time you know and I but I'm just trying to figure out especially if the district is going to have to pay because the seven only if it's 300 per student 25 kids 7500 bucks approximately I'm just trying to figure out how else will the other 30,000 be covered annually and I know it's I know it's through uh through you know the District I get for their hotels you know overnight and stuff like that the show choir pays for their own hotels oh I got it yeah that's what I was asking yeah so our so when we go on some of our trips like we baseball team's going on Spring trip got it uh softball are going on spring break down to Tennessee so they they are paying for that trip themselves it through fundraising and through their activity accounts rather than the district covering the cost of that trip but the district will cover obviously our trips to plan fields and jolet our for those conferences correct um I don't Dr um K Kate or fate years ago and I wasn't on my board we did a breakdown of sports per athlete cost per athlete for sports is that something we can look into again yeah we could do that remember either one of you work on that we can do that we can do an analysis that we can share with the board I think that will help to both of some of your questions and some questions I have uh for us to see that yeah well so um my last my well my last question is what is this USA lacrosse Dei plan what is that is that their document yeah so this is important I can speak to that one is that um I know that as part of the commitment we received this evening um a flyer here and I want to thank uh Chris and your team for really putting this together I know you took a a lead on this uh really talks about the sponsors um particularly here at the USA lacrosse di plan is part of the national work around really promoting access and equity for lacrosse and so that it's not really it really becomes representative of the community and not exclusive but really um uh experience of diversity and inclusion so Dan I know that you have worked and this has been an important part of the work you did around this so do you want to add to that a little bit and how I know you received this recently this is something as part of the development of the sport it's important to our work um I I know when I met with the kennedies last summer and they they expressed interest in Lacrosse we talked about this not becoming an exclusive Club but really one um that changes the landscape of Lacrosse if not for us locally but nationally I don't see why we wouldn't do that yeah and as you mentioned the the efforts that have been seen here tonight with our public comments and uh Mr Kennedy and things um really what this is about is it's a national commitment lacrosse has about uh embracing everyone and bringing kind of everyone into the fold and making sure that it's an inclusive sport that when we talk about costs and things like that too that we're being aware of those costs and how to grow it and and we talked about breaking barriers earlier tonight too that's all part of that plan really is is making sure that we are doing the things that we need to do to involve every student and every family no matter what the cost might be or that might prohibit from them for being exposed to it and that's why we wanted to talk about you know some of the things that we talk about with PE and everything else starting that early so that we we understand that some people don't have those opportunities uh to be in club teams at 8 nine 10 years old and may be great lacrosse players um on their own just with some exposure to that too and one thing I'll I'll mention here as well is um you know beginning this spring and end of the summer useland um Park District is beginning ages 8 through 14 both boys and girls lacrosse which is a huge feeder program for us too to build that partnership with the swand park district our local Club organizations and then going into the high school that's a great transition for us when we start talking about those numbers those numbers will likely grow to the point where we're talking year two to year three going from a JV to a varsity and splitting that team for varsity and JV so um but that Dei work that's really just being inclusive to everyone and I know us I the flag has the a Dei plan as well yeah um and then but that is also part of what we would hope that I my hope would be that boosters would help facilitate costs for students that maybe can't afford it because lacrosse lacrosse is a very expensive sport so um yeah definitely something that I would hope that we'd be able to help absolutely and I think not only lacrosse but I'll give kudos to our boosters who do that for almost for every sport across the board regardless when they know there's a student who can't afford something uh you'd be amazed at how much support there is for those kids um so which is fantastic and I know bionic will cover if a student needs wrestling shoes or whatever as well too so what a what a cool cool District we have right okay anybody else thank you all for all yourk you so much appreciate it thank you thank you so much I thought you had Cricut on the list tonight too Dan what happened to that that's not in here I'm sorry wrong proposal all right um activity bus lease we want to welcome Mr dearman uh to speak to the lease and Mr Robi and also with him is uh Paul ready this is normally an annual right we lease a bunch of buses every year and as I mentioned to the board uh I think the last couple of board meetings the cost of transportation is actually been very very hard on the district at the end of last year I think I I I mentioned it we ended the year with a deficit of $5.1 million in transportation and to date we're looking at a deficit of close to $3 million in transportation so we've had to uh transfer money from uh from other funds to plug that hole so what uh we've been doing is we've been looking very carefully at expenditures and transportation and making sure that every dollar that we spend is absolutely necessary we also have been looking for efficiencies where we can save money in transportation to that end uh we normally release a bunch of buses at this time of the year it was kind of like an automatic R of Passage so when the topic came up uh once I started we went through a different process of trying to examine do we really need these buses or can we do without them so we started out uh with uh how many buses did we start out with initially yeah we're talking about leasing initi 19 so initially we start out with one to lease niten buses and at the end of the day after we we looked at the uh the need and our inventory we were able to get that down to eight so if you look at that we are talking about for the life of the leasee 5year lease we're looking at the savings of 1 .2 million how much $1.2 million in in 5 years so the eight buses that we coming to the board for are the ones that we absolutely need to be able to function so with that being said I'm going to hand it over to uh Mr Deon and uh parer Miss uh really I'm sorry thank you good evening thank you uh I'm Mike de Arman this is Paula REI to my right she's the assistant and director of Transportation I'm the director of transportations for the school district um thank you again for letting us come to present tonight we appreciate the opportunity to present our proposal regarding the leases that are due to expire for 19 of our buses this July uh after careful review like like rapael mentioned that uh we have uh considered considering the needs of our district and considering uh our Fleet uh we are proposing to replace replace uh four activity buses uh the white activity buses we'll replace four of those we'll replace two of them with uh pre-owned activity buses and then we'll replace the other two with brand new 2024 activity buses additionally we're will be replacing four wheelchair buses that were uh 2020 model years with 2025 model years um the annual payment for these eight buses will be $229,000 for 4468 uh that's at an interest rate of 5.44 3% financed by American Capital Finance and if I can jump in on that too Michael we've never shopped around for interest rate before we bought our buses from American Capital American uh Midwest uh bus company and they provide us interest rate and we just took it as an article of Fai and we just roll with it so for the first time this year we actually shopped around and uh American uh Midwest uh Transportation offered us an interest rate of 7.6 6.75 originally 6.75 and we after we shopped around we were able to get interest rate of 5.43 from American Capital American Capital they don't sell buses but they finance everything so it's not a given that because you buy bus from somewhere it's like buying a car from a dealership and financing it from a dealership you can do that they give you the best rate so the conversation started how much do you want to pay and we're like no what is the interest rate how much is the bus what is the interest rate so that's what we're able to do and we there's a substantial savings from that too just from going to uh to a different funding company to fund the purchase of the lease of those buses the initial interest rate was what 6 Midwest uh was 6.75 Central States uh scho school bus was 6.53 and we negotiated that down to 5.4 we were able we going to a third part to a third party so that's a significant savings is that reflected in the report yes from what okay I want to make sure and this is a firm that I've used for leasing or for other things I've used them for computers for uh for buses for different all they do is they they do Finance it they don't sell anything but they do Finance it great thank you so as I'll continue with my we spent time on this so I got to I know it's not 40 slides like my previous presentations but you know we'll try to keep it short um so it is worth noting like rafhael said that we will uh let 11 of the mini buses that we currently lease uh go return without replacing them and as you said that would save us approxim or that will save us $247,000 annually and more than 1.2 million over the next 5 years additionally we want to make sure uh we note that we anticipate receiving approximately 50% reimbursement from the state of the purchase price principle through the transportation claim also so questions so the uh the eight that we're not renewing but we're we're getting eight new buses or whatever um you don't have if you don't have the answer that's fine I didn't ask this um I'm wondering what the increase was from the prior uh the increase from lease payments you mean or yeah the year-over-year on those particular on those eight items I'm sure they went up but I'm just wondering since you asked this is all for you too Dominic I knew these questions were coming um manyi buses so the Collins mini buses orig we currently paying $976 a year per bus um the wheelchair buses that with the lease that expires we're currently paying $5,988 1964 per bus per year for a total of $23,600 per bus I mean per year for those 19 for 19 for 19 vehicles so just for the eight you're talking uh 95,000 per year for the eight but so it's a pretty considerable increase uh but it's per unit basis on a per unit basis you you we've seen uh it's more than doubled for the activity buses and and the price is also uh probably gone up by at least uh 2/3 on the uh wheelchair buses okay one of the reasons why the the 11 mini buses that we're able to get let go um because we have extra big buses we can put um star seats or integrated car seats into them and still use them and use them in the same capacity as these mini buses but then we can also use them for field trips for other things where you might need more people on the buses so it kind of we don't need those manyi buses anymore and it's saving us cost on that as well so we feel good about the level of service yes the level of service will still be um just as good if not better I would think yeah I think the key thing the key thing we just want to make sure before we spend money we do an analysis of whether we really need it as opposed to a legacy decision we've always done it this way and we'll continue to do it this way oh yeah the bottom line is yeah it's um year-over-year I mean it's still 110,000 yeah um but yeah had we what you're saying is basically if we've took another 11 of those buses it would have been 250,000 y so correct and with what we have and the ability to modify the bigger buses like I said we we'll be able to use them in the same capacity and more so because we can use them as two different functions we can use them as the big bus with more passengers or with the star seats in it or the integrated seats for the little guys for the ELC routs all right thanks for having the answer I wasn't expecting thank you so much for coming in your presentation thank you guys please extend our appreciation to all the drivers and your teams who are literally keeping our district moving every day so thank [Applause] you okay Mr Queen uh Fox Chase roof replacement and I know I think you have Charlie johnso from clubber here this evening yeah cubber's here um thank you for being here just to give you a little bit of background this is part of our proactive work with those roofs that we're trying to do a couple of year right the high school elementary or whether it be a junior high this is just part of that body of work um this job is pretty rently we've done the homestead roof Old Post roof had great luck with them and at this point I would like to recommend Adler Roofing be awarded the contract and $715,000 and 70 bucks any questions questions this is and just to give you a little bit of background so we've done quite a bit of work with Adler and and the these guys have been great um bigger jobs they've came in the substantial completion has been right on time um they haven't dipped into the contingencies and and one thing you might notice different and and maybe crossing your mind right now is where is that liquidated damages that we've been talking about with all these processes this job is is very common we we can get through this project in the summer leaving us what minimal could work and if there was be anything it would be in not intrusive into the learning that experience for school to start back in in August so any questions all right thank you thank you thank you again team moving on to 10.1 action item approval of mowing bid can I have a motion please I make a motion to award the 20 I'm sorry 2024 mowing contract to axol LLC with the option to renew for up to two additional one-year terms second Miss venm I Dr Maria I Mr serone I miss Simon hi Mr Gatewood I Miss Johnson I Mr pler I motion passes 70 action item 10.2 approval of policies can I have a motion please I make a motion to approve the following board policy section five uh General Personnel 5 colon 210 5 colon 220 and then section 6 instruction 6 colon 230 and then section 7 students 7 col 60 second Dr Maria hi Miss Simon hi Mr [Music] cler I Mr Cerone hi Mr Gatewood hi M ven hi M John I motion passes 70 action item 10.3 if I can if I can can make a comment on 10.3 and 10.4 if folks have been asking question how are we what are we doing to make sure the comment will come after the motion yeah okay after the motion the motion and then I have a comment as well I U so action item 10.3 approval of K through five Ela resource can I have a motion please I make a motion to approve K5 Ela resource for Benchmark education for the total of one 1, 19525 payable over four years second all right now so what I wanted to point out is some of the things that we've been doing to make sure that we stay financially uh prudent and conservative in the way we manage money initially this payment was supposed to mail out all at once we supposed to pay the the money all at once so we decided to approach the publisher and just ask them front us for four years no interest charge they wanted the business they agreed to it so instead of us paying $1.8 million all at once we're paying it over four years go and what that means we have money in the bank that we can use for other operations that will not go to the vendor and C us you're just bring freeing up working cash is I love it um but um yeah I was wondering I was wondering because we had so much budgeted for this year um and then when I saw the amounts that were going to be spent this year I was I was thinking that maybe we were getting less product no we actually getting more product okay so okay I I have a comment too but I'll wait well I have one question yeah goad um I know that this was publicly available at the district office do we know if any of the public came to see the curriculum faith and Dr Haron one we had one person one um person that came okay and reviewed uh and asked a comment about interventions okay thank you I'll have that same question for the next agenda item as well yeah I and I had the opportunity to engage with the person who came um she was more questioning some interventions not necessarily our um curriculum so we we had an opportunity to to engage with each other and um show her show her the materials and that was the only person that came thank you wonderful Dr Herman just one second um can you speak to last I think it's really important for the public and especially for our Educators who may be watching there was discussion around professional learning and some of the feedback from the board about integration and stuff can you speak a little bit about what lessons came out of the board meeting last time just so we can go on record for that because I think it's really important um just the amount of incredible work done to prepare for this uh for you and Shannon's um preparation for this evening yes so we have um gratus days that are part of the purchase um for professional development so we're planning April 25th for all of our teachers to receive training for the materials and then they're going to also have some um asynchronous time where they'll be looking at videos and um engaging in the materials already to prepare for next year but in addition to that we have some um custom uh professional development that's going to happen for our pilot teachers to continue their learning because they've been on this journey already um so they don't they don't need to know about the program they've they've really engaged with it so we'll continue their learning there and they're um they're really working with us and and what our needs are and so we have additional days that we'll be looking um to to use next year and then we've already started some committee work uh and we are asking our our teachers what else do we need and so for the rest of this year too we'll be working on the curriculum we'll be working on what additional resources do we need what other professional development do we need and we're working on still getting Wy bevens here um for our teachers so we're excited about all of those opportunities so thank you Jarett you said that thank you you said that you wanted to wait why do you want to wait is it for 6 through eight is it for uh junior high no I was we're we're on K through five right that's correct yeah know I had something for this the next one okay no no K through five oh goad yeah yeah so um I I definitely did hear from some voices and and listen all listen it was great work and everything I the vast majority of what I heard was was very positive but um I do want to just emphasize that it felt like anyways based off the feedback I was getting that the higher grades were more on the fence with uh the two products that we were reviewing as opposed to the lower grades and so I just really want to uh emphasize the need for that vertical articulation and some of those communication pieces between the fifth and sixth grade levels just to make sure that those concerns that are coming from those higher higher grades um in primarily fifth grade teachers are are being addressed and and they're being supported and and that was it yes and and we um we absolutely are working with the fifth grade teachers again we're going to beef up what resources they need but also um there was this is a newer resource and so there's some errors in the fifth grade particularly um Ally Anderson was already working with our vendor we've gotten in touch directly with them and um and and and and they're being really responsive um so that that was part of it but um also um as you all heard Michelle Simmons um she has also worked in some additional resources in that background building and we're going to make sure that um the teachers have everything that they need to be successful I appreciate that Miss venm hi Dr Maria I mrone hi Miss Simon hi Mr G hi M Johnson I Mr cler hi motion passes [Laughter] [Music] 70 all right action item 10.4 approval of 6 through eight Ela resource can I have a motion please I make a motion to approve 6 through eight Ela resource for from is it Holton um muff hen miffin miffin hardart for the total of $777,000 second second okay now do we have any questions comments thought I just wanted to see did other people come to see this zero people were at the office to see the public okay thank you get on that microphone you know what um on a whole relative to what we thought we were going to be spending on the K through five and the 6 through eight did it come in substantially less than budget not just in year one but all together yes partially because of our financial wizard um here who went in and did some negotiating but we also budgeted for here's what we're going to spend so that it lasts for the next four years five years and now we're spreading that out over time so you're not having this lump sum that you're spending now will have increments that we're spending in that is amazing yeah no I just uh I don't know I because it was 1.8 and then eight so I just it was a bigger number before right it wasn't 2.6 it wasn't it was that it was it was the same number it was just we will have to pay all in one fiscal year this year I remember talking about it during budgeting probably last year and I I thought I saw anyhow okay can you would you please remind me of the last time we had new Ela curriculum in the Middle School junior high 2015 I think so with springboard 2015 thank you okay Jared anything no no all right Mr Cerone hi Mr Gatewood hi M Johnson hi Mr pler I miss vmou I Dr Maria I miss I motion passes [Music] 70 I feel like we're at an award ceremony save the union action item 10.5 action on the uniform grievance m-d can I have a motion please I make a motion to direct Dr kilti to gather additional information as discussed in Clos session second with do I keep going with respect with respect to Miguel Maya's pending grievance against Mike dearman uh second Dr Maria hi Miss vmou hi Mr Cerone hi Miss similon I Mr Gatewood hi M Johnson I Mr I motion passes 70 action item 10.6 action on uniform grievance m-m can I have a motion please I make a motion to authorize president similon to prepare a written decision affirming Dr katti's decision with respect to Miguel maa's pending grievance against Ken Miller second Mr Gatewood I miss hi Mr pler hi Mr Cerone hi Miss menth hi Dr Mario hi Miss Simon I motion passes 70 action item 10.7 approval of building administrator contract can I have a motion please I make a motion to approve the building administrative administrator's contract as discussed and presented second Miss Simon I Miss Johnson abstain Mr Cerone hi Dr Mario hi Mr Gatewood hi Miss venman hi Mr Clover I motion passes 70 six I I'm sorry it wasn't okay sorry six one abion six with one exstension yes action item 10.8 approval of District administrator contract can I have a motion please I make a motion to approve District administrator contract as discussed and presented second miss vmou I miss Johnson abstain Mr ploger I miss similon hi Mr Gatewood hi Dr Mario hi Mr s hi motion passes six with one abstention act action item 10.9 approval of personnel report can I have a motion please I make a motion to approve the Personnel report as discussed and presented second Dr Mar hi Mr Gatewood I Miss Johnson I Mr pler I miss Simon hi Mr ceron hi Miss amendment I motion passes 70 can I have a motion to adjourn I make a motion to a journ

[Music] good morning everyone I'm Victoria and I'm Giovani and this is C TV News last Friday Tech how's annual talent show text Got Talent the turnout was fantastic we had a lot of help with setup and execution here are some [Applause] [Music] highlights [Music] what is a man what has [Music] be [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you all for coming I hope you like the show [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] watch the [Applause] [Music] CH you oh I know like a wave that crushed and melted on Grand my F in World War II he was such a no dude I can't even finish [Music] school two one [Music] go to make you feel my love I'm just K where I see love she sees a friend what do it take for her to [Music] [Applause] [Music] see looks like everyone had a great time for our next story this Thursday at 3:00 is Unified basketball fans in the stands come out to support our athletes the snack bar will be open on Feb 9th the boys basketball took on Salem tech for their senior night let's take a look at some [Music] clips [Music] hey [Music] w [Music] w [Music] well that's all for this week thanks for tuning I'm Victoria and I'm giovan and we'll see you next time on Cat TV news

told [Music] did all board m you want it whatever you want to do yeah thank you good evening I would like to welcome you all to our Tuesday February 27th 2024 board meeting um calling it to order we're going to start out with a moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mrs Paige so let's please stand for the moment of silence thank you uh Mrs Wilson could you do the roll call please Mr Chad Thompson here Miss Sheila ug jetti here Miss Lori wood here miss Ronda page here miss Jill humph here Madame President all board members are present you have a quorum thank you Mrs Wilson we'll move to 3.01 approval of agenda but before we have a motion on it I would like to make a change in the format of the agenda and 9.0 action item 9.01 I'd like to move it to um right after the approval of the agenda if anybody has any right after right after the oh after the superintendent okay sorry I got it the wrong so it'll be right after the superintendent report so do I hear a motion so moved thank you Mr Thompson second second thank you Mrs paig so it's been moved and seconded that we are going to adopt approve the agenda as presented with the exception of moving 9.0 right after 4.01 all those in favor please signify by saying I I I oppose so it's a 5- z vote all right Dr McCord superintendent recognition award thank you madam president board members if you would join me um actually you could probably come to the side because our first recognition will be oratorical contest winners and they are going to perform for us this evening so for this report okay good evening everyone how are you I have cheerleaders in the room and it's good how are you guys there you go good well I got to tell you um this is always one of my favorite times of year uh we get to showcase our oratorical contest winners sorry Mr Macintosh uh we had three winners this year and we are going to highlight each one of them the first one is suway Vasquez come on up sway what grade are you in first first grade what school do you go to Highland Park woo who's that guy over there do you see him standing there yeah what's his name do you know M Mr faala who's he what does he do there he is the principal the principal well done well sway won first place for the kindergarten through second grade division and tonight he's going to perform do you want to use the microphone standard do you want to hold the microphone you want to use the stand I'll take that as a yes or you can just shout it out it's up to you buddy are you ready mhm all right good evening my name is Su VZ and the title of my speech is the Life of George Washington George Washington was born on February 22nd 1732 in West Morland Virginia his parents were named Augustine and Mary Ball Washington George Washington had had nine siblings Three Brothers Two Sisters three half brothers and one half Sister George Washington was married to Martha Washington they had no no children together George Washington died on December 14th 1799 the the age of his death was 67 years old the cause of his death was a throat infection as a child George Washington went to a local school in Fredericksburg he did not go to college he was mostly self-taught through reading and self-guided study his first career was as a surveyor a surveyor is someone who measures land in order to decide boundaries or ownership he then became a commander of the army he was also a farmer he earned a a gold medal for his leadership in his victory at Boston Harbor around that time is when he became the first president under the Constitution he is one of the four faces on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota George Washington's favorite color was green George Washington had dogs a donkey horses and a par he even had a buffalo that he thought would be good for meat some of his dogs names were tipsy mopsy true love and ragman two of George Washington's nicknames were father of our country and okay okay the Town Destroyer he is on the dollar bill and the quarter even though he had for 56 years George Washington did not like slavery so wrote with his desire to end the practice at the end of his life he transferred ownership to his wife Martha Washington who then freed all slaves on January 1st 1801 thank you for listening to my speech The Life of George [Applause] Washington one more time suway Vasquez next up from the third through sixth grade division um Ruby web I don't need one you don't need it you got this huh oh boy um what school do you go to Ruby Superstition Springs Elementary what grade are you in Fifth Fifth Grade wow wow does she look good look at her they both do oh are you ready yep you don't need this right no okay it's all you all the with her she [Music] do year was country 17 million can do it woman is not never any woman work [Music] fire all the americ these women were all [Music] woman open the door I that I can be anything [Applause] well done Ruby well done thank you for that the last of uh one of our oratorical contests this person came in second place and is it sushank aragam from Bert Classical Academy well Brooklyn where are you hi Brooklyn I'm just reading folks be thankful I can do that come on up do you need the microphone um sure all right is it high enough yeah that's good tell everybody where you're from and what grade you're in um I'm in eighth grade and I go to Highland Junior High School nice what do you want to be when you grow up um I want to be a social worker in child protective [Applause] services have you ever wanted something really really bad so bad that you talked to everyone about so bad that you spent hours and hours working on it so bad that you dreamt about it day and night well Martin Luther King Jr did in fact he wanted it so bad that he put himself in danger and eventually was killed trying to get it so what did he feel so strongly about that he was willing to give his life for it I'll tell you what it was equality Martin Luther King Jr dedicated his life to obtaining Racial equality for African-Americans you see he was born in 1929 and during his life things were very different for African-Americans than they are today although slavery ended in the United States in 1865 there were still many negative effects lingering on in the 1900s when he was a boy he was friends with a white boy whose father owned a business near King's home but when he was 6 years old he had to go to a segregated school for African-Americans and the white boy's father would no longer allow them to play together he also recalled the racial humiliation African-Americans suffered including one time when he was a junior in high school he had just won first place in a speech contest in Dublin GE Georgia and T and his teacher were taking a bus back to Atlanta on the bus ride home the driver ordered them to stand so that a white passenger could sit at first he wouldn't do it but his teacher said he'd be breaking the law if he didn't so he obeyed the driver he later said it was the the angriest I've ever been in my entire life you can see why from a young age his dream of equality became his lifelong dream he worked and worked and worked for this dream to become a reality but one of the greatest Parts about it was how he worked although the mistreatment made him angry he was never violent in his fight for equality instead he chose to boldly speak up for what was just and right using this nonviolent approach he followed his dream his most famous of these nonviolent protests was the March on Washington where he gave his speech we know today as the I Have a Dream speech it was extremely powerful and I would like to share some of this speech with you today so that you can hear about his dream in his very own words I still have a dream it's a dream deeply rooted in the American dream I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its Creed we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal I have a dream that one day on the Red Hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and Sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of Brotherhood I have a dream that one day even in the state of Mississippi a state sweltering with the he of Injustice sweltering with the heat of Oppression will be transformed into an oasis of justice and freedom I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they are not judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character I have a dream today that was Martin Luther King Jr's dream I also have a dream my my dream is that we will all follow the legacy of this incredible American that when we see someone being treated unfairly we will stand and fight against Injustice however we will not do with violence but with dignity that is what a true American would do that is what I will do will you join [Applause] me [Music] [Applause] just a little sample of some of the phenomenal kids we have here in gilber public schools please give them another [Applause] hand next up if I could have Susie kadana come up you won a million do no she's like I sign my cont that's right cuz you got one no ladies and gentlemen you are now looking at the 2024 School Social Work Association of Arizona lifetime achievement in school Social Work award Miss Susie kadana she is our K12 prevention coordinator each year our organization recognizes outstanding professionals who help carry out our mission to ensure positive outcomes for Arizona students the sswa aaz lifetime achievement in Social Work award is presented to a social worker who has contributed to the field over a period of time by providing exemplary service to Children and Families leadership in the organization and mentorship to students or new colleagues coming in into the field and has presented workshops or published articles in the field ladies and gentlemen your Lifetime Achievement Award winner Susie [Applause] kadana you know when they give lifetime achievement awards you've been around a long time I didn't say that I just it was a question uh Susie runs a lot of our programs here in Gilbert public school she does a phenomenal job works with some of our exceptional social workers and Mental Health Counselors and uh it's been something we've been doing in gilberg public schools for many many years now and we truly appreciate her so one more time for [Applause] Susie [Applause] could I have the palm and cheer coaches from Highland High School [Applause] up Hi how are you today oh fantastic you you excited to be in front of all these people so excited yeah you are hello how are you will you introduce yourself to everybody out here please yeah my name is James and I'm the cheer coach at Highland my name's Ashley and I'm the Palm coach at Highland my name is Maddie and I'm a palm coach at Highland well done look at that it's like they practiced well I got to tell you the reason why they're up here is Highland High and this is what they've written down for me so if I miss something please correct me but before I do that I need the palm and cheer from Highland to come [Applause] up no pyramid huh will you do me a favor and give everybody your name your grade and whether you're in Palmer chair I'm I'm a senior and I'm on cheer I'm Lexi and I'm a senior and I'm on cheer I'm Journey I'm a senior and I'm on cheer I'm Emily I'm a senior and I'm on cheer I'm Chelsea I'm a senior and I'm on cheer I'm Kate I'm a senior and I'm also on cheer I'm Gracie I'm a senior and I'm on cheer I'm Jersey I'm a senior and I'm on Palm I'm Leah I'm a senior and I'm also on Palm I'm Brooklyn I'm a senior and I'm on Palm I'm Emma I'm a senior and I'm on Palm I'm Amal and I'm a junior on Palm I'm Katie I'm a senior on Palm I'm kalista a senior on Palm I'm brenley a senior on Palm I'm Olivia I'm a junior and I'm on Palm I'm Carly I'm a junr and I'm on pal well done give him a [Applause] hand so pal here's what I have correct me again if I'm wrong division one game day state champions division one Palm state [Applause] champions open division large Jazz state [Applause] champions Second Place Palm UDA Nationals and third place Jazz UDA Nationals it's been a banner year for pal who would like to just say a few words about the pal um it's just been a really great season these girls work extremely hard and we're incredibly grateful to represent Arizona as state champions in Palm Jazz and game day we were back-to-back state champions in Palm and game day and um won Jazz this year and it's been a few years since that so you were very excited well done well done pal cheer here's their accomplishments division one game day state champions all girls stunt state champions 11th plate UCA Nationals show cheer at 11th PL place play you UCA Nationals game day congratulations cheer would you like to say a few words um I mean there's not enough words that really encapsulates how hard these girls work um something that we're really take pride in is game day especially because it's like the heart of the school um you can't go to a football game or basketball game without seeing someone on the sidelines so on top of all of their commitments to supporting others these girls are such incredible athletes and they work so hard hard and have competed the hardest routine in Arizona history they have gone back toback for all girl stunt and for the first time in Highland School history an entire cheer program um win at state with game day so it's just really exciting watching them progress each year and just really seeing them grow as not only athletes and not only as game day athletes but as people as well so congratulations congratulations pom and cheer if you would shake hands with the board stay up here and you'll have to arrange yourselves because we're going to take a picture of all of you together okay go ahead turn around conratulations thank [Music] you congrats some people may need to take a knee there you go come go ahead we got room over here a little bit you get in we'll fill in you're good ladies and gentlemen Highland pomet cheer congratulations next can I have mosquit high coach Mia friends to the front hi Mia how are you good how are you good would you like to introduce yourself and bring your team up and have them introduce themselves perfect hi my name is m France um I am the head varsity cheer coach at mosquite high school um yeah just me cool that's all right these are my kids come on up guys love I'm shy rush I'm a sophomore and cheer I'm Emerson and I'm a junior I'm Maddie and I'm a junior my name is Scarlet and I'm a junior and cheer my name is Amy and I'm a senior and cheer my name is Brinkley and I'm a junior on cheer my name is Presley and I'm a senior on cheer my name is Carson and I'm a junior on cheer um my name is Hannah and I'm a sophomore on cheer my name is Jasmine I'm a sophomore on cheer my name is Macy and I'm a junior my name is Maddie and I'm a junior we're recognizing mosqu he cheer tonight because and again correct me if I'm wrong uh they were third in three different competitions at State group stunt hip hop and show cheer give him a hand me would you like to say a few words about your team [Applause] I'm going here um just to add on top of that we are also the runner up for game day as well for State um this two weekends ago we came home with second in the nation In Crowd leader as well and fourth in the nation in situational sideline um our school is really small I have 13 girls in my whole program we don't get a lot of girls that try out so everyone who does they 100% commit themselves and buy into the process having girls who have never cheered a day in their life to girls who have cheered for 9 10 years it takes a village parents boosters Administration to make it happen and these girls make it happen throughout the entire year so big kudos to them well done Mia would you would you just conduct the rest of the meeting you did that well so I'm a terrible public oh she said she's terrible at this I don't think so give me a hand first time I did it you did well ladies we congratulate you and ditto to everything she just said about your hard work determination uh I my best friends own a dance studio their girls were in cheer I tell you what I I've seen first work and how difficult it is and how focused you have to be and uh I'm very certain you excel in the classroom as well so congratulations to all of you if you'd shake hands with the board [Music] congratulations conratulations thank all right guys there you go we'll fill in look at that hold on we got parents good job guys thank you m SK [Applause] high and and last but not least we have some A+ School of Excellence Award winners if we could have representatives from town Meadows and Canyon rim to please come [Applause] up that's all right we'll we'll let the crowd thin a bit it's like a state championship for schools well done it's all right the A+ School of x award is the highest state level award given by the Arizona Education Foundation the rigorous process includes an in-depth application and site visit this is the second time Town Meadows has been recognized as an A+ school and the firsttime award winner for Canyon Rim Elementary please give them a hand if you would introduce yourselves to everybody my name is Chip pet I'm the principal at Town Meadows Elementary my name is Sarah mantle and I teach second grade my name is Laura fernell and I am the librarian my name is Sharon Crandle and I teach fourth grade my name is Joe lat I the principal of the best school in Arizona and in the planet my name is Tracy Trello I'm the instructional coach I'm marily garbis and I teach fourth grade so give them a [Applause] hand chip and Joe if you would come out no second we're going to hug this out talk to me and same question for both of you tell me about what makes your school so special yeah get away no I hired Joe I get to go before him um I think the coolest thing is having someone from the outside come in and see what I get to see every day and um the first thing well the first thing a Jed just told me when we were meeting with them at the end was that they could feel the love and support that our staff has for the kids which means more than any award really so um I think that was the coolest part of this I guess I'd have to Echo what Mr Pettit said um I I tell the staff all the time and our students that we have the best people in the building uh we have the best families and to have an outside person like chip said come in and see that and and judge us and even if we didn't get the A+ banner I was proud of the way uh we conducted ourselves and the high expectations we have every single day at our school and how our staff and students rise up to those expectations ladies and gentlemen A+ Award winners if you'd shake hands with the board see you next week yes congratulations yeah you can't get out of the picture yes I would like to just say one thing um about how proud I am of this but this is what happens when you're in Gilbert for a long time I was her second grade [Applause] teacher who's you were so it's all your fault another Lifetime Achievement Award back here congratulations to neig we'll take a picture separ yeah whatever you guys prefer I'm just the superintendent and help run this meeting don't worry how do we post we need the come back in you got it handing around ladies and [Applause] gentlemen all right Town Meadows a plus School Madam president govering board members that concludes my recognitions for this evening thank you thank you Dr McCord I have one question for you what's the difference between Palm and cheer do you know um I don't know but they both work equally hard I like good answer thank you okay we will move to action item which was was 9.0 one appointment of Julie auster as the Director of professional growth and development for the 2425 school year do I hear a motion yes I would like to move that we appoint Julie auster as the Director of professional growth and development for the 2425 school year thank you Mrs wood a second second thank you Mrs humph disc discussion other than congratulations but let's vote and then we can really congratulate so all those in favor of Appo the appointment of of Julie sorry auster I know make sure I say it right as the curriculum or the director please say I I I opposed hearing none congratulations Dr mord I'll turn it over to you maybe she thank you very much it is our pleasure to welcome Julie AER as the new uh director of professional growth and development Julie if you'd like to come up and say a couple [Applause] words so I'm following the cheerleaders and the oratorical contest winners the A+ good I know especially Joe and Chip man that's that was just a small taste of getting 26 of those guys and gals in the room together it's a riot it's we have really good convers ations but it is so much fun so um I just want to thank you guys um members of the governing board and Dr McCord and for giving me this opportunity to serve the district in this capacity I also want to take the time to thank the community of of Greenfield Elementary it has been my home for the last two years and um like I told you guys and I told the staff yesterday even applying for the job was one of the hardest decisions I ever made because they have have made it such an amazing place to be and I feel so fortunate to have been um their leader for the past 2 years and so um it will always be my home and I look forward to supporting it in a different capacity and I couldn't be more grateful for this new opportunity um and I just want to thank you know my mom Renee and her husband David and my son Hunter for coming here to support and for Robert for hanging out uh long enough to uh congratulate me too all right thank you guys so much I appreciate it thank you Julie before we're going to take about a five minute break so we can congratulate you and anybody in the audience that wants to say so we'll convene back here at in five minutes so that would be 651 thank you that [Applause] and [Music] for Wishful am number one I remember yeah so they have the bar SE letter they have scholarship and they have scholarship yeah no that's okay so there's oh sure I was just going to tear off okay and what was the other one scholarships and oh right here Rhonda are you ready thank you um we will now move to 5.01 superintendent report Dr McCord thank you madam president governing board uh board members good evening and thank you for joining us last night I attended a community meeting held by the town of Gilbert subcommittee on teen violence three council members chair the committee Scott Anderson Chuck Bon Giovani and Jim torguson this was the third public meeting of the subcommittee and many community members spoke they shared some excellent ideas on how to curb teen violence and they gave other thoughts related to drugs and alcohol use among teenagers the subcommittee will have one more public meeting before they take the comments and suggestions back to the full Council they stated that the information they received will most likely help the formation of a town of Gilbert teen violence task force this task force will be able to place some of those suggestions and make them into action so thank you for holding that the town of Gilbert we have or we had two teams remaining in the boys and girls basketball playoffs the M High boys and the mosqu High girls basketball teams the number two ranked High boys played last night and unfortunately lost to number three ranked Deer Valley in a very close game we congratulate the boys on a great season tonight right now the number two ranked mosquit High girls basketball team takes on number three ranked Flagstaff High School at mosquit high good luck to our girls basketball team if they win they will play for the championship this Thursday evening at 600 p.m.

[Music] [Applause] [Music] m [Music] n [Music] a [Music] yeah [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah [Music] he [Music] ah [Music] ah [Music] [Applause] he [Music] a [Music] hello welcome to week 12 of the ihsen competitive season today we have exciting matches between our Academy cyber tigers and Prairie Heights High School and then the varsity cyber Tigers will go up against Union City in OverWatch OverWatch competitions are our best of five matches going through the following game types control escort push and hybrid we've got the JV currently waiting for their first matchup and today's control match map is a Busan control is a game mode in which two teams fight over a capture point in a best of three format while a team has control over a capture point that team will gain capture percentage until they reach 100% And the team that reaches 100% first wins the round overtime will be triggered if one team has reached 99% and the point is currently being contested no time limit for that game it goes on for however long it needs to and we should be getting started here shortly once the once either our team gets invited to their Lobby or we make a Lobby and they get invited and also with only one week left in the regular season currently the varsity is undefeated with a 9 and0 record very impressive and Academy is also having a great year with 10 wins and only one loss to Concord so we're going to see how they Faire against Prairie Heights today I'm just waiting here I'm not sure what the status on on how much progress we've got in terms of getting into the match guess we just got to wait here for a bit was what are you doing what are you doing here that's my friend you couldn't see him good thing you know if he can stay which he probably can't would he want to do commentary yeah can someone ask him that if he can stay and do commentary that would be cool that would be fun still just here waiting oh okay we got a bunch of players currently in the lobby now it's looking like we're going to get started soon y it's looking like we got the whole JV Squad in here you'll notice my normal commentary uh friend Dominic not currently in here commentating with me I'm all alone that's because Dominic is playing in this matchup he's got the username Raven another members we got got Eli as the tank we got the on support and we've got Jacob and I believe Kinder oh wait no I got that mixed up uh we got Dominic and Jacob on damage and we got the and ker on support and then Eli still tank sorry I got that mixed up well it's looking like we got the entire enemy team on the lobby now so we will be getting started shortly you can see a view of our cyber Tigers getting ready for their match up just waiting on the green light to go let's see I don't know when they're going just kind of waiting here I guess I'll talk about the members of the team Eli as the tank of the squad one of his best characters being a character called Wrecking Ball self-explanatory name a hamster and a wrecking ball very Smashmouth style offense very aggressive complimented great with the phenomenal support that come every game from ker and thes it's looking like who's he like going to go with here he's hovering over Road Hog is that going to be his pick I think the squad is still talking because only the only confirmed pick right now is KIRO oh and we got ker on Zen Let's see we got Jacob thinking about the Widow Jacob going the Widow Dominic going the May and Eli quitting the match interesting well I'm sure there was a good reason for that all right everyone's back in well I think they just had to change up some rules yep are we good pretty confusing we got some people gathering around Eli as you can see in his camera I guess we're trying to figure out some sort of confusion we got all the players we got the correct map don't really know what's going on pretty hard to commentate over this oh there we go all right we're getting the match up started I guess we just had to ban one of the tanks well that tank isn't important cuz he's banned so we got Eli going with the roadhog we got Kinder going with the zenth going with the KIRO Jacob going with the Widow and Dominic on May all right so yeah as I was saying earlier Eli's Smashmouth offense goes perfectly with the incredible support of ker and the and we're going to have Jacob getting some Snipes Widowmaker is the sniper of this game game very powerful from long range very weak from close range so Jacob's going to be able to take advantage of his strengths and weaknesses uh Dominic playing a very valuable damage named May um she has a primary fire she has two types of sort of bullets that she can fire she can just fire a bunch of snow that will slow down the enemy and steadily damage them or she can shoot an icicle which basically acts as a sniper and our players are off first match of the JV round got Eli going through the back line waiting to get the jump on their team it's looking like he's going in here comes the grappling hook here comes the pile Drive Moira teleports away seems to be going after I believe that's an ash they're on the point now Eli's fairly alone but here comes Dominic looking to slow down the roadhog there we go they got a good kill on the road hog the rest of the team sort of following we got Eli chasing down some extra members gets the kill on the Moira and it's looking like we have captured the first point off to a good start are the Academy cyber Tigers let's see let's see how they do I believe Eli still just kind of annoying the enemy team enemy team switching over to doomfist a lot of doomfist gameplay jump jumping in from far away slamming down getting some damage in and then just diping out in and out sort of hero oh it's looking like some players shooting at a choke point Let's see we got Eli going in on the Moira the Moira teleports away we got Jacob getting pushed by the doomfist he's in up for situation but that's going in for the heels we also got Eli just hiding around oh if you see in the top right I believe that is the doomfist that just went down here comes Eli with the Minefield on the entire enemy team gets a kill on the CUO meanwhile on the point there's a tracer Kinder and Dominic looking to get her out here's the oh Dominic with a good kill on the Tracer Tracer a very slippery hero lots of teleports lots of fast movement small areas to hit can be a very annoying character to kill they were able to subdue her and here comes the doomfist oh and there's Eli this classic slam into the entire team complimented by Dominic and is freezing another slam always pushing in on some low Health supports gets the KIRO down let's see getting pushed away by the doomfist but grappling hooking back in again oh and they stalled enough time that is round one of match one going to the academy cyber Tigers all right this particular matchup is a best two out of three so whoever well depending on whoever can win this next round this might be the final round of the match if the Cyber tigers can pull out another victory in this round that will be match one of possible five it's the best three out of five this format is in terms of matches Dominic just doing something just going in and out of the stats sheet cyber tigers are off you can see through Dominic's screen Eli just going in I can hear a lot of screaming I think the just did a Michael Jackson hehe from the other screen oh here comes monkey so yeah Winston is the monkey he's yeah he's just a gorilla with an electric a very big taser essentially I don't know how meta he is I don't keep up very much with the meta of this game I don't really play that often why should I oh we got uh some trading kills this is looking like a very close first fight Dominic is going to go down we're gonna have Eli still they're stalling trying to buy as much time as possible denying the enemy from capturing the point but they are going to do it there the enemy is gaining capture percentage oh Winston pushing in on Eli seems to have been a bad choice Eli just going to be hiding behind this pillar getting some swings in getting some steady damage in Wrecking Ball another one of those in- and- out sort of characters coming in knocking the enemy team down like bowling pins oh with the help of Dominic he is going to get that Bastion down very valuable character to kill he's going to get kill with the mines also pushing in on the Winston oh interesting interact action there Eli forcing the Winston to push out and unknowing to him he just jumped into a field of mines and he's going to get the kill on the Bastion there they're just looking to get some kills oh there's the Winston again Tracer just making a Mad Dash toward the point the side choke hold area Eli just annoying the enemy team we got Dominic firing some shots as well as ker oh Primal Rage that is the ultimate ability of Winston he just gains a bunch of health and starts swinging around like a baby but Eli also likees swinging around like a baby or more like a wrecking ball hence the name Dominic getting some freezes he is going to go down there oh that's a Moira Ulta oh it seems to be the opposing Moira unfortunately see moir's is just a big laser that can heal your own team and deal damage to the enemy this is a pretty close matchup both teams bring in the heat kind of just going to fire off some shots from afar the getting some healing in Dominic is going to go in Eli pushing in classic Eli gameplay gonna get the kill on the Bastion there looking for the kill on the KIRO he finds it and they are going to take the point back very close match oh the enemy switching to a Reaper oh okay there he goes well Reaper will probably be valuable in some upcoming fights he is one of the best characters in this game he's essentially a ghost with shotguns that can phase in and out of areas very valuable up close essentially the polar opposite to Widowmaker instead of a longrange character with low health and a sniper Reaper is a short-range character with relatively High Health and shotguns Bastion is going to fire off some Al some artillery that's his ultimate ability Eli going to get some more slams in going to get the kill on the Moira and the kill on the Ciro meanwhile at the point Dominic and the rest of the squad just looking to box him out and they do it the academy cyber tigers are going to go up one to nothing in this match that was a brilliant match let's see oh the play goes to the enemy Winston very impressive showing both teams he's just getting in there yeah as I explained before he's just a big monkey with a taser well that last second zap there we go we're going to be waiting on the next match very good showing from both teams this is going to be an incredible set of games we are going to go up one to nothing on them and while we have some time to kill while we're waiting for the next matchup do you have a favorite nonprofit that could use an awesome fundraising idea auction it is an online and inperson auction platform that can help your nonprofit host a great Charity Auction find out more at auction.io that's auction.io right below me look at it woe zoi so cool oh it's gone all right yep we're just waiting for him probably editing the map a bit got some of our players just being the weird goofballs that they are I think Kinders just waving to the camera what's he doing players conversating between each other yep we're just waiting can we cut to that uh yeah that I was about to say words were escaping from my brain couldn't figure out what it was okay here's another view of the room this is only like the right side of the room we got the varsity cyber Tigers waiting for their matchup on the other side all right yep still just waiting oh I believe one of the enemy players just left to the game once again I'm sure for a good reason yep oh just realized this is a good time to explain um the map that we're playing the escort map for today is Rialto escort is a game mode in which the attacking team must escort a payload to a delivery point while defending while the defending team attempts to prevent the attacking team from delivering the payload until the timer runs out each map has three checkpoints between the starting position and the delivery point which one reached will increase the timer and move both teams spawn locations overtime will be triggered if time runs out while the payload is being contested by the attacking team and I believe for this match the Cyber Tigers will be starting on the attack although that that statement has been wrong sometimes we will see oh here we go game starting and let's see how this goes oh yep this St was wrong we are starting on the defense let's see what we're doing here um we got Eli on the roadhog and other than that it's looking like the same exact members all right all right timer has run out time to prefare not prefare that's not a thing word probably I don't know there's a lot of random words out there apparently the average American only speaks like 0.5 of a language we can barely even speak English right see yeah there's probably a word for that out there anyway whatever preparing the defenses Jacob just going to get on to a high point he is still playing Widowmaker the big sniper just going to eliminate some railings to get some clearer shots better points of view and here we go just looking at this choke point we got the the KIRO up on the same platform oh Ker's going to get an early kill same thing with Eli oh big head shot there we go that's what Widowmaker does big head shot all right that's immediately three members of the opposing team gone they are going to have to regroup oh Eli pushing a bit see that Smashmouth style complimented by the supports he is going to be put to sleep there for a short bit of time he's going to heal up roadhog he does have this ability it's called I believe it's called take a breather in self-explanatory it's basically just an inhaler that heals you so you take a breather wow it's like the name Oh I thought he was jumping into the water for a second yep oh he's going to make his opponent go into the water there yeah the reason why I was so afraid okay we just got to oh and Eli wins the battle of the hooks yeah in this map if you fall into the water that's death so roadhog has an ability where he just throws a hook out and drags his opponent wherever he is and he did just that dragging two people into the water including the opposing hog which they were just waving at each other for a bit waiting for their abilities to recharge we got ker here on the Zen Zen a very good healer and damage dealer very good support overall almost dies in that little fight but he is going to be fine I believe Eli is using his ultimate ability it is called H hog not H hog it's Whole Hog it does seem to be gone now kind of just throwing out a away for some reason there's life Weaver's flower his levitating flower this is a weird game oh ker going to use Transcendence which is basically just a field Zen just becomes the Sun and whoever is standing in the sun gets healed oh this is going to go down to I believe that's an Arisa yeah the orisa 2 goes down let's see how they play Eli going in let's see what he does in the opposing spawn Dominic going to wall off a certain area so that they can only push through that left area let's see how he does identifies the position oh there's the blizzard see May's alt is she just summons a blizzard for a short period of time that can freeze enemies and just make them easy targets going to go into his Iceberg there it's just an iceberg that heals him they're explaining all these abilities this is a weird game I'm just now realizing we got the with the KIRO throwing out that healing seemingly all she's doing right now she's got to get her team back up to good health so Eli can go in with the whole hog basically just an automatic really big gun V thrown more healing his way payload still at the spawn let's see oh here comes the Kitsune Rush everyone who's in the field of the katsune rush rush becomes faster shoots faster moves faster a lot of things a lot of things faster let's see Eli just getting that take a breather getting the inhaler gets a big Hook from very far away he is going to get slept and punished though oh the rip tire so Eli is aned which means he can't be healed but now that effect has gone away he is going to go down though it was too much to recover for him all right we still got Jacob still in that sniper spot a junkrat just lobbing grenades at him it is currently overtime going to peek a corner getting good damage oh I think he might have made a mistake on that little Venom mind it's just a spider that injects you with a sickness that does a little bit of damage oh corner has been peaked he's going to get a kill on the life Weaver saving his teammate peing another corner trying to get that sniper gameplay ker on the point with this 200 Health they are going to stop them from going any further that is round one complete and all the Cyber Tigers need to do now in their attacking round is push the payload farther than the enemy team did all right let's see what comp they're going with right now it's looking like the same thing Jacob might be making some changes though nope he's still going Widow all right round two of match two we'll begin shortly all right three two one and we're out of the character select match has not begun let's see what the plan is here we got all right interesting we got uh both healers the and ker seemingly going up to the top going up to the sides is everyone going up to the sides it's looking like it we just got Eli kind of staring at a wall right now as you can see they're just spinning around they're moving their mice really fast mouses mice what do you call it I know the normal term is mice but this is gaming anyway the match has begun we got the throwing out some kunai providing some healing to the team oh well that's Eli going in with his signature backline attack let's see what he's going to do here he's looking to attack the supports looking to attack the Anna taking a breather he's getting shot at from multiple angles meanwhile oh meanwhile the rest of the Cyber tigers have been doing well on the ground we are pushing the payload it seems that the enemy tank has switched to Reinhard just a big dude in big armor with a big hammer that can throw fire for some reason is going to go down there it's looking like we've got ker Dom and Eli on the point and that's going to be enough match two goes to the Cyber Tigers right both both Academy I cannot word both Academy squads doing really good Eli is going to get the play there let's see what it is is it going to be the two hooks it's the two hooks yeah there's one says hello to the other roadhog Road Hog other Road Hog throws out the hook then he comes in swoops in gets the kill he was definitely hoping for that to get to for that to get play I know Eli he was absolutely hoping for that to be play he got his wish I can hear laughing from the other room so we are having some good games here you know another good thing Adams Wells thank you to our sponsor Adams Wells internet Telecom TV your local service provider with G Speed Internet TV and telephone services for businesses and residential customers in Adams and Wells County all right we are going to have another matchup between the two Academy teams we are still waiting on Varsity who I believe we are going to have the captain of JB subbing into to that game being Aiden yeah that is why Dominic is taking over one of the damage roles because Aiden one of the normal damages on JV is going to be playing in the varsity game but we are still waiting on the status for that and meanwhile the academy Squad getting ready for the push map for today esparon push is a game mode released alongside OverWatch 2 in which two teams fight to escort a robot who pushes an objective onto the opposite side of the map each map has two checkpoints along the objective path when a team escorts the robot past the first enemy checkpoint their spawn is moved up to forward spawn if neither team reaches both checkpoints the team that push their objective the furthest wins and overtime will trigger if the team with less progress has possession of the robot when time expires so think of it as like payload the game mode that you just saw but with both teams pushing the pay at the same time all right match up beginning we got the characters in the character select screen we're going to see if there's any new changes to the squad it is looking like Jacob going to switch off of Widowmaker and going to Bastion who's essentially just a tank with a minigun attached to him and it's looking like Eli is going to go back to the wrecking ball that we saw earlier today in match one and other than that everyone is going to be going the same thing just waiting here just waiting for like the half a minute countdown to decide your characters to end all right we are in the spawn rooms as you can see through the computers through that little camera looking at the looking at that half of the room the academy cyber Tigers looking to close out their opponents in Prairie Heights if they win this next matchup that is going to be a full win for the Academy cyber tigers and keep in mind since the academy team does not have a postseason this will be their last game of the year this could potentially be the last match of the season for the Academy cyber Tigers let's see if they close out strong or if they've got a little bit more to be played we got Jacob on the Bastion going to start pushing the robot early going to go into turret mode going to get a kill there on the Zen and Yep this is the Minun part of Bastion oh the enemy doomfist coming in he switched back to the doomfist that we also saw in I believe match one doomfist and the mercy and the Bastion of the opposing team going down and that's one more member of the opposing team on very low Health he is going to get the health pack restoring him back to full they still going to go down there we've got a little bit of time to push the robot until the enemy regroups oh we've got Eli kind of just standing there maybe showing Mercy on the Zen or maybe he's just bullying him oh okay put him out of his misery here he comes going in here comes the classic Eli slam get that trademark put that on a shirt the classic Eli slam he's going to go up here as he is relatively low Health trying to escape from the enemy Squad he's going to find a health pack getting him back to a lot of Health he's at roughly 500 you're going to come in throw out the mine field and a slam looking for the kill on the Bastion he is being healed but he still gets killed the enemy Reinhardt also gets downed and Eli goes back to the robot oh Dominic just firing off a big shot going to get the kill on the Hanzo there one shot one kill for Dominic Eli coming in to get the opposing team out the spawn room going to get a kill on the Zen going in looking for the kill on the mercy oh we got some artillery coming in from Jacob the Bastion Dominic also here looking to freeze the enemy Reinhardt which he is able to do oh the they kind of abandoned the robot there they were pushing in on the enemy and just kind of left the robot he still got Dominic throwing out some icicles the sniper element of may we got Ryan not Ryan that is Wrecking Ball Eli in the backline looking to take out some support SPS let's see what the plan is shooting at the Baptist throws out another he already has a Minefield again he's going to get a 2K there going to get a 3K there and the K means kills just in case he didn't know they're looking to hold him off for a little bit longer ker is going to ult there into Transcendence and the blizzard just all alts known to man and that is going to close out the regular season for the Academy cyber Tigers they are going to end with a victory ending record 11 wins one loss and Eli's going to get the final play impressive showing from both squads congratulations for completing the season incredible season for the Academy cyber Tigers they have a very bright future ahead and with them leaving the lobby um we are going to see the status on the Varsity squad we have switched to the left side of the room where you can see the varsity and some of the coaches getting ready for the matchup are we going to get a JV interview JV interview question mark I oh I just heard Dominic say I'll do that I just heard Dominic enter the room woe zoi microphone's over there hello it's the boy oh it's also Eli hello I'm here he is okay oh you're staying y baby very cool staying for the next 30 seconds he's staying for the next 30 seconds all right give the mic to hit we also got tests oh we're doing do we should we get uh Kinder in here too should we get the should we get the whole Squad oh we didn't want one all right we got facing my down a little you can get a chair hello there yeah I need a chair thank you what a gentleman all right oh wow don't knock that down please don't knock that down we're still good we're still good all right did theer or something no I I don't know I wasn't wasn't watching oh my goodness hey put your jersey on Mister hey it's on my shoulder trop claim it yesal of Honor we got a whole Squad this is the squad that you just saw playing in that match congratulation nothing congratul a ring around the rosie type of interview like like you interview like all of us at like at one consecutive time maybe sure yeah probably probably shouldn't have every four of you talking at one time so we'll start we're having fun here that was funny you're just not shot what you just let's get let's get started all what are you doing he's closing the door hi this I'm talking the two now I swear Aiden you're the captain yeah you're Captain J hey angle yourself This Way facing me look at this guy we got the whole he may have not been in our match we got the whole but he was there in spirit he was there the entire time we got the whole over my shoulder patting me on the shoulder whenever I do something cool yeah let's get the interview started that's not my shoulder all right let's settle down let's let's settle down let's try to have something here uh we'll start with Eli the Smashmouth tank so very yeah that's what SM Smashmouth it's like aggressive you know yeah it's not what it sounds like to you creeps what it sounds like the you shut up get going anyway thoughts on your performance throughout just the entire season overall and how the team has progressed be nice yeah what do you your thoughts I I want to know what your thoughts are I think they've been great what are your thoughts www you've been watching us what do you think great this is incoherent are you are you done yeah you okay okay I'll go so you you are definitely one of the unsung heroes of the squad you and Kinder uh the healers don't get much screen time but they're such a valuable asset to the team just your thoughts I guess you can do you can do it two and one the double healer yeah what are your thoughts on it about what that's a great question no it gets really annoying healing these fools cuz they run around and um a a they want a they run around and always exactly they expect me to go chase them and heal them I'm supposed to and they don't protect me get with I I just I just um playing with them is great The Season's been amazing and I'm very thankful that I got this opportunity yeah wow what the heck I hope you didn't hear that cuz that's very rude mik no Mike oh my goodness oh cheese dude cheese cheese you mean like cheese parv I love what is parva chees cheese probably excuse me let's keep going let's keep going Kinder your thoughts on just being a Healer one of the unsung heroes of the team I like hitting the people with the Zen with the Zenyatta balls and then hitting my teammates with the healing balls and then hitting the enemies with the damage balls kind wowe Zoe very cool Jacob what are your thoughts yeah Jacob what are you what are you thinking what's on I've played healer like twice so I don't know no about the season about the I know about the season um it was a pretty great season I miss OverWatch one a lot me too um we all do it said that since I'm a senior I'm not going to be here next year so it's very unfortunate I wasn't able to make it on varsity because of that mainly so I'm going to miss it going to miss the times I'm not going to miss you guys though wow I'm just kidding no well we are we are very happy to have had you throughout all these years that you have been here it will be a very sad loss we'll be sad to see you go but thank you for your contributions Yeah by old man any anytime you want to speak huh yeah Captain you're about you're about to play in the varcity game I'll be the Spot while you're going team performance chair smells like chemicals so yeah smells like chemic what are you doing so yeah U let's just go back uh since you're the captain's a very big talking point uh do what are you doing can they see him no no oh no they can't I'm blocking you all right so just as the captain the big communication that's the reason why you're giving the captain a role just I don't know what are your thoughts on your team's performance I don't know how to do this to all of you guys but what are your thoughts on your whole team's performance throughout the season yeah be honest very impressive yeah be honest very impressive they've improved since we've started wow yes we all have we all have improved he was originally the captain and then I took it from him yeah he and then he stopped going to practices almost get kicked off and then he got threatened then he took a driving test actually had a life killed hundreds of people and committed multiple war crimes in this game he does it daily in Minecraft yes of course obviously so yeah you're War th we all play War I don't all right um I don't so you're about to hi second mic you're you're about to play his turn he played today yeah oh yeah I I have a mic right here yeah you got it you can hold on to it cuz you're next my guy's wired up fed n a li say that again so mainly about like my performance today I was uh very nervous especially because Joo said that they were uh like one of the top contenders but um I was I was doubting myself a lot because I was just nervous about the entire thing what um and epic sock this was a JB's last match of the Season correct yeah it was yeah um and I mean I'm a freshman so I still have my sophomore Junior and Senior year ahead of me for this um I've also I've definitely improved a lot I I've improved a ton since the very beginning I found out a lot more about the game uh just played way better than I ever thought I could and I'm glad I was given this opportunity to play for the Cyber Tigers yes so that's what Esports is about um you're probably like getting a letter this freshman good stuff yeah I might uh depending on I probably will because of the um I might I'm probably going to do shout casting whenever the uh Varsity cyber tigers go to state so um which as you said is I'm glad I can do that as a freshman the youngest member of the squad is graduating wow okay while while we've still got time cuz theity is getting ready you're you're about to play uh what are your thought the up and coming match um up anding match I'm very excited for the up and coming match I need to go now you guys have a good night yeah it's mine now I'm keeping this forever goodbye on [Music] man [Music] a [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] n [Music] a [Music] up [Music] a [Music] [Applause] [Music] m [Music] oh are we on uh we're just uh waiting for Varity to we're on program we are on program yeah that is true all right we're here and welcome back all right see yep if you're just now joining us we are waiting on the varsity game to start oh just kidding we're not waiting they Varsity facing um let's look at that they're going up against Union City here's Noah with the Bastion shooting from afar throwing a bomb there very nice aim mhm oh also varsity they have a new um I I guess player in a sense um that being Aiden the captain of JV he will be subbing in for them but we have m n Diva who is actually very good this season all tanks are very are in a in pretty bad State because as you saw they can just get annihilated especially with Zen being the absolute best support people seeing people getting shredded mhm also by the way we still got like all of the JV squads screens can we change to that we're only looking at Chris and who is that I can't even see the name so we have Chris on the B who's also he's pretty good this season he's not top tier but he's certainly not bad he's like B tier he like high B tier let's see the gam play oh let's see how he does we're switching over screens we can't really commentate oh no oh no yeah um I believe that this is also the Cyber Tigers first match in the season 9 patch I'm I think it is yeah it just recently came out didn't it yeah it came out one or two weeks ago so this could be their first match on season 9 which this will show how well um our cyber tigers can adapt to a new season yeah and especially with a with as bigest patch as this with everyone getting passive healing more HP uh a little bit more damage uh nerfing tanks actually they like uh buffing DPS because if a DPS hits you one time you get uh like 20% less healing from your healers yeah we have we see that Chris has his old so does Caleb he has Co Ence we got Caleb on the support the captain of The Varsity squad oh I believe that's a small mine there oh did Aiden reflect the Tracer mine send it back and kill her with it it would have showed pulse bomb right there yeah as the uh way she got killed yeah all right the opposing Squad Union City Oh Ma using Diva bomb hitting no one all right yeah the does have Dragon Blade yeah the squad of Union City did get off to a hot start but we do currently have the point the Cyber Tigers let's see what Aiden's going to do here oh junker Queen putting anti on everybody no one can heal yep that's a all Rampage oh Caleb does use Co Essence uh a picking up the kill Noah getting a kill off bastion's ult getting that artillery there we go all right we're buying some time for the enemy to regroup and to get some more capture percentage looking like we got two WTS currently in the tank oh Noah throwing out a bomb going into turret form Mack is going to get a kill on the turet form did they switch to an Arisa I think I saw the javelin then they might have see can pick up the he does pick off the Tracer very good that's the entire enemy DPS gone oh here comes the dragon Dr blade they're going to push him back Aiden is going to get a kill with the Dragon Blade going to get he has three in total potential play of the game right there very good good performance from the JV Captain mhm you might have seen him in that interview following the JV game or or maybe you didn't if you if you didn't it was an absolute train wreck of a segment yeah don't go back and watch it or do yeah or do whatever we can't stop so you're picking off three kills cyber tigers do have 99% but they are contesting very well seems that who is it Union yeah Union City Union City did switch to ratra bomb for the safety getting it there we go all right cyber cyers win the first round they don't win the set they don't it's they don't win the match yeah they don't they didn't win this set I don't match yeah I don't know how to describe this yeah the uh the control match format is the best two out of three so that is one round to the Cyber Tigers if they win one more round they will clinch the match if Union City W wins the next two rounds then they will clinch the match mhm so the varc Cyber Tigers they just need one more win on this match up for it to be considered a full win for us and Union City needs two for it to be uh a full win for them yeah all right here we go they are off you can see all five points of view at the moment no we sticking to the Bastion seems everyone's on the exact same team comp they were before got Chris throwing out some healings let's see who is going to get that also valuable first pick of the game got Aiden with his name misspelled in the top left going around looking to get that Widow there it is takes off the Widow can he get the Lucio being pushed by Lucio he's going to get barely striving on 55 HP there we go health pack Aiden eliminating about half of their team very impressive sneaking up on the ram getting nice damage in Chris getting the kill there we go you I don't know how um the ranking system considers me and Aiden in the same rank I believe we're both silver five in damage which is not true should not be true I am not on his level mhm yeah OverWatch is very weird with their matchmaking it's also very inconsistent yeah Caleb providing them very nice heals for his entire team they break through the sigma Shield Noah going to throw a bomb looking to get a pick the Tracer Moira is I think she's B tier this season because with passive healing healing is kind of it's if you have it it's good but you can you can work without it if you're good enough and Moira can play um very nice damage yeah our DPS Noah and Aiden just getting those picks picking off about uh three members combined between the two of them we've got Mac on the point just firing off he's going to fly back regroup with his Squad The Varsity squad has such good coordination ma firing off some rockets and if you're curious those lines that occasionally show up just those squares in front of Diva that is a field that absorbs all bullets that goes into all projectiles actually so um if SAR uses her gravitational force to try to pull everyone in Diva Can I guess as the community call it eat the grav bomb she can eat tracer's uh pulse bomb she can pretty much just eat anything as uh the community calls it speaking of eating eating Mac metaphorically eating up the competition I don't know know if that was a good line yet you're looking at me very disappointed all right here we go oh if the Cyber tigers can win this team fight they are going to clinch the round firing off on the sigma oh Chris using his ult to double the Cyber Tiger's damage if shot through that specific point Noah dying from the sigma gets taken down by the enemy tank can to pick off the sigma Chris getting three kills there we go match cber Tigers winning round one very good or winning the first set I guess in this case yeah that is one to nothing in favor of the Cyber Tigers Noah got play at the game let's see this there we go let's see it most likely a turret form wait not just yet fire off some bombs and there's the turret form going in Soldier that'll be it interesting yeah another thing they're uh pretty inconsistent with is who gets play the games yeah because around the start of the season I was playing with some of my teammates one of them got a 4K and the other one just got like barely a 2K and they got play the game mhm which it does suck yeah it's a beit bit weird but you know what doesn't suck the Wells County Foundation very special thanks to Wells County foundation for a special grant that allowed us to purchase the computer that this stream is currently running on without their support we would not be able to provide the quality programming that you are currently watching humongous shout out to Wells County Foundation as we get ready for the second round of the day and if you weren't here then the escort map for today is Rialto escort is a game mode in which the attacking team must escort a payload to a delivery point while the defending team attempts to prevent them until the timer runs out each map has three checkpoints between the starting position and the delivery point which when reached will increase the timer and move both points spawn locations an overtime will be triggered if time runs out with the payload is being contested by the enemy team and it's looking like for this round the Cyber Tigers will be starting on the defense mhm everyone just getting ready I can see we got an ash on the squad who's getting up to that sniper position a very good tank for this map is Road Hog considering the fact that he could just yank you into the water yeah we saw it earlier uh today just how deadly that can be yeah with the the final JB game that was play of the game it was crazy yeah how happy was Eli for that cuz I imagine very happy he was pretty happy and it was just like a casual laugh he was like a funny haha yeah Aiden with his name spelled correctly now getting into a sniper duel with the Widowmaker yeah in this position Jacob was just absolutely dominating their team yeah got Chris throwing out some Chris just hiding behind the wall healing his team yep very valuable the healers are o Noah hary dying to the whdd maker unfortunate Chris's healing was not enough that's a very common story in this game yeah or it's just like as he as we saw he did miss the one the one healing grenade mhm cyber tiger Squad get pushed back a bit here Union City applying the pressure but Mack looking to throw back let's see he's going to put out another Shield there basion coming in from behind he is spotted by Ma going absorb some of those bullets seems to have gotten no shield from that which oh wait no he probably stopped firing yeah oh seems that they did switch to zarya mhm zarya she's got a laser cannon and can envelop herself in a bubble which absorbs all damage taken MH and it also gives her more energy which use makes her beam and her uh bombs more strong which zarya can actually outdamage a few DPSS now at Zero Energy Bastion practically getting sniped by Mac there got some good healing from both sides as you can see oh there we go good teamwork there from Mac and let's see they're setting up for the next defense oh the enemy Widow is going to get a pick on Aiden because of that killed the Cyber Tigers oh wow Noah getting a haircut by The Widow's bullet metaphorical haircut he is in fact a robot oh actually he's a robot oh no getting behind cover to use artillery fire here comes the heavy artillery getting the kill there on the enemy Bastion and a kill on the life Weaver let's see can he pick up the kill on the orisa orisa just spinning that Javelin getting away he does he get the Widowmaker gets the Widow and then he also gets the mo oh I was completely wrong that's a team Fight Win getting a nice grenade jump showing how well he knows how to play Bastion with just this Tech very fancy Mac is going to push in on the enemy Squad Caleb D dipping out there oh last name drop oopsy Doodles oh ma does get hit by the javelin which my opinion is probably the best part of ais's Kit um in OverWatch one her ult was kind of like Mercy's um I'm sort of forgetting what her ult in OverWatch one was I I know what it is but I like her damage booster but it would be like her damage booster in Valkyrie so it would just spread throughout the entire team yeah I forgot about that um and OverWatch when I tested it if you have a valkyrie Mercy Nano boost and a with a fully charged Widowmaker shot and a head shot you could One-Shot Road Hog back then hm that is unfortunately in the past Caleb Bailey is wow oh no how could I say his last name Caleb is going to get some kills does he pick up The Kill the more o he does drop the life tree all right life tree essentially just zenat is ala if you remember that but just slowly and it's it can also be a wall yeah in case you don't it just provides a zone that provides a bunch of healing to the corresponding team that it's for and the man who activates it life Weaver going to go up with his levitating flower very normal of him his levitating flower to like Lotus Blossom or something I don't know I don't play Life Weaver I don't have them unlocked oh you don't have them unlocked I don't play support so there's really no point yeah same reason why I don't have malga I don't play tank yeah I got malga for free cuz I I played the game too much I got I got him from the battle pass for free right Aiden is going to finish off the team kill end that round and now all the Cyber tigers have to do is push the payload farther than the enemy team did mhm let's see do we have the same comp um what was Mac in that previous round again he was Sigma oh yeah correct so yeah only change being Max switching from Sigma to back to Diva mhm something else about this season that is actually very surprising is uh wrecking ball is probably one of if not the best tank this season which is very good for Eli seeing how he's been in ball main for a very long time yeah also by the way we do have Kaleb switching to the KIRO Varsity not running particularly meta healers not seeing a Zen well that is still manageable you don't need to be meta sometimes it can be predictable just waiting for the round to begin here there we go all right match up begins cyber Tigers got to push the payload Caleb getting some healing while staying on the cart throwing out some kunai we've got Noah up top there being teleported to by Caleb he's going to get Javelin almost getting thrown off the map and just so you know touching that water just means instant death yeah cuz makes sense yeah I guess no one it makes sense for Bastion because he's a robot but yeah we were just talking about it there's an excellent example right there Noah unfortunately getting picked off mhm Caleb still doing that excellent healing oh picking off the Tracer yeah Tracer such an annoying character to kill small hit box very Zippy zappy yeah the kill on the soldier there for Caleb I believe you can also do Tracer Tech on this map because whenever she uses her blink uh there's a visual effect that shows just like that like the line if you're on a soft wall you can just barely look One Direction it'll make it look like you went to the left or the right very interesting so that's probably why we've seen tracer on this map multiple times today ma push back the opposition mhm I never knew kid melee while you were flying like that onaa just putting out the bomb with the katun yep orisa tried doing her big ult but she was unfortunately left vulnerable dur it resulting in the kill and the Cyber tigers go up two to nothing oh there we go Aiden getting the play game oh he's checking his stats not the play come on o double head shot on that Widow very nice very nice and the final kill on the Moira to wrap out the play there we go oh yeah I forgot to we forgot to mention the this because the uh first match up for uh The Varsity squad started so unexpectedly The Varsity squad is currently sitting at a 9 and0 record if they can finish off Union City here they will go undefeated throughout the entire regular season JV only losing one time actually throughout the entire season they ended on that 11- one record which it does kind of make me sad because I I did plan that match but we did win it just by like the skin of our teeth so yeah uh it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth that we didn't get a perfect record like Varsity but yeah just that one little guy you know that one M it's like when you got a bag of M&M's all of them are I'm going nowhere with that metaphor it's like in way you buy a bag of candy that's like one like one specific flavor but they messed up and they gave you like a random different flavor like if you got all blue raspberry and they gave you like a watermelon yeah anyway let's stop trying to make weird comparisons and let's talk to you about the current map that we're on the push game mode will be on esperansa push is a game mode released alongside OverWatch 2 in which two teams fight to escort a robot who pushes an objective onto the opposing side of the map each map has two checkpoints along the objective path when a team escorts the robot past the first enemy checkpoint their spawn is moved up to forward spawn if neither team reaches both checkpoints that team that pushed the jective the furthest wins and overtime will trigger if the team with less Pro with less progress has possession of the robot when time expires so think of it as the payload game mode that you just saw but with both teams attacking at once here we go interesting we have Noah on the ratra seeing him play tank which is also pretty similar to Bastion he's like a mix of Bastion and Reinhardt with the Fast Fire and just like the brute force of Reinhardt with the shield yeah I believe I've only seen Noah play with malga I've only seen him play malga as tank yeah let's see how he does getting the brg very good yeah those punches go through all Shields something to note [Music] mhm o Genji does get the kill on him unfortunate for us we are down a tank we got oh we got Mac on the Tracer you were just talking about her last match mhm you see look so very Zippy very small very fast placing a spray down common thing to do an OverWatch just a random spray it does literally nothing M or does it yeah there might be a secret code who knows whatever probably not 0.00001% all charge probably overthinking of that's some speedrunner stuff how fast can we get old yeah speedrunning is crazy particularly Super Mario 64 one of the most famous speedrun games I've heard stuff about there being like rays of light from the Sun hitting the N64 to make a piece of code change to make Mario teleport crazy stuff like that but we're not talking about Mario right now we're talking about OverWatch and we got Aiden on his signature Genji wait what I'm now I'm I'm lost now I'm trying to think what how is that possible wait I don't know ask the speedr runners okay if I can if I'll see if they answer me back on uh Instagram after that yeah sure leg able to contact one yeah because I mean obviously I'm famous yeah all these commentary jobs have been getting you Fame mhm oh they do have baptisto and Aiden does have dragon BL let's see if it pops right here nope o Noah does use Annihilation which is essentially the big Punchy form of ratra but with your punches go farther do more damage and you get an AA around you that uh takes a little little bit of their HP oh their Genji does pop Dragon Blade but Caleb does finish him off but pretty much what Annihilation does and the the ring around you it uh kind of like sucks the life force of the enemies and it increases the time of Nemesis form yeah just think of it just think of it like Zenyatta alt or life raver alt Just In Reverse yeah that yeah it's like a reverse uh zenel because that's pretty much what um Ram is he's pretty much just an inverse of Zenyatta because they are technically Brothers all omnics are yeah canonically storywise let's not get into crazy story stuff let's get into the game with orisa popping the ult not getting does have Nano so they might be going for a nano blade let's see that's going to be a good kill there oh yep that's a 2K for Aiden two two kills with the Dragon Blade we've got Aiden still in their spawn mhm just throwing out trying to get a soldier let's see got Chris just trying to get some sort of lucky little pick snipe he's actually healing his Squad oh o Reaper coming from the back line getting with the javelin yep Reaper is sleeping the orisa yeah Reaper to put it bluntly a ghost with two shotguns mhm yeah that that's perfect yeah very valuable close range [Music] mhm Union does take that team fight at least we still got is Caleb the one alive no that would not be Caleb that would be Mac still alive just sitting waiting for Squad does pretty much have Al mhm which is just a a grenade now he doesn't pretty much have Al he just has ult yep he's going in he might be going for it at does activate uh Phantom form or ghost form whatever it's called at the right time I think it's called like wraith or something I don't know what it's called maybe throw the sticky bomb does pretty decent damage mhm o basically a smaller form of the big diva bomb mhm and there's that Annihilation that we were talking about earlier the squad is going to get some good picks no TK TK team kill team kill wowe zoi all right had to take a drink oh here comes the reaper does he yep death Blossom I was just about to say he's going to pop death Blossom yep death Blossom he just spins around think of the like life force taking Aura from raat Annihilation just double that mhm and then take that doubled number and then double that again and then take that doubled number and then double that again so like stle it yeah sure whatever words numbers silly got a C minus in Geometry I don't know numbers you don't got to reveal it to the stream whatever it's my decision I can do whatever I want with my grades let's see how well Aiden oh getting up on the reaper activating Wraith yep that low Health basically just get out of jail free card oh 50 HP getting heals from that's Chris yep very good they do pop coalesence and Baptist salt yep coalescence being more result it's just a laser that damages enemies and heals teammates mhm very simple yet effective M Chris does go down so that's one less healer on the squad Aiden trying to survive for as long as as he can but he does inevitably go down both teams still just jockeying for position if the Cyber tigers can find a way to get a team fight win then that will be great for stunting the progress M of a Union City they are going to start contesting the point ma trying to get that damage in going to get the assist another assist going for the reaper another assist the assist he be assistant wow Caleb having sound barrier here he comes with the Lucio sound barrier is just a beat drop that gives uh anyone who's in a lot of over Health yeah just a bunch of Health that does slowly diminish yeah it's very valuable for just keeping your team alive even if it's just for that little bit longer yeah it's like a stall movement yeah let's see Union City seems to be pushing back the Cyber Tigers they seem to have taken the robot there he goes look at him go I think all the Cyber yep all all the Cyber Tigers but Mac and Chris have their old H oh speaking of alt speaking of alt again see yeah there's that sound barrier oh my there's too much a lot going on gra doing very well for the Cy ERS being able to kill their tank and uh almost healer Mac does get picked off by the Widowmaker the Widowmaker yeah let's take a look back at that play so it was an Arisa Al which was countered by Caleb sound barrier and then Noah throughout the zar black hole that just sucks everyone in so yeah look back at that play very difficult to commentate that all at once he just standing still lasering with the beam doesn't really need to move yeah if you know how to play zarya she can be one of the best tanks seeing coalesence again this Moira this is like their like fifth old speaking of lasering with the beam Moira is lasering with the beam yisa just spinning around that Javelin to deny some damage only gains her a few more seconds of life though Moira just doing that slow damage on Noah from behind shooting through a window through the window to the walls I can't say the rest of the lyrics lasering the Widow midair very good Noah with the 10 play kill streak no not no what Caleb having sound barrier again oh oh that's a big getting the torb and his turr big boy sticky bomb Widowmaker killing Mack again with the head shot Caleb going around what's he going to oh oh my goodness their Widowmaker is crazy very good snipe from the Widowmaker mhm ooh nanoade coming out here he comes the captain of the JV gets unfortunately picked off got Mac just trying to run away very easy to do that with Tracer oh never mind dipping back in just in and out in and out let's see running away it is currently overtime so all the Cyber tigers have to do is deter the enemy team from from the point for just a little bit and then that will be the victory that will be an undefeated regular season overall yes oh Big Shot there big head shot from the Widow just like on the uh control map I don't think they've even lost around on a control map yet maybe not I don't know I haven't been keeping up with the entire season I just know they've been winning I've been commentating some of these I haven't been writing them down the results oh there's the black hole from Noah he's going to try to get last second kill but the supports seem to be coming out the supports are phenomenal for each side keeping everyone alive but the orisa is going to go down that's an enemy tank done all they got to do is just finish off this last person and they do win the final round and that's exactly what they do undfeated all year round undefeated Ed from The Varsity cyber tigers making them guaranteed to go to state incredible and the final play is going to go to Noah with the ratra let's see this this is this was an Annihilation form too yeah there it is just big punchies big punching it's when he got the TK yeah all right will we be getting a um inter from one of the varsity guys or the varsity team hopefully we're not going to repeat the J segment yeah the oopsy doodle yeah okay all right oh just waiting on someone I don't know if that door's unlocked or not it's probably unlocked it's got that it's got that string you know at the bottom not it's not a string that's a wire same thing whatever look at this guy get a Lo to this guy wow I have lemonade oh that was rud that was rude you know what else is really that's not a good transition at all but whatever do you have a favorite nonprofit that could use an awesome fundraising idea auction it is an online inperson auction platform that can help your nonprofit have a great Charity Auction find out more at auction.io that's auction.io we have them on our jerseys wow lookie lookie that's the wrong side also if cop these um very cool jerseys they also have these in hoodie form C is what the kids say yeah um we are kids um you can get this in the Cyber tiger store which the link should be in in the description if I'm not mistaken shamess plug oh my goodness it's Noah no wow zo where it's right there there by the ruler here he comes hello hello hi very cool look at this guy um with you being a senior in this obviously being your uh final year at um as a cyber tiger um also like I guess how was just like overall your experience um as one of the as one of the original cyber tigers um it's very rewarding um I got to do stuff that not many other cyber Tigers get to do um I'm on two varsity teams right now which something uh nobody else is doing so that's pretty special and then Sam's doing Sam but well I mean the tetris team only has one team so we shouldn't count that I guess yeah it's like Technical and then uh being the OverWatch state championship and then now we're undefeated in OverWatch right now it's it's looking very promising um um all the teams we fight are doing good um I think we've even scrimmed against other schools and other divisions and it gives us a neat opportunity to improve um I think and then being one of the originals is I get to see all the new people and all the the new talent that is being brought in to the Cyber tigers and that they have a very promising future if they keep practicing and and working yeah if I may ask it's got to be absolutely surreal so many Esports teams in this division in the state of Indiana but the team that you are in that you are helping lead forward undefeated yeah like wow zo it's pretty crazy and we were talking about this um a little bit ago um did you guys even lose like one like round on control or has it always just been too you know it's I think we've lost around the control before but then you brought it back I think then we brought it back MH I think we decided to try up um a new hero Loadout and that didn't work so then you switch back to the Old Reliable yeah mhm very nice very nice yes excellent performance from both squads congratulations on that undefeated regular season and you guys should be going to stay as long as I don't know the as long as you don't mess up the brackets it's likely yeah don't fumble the bag yeah which they should very unlikely that you fumbled the bag but still don't yeah yeah so anything else would you say I guess this being your second OverWatch season because during your junior year they couldn't have OverWatch due to something um would you say this was your more difficult season for playing or do you think whenever you first started that was like when you won that season do you think that was the hardest season I think the first season has been the most difficult I think because I wasn't um as experienced as I was now the team wasn't as experienced so I think winning the state championship has helped a lot well we are going to have to wrap it up so thank you very much for joining us this evening we'll be back tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.

good all right we welcome you to our school board meeting here this morning or this morning evening and we'll start out by a pledge allegiance and we'll have a prayer please stand stand Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all Lord Jesus we love you God we give you thanks today Father for all that you've given and all that you've done in our hearts Our Lives Lord in this community tonight father we just invite your presence into this place to give us your wisdom and knowledge to make the decisions Lord that would best impact the staff and the children in our in our school district Lord in this community I pray God that you would just get the glory from all of our actions and we pray Lord that all that we do would glorify you we pray in Jesus name amen amen future board meetings uh March 12th March 26th and April 23rd all right here we have couple items to the agenda and the HR report I believe we'll get to that um recognition well first of all I just want to let you know that we have concluded all of our teacher and staff of the year so we won't be doing any more of those this school year but we will maybe change some things next year or maybe we'll keep it the same we've done it different ways but it's always great to have spotlights and and recognize our teachers and our staff but today I'm just going to go off what um we do as far as our student and staff recognition and there are three of them here uh first one um the first one I will read because it came to myself and also o Mr finle and this is about Southwood um I thought it would be very good to read this but it's a good one says Mr key faab I wanted to drop you a quick line and thank you for the culture and environment that you have created at South High School I travel to many schools in my work and always impressed when schools are so welcoming to Outsiders your workers your students and your environment are special and I felt you needed to know that as I was driving back to Fort Wayne I felt the south is a school I could feel comfortable with my own children attending that's usually how I gauge School environments and she said un very unscientifically I know this wasn't my first trip to Southwood and I'm sure it won't be my last but I always feel so welcomed there by all that I encountered I felt you needed to know what a great turnout last night for senior night for the volleyball state championship recognition a PSM so part viw sports medicine is grateful to be a school partner with both Southwood and Northwood and look forward to Future years of partnership enjoy the rest of the week and that's from Candace Duncan who was the director of sports medicine so I thought that was great to to hear hear that when you do have an outsider that comes in and recognizes those accolades and I also have a couple other from norfield congratulations to norfield Junior Senior High Junior High basketball teams on a great season the seventh grade fell short against Southwood and that's championship game and that is in the rrc the running Rivers conference uh so uh South um got first in that one and Northfield was the runner-ups the eighth grade team team though however was able to score a secure a win in the championship against Manchester this past Saturday uh for backtack our RC championships as seventh and eighth graders so it's great to see that and then also Mr Snider put on February 18th the Fort Wayne Museum of Art held its Regional Scholastic art Awards Lane Denton received the juror Choice Award for our region in Scholastics this award is chosen by jurors who nominate an outstanding work for their panel and region Lan received this award award for his portfolio and entitled medal sourced this award has monetary value and Lane was recognized for this accomplishment at the ceremony Lane created six works that make up this his award winning portfolio that will go on to New York for a chance at winning the national award and you probably have heard that name come up a lot Lane Denton he um doing an excellent job it's one of those things uh where he kind of um discovered all of this um with the help of his teacher and I believe he is going to move on to go to college um to do a lot more our so it's great to hear that so that's all I had as far recognition tonight okay excellent thank you uh public comment agenda items only all right move on to consent agenda items uh need a motion the second for the approval or minutes from our last meeting that got a motion in a second all those in favor say I any oppos all right thank you uh Financial reports claims any I have any concerns or questions on claims I think I have one is that for the new project new project and they said it's 100% complete no that's up to 100% complete okay cool that's paid up we're paying I think monthly up to 100% of compation so it's spaced out we W know total what we owe them though until projects done because it's based on percentage I believe they based their percentage off of the original hard cost from that oh okay so why G we won't know I believe B is pretty accurate I think that's our second pay so it was on another most of their cost will be up as they through all right get a motion second have a motion in a second all those in favor of approving the claims say I any oppos payroll payrolls typical for this time the only additional one is I think I've mentioned this before is this is when we paid the early literacy Grant which was a new Grant uh amount of stiens to uh those teachers starting to get claimed in for end of winter season coaching so you'll see payroll go up probably the next two or three pay rolls just from those F all right get a motion second second got a motion the second all those in favor payroll say I oppos passes Financial summary Chris yeah so I uh gave you your first look uh cash flow for 2024 obviously this is a very early um estimate as we go through there uh so right now it's showing what is current cost based off of what our contract obligations currently are uh for our teaching staff so it does not reflect any potential increases uh in any of that stuff at this time um revenue is based off of what we currently have from a revenue standpoint uh from basic Grant the rest are just at estimated Revenue Trends uh so right now the revenue is showing primarily the 2023 September ADM count and the December uh special ed counts throughout the entire year so it does not reflect changes that we'll see from the February count that we just had um or changes that we'll have in any estimated ADM counts for July through December uh so again it's just a very generic basic uh estimate to kind of show you where uh we could project towards the end of the year and obviously as months and months go by we can fine-tune some of those Trends and then we can also start putting out some uh predict when it comes to increases in wages Etc so they're going to use the second count this year again in February they're going to raise it second count is is tied towards Financial Revenue yes when do we get that we probably would not see those reconciled until uh I think it's April May and June I appreciate you going through this Chris because it's not easy to do things and I'm certainly not complaining and I don't want to be a doub because the number at the end is very very good but if you notice from the past two years the growth in our uh ending position is not as great now as it was in the past you know so indicator that our expenses Are Climbing faster than our Revenue sure a couple things to remember with that too is we've had a couple sizable large grants over the last couple years uh due to uh some grants they given out that were Co related especially for our prek program that are no longer a revenue stream and so that does tie into that factor that of the difference in that increase that's probably a big factor yeah into that how did you project the expenses I didn't really get them and the Weeds on that you just increased a certain percentage across the board yeah based off what we're currently seeing now I can f tune that after we get through a couple more months well you you hit it amazingly close I'm so impressed by that so it's not perfect but it gives us a general idea yeah it's heading in the right direction and that's kind of what we want to see at the beginning because then that helps us determine what some of the things we can or can't do throughout the year you go off a past like the you said percentages is that what you're doing I mean yeah and I also use a and I've showed this before in the past there's a software program that we use as well that kind of helps us keep track of some of that stuff so I kind of use this and that in combination to come up with like a final estimate that's good and so that that helps and so I did the same for the operations fund um and I really tried my best to plug in a lot of a lot of these expenses that we're going to see with some of these projects that I know some of that's going to come through Bond money but some of that's also going to be coming through operations so I've kind of tried to put that in there early as well um so then we can also see what are some things we might be else be able to do throughout the year with that in there so there there's some play uh with that a little bit but like I said I tried to put a lot of those known costs to the best of my ability in there early um to give us an idea of where where we flow through and you know there's like the transfer of $600,000 that's just a placeholder that doesn't mean we have to transfer that much money but you know that that was tied into our goal for the rainy day fund as well that amount would get us to that goal but again that's nothing that we're in necessarily any hurry to do uh so like I said there's some play there with that but the positive thing is it's still moving still growing in a positive direction so since we that that money for those two years went away were there programs or things that we added during that time no specifically for that money no that that that money specifically was used to offset the cost of our PR current cost of our prol program Okay so there wasn't any any additional no now the only thing that is factored into this a little bit on the educational side is um those Esser positions because that money does run out by the end of the summer and so those are positions that we've talked through a little bit but if we were to continue with those positions then that's kind of reflected in there help us in this budget in yes in those projections how many positions is that there are five of the par professionals um I believe and then of course we have a social worker Ando students each scho no no no no that's just just two positions that right that's two that answerers some con too I having that expl that way thank you Chris I I appreciate the in depth because it sure eases our thoughts of where we're at uh HR Personnel we have just a few items here uh no resignations but underemployment uh we have Daniel whetman uh temp PE teacher at Metro North and Sharp Creek starting March 18th sure and that's just for the attorney okay attorney that Cheryl Hodson temp social worker at Sharp Creek start at the end of this year Matt Denny another P tell you what in the water just keep another one just found another one today sou Elementary for AUST so keep coming glad we have teachers that are returning here Matt Denny baseball assistant coach at Southwood High School uh Molly Gray assistant tennis at South High School and Jamie wri a vol volunteer assistant softball at Northville High School all for this current season and uh number 173 uh Le uh beginning ail 26 get a motion in a second second all those that are in favor of the HR say I I oppos right all right artland yeah we had our monthly meeting uh went through the business as normal but they had a couple donations were kind of um Melanie green donated some comloy supplies I don't know how what value it was but uh car recyclers had an arcade game for electronics they found or whatever and it's a flight simulator and they're going to try to rehab that it's 30 years old and we're going to try to fix and resell if they can so that's kind of neat for them and Jim Lewis our mechanic need some carbide tips he was here for years so um the big thing they had we had a presentation from Garland company on the roof this is going to be a nasty deal yet but uh challenging challenging yes we had an estimate from them for a I call it a tissue roof but a soft roof was roughly 900,000 and and has a 15-year warranty but they also because it has a slope they would like to do a metal Road and that was that price was 1.4 million or close to that yeah about 1.4 and if they had a fber roof or whatever for a 30-year warranty was also 1.4 mil the other was only 15 mil so we got to make a decision on what kind of roof how much quality I'll ask you guys you want a metal roof that'll last a long time at one point4 you want a 15E Ro 900 it's metal now no no no it was metal but they put on the the called spray on type no it's it's it's like a regular flat roof only a slope is it yeah it's got like a 2% slope it's just it's a dual pitched I learn that but this guy you know they would put a standing seam and the way their company does it you've had gutters put on your house comes off a roll that's how they do that they roll it right there so they get their exact length they don't have to guess it that's kind of neat I got Steve Holly but I believe Metro North was done that way also okay but I'm not almost how's stuff on the roof all that has to come off that all has to come off in that price that's taking everything off and putting you're because HVAC and all that's going to fall apart take a long well they got to be be able to put that back on and stuff like that and and we did receive um I think you received some of the finances on that too and percentages yes I was trying to find that but I I have it in my office how we will have yes it's just under 38% of whatever the total cost is yeah MD was like 350,000 or something like that and that's just for the rad yeah that's our sh of the r i mean that's but again have to do the HB and all that yeah this you haven't got that we're just struggling to get I thought wasn't it closer to half a million for us depend the 1.4 was about 500,000 over 500,000 no that's not factored in that much ask ask how good you are if you had that in there come on Chris I looked at know what I was going to ask yeah you know our Shar is pretty high that field so and the timing on that they'd like they would like to get it started so they can yeah they get started they'll do it all year I mean they can do that while it's still in there and really I think all you know that I mean the challenge is we have five different School different districts with five different situations and I know that it's just a it is a challenge and everybody understands it needs to be done so they tear completely off then insulate back before the standing SC they said they might be able to use some of the insulation use some of it again depending on how wet it was that just good to hear though it's going complete tear off yeah they want to do complete tear off if this stuff is still good they'll use it if not they'll just replace where it needs to be replaced try to but that's what this Garland company what the other company we well Garland's just a manufacturer of all the materials so they're the ones that are in like a co-op that actually there with the state that you can actually go if you have an architect you can actually use those without necessarily the other bids because they you have bids for the architect and things like that but not necessarily for kind of like what we do cop and things like that so I will say that the manufacturers the Garland manufacturer actually is doing the YMCA right now yeah they do a lot of schools and lot of public and that company's been what's it say at the top there they've been in business for since 1895 a couple years years so I guess I'm trying to bounce off you guys would you rather have a 15year 900,000 or a 34.4 so the additional 38% what's the cash flow guys say I know what I like yeah I mean first off just I it the the percentage what we owe I guess is the percentage of what we owe and so that's a whole different story but doesn't seem fair we get 3% yeah I want it done right but I also know that that's a big chunk of money it's half a million dollars so it's an extra 190,000 but and I'm not the financial guy but yeah I think we should do it right too and actually it does it actually has for this Aesthetics part of it it's definitely just like I likeit that's been around since 18 1895 seriously it has been yeah and he said that could just last forever almost and what he told he said your construction students he said we bring stuff out there and teach them how to put this standing scene together because it's a two-piece with a sealer and stuff like that what be neat for [Music] the so well that gives me ammo when I go back the other guys want to do 15 what do they have something in the pipeline behind this roof that's needing done I guess for the toal dollars I know each back those would be the next two and it's it's going to be the same type of Mone again too basically time get one one the rof you got to keep things dry and we've been talking this for long and and again I would I would like to see once we get this Ro project done maybe revisiting the because it be based on stent if we're going to keep doing these projects then we're going to be spending a lot of money I don't know what kind of Leverage you have you hate to go legal route on the RO on the roof and just for the timing with the H and all this you know you're not redoing that putting the old units back that that's well then you're going to put old units back on the advantage of the standing C say we can make that so if you have a problem they can lift that up and then redo it whereas with the other you know you got patch and so they got to cut put holes in there that it's to go up there ha you know you're not going to get the same matchid for new one that's a good question you like to get both them yeah but I know that' be ideal but yeah because there's part of that building that's air condition the shop area and so but if they keep the installation and make it better it would be be nicer so the age of that building is still really impresses me how how good it is how good it is it's done not that's all my report all right good news I had I had opportunity to be there at the last meeting appreciate that only superintendent the one that's going to be part of the most expensive bill so and see how much you're going have to spend all right yeah just have a couple things real quickly you know locker room progress just to let people know obviously the board knows um things are progressing both of them are it's poured um some other things that are going to happen like uh trying to look at some of the other projects we're doing for um the next Bond will actually include um trying to make sure that the weight room at norfield is completed by the end of the school year so they can start working on some other things there so that's kind of uh very exciting that they're working on that and I'll keep on taking pictures when I'm around to show you because it's just neat to to see some progress at first it was pretty ugly when they tear pour things out but now they're putting walls up so that's good and just let you know uh was in Indianapolis this morning at 7:00 a.m.

just merged with account advisors on February 1st prior to that it was and Sullivan and I was with was and Sullivan for 28 years and my focus was on Municipal Audits and government audits in school district so been doing this for a few years now um and we're happy to be here tonight just to get start to start off by thanking superintendent Director of Finance Treasurer rest of the finance team for all the cooperation and assistance that we received CL of the audit everybody was really great about getting us all the information that we needed answering all our questions and uh we really appreciated that a lot of what we do now uh and even more so since Co is we try to get the information loaded up onto our secure portal and that's you know something that works out well for us and I think it's also working out well for our clients um we all were kind of forced into it but it really kind of makes a l more efficient for us um school has been great in business office about uploading information for us prior to us coming out so we can kind of get our head start on things we can start looking at reports doing planning and all that stuff which is great so we really appreciate that we do the audit in a couple of different phases we do a preliminary phase and for Bo did that in early April and at that time we're coming in we're reviewing controls we're testing transactions we're uh auditing section that we can audit like the budget and Deb and things like that we're basically trying to get as much of a head in the year can and then we come back out for our year end work uh mid November and we're wrapping up any Loose Ends we might have from our preliminary work we're doing all of our yearend audit procedures and then we're helping to compile the audit reports that we you talked about tonight um and I want to go over some financial highlights with you before I do that I also want to just go go through some required Communications and um these are U basically from the auditing standards that we have to follow um probably not the most exciting thing but I'll try to keep it as as I can as the Auditors we're responsible for planning and Performing the AUST who obtains reasonable Assurance the financial statements have fa stated in all material respects and accordance with generally accepted accounting principles management is responsible for the selection of significant accounting policies you can find those in note one to financial statements there were no new accounting policies that were adopted during 2023 and the application of existing policies was consistent with what it has been in the past so nothing unusual there uh accounting estimates are an integral part of the financial statements are based on Management's knowledge and experience about past and current events and also about assumptions about future events the most significant estimates relate to the net pension liability the net other post-employment benefit liability and depreciation on fixed assets we evaluated the key assumptions and factors that are used to develop those estimates we found those to be reasonable in relation to the financial statements taken as a whole as far as difficulties being encountered while performing the audit happy to report we're both happy to report that we did not uh encounter any difficulties in dealing with management while trying to perform the audit audit adjustments Professional Standards defin and audit adjustment as a correction proposed correction of the financial statements that in our judgment would not have been detected except through our auditing procedures and we're happy to report that we did not have to propose any such adjustments and then the last thing relates to disagreements with management and this relates to uh matters whether or not result to our satisfaction or Rel to accounting uh reporting or auditing matters that could be significant to the financial statements or the auditor report and again we're happy to report that no such disagreements with management occurred so as far as the financial highlights go uh first would like to talk about your general fund fund balance that can be seen on page 14 the financial statements your fund balance in total was $976,000 of that 247,000 was assigned and 97,000 of that relates to incumbrances and then another 150,000 is excessive deficiency that was voted to fund the 2024 budget that left you with $729,000 of um unassigned fund balance and that's about 3% of your budget and that is basically um the starting point to your end calculation um and it usually approximates your end there are things can be added and subtracted to it if you have deficits and grants and you didn't get the money in by September 30th DePue will say no that's going to be reduced but you're basically starting with your unassigned fund balance in that calculation um general fund operating results those can be found on page 46 and this was basically your your budget to actual results so your budgetary operations resulted in a decrease of $20,000 in fund balance uh you had actually planned for $150,000 decrease by budgeting $150,000 of D and to fund the budget that was offset by a revenue surplus of $45,000 and that's mainly due to your intergovernmental revenues uh intergovernmental Revenue exceeded budget by $279,000 that mainly relates to your transportation reimbursements and your China school reimbursements and your investment income was also $115,000 over budget your actual expenditures uh came in $118,000 under budget uh and when you put that all together does have budgetary results but those results to us indicate that you have a sound budget process a structurally balanced budget and good budgetary controls there was no overspending and U you're budgeting conservatively enough on your revenues uh that you have a surplus there as well um you also have a school choice fund uh and this is like a reserve because the money is available for expenditure by the school committee without further appropriation at the end of the year you have $2.4 million in the fund and that's about 12% of the budget so some of the other school districts that we audit many of them have Capital stabilization funds or they might have their end closer to the max um you guys are probably I would say a little bit lower than a lot that we look at I think a lot of the ones that we see are closer to the maximum the 5% D that you're allow to have and then tend to have like a capital stabilization fund but you do have um a higher Reserve than we probably see in school choice so I think that kind of offsets and gives you some flexibility like we as Auditors a conservative and we you know like to see reserves and the rating agencies like to see reserves and you limited as to what you can have in your general fund because you're only allow to have 5% of your next um and so school choice is a way that you can have some money set aside for unexpected things that might come up and that's gives you some flexibility which we see is a good thing uh your other post employment benefits liability uh significant liability just wanted to talk about that for a minute the liability increased by $75,000 and total 16.1 million dollar at the end of the year that increases mainly just due to service cost and interest so the service cost is just additional benefits that were earned by current active employ employees and your discount rate increased slightly from 3.54% to 3.65% and that's required because you don't have enough money set aside yet to where you can start having what they call a blended discount rate um your rate is based on the 20-y year AA Municipal bond rate so you have to use that because of the level of funding that you have um once you get to a certain level then you can stop blending that the long-term expected rate of return and if you compare the rate that's used for your opad to the retirement system which they consider to be funded to a point where they can use their long-term expected rate of return they're using a 7% rate and as you're able to use a higher rate it can have a really big impact on your your liability uh there's something called the sensitivity analysis it's a chart within the OPB footnote disclosure and the financial statements and it shows you the impact of a 1% change on the discount rate and it's about $3 million so if you were able to increase your discount rate by 1% your op liability would go down by about $3 million and that's pretty significant when your liability is sitting at 16 million and so that's something that um you know if you were serious about funding the liability you might want to talk to your have an actuary about and try to find out they can give you a good idea of what level you need to get your assets up to to stop being able to increase that discount rate about that doublea Municipal bond rate and that can really have a significant impact in lowering that viability and often times it's not you know you guys are contributing pretty consistently and you're building up a balance you're just not quite near where you need to be and so that would be good information I think for you to have uh the opab liability is about 2% funded now that beeped up a little bit from 1% in the PRI year so that's some progress there which is good um your pension liability teachers and certain administrators qualify uh for pension can join the mass teachers retirement system which is great that liability is born by the Commonwealth and they pay what they consider to be on behalf benefits they pay on behalf of the district to fund those benefits the life ability associated with those individuals is about 30 million and the current year on behalf payments by the Commonwealth they pay two5 million on behalf of berin Boyston and for all other employees that don't qualify for Mass teachers they're in the Wester Regional retirement system that liability for Boon increased by 774 th000 during the year uh and total 4.4 million at the end of the year so that's [Music] um significantly lower than what the liability is for op middle sex is about 48% funded as of 12312 and as I mentioned they're using a fully funded discount rate of 7.25% uh some might consider that to be on the high side but it's been approved by par the public uh agency that oversees the actual real reports and authorizes those you didn't issue any new debt during the year long-term debt you've got 12.1 million outstanding and you pay down 999,000 of principal payments and we have no short-term debt outstanding so just to summarize all of that um we were able to issue an unmodified opinion on the financial statements that's the best we can get meing financial statements are da stated in Alli respects in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles all reporting deadlines were met the information that we received was accurate we didn't knowe any internal control deficiencies that would rise to the level of a significant deficiency or material weakness uh and as I mentioned all of our interactions with professional incus which we always appreciate and then just a couple of other quick things we also audit your federal Awards there's a separate report that's issued on that the single audit report and that's required for any entities expending over $750,000 in a fiscal the year the district expended 1.1 million so you weren't over by much but you got up to that level um 245,000 of that was for the Child Nutrition program 488,000 was for special education 298,000 was related to Esser grants um and another 95,000 for other grants uh the special education cluster was considered a major program so that's where our testing focused around and uh we didn't have any findings question costs um or any internal control deficiencies so again that was another clean report best result you could get as far as that goes and then the last report is the management letter um we always like to say that this is critical in nature doesn't highlight the things that you do well but it's important to know that there's no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies reported in here there is one comment in here related to uh completing a broad risk assessment this is a comment that we put in every one of our clients management letters at some point in time especially after all the big uh Financial issues happened probably 10 or 15 years ago and uh basically what it's saying is that you you should have a formal process and you should do an initial fraud risk assessment and then you should have an ongoing process where you probably look at like another area of each year you just keep checking from year to year but the initial one with some of our clients I'd say probably more than half have had like another company come in and do the initial one just because of resources there been some that have decided to do it themselves but it's basically getting together with a group of people that have knowledge about the finances and the operations and trying to understand where the risks are of um you know fraud with assets and also with money and then after you've identified those areas then determining okay what controls do we have in place and then making an assessment do we think that these controls sufficient or should we have additional controls and then you know you're looking at things like cost benefit you don't want the cost of your controls to way the benefits that they're providing and then coming to a consensus that okay now we're comfortable you know we know where the risks are we know what controls are in place we're happy with those controls get all that documented and then presented to the school committee to sign up uh and everybody be on the same page that you know there's a comfort level with the way these different uh risks are being addressed and so that's really what that comment is and then each year you would try to incorporate like going out and visiting one of the areas that you have identified and kind of updating it making sure that people are following the processes and procedures that are in place it's just because you've documented what the process and procedure should be doesn't mean that someone's necessarily doing what they should be so you just want to test that and uh that was everything so if anybody has any questions be happy to take I just have one question unless anyone else does I have a question go ahead Mike you mentioned internal controls and I noticed last year's letter so June 2022 there was a comment in the letter about uh you don't express opinion on the effectiveness of the internal controls but you did notice opportunities where we could strengthen them do you then follow up this year and review that and check out anything that did happen because I noticed there was no mention of that in this year's letter um from the actual like opinion that's up front in the report yeah um so that was referring to the comment that I just talked about and so we did follow up on it there wasn't a lot to follow up on because so specifically what you noticed in 2022 was taken care of in 20123 so we followed up on it to see if anything had been done and it's it hasn't been addressed yet so I don't know if there's any formal plans yet but I think it's something that the district is looking into thanks so when you were talking about doing the fraud risk assessment and you mentioned that you uh work with a group of people a group of folks that knew the finances to go through all the different assets and all the different areas you're talking about you would come in and work with the employees of the district to go over their process yeah I mean as powers and Sullivan we never did that just because we felt like there could be some Independence issues there gotcha so they would have to be but now that you're the larger firm you could see run it up and see if it you know the independence department and see if they you know think that that is something that would be okay and if it is they have a lot of resources that could do that type of work but I would just need to confirm you know that there's no Independence issues there like through their department but it would not be you guys uh no it would probably be a different group a different team gotcha and but you'd be working with employees of the district to identify different areas and develop processes for internal controls which pretty much ties into what Mike was asking I did reach out to a a company you gave me a name oh Eric kiner yes okay yes yeah so we've been kind of coordinating to set something up all right great yeah okay excellent does anyone have any other questions thank you so much I really really appreciate you guys coming out tonight right thank you yeah all right next up I am wondering if the principals would mind going um so we can talk about the as web and your reports um so why don't we do Cindy would you like to go first sure oh thank you so much so first of all thank you for allowing me to share some of the amazing things that are happen at EES and the second thing I want to talk about is I feel like I'm going back to first grade in first grade I had to go speech services because I couldn't say my 's correctly so long story very short I paid for three sets of races for my children and it's my turn so I have very new St of invl line on so if I say my S is wrong it's only because of fair with me I just want to highlight on a couple positive things that is that are happening at thees the first thing we've discussed before about clubs and getting clubs in there for for younger kids we're still working on that but I just want to draw attention to some of the things the staff are doing we have things going on um during their lunchtime the BR kids in for a a reading read I want to call it a club because it's during the day during their lunch or recess they go in and work with a third grade teacher Mrs Reed and there's the first day was 30 kids giving up their recess for that not because they didn't want to go out and play in the snow but because they wanted to read the story with her uh fourth grade teacher Mrs luk is um doing a math math fun is what I want to call it with our MTH coach Joey F Joey fory and there's kids in there they started out really strong they started P back from M which kind of breaks my heart because M's my favorite subject but we're working on those things we do have some clubs that are um are funded but we also have some teachers stepping up we have a craft fund again it's after school teacher volunteer their time they meet one to two times a month we do have some work to get to for this and we're working on that as well that is a a goal of mine is to get them in there for young for kids and also offer some more opportunities for the kidos I'm working with John on that because I'm gonna borrow his idea at his school um two other things uh two students that attended EES one still one has since moved I received alote from desie signifying something really good about Improvement in Amic cast for so we are having a celebration one of the children moved we forwarded his information to him but the other one is now a fourth grade student and we are going to do a a celebratory luncheon for this child next Tuesday invited her family in invited superintendent Costello in any teacher or team member that's worked with this child because we know it's a team effort to celebrate this with her so that's happening and then we did the As web now I want to talk about as web just briefly um because it's it's an indicator of how we inform our instruction we have some good news and we have some things we need to work on but I just want to address two things that we did as a team so I met with the grade level teams and we talked about positives It's always important to talk about those positives there's always positive in those scores and then we talked about okay where do we need to do some work and I want to bring up two things before before I open it up to questions because I knew you have my report um the fifth grade team in combination with the as web and other inclass assessments discovered that vocabulary was a lacking skill across the board and they have come up with strategies to really work on this vocabulary every single day we might even bring it to the school level and do some fun things stay tuned for that it's in progress but they are working on their vocabulary and the teachers discovered that so that as web and other assess kind of drove them to that the other thing is kindergarten um looking at our kindergarten scores we want to improve them so we talked about what we can do right now the tutoring there there's more groups of kindergarteners getting that tutoring the groups have expanded some children have leveled out of there they're not getting those Services anymore what others might need them so those are some things that as gred level we came up with the teachers kindergarten teachers are progress monitoring these kids we want to see those grow the growth that they can exhibit and what we can teach them so those are some positive highlights yeah do you have any questions What's the vocabulary issue so in through their assessments they realized the kids the vocabulary didn't know C what reading or if they're they're talking about science and social studies the vocabulary was low kids didn't know the meaning so they really put an effort into teaching them about vocabulary daily so they're doing things during the morning meeting they're doing things during reading they're incorpor it with science and social studies as well so was that a particular grade or is it just allr fifth grade noticed that every grade level noticed a few things they could work on um but those are the two that I really wanted to mention I was very proud of what their plans are coming and going forward um do you think the Kinder I I noticed the kindergarten scores um might be an area for improvement do you think um the CL the large class sizes this is the largest class sizes we've seen at in kindergarten do you think that has something to do with the lower scores that we're seeing in kindergarten this year couple things with that I do think that the large class sizes impact at any level I would love to see and I know we've talked about that in other meetings uh having three across and not switching back and forth yeah so when you think about my kindergarten teachers I have one that's been there for many years but the other two are somewhat new they moved across grade levels because of that size we all know that if you teach one subject or one grade the longer you do it the better you get at it um there's been some movement there at EES as well but the other thing we noticed is like when you do the fall Benchmark they might ask for two sounds letter sounds you go to Winter it raises I don't know exactly what it is maybe you do but I I think it's around 25 letter sounds they have to know in that time it's a huge jump on that Benchmark okay am I right 25 so I'm looking at the report you have out there for the am webar just trying to understand the vocabulary comment for fifth grade because I look at this and I see like the fifth grade scores are the highest of all the grades they're doing great yeah like I'd be more concerned about the third graders at 65 than the fifth grade at 82 so I only showed the two different grade levels of doing that just to show you that yes we're celebrating those successes of the fifth grade but what can we still work on there's always something to work on third grade is too they're working on that their groups have changed as well I just I knew I had five minutes so I didn't want to talk about every grade level I can yeah well no that's that's fine but that was one of my questions was they all have some really good things they're working on and how we meet as grade level they have times where they do some cross planning and I join those meetings we talk about what is the positive thing okay what do we need to work on all right did I stay within my time you're do you did great we're doing good we're doing good so far anyone else I I mean in general looking at both Elementary as webs that I don't we can do better right we can always do better yeah but it's it's it's an indicator of what we need to teach what are we doing well where do we need to work on those are things that drive our exr yeah that's the part that ties into the budget exactly I mean there's definitely glare looking some there's definitely glaring areas there were certain things that were just like that kindergart the kindergarten scores absolutely jumped out at me um third grade I have a child in third grade at bees so I feel that struggle um but yeah I it's good to hear the progress and that there are little things that everyone is working on to move this forward the one thing I I want to bring forward is and I see it with my staff my team the passion um they want these kids to do better and they bring them forward and I'll just to give you a quick example because I know we're on a Time I had a meeting today it was just um is meeting in IST to talk about um a teachers individual struggles with particular students and this child on the a web looks great green teal scores that's the highest but she Di and this teacher brought this child to an IST meeting to talk about what else can I do I'm concerned about this child dropping she's in the green she's still up there but she saw the drop that's what kind of teachers that we have at berin wison I know I can talk about and you'll talk about but it's passion we're going to get them there all right don't worry about the time City but I have another go ahead I'll just use one I'm right go ahead go ahead no this is important this is parents and taxpayers want to know what they getting here so just a note on the reports we see these reports all the time you send the reports like Megan asked earlier is there a way to see growth not just the I know you have the charts for growth for that particular year for that particular class but is there do you track growth for each class as they move through like Kindergarten now this year they're first now that next year there second do you have that data to show how they're growing year to year because this is growth from fall to winter right but can like how are this year's third graders doing compared to how they did on second grade we can certainly look at that I that's a great Point like can we get that just going forward in the reports can we get information like that because there could be a class of kid you know at some point the the learning falls on the teacher but at some point some not every kid is going to be an academic wiiz right some kids are not great test takers some you know and especially in some of these these schools where the class sizes are so small um I think it it makes a difference you could just have a group of kids that you know more kids in that group that third grade at bees is teeny tiny there's only 38 kids so there could be five kids that just really really struggle and that percentage is so much higher because the class is small and to Mike's Point if you tracked it year over year I'm sure you have that data they sure yeah it's just yeah to present that for the next time I I agree I think that's a good point yeah for next time definitely not something for now so for for the spring we look at it for the year picture I think that's a great idea if we could if we could incorporate that for spring am web all right if it's not too much all right awesome thank you John you ready nice we decided to stve our seats all right that's F poor Cy totally fine John there's no there's no school trouble right all right uh very quickly my report you've read it um I'll just highlight a couple of things we did Nate testing again this year for those of you who've been around a while um Nate which is the Nations report card assessment um this is the second time we've been chosen in the last five years the department still like coming school um we never got any results but it's a nice experience for the kids and it's a way to kind of let teachers know you know how other things work uh we've been working in Nature's Classroom uh fundraising for that that's gone very well very committed group of parents again this year they're trying to live live up to Mrs Le so far so good if anybody needs Donuts or those and you know what yay you know there a couple of questions yeah but yeah really solid for really solid growth um it's really questions the only question I had is on your fifth grade every other grade grew but that one dropped on math what happened ma is it more vocabulary it's not vocabulary okay it's a little bitf um vocabulary is not the issue uh sometimes it's the way it is just how things fall I think my concern you guys have heard me talk a lot about literacy literacy every third grader reading blah blah blah we've come a long way with literacy our math metrics are the next area for us to tackle because our math metrics Elementary very similar and that's an area this is why am web is so helpful because it will identify for you Broly where kids are struggling and it will give you the tools to kind of track interventions um you know it's not like a grade uh because especially with math when you do the math assessment it's kind of broad-based a little bit of everything so some stuff the kids have already had some stuff the kids haven't had yet but because it's compared to a national sfall that's why we keep shooting for 60% if we get above the 60th percentile as a grade we know things are going pretty well um is that know exceeding the majority of students in this National sample which we should be able to do we're an excellent School District um and so that's always our goal you see those little fluctuations from time to time to see it with third grade as we kind of move along that graph that you're looking for in my third grade be strugg yeah that that speaking of your 60th percentile that one there's what 30% aren't yeah does that mean that nationally some schools are teaching the things that well you said they just haven't been taught it yet why would it be they teach so they there is depending on your math program I your have philosophy certain things are taught at different times like I know in third grade um in envisions the math program we use the they do a two units on addition and subtraction like large you know more work probably but it's way off in like the eighth and Ninth units and teachers got together and they decided Well they're already familiar with addition and subtraction let's do that first and get them know so we do excuse me some stuff out of order um based on kind of teacher experience that's that kind of stuff you want teachers Jo so yeah it's a little bit different you know fractions come like we do fractions late um basically right before cast testing because it's going to be on there um but if they're asked about fractions in December or January they're not going to have as TR John I gotta agre you just with with the budget talks and what we need at BMS and what we can ask for we're asking for Math teachers at the high school you're talking about 60th percentile Nationwide but even like a lot of these scores you in one class 50% of them aren't even there so I always look at that side of it you know what do you need to get that what do you need from us to get to that side that's why we're here what do we need to put through to get more than one out of every two kids up to the basic basic level 60th per though correct me if I'm wrong hold I don't mean to interrupt you I look at 60th percentile of anything if I had 60th percentile at work I'd be fired I'd be failed like I know Cindy you mentioned earlier in this year you and John disagree on performance numbers I don't know that it was necessarily talking about this one or not but every year it's it's 60th percentile is Success where a lot of people hear 60th percentile is not success so just because I'm dumb explain to me why 60th per is a celebration 60th percent is not percentile yeah percen percentile is really different so if I had my nerdy kid here he would do a much better job exploring this at the 50th percentile half of the group is below that right when you get to the 60th percentile almost 80% of the kids are below that when we talk about grade level percentile not individual kids but grade level percentile that's all of the group so it's all the kids who score to the 99th and 95th and there's a ton of those but I've got kids who for a variety of reasons some of you know students who again are not prepared for are not capable of third grade man fourth grade fifth grade because of their their academic needs who are receiving Services through special education they're don't going to score on this T they shouldn't be expect to score what they should be what we expect is that they'll keep growing and getting better we're watching for nobody GL nobody backslides but you know I've got kids in that group in my school they like the first percent of we test everybody almost everybody um we and we test them because we need to be able to show this channel still needs help because we you know side is we've had kids in third grade scor at the 5% time who are are now scoring at the 45% time because we've got really good special Educators and you're doing a good job so when I talk about the group getting to the 68% time that's a big that's a big leap it's not like a grade so you're saying 80% of kids score in the 60th percen about 80% of kids fall below the 60th percenti think of that remember 80% that that that so that's okay all right so it's a bell curve bell curve yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah all right I get it so like what Megan was asking earlier what you just mentioned about how a lot of kids are in the 90s and 80s I guess how how where do they fall like not that I'm asking for individual students performance or anything but I mean half the kindergarten isn't isn't there so was half of 80% of the nation I don't know what that is but it's scoring at 52% is at or above the 60th percentile for kindergart so 48 all right on on the numer the math on the math yeah so that's kindergarten and first grade right this one says early numeracy kindergarten at above 60th and it lists it at 52 and the and the fall is 45 so there's a lot of growth there right but it's still a 52 so we're looking at different I'm looking at your DMs mid year data 24 final it's uh what is it it's page uh page eight it's in the drive sorry yeah yeah page eight nine on the document maybe so you get to say so now back to your kindergarten question yeah so 52% are above the 60th person CL and we'd like that number to be higher and you look across oh yeah it add their growth percent right they 78 yeah it's clear from there a struggling group coming in and struggling is probably a strong word that group is growing at a very accelerated rate 50% in that number that growth number 50% is typical growth so the 78 percenti for growth is a real accomplishment this is also without getting you know too deep into the leads um a group where we have some pretty some children with some pretty significant deficits um who take the test primarily because we need to show this to need services but whom we do not expect to test well I mean I I take it as what we' talked about in the policy meeting about needing more help in the classrooms and what could we get for you don't misunderstand me I will always take one but part of it is and you asked me before what do I need which was a terrible mistake I'm G tell you I'm way over my five minutes too you were supposed to keep traing us you've got especially in berin very good size classes by you got I will only speak for Berlin really veteran teachers really skilled professionals but what we don't have necessarily are people who are up to date in terms of how do we move more kids forward more effectively Joe fluo is forever going on and on on the math side about things that we could be doing more Project based types of things where kids get a real handson fi for mathematics he will tell you people who say I'm not good at math his response is invariably you must a bad man's teacher because nobody ever brags about being bad at reading and everybody's comfortable saying they're bad what I need is more time for teachers to work together so when we do that first read on C that's what I'm shooting was say my fun just about to say we're segling into that I mean I can lead a horse to water but that's all right all right this is good this is good no this is important stuff and um so thank you all right we're going to move on to Lisa okay so thank you John so so thank you for reviewing my report there's a lot to celebrate um at to Hanto and I am going to just highlight two items um for this evening we um received the results from our school climate survey um from both the families and um the students and um our am we testing so those are the two things that I would um like to speak on um for the school climate survey This was um a wonderful opportunity first for the um teachers to work together to create the climate survey so a group of teachers came together during professional development to create that survey and then we sent that after reviewing it we sent that out late January and then recently we um we shared it among the admin team and we just shared it with the department chair meeting on Monday and the team leader meeting today we are sharing that information surveys take a long time to digest um so we're giving them the time and space and we're going to come back and look at that but um I gave all of you a snapshot of the multiple choice items um there was an opportunity for families and students to provide more indepth um information um if they wanted to we did get um over a 100 respondents um in the families and for the students which for me was um a really good response to a survey um we've got not as many you know open responses but the good news to Sharon you can ask questions s um I was I think we were all very pleased with the results that students feel safe at Danto students feel welcome at Danto what they were looking for families were looking for possibly more Hands-On opportunities and more opportunities to partner particularly at the younger grades the middle school grade levels to understand um progress mon monitoring um with um you know throughout those grades um and I think students um and parents also wanted and this these are the types of things we're like okay so what can we do it really provides opportunity for us to have conversation is they we're saying well we would like um for good behaviors to be highlighted more which is interesting because we are continuing this the you know stagbuck and really high highlighting that and promoting that so then the question so we've implemented these things but there must be a disconnect so where is that disconnect and that's where the conversation leads so you know is it so then maybe going out and asking the students maybe at student advisory or at student council or another opportunities you know how would you feel recognized so continuing that conversation so really providing a foundation for future conversations and looking at ways we can continue to make sure that families feel connected and students feel supported and welcomed and um ways that we can do better and the as web testing um what has been looking at data has been focused for the the middle school and I know Renee and Sally have met with each of the grade the team level grades to look at how they are using the data and what the data means and also not just Ang butl and classroom data and how it all comes together to inform instruction and we also I know um recently also looking at the as web and thinking that there's got to be more more opportunity in this very rich format to pull different reports so um Sally Renee and um Joey floreno I what they all came together and looked at a variety of reports that could be accessed that is going to provide us greater um and more diverse um set of data to be able to inform instruction so we're using the in web information to you know help help you know kind of look at things we're looking at scheduling we know that our sixth grade store scores are very very strong um we we have like you know over 80% in both um M and English um meaning you know above the target of six the 60th percentile but we see that we have an intervention block in sixth grade Quest block um that doesn't exist in seventh and eighth grade so looking at scheduling and how that may impact scores and how we can you know move forward in a more effective way so we had um you know growth in significant growth in sixth and seventh grade um the you know pretty leveled scores in eth grade um and again you know eighth grade does not have that intervention block and so really taking an opportunity to you know sit together and use both the climate survey and the as web testing data to have some meaningful conversations about what we're doing can you Le explain St um St St oh there is yeah so an eight no uh in eth grade they do have a stag Block it's not every day um and they it has been really helpful that they're doing more um like study skill uh the students that aren't in math lab or Ela lab they'll be in kind of the Stag block um it's almost like every third day um it's not as consistent as like an intervention time but they are doing more proactive things like I said you know study skills um note taking you know executive functioning work but it's not strategic intervention based ones that mean right yeah it's more of like this whole class needs before they get to high school these skills does that make sense yeah which has also been great U and I think the Middle School teachers you know looking at this data and really knowing what the kids need really I think it reached out the scheduling committe saying we need some more time we need time with these kids before they get to high school to kind of close some of these Gap um and and again it's about the growth right and so for kids and it's not unusual to be honest to be flatter in the winter you know and that's why um but um but you know it's important to look at you know and and unfortunately middle school students no matter how much you tell them this is really important you take this seriously um it's not always [Music] terribly add something on to Lisa and ber and Mike you're bringing this up and I want to make a point about to the point about the budget right budget and bringing in the second assistant principal last year has made massive massive shifts at tont to hearing the work that they're doing in ways that they have not been able to get to in the past the fact that Renee is on board going focusing mainly on the middle school students right and making these kinds of changes there Richard is working up in primarily the high school and Lisa is overseeing all of that and getting into the classrooms more and I'll talk about that's the walkthrough pieces right for for my goals remarkable changes and they are a team I walk in and I all they're always working on something always always in sync with one another looking at ways to improve instruction and and ways we couldn't get to before the other piece of it is and I say Sally is over there every week was because separating that position and giving John with Elementary right he knows the math inside talking about Amwood because this is what his field and Sally knowing sixth through 12th grade and being able to just focus on that that's how she finally I tried for several years right to get the you're going to hear about the prog the internship program off the ground but she can be there because that's those are among her things that she really focuses on so the Dynamics of that have made a tremendous difference so to your point about adding that position I just wanted to make sure I made not to that absolutely huge huge shifts and I can I can Echo that because you know and Sally and I discussed this it is it is a tremendous difference we we're so incredibly grateful we're so incredibly grateful to have that position um to be able to have that team the teachers feel it um the students feel it um and it I I I can't I like there is there are no words to express the gratitude that I feel personally um but I know that I get emails and you know we get you know um staff coming up to us they feel the difference and the students feel the difference the students not like this you know we're we're just able to do you know toate what um Carol said we're just able to do so much more I I I can't believe that Sally and and they survived honestly I really can't um and and the way they were able you know the way they were able to do what they did um so we are incredibly grateful and and you know we we are we're grateful to have Sally be a part of you know these conversations um you know and it's just it's wonderful and that's why so L when you said you know how you I'm like great I'm I'm great I really am like I feel great and I feel Danto is in a great position that's my awesome it sounds like this stride is just I'm really excited about upcoming years I feel like we've got an amazing administrative team in place so thank you all this is awesome all right and you mind if I ask a couple question oh yeah do you have a question yeah go ahead not that I want to overlook all the positives I agree with you I think the two assistant principles if we hadn't got that last year that would have been trouble yep two things one's just kind of what's up with bathroom maintenance in this District right you you mentioned that in your report here we saw it at bees earlier this year so I think sometimes so there's a couple things I think but one of the things is that um sometimes students um don't clean up after themselves and sometimes we might that at and then um and so if if you have a middle school or high school um child living in your home you might notice that those bathrooms are particularly disgusting um you know there all kinds of things happen that go wrong yeah um so there's that um and then and then we've also had and Dan can speak more eloquently of this we've had um staing issues we you know it's hard to get it's hard to get cians we have had gaps with c down and there there's certain mainten maintenance things that have to come before and then but when the shift ends whatever's not done it's not done and then ends up being the so it's just it's been one of those years that I think we we've struggled to make sure you know hours are met um and then you know God forbid should there be snow then there's the snow removal has to happen but yeah um I have gone and taking care of that I know how to fix the overflowing urum little that you have to do no yes of course kids are disgusting my own two are definitely disgusting yes absolutely bathroom like this room right here I mean the sinks are broken the water doesn't work that's not kids being gross maybe it's kids being too hard on them or something but so what's the issue with Staffing why why why can't we get Staffing is it just same old we had an issue with sta right we uh now we have a cust was injury we fill the Gap now with a parttime okay so I thank you for bringing up that sink I didn't know broken so I would have I would have just all right and and Al also I think that you know just as team like I didn't know about that if we you know we used staff bathrooms I we do go through and do like a you know we sweep um bathrooms we don't necessarily use each I I just felt since you you mentioned it in your report that it's a serious thing that needs to happen wait Mike for a sec can we go back to the urinal so are you are you gonna be able to fix that oh yeah no there's this this little toggle inside that it it doesn't flood but it just it runs and it's a little toggle yeah so it get stuck in the vacuum right so there flapper in here a so everyone bang it can we get a plumber and and fix it or is that i' to few of them already you are you are fixing them no no I got a plumber oh you got a plumber all right oh I got you okay but I got it I think the bottom line is that you know especially for middle school students they just like to spend a lot of time in there so whether you know like this was part of that student survey right so like I can you know they spend a lot of time in there you call National of course they spend a lot of time in there right I I did have a Ser a more serious not so talk about performance and the grades and all that and previous conversations with teachers about mcast and how high need students I know we're talking about them later the test is they they've told us in last meeting that they designed them for the kids to fail um we've had conversations about curriculum needing to look like the students we've had other issues with people assigning various levels of privilege you have a line in here on the report that a majority of students feel that yeah so a significant number of students did not feel as though teachers noticed when they were struggling academically how does all that that tie because I'm told just because the scores don't look great that the kids are doing fine right but here we have your report specifically saying that students don't feel like they're being noticed when they're struggling academically and which is interesting because there was and like that was to know so I put that in there because like when you look at this you know snapshots of each of the things so significant so if you actually look at the report you can see that all of the you know snapshots there's there's really no significant gaps but if there was a significant Gap that would but just prior the the the snapshot the question prior said do they do they feel successful so what something ridiculous like like 85% of all students that um had the survey felt like they were successful and then then you look at that they didn't feel like the teacher noticed it they were so if they were struggling with something specific but yet they feel successful so there's there's like two different things about how they are feeling about two different things and so that would be one of those things that have to be like what you know do do they raise their hand do they not feel comfortable advocating for themselves like you know what what is the cause of them not feeling that disconnect because they just answer because when you if you look at the sequence of the survey they feel good they feel like they're successful they feel like they're challenged it like 85% for each of those strongly agree agree and then do you feel like you know you're and then it's like you know that's the lowest one it maybe is like 60% agree it's like okay so how did they answer these and then answer that so that's part of looking at a survey it's not it's not just taking like that is but is asking yourself okay so what would that mean why why would students feel these part answer it this way but then feel as though they they would noce is it because they feel uncomfortable asking we don't know so that's that that's where it's providing Rich conversation and that's what we're going to be looking at next time so I think that's an excellent excellent question I you know it's I don't know if you read it sequentially but some of them were like how could they have answered it this way and then answer then you know said that so so some of it is is what we talked about some of it is just kids don't know to ask or they want things handed to them and this is a life lesson that they need to learn that after school it's not gonna be handed for them they got to step up and ask right or yeah or maybe or or maybe they don't want to stay after school and they just want the teacher to somehow magically you know I mean I don't I don't know but you're right yeah because because I would think so this came this survey came about threeyear professional development right is that yeah so I know from talking to Carol I mean part of teachers training a big part of it is recognizing the kids that need the help right and but our kids aren't feeling that so if you when you do have those conversations if you can update us that absolutely that be great absolutely abely thank you thank all right Sally um so you see my report it focuses on sorry I missed Janelle Sally you go and then Janelle that's okay go ahead sorry Janelle um my report focuses on a j an internship program that I've been working on developing this year in collaboration with I Rodman who is our grades 11 12 school counselor she was gonna be here today but she a her children so she's not here but I do have Kim Rosia here um who looked over the whole um program and um you know if you have any questions about any both us so we found that it was important to let our high school students um have opportunities to explore various occupational um environments so that they can use that information to make decisions about what they'd like to do after graduation and we already had in place um the ability to go visit um colleges three times a year with an excuse during a Junior and Senior year so we wanted to be able to offer that as job shadow program as well so through this program students would um meet with I she's gonna um discuss this with all when she me with them in the spring if this is something that and um they would then have to make AC meeting with her at which point they would um get all the papay that they need sort we have um an we have an application we have a consent form that needs to be sign by the parents um after they fill out the application I will take a look at it and get in touch with whoever the person would be supervising the student at the job shadow um experience and set up a meeting with them so that I can talk with them that the um the location and also um you know ask for them to fill outs um once all that is taken place I would beet with the student and they would then go ahead and you know have go ahead and do the job sh after they've done the job shadow they write a reflection which get signed off by the supervisor they bring it back to the school and you can have excuse abs for that so again there's um up to three at three different places if they like it's not it's not required but um for both senior year then for senior year um we were going to offer an internship program so that they could actually work in some of those envir and see if they you know that's something that they're interested in move forward so again if that's something they're interested in they would want to meet with e um there's also you know various paperwork that they would have to fill out um again an application content form I would you know look over the application again go to the site we also put together a contact list that we've been working on so the students are are interested in doing a job to Lear internship but they're not really sure who to contact or where to go to we were able to develop um a spreadsheet that has a of different Municipal departments from both other community close local compies and buiness for go to they can also come to us um with an idea of their own as well I would always go and check it out and and get have for um if everything goes well with that I would meet with that student and let them know that you know I would Conn Le on for them so if there was ever anything of concern at all for them I can help them with resolving that um and they would schedule with e um a direct study into their schedule because we have a rotating schedule so every so many days that would allow them to leave at 1:30 which they already can do for senior privileges anyway um if they meet all the requirements and there's some requirements for this too as you saw in my report so um the idea is that they would work 35 hours to throughout the year at least and that um that would earn them um 2.5 credits and some experience so weekly they would fill out reflection sheets BR in at the end of the um internship they would prepare like a summarizing presentation that they will um give to myself and I and um you know again if it was something to where like say students like three weeks into it and they realize this not for it's not a fit or whatever they can come to me and they could you know kind of start over you know finish the rest ofwhere else this a little idea is to see like do you like or not right so you don't want to make something really unhappy there um we're also having a career fair we had one last year and we're GNA have another one this year we love to have you Vis live if you'd like to come it's on April 4th from 8:30 to 10:30 in our auditor I mean jnas and um we have invited uh all the contacts on our contact list plus people that came last year um and we're still looking for some people um certainly um anybody knows anybody you can contact me newslet building a list of people but we'd like to have some more at the end of my report you can see some information that I would be sharing with the supervisors these um uh experiences that um just you know there's dues and does about what students can do at their age um and what they can't do how many hours they can work you know how late they can work in the day those kinds of things so all that information sh supervisors prior to them stting so this is you know because it's new it's it's kind of a um you know it's a new developing thing um I've spoken to some other um many districts actually that have successful programs and it definitely talks about how it's can sometimes take up to years to really evolve and but very right great I have two questions um I saw there were the there's the three excuse absences to go to the colleges did these three three excuse absences did they take from that or they allowed six are they allowed three total so they can have up to three at three different places per year okay so so this could so if they don't go to colleges they could use this yeah okay and then the other thing is is it past fail is someone grading this or how does it or is it just so um if they complete all the requirements which are the weekly Reflections and they do the um they summarize presentation at the end they they'll pass okay thank you U for the job there are you having trouble getting any particular area um you that's a good question I Le to collecting that I didn't actually ask her I know that she she had somewhat of a variety but of course we like more um I know last year we we did have some duplicat so it would be nice if we get some yeah so if you know anybody that's interested how many students do you expect to participate in the job shadow that's a great question I'm not exactly sure I mean [Music] um I will have to see you know because it's so new I'm hoping lots of them you know because it's I think it's a great opportunity um I also by the way included in the report the descriptions for the program study should be du this so I put in there so I agree with you I think it is a great job we already talked about the New York field sort of combining it somehow but in here it says for the juniors right they can drive to the they can drive themselves to the uh job shadow location yeah they would be out for the day so they'd be going from home it'd be out for the day right all right um but internship umor year yeah that was my question around the parking situation because I know we have issues so they have to have a car at school to do this program yeah yeah unless they I mean they can also work hours outside of school I mean they go home go we're just giving anity to get a jump start the afternoon you wouldn't want any kid to be denied this opportunity because we don't have a parking space for them yeah I get did anything ever come from that you were looking into that I know that we we can get a few more parking spaces yes at least yeah to we can add on yeah in the spring good the one of the groups how do I say this the municipalities are looking for students to inter as well the Off The Town Offices the fire department the police department so that's another way that students can go because they can take the bus after school and get dropped off to those locations walk so they can because I forgot who was saying to us last week the town governments really need people to to apply for positions there they're not getting right as many some folks here can speak to that they're not getting folks to come and do that kind of work as much anymore so if students have a chance to see what that experience is like to support the towns work for the town's highway department and so on so we need those folks it ties in again ties into the portrait of a graduate work right not everybody's going to go to Ivy Leagues and become professors or whatever they're going to do you know these these are real jobs for and keep our students here in our towns actually is job going to be anything else okay wonderful we're gonna vote later on the internship program um now we'll let Janelle and then Paul so go ahead sorry Janelle worri um so I submitted a brief report on four topics um tier Focus monitoring the new IEP form for the state pair of professional data that the school committee had requested as well as medication delegation I know that we're on some time constraints I'd like to highlight the new I form for a few minutes it is the um most impactful area on our students our families and our staff so for the first time in 20 years or so Massachusetts is updating its IEP form IEP stands for individual education program so students receiving special education services have an ie um it's a document and the changes to the document are really quite substantial and significant there's a lot of technical changes just by virtue that the form is very different and there's also going to be a lot of adaptive changes required to implemented the form is very intentionally focusing on student strengths and student Vision so it will completely change the direction of Team conversations it will change the amount of time team conversations take there's a lot of training that's happening with staff we have training sessions planned um with the F with families in the spring with CPAC um as well as looking at putting together a schedule and also to supplement the train that we'll be doing with CPAC as well um and and there are also connections um to the budget proposal as well because there are you know changes that come along with that new IEP form in terms of software all the software companies that manage IEPs are you know needing to upgrade and invest in the new form the training um there there's a lot of opportunity here for professional development and training and that is that goes along with the design of the new IP form and really asking teams and school districts to approach some of the topics and the conversations differently um so there's also a need there for some administrative support we anticipate that next school year when we're implementing the new I AP form and um we're we're using it to guide the process for student conversations that those meetings are going to take more time and that's going to require some administrative support to offset that time for that special education coordinator so certainly um I you know I welcome the school committee to join any of those training sessions for the new IEP Forum I know that some of the topics in my report for special education um can be unfamiliar and certainly you know be happy to provide additional information on any of those topics separately like a workshop format or whatever might be helpful right it's great I I that's a great thing you just brought up about school committee members may be popping in on some of the professional development so we can see um so that can be something I work with Carol to get some of the schedules and put it out to people and if people are interested they can sure yeah we've um the focus here too will be on providing training opportunities for families to come and learn the form and we'll be doing those in the evenings as well so that those are very accessible to families great does anyone have questions for Janelle Janelle I just wanted to thank you because your especially because it's such a different area um they're just so you break it down so that even the lay person can understand it so I want to thank you for that because it's it's really it's important information um it's a big part of our budget and you make it really easy to consume so I appreciate that thank you all right awesome thank you Paul last but not least good evening um I you also have my report it is also very brief um highlighted two things there were some changes since I did submit this um I did want to take two seconds to thank the people that I thanked in that report so I'd like to publicly thank uh um people for handling the school attending children form um and two Town folks uh Don Porter and Elie SS um the state we have a good handle on uh the kids that are in our district that are in our schools that are going school choice that are in school choice coming in um but private school um students we don't have a lot of data on and we rely on the towns to help provide that data because we have to provide it to the state um and so um so Eloise and Don you know did human's work to you know pour through um Census Data um that they it every year um so that they can pass that on to us and we can then in turn um report it to the state um we did um as I mentioned in the report the Civil Rights um reporting is almost always delayed at the end and sure enough that's what happened last week um their site basically gets overwhelmed because so people are trying to enter data um you would think at this point after this is my probably seventh or eighth time doing these submissions because they're every other year um and every time um it ends up being delayed um the good news is we were able to get ours certified yesterday so we were um able to meet the original deadline they did extend to March 18th but we were able to submit yesterday and meet the original deadine um and then the other big Chang is the website um originally it was supposed to go online last Wednesday then it was Friday then it was this Monday and now it is this Thursday and so okay I was like I don't notice that new missing something fingers cross were um a lot of so as I learned more and to add more content um there was there was some places where was like wait a minute I I know I asked this content to be migrated where is it and so there were some gaps in things that supposed to be moved over they fixed those um then there were some gaps where um on Friday noticed that um we had probably roughly somewhere around eight pages that were on the website but you had no way of getting to them so um there was no navigational tool within the website to get to that page so yes it was there and there was Data there but there was no way to get to them so they had to to fix that um they fix most of those issues um and again at this point just adding a little bit more content so hopefully on Thursday F times the CH a new website can I have a question about the website and this might um align with the um intern is this something that a student would be able to do to so we will so we will start you know again having you know setting up certain spots so again there are some pluses to this new site so for one um we can assign editing privileges but restrict publishing privileges so you could have an intern updating the content getting it all ready and then either Lisa or myself or you know an administrator then approve for publishing so um a lot of a lot ofes with the new site there a lot integration with multi languages there much better um integration with um ability to like you know we've had you have things on the site that um there a lot more things that you can put publishing dates on so like right now we have stuff you know like that's 8 years old God knows why it's still there but it is um much more of the content the new website can have start and end dates and um have they have a highlight date so if you want to kind of keep it in the Forefront for a week or so but you want it on for a month that's okay so but then after a month it's gone it's going to automatically disappears so a lot of plus to the new site that comes on board that I think you know people will appreciate so this is a student could intern through this is what I'm yeah so like in that progr sure like that could be part of you know we we have a I what they what they call our social media we have a person who kind of does some um put some stuff together already for Carol's newsletter that program going but again I look forward to that because able to distribute some of that um editing and so hopefully that will also be able just have fresher content on do you know if we're gonna try to have a coordinated calendar for the district just gonna ask that wonderful question really go to One calendar abely so the way and again I like it so like the a lot of these things are considered posts so um and then the individual calendars can ch choose which posting boards they pull from so like on the district calendar we could choose to have it pull events from all three schools so the district calendar could you know so if J updates something at at burin um the district calendar going to pull that in automatically so yep haven't seen it practice yet but yes the same thing happens to so like there's things that John thinks is important enough that not only does he want to share the B site but he'd like to see it pop up on the the district site it's easy enough to do all right wonderful any questions go sorry go ahead Mike any more how's the progress with getting rid of all the paper forms that parents need to fill out moving them online totally separate from that um but it's still work we talked about doing it through the website didn't we um it'll be done through it'll be mostly done through Power School all right any update on that or no still will work in progress I'm getting through some of the forms but okay don't we have to add power to the elementary students don't have power school yeah they do so the ab the ability would be there we would have to that would be part of of a Rolla we would have to train you know Elementary parents Elementary parents that's what I meant don't have power school we don't use power school right no don't they don't until fifth grade so the fifth grade at the end of fth grade you do but we have to start pushing that back okay all right anything else um I just reading through the curriculum the like the propos curriculum is that going to be available on the website as well reading through that like it I think with budget season particular it's really nice to be able to look through and say oh that's what the class is kids are taking um I didn't know you mean the program study yeah I think they put that on the school's website they do yeah not yet until I until you yeah but yes yeah because this one is not approved it's a first read tonight right once we approve it all right we're gonna move on so we're GNA bang through these subcommittee updates real quick we're gonna have Carol give us a quick update then we're going to take a five minute break and then we're going to get into the budget which I'd like to do at like 10 after 7 so let's give some quick subcommittee updates Jess do you have anything for the Student Success in technology I didn't have a meeting but at least it was working on the student handbook the student oh great thank you thank you so much for working on that right that's great okay budget so we're gonna get into the meet and Bones of that tonight but Julie and I met with um Nancy and Carol and one thing I just wanted to mention is that Julie and I did go over this budget with Nancy and we do we did endorse this budget so just something to keep in the back of your minds um Lori any update on the superintendent evaluation subcommittee um just that we're on target with our timeline Carol's going to do presentation this evening y um I will probably Jessica and I will probably meet for our next meeting or or sometime in between before May when we have to actually fill up the evaluation so we'll just update you in between there but basically it's care all right awesome awesome all right and Mike anything on policy yeah we've got three up for a vote tonight if you have questions on them we can do it then uh you first saw them in September October I think yes yep okay great all right Carol would you like to give you a report and then we'll take a quick break and then you want to catch the SOA presentation just you want to do Thea presentation it's a first read in case anybody had any questions I just want to make sure wait what's a first read oh the student opport report that no it's on as an agenda item right it's on as an agenda item that's first read yes yeah yeah that was in Sally's report yep did I don't know if you want to say anything further about that that's oh I'm sorry I thought it being but um it's basically this desie requires us to write act plan every years so John and I get together and they provide you a bunch of data and they ask you to pick um an area focus on in terms of um student groups and then they give you some um different um strategies to that they feel are good for implementation to improve some of the areas that we have concerns for so that report was written based on a template that they gave us and it has to be okay so that will be a vote for our next meeting where is said report Nicole what folder is this in is it in Sally oh all right oh yeah on the agenda as an item but it's in the folder I see it it's a student Opportunity Act plan all right this is labeled first read okay all right did anyone have any specific questions on that and if you guys you know didn't have time to because we have a ton of material on this drive we we can have we'll have time for questions on that next time okay all right great Carol sure take it away sure and then we'll just have the budget left so you have a copy of these of my goals to date um my progress to date I did take um into consideration the suggestion of color coding that Jessica had made I don't know if that's what you had in mind but just so you could clearly see um the connection between the progress of my goals to the specific um standards that are there um so I hope that that's helpful I did put a reflection in there as well areas that I I thought went well and things I wanted to work on just to highlight that in my instructional leadership um the opportunity to try to get into classes at the schools more often which means I have to come out of my office and be bogged down there and try to get in I I I talked to the admin team this week about that and said you know my job is to oversee these folks and help them do their job the principles and the curriculum folks you know and so on so for me to be able to meet with them weekly as we're doing and get in and walk with them and see what's going on in that classroom allows us to have that dialogue about what's happening there and to make improvements so it's really key for me to get in and go to go with them so that's the area I want to continue to focus on more um this half of the year I think this part of the year we've been spending learning to gel together it is a new team um and it's been really important one of the things that so you know all the things we've been trying to do and looking at new templates and protocols about making reports you see the change in that I hope um we we met and we rehearsed they everybody went through their report with one another so they heard what the other one's going to talk about and what I saw this time around is that they critiqued each other respectfully work on this but you may need to say that that's a trust that was built up in this team and I'm just so proud of that so that takes time to build those relationships and I think now now we get into the work that we have been doing the work but I think that this is now we're in a really good space to continue that together so that's the area and instructional um leadership uh I I don't know where else I can go as far as around town feel like where's Waldo tonight and all those other dates if you i' say if you need you to do more but I'm GNA say no I'm not doing it um and then the last part of it is really the area I I know I want and needing to focus on we're all learning about the budget process particularly for Regional School Districts and that's how I've been utilizing my mentor um that you met Sheila and she's been so helpful in fact we're going to meet uh talk this week about um where we're at with the budget and and any help that she can give us and give to me moving forward with that any questions on my goals to date you want me to do thank you for doing such a good job documenting like night and day wonderful this is it helps us make our job so much easier you have no idea we want to change the evaluation model we didn't realize we just needed to change the content that we were given and you've gone above and beyond Carol mhm it really is quite I told you it's really what it should be I just and it helps me keep track of what I'm doing so it's kind of a win-win for both of us very grateful and I Lisa and Jessica have not done the evaluation yet but it will be a nice first time for them to evaluation with this so thank you and I appreciate that feedback I think that we I showed lauia first drough Ru rough draft I called it and it was like colors all over I'm like this is looking weird so I adjusted it and that um a question came up about the March conferences you know we are trying something different we have work very hard with the bbea to come up with a new idea for a spring celebration of learning I think parents want to know what's what look what's going on in the classrooms you meet with the teachers in the fall there's always opportunities through the year to again set up conferences but the the this period of time is to go in and see your child's work see the progress to date go in and look around and see the kinds of learning that's happening in the classroom that that we felt was a missed opportunity in the past um we've been working we met several times with with members of the BBA the representatives you see a list of all the things we agreed upon together to do I'm excited about it you know I I think the the team is excited and apprehensive and just not knowing what this is going to look like again it's something different we're trying it we talked about this during negotiations if it doesn't go well we'll make adjustments we'll go down a different path but we'll never know until we try something something different so this is the work we're doing celebration of learning at the elementary schools and I'm blanking on the student showcase right so you even if you don't have children at Tahanto and you just have an elementary see if you can work your way over here and see go into the classrooms and see what's going on pick a couple of them they do amazing things the exhibition's alone if you ever have a chance to go to exhibition here at Tanto could we take the younger kids to the high school to see the older kids work yeah you can might be beneficial for some fifth graders the principles are going to send out a notice the uh Friday to start inviting and we're really pushing the children to come come that we want them with their parents um and so if you want to come here of course we also want to Fe back on the showcase at so at 3:30 because we understand that families will be around involved in this process we're going to invite the fifth grade parents you know to um at 3:30 to kind of an orientation scheduling presentation great to get them settled in great and we we're sending out invitations great I'd like to do a survey afterward for the parents and just get feedback and see how this worked what your thoughts were what you learned from The Experience if it was beneficial time so and this is what came out of the last contract negotiation we asked for right right we were looking right for something to have that time to make that connection that was a piece there was like no connection with parent between parents and the schools in the spring so we thought we would try this idea like I said something different Co so I'm going to roll in with that and there something different so here's the moment I'm going to beg you to vote for this you this is a first read of this calendar and I can hear one person's voice now going not half days and I'm not gonna mention the name of that individual but we all know who that is don't do it he's not very smart don't do it can't vote I love have days so me too it is I realize that child care is an issue we have talked about that we're trying to problem solve some possibilities around that but this speaks to that idea of having continuity and professional development time for the teachers through the months we have had old-fashioned professional development with one shot deals you come in four times a year whatever full day okay you'll learn something you go home or not or you don't whatever th this is beneficial to the teachers it's beneficial to the administration because they can focus on areas like Math training over time the coaches can work with them the par professionals will get training over time right as they're learning to do areas of early literacy and Mathematics and then the other big piece of this um now I'm totally blanking is the oh it's just blanking the vertical thank you see they think for me because you know the vertical alignment there's got to be connections between the elementary and the mle high school particularly between the upper elementary and the middle school they never have time to get together because the Middle High School's doing their thing and we're doing our thing in the elementary level and this I know that Peter spoke about this the commitment he and John have made and they talk with one another you hear already that Joey floro has been involved in math work and looking at am web data right with the middle school we need to do more of that with the teachers one of the things that Sally did for us was pull together the list of at least some of the districts in Massachusetts where this is common common place and they are strong strong school districts they many of them have been doing this for years it's just part of the culture of what they do so while it's an inconvenience we still have the kids in school more because not more but they're in every day rather than taking them out full days and we're doing this over sever over many months and you see you see what that looks like on the calendar so first read questions on this at this point yes just looking through it looks like there's a it's really heavy on the Wednesdays and I didn't know it's rotating the day of the week would be better defend you know just so it's not so that came up and the with the BBA EA as well what we really realized so on the elementary level they would switch around the specials on those days so the the special wouldn't be missed all the the same special all the time Tahanto rotates its schedule anyway so that Wednesday is not always the same time um so that's why I think I think that we were leaning toward keeping it on the Wednesdays and it's the middle of the week too which keeps away from those kind of weekend or those Friday before the long weekend or whatever days consideration two is it is a consideration for working parents right but if the if the schools work with the rec departments in their towns idea that's a great idea too we have these shared use facilities and where we hold the PDS if it's high school no that's a great idea we were we were thinking of trying to get lists of students from tont who would be willing to babysit that background and we're looking for right Department pay something like that so we're we're we're working on that to try to offer opportunities for parents who need who need that child care during that time so Carol you've got two listed in March one is the conference open house the open they both listed PD and one is conference yeah one is just our early release PD and then the other is I think because we use this um for the conferences right for this so the be PD that day and the conference and the conferen but it's it's a is it a half day or a no day it's a no day no Day PD in the morning conferences conferences in the afternoon this this year but it's yellow I think and that's theor through the year it was tough so that day so is it the 26th that's going to be a day off that'll be blue though okay I'll have to think about that one no it wouldn't be blue it would be yeah this blue that blue it would be the teish blue yeah I think it's because the parent teacher conference and the early relas are the same College yes they are good catch we did run that we did uh work collaboratively with the bbea too so they have looked at this numerous times um and they are I would say very supportive of doing this kind of schedule for PD so I just want to make sure we MO that we brought that forward to them already go ahead and that um are the are these mandatory for all teachers what's your attendance like at the PD days yeah absolutely because I know a couple years ago I think Jeff and you mentioned keeping track yeah that's why we shifted a couple things we sh we shifted away from Fridays before long weekends um that's why we Tred up more middle of the week are they allowed to use personal days uh get out of these they can yes okay they can do we discourage that absolutely yeah um but yeah car what's the difference it HS this calendar to this proposed calendar PD days mean current year current yeah the current year we have four four blue I have to go back and look a good question but we have more full days now we've broken them down here just yeah one day yes three the other thing I think it would be important to look at with this calendar for the coming year is the student hours we make sure we on the second page just making sure that we have the at least the minimum number of student hours time on learning time of learning and we have more than that so so it shifts the end of the school year it looks like I trying the end of school year this year it's the the 14th it's the 14th Friday be two snow days it was the 12 so this moves the 19 no the 13th still the 13th the 13th the other is the holiday honestly I like sometimes I feel like we we're getting out kind of too early I mean I love it but don't tempt yeah now that you fancy air yeah way to go we do 60° day this is good I like the calendar anyone else have questions on the on June 23rd should that be blue that's the day we would be getting out if we had five snow days five snow days happen just the color oh yeah last day last day for students be like the should be the yes and I was just curious what is this on the top where it says like 17 students 17 staff that's the number of days that they would go to school the number of days okay the 17 student days right 17 staff days some days are yeah okay last year we discussed um like Good Friday and the student ABS or the teacher um but the prior years data was a Friday before a break so I just he last year's dat was interesting or I don't recall sorry I just that we can yeah if You' like I can look into that about how many people took Good Friday off yeah like if it's a significant amount of staff we do have in the contract um religious the floating religious right right so we do have that yep in terms of sub Carol it's Megan's point about going later into June why can't we start school after Labor Day we can let's do it I guess yeah but you're you're in practicing before school starts anyway even when it's in August I think and this might be a little dated a couple decades but I think you could only practice a week from correct okay okay so athletes but what about everybody else yeah that's a huge chunk of your high school though I get that's not going to matter for elementary school I think in the past and this has to do with the heat in June now we're getting the H right the air conditioning that was always an issue y I think families wanted to get out in June the mcast were over the testing parents wanted to take vacation it's like six of one half do mil you start you start later which is great I mean I guess but then you know you go later and then when we run into snow days because we have to make sure we get all the days and we're pushing it to the end of June more if we get those snow days but John always talks about how important it is for kids to be in school and you talk about how you frontload the year with the important academic stuff at the beginning of the year more people might be willing to just take off for their vacations in June than there would be who who can't take their vacations in labor day you know what I mean so if you've got a vacation for the last week of August now you've got to miss those first few important days of school versus the days in June you might miss are after mcast they after all the testing so it's less of a burden to miss one thing just that pops into my mind is that because in this area so many schools have shifted Camp weeks and you know just not just parents wise right like school you know I do notice that camp Weeks end like that third week of August right just so for parents and child care that you know it's kind of since it's been such a shift and mass over you know college that's just something to think I would love coming backer but you know I think we have to be conent at the age back and so um to H there are certain classrooms that are very very very warm and um there's there is essentially I mean there's a system but it's not you don't have Central it's not Cal this building doesn't have Cal right like chillers or something yeah yeah so some of the classrooms are very very hot in June very hot so well but they're colder in a pretty warmemorial iau it Memorial I think it's all right so what are we going to do it is pretty hot in August if I remember there's definitely the weather is definitely changing we're getting less snow days the weather's hot in June and August um so it's definitely something to think about but um that's I'd like to keep it this way but if you feel differently I don't care I love SN I love snow days I days I don't know what we start till the end of all right it's an interesting point it's an interesting point um all right so why don't we take that why don't we talk about that uh and then we'll let's talk take that offline Carol let's chat that why don't you talk with your administrative team offline and then about that about it Mike all right uh Carol did you want to talk about the msba for one second and then we're having a TW minute bathroom break and then we're banging through the budget okay you need to let me you need to vote to let me submit the msba statement of interest for the roof everyone understand what it is it's very straightforward we're applying for a grant from the state to pay for the roof through bees we will not get 100% we might get 30% it's a long shot it could be years off but we're putting in but we're putting it in and we it requires a school committee vote I'm going to read a statement Nicole has it for me I'll do that after all right let's take a two-minute break and then we're coming back at 10 after all right that is that's two minutes go ahead two minutes you got two minutes I told you want know TR to get you to the same place it allows me you guys don't even have to take a vote for you could just say authorize me I gu you guys not but keeping in mind that at least % overse could [Music] agre each of their schools 7 all right let's geted yeah [Music] went twice first one and the second one [Music] all right all right guys we're gonna get started back up all right let's roll you ready Kyle all right so am I am I on all right guys so we're gonna get started back up Kim is gonna take so oh last week we had we had met about the unionization of the par professionals and we need to have a vote on that tonight so Kim has we have talked about the committee the need for the committee to recognize the unionization of the PA of professionals or the committee to do nothing which would not be the preferable option because then there's different consequences so Kim has another option for us that she has researched and found and wants explain it to us because we do have to vote on this tonight I think this new option is the most preferable so I'm going to let her take that away five minutes and then we'll jump into the budget perfect thank you very much than youim so much if each of you who participated last week was last week of the week before we had a discussion two weeks ago in a meeting wow time flies about the mass Teachers Association filing a petition to organize the par professionals the par professionals are currently organized in what they call a unified group so it's sort of it's an informal labor union but it is a labor union so they that unified group had 30 days to file what they call a motion to intervene meaning we would like to continue to be on the table and considered as a union going forward that would then create any election that occurs with a union it would allow the unified group to participate that unified group did nothing so as far as I'm aware they didn't file um any kind of motion to intervene so it's as what they what the law considers it it's called it they disclaim interest meaning they no longer have interest in being a unified group and so nothing happened with them the committee could still voluntarily recognize the mass Teachers Association as the new repr representative of the Paris or and I I said this to to Megan and to Carol I don't get a lot of new unions in the public sector they seem they're already there that's typically the issue is that everybody who wants to be in Union is already organized in this situation I decided to look at whether there's an alternative to doing absolutely nothing and just letting the train go down the the tracks on its own or affirmatively recognizing the mass Teachers Association is something in between and there is this this Doctrine called a consent election and this is what we did not talk about in a consent election the school committee would authorize me to interact with the attorney for the mass Teachers Association I would tell that attorney yes my client agrees that there should be an election but there will be one in other words with a voluntary recognition there's no election it just means that that Union automatically becomes the bargaining representative of the Paris there was some discussion I think Mike brought it up like well how do we know if they actually support this and I said well we know that by the paperwork filed with the Department of Labor Relations it says on there that at least 50% of the of the people who could be in the union voted for it or submitted a card in in in favor of that and the agency of the state has to look at that and so we we take it for face value that there is that many people who signed a card is this is this something to be discussed in open meeting or is this no this is fine no that's fine but this this intermediate situation means you're authorizing an election to go forward which allows those pair of professionals who are ultimately going to be allowed to vote in the election to actually vote and what does that mean it means that people who submitted a card and said I support I support iport they're all going to vote sometimes we have determined through looking at data that people either change their mind about the card that they submitted or they submitted it because they felt a little pressured by other people to get them to submit the card but if there's in a in an election and and a union election is always by secret ballot there's different ways to do it I'll get to that quickly but each person who's eligible to vote will vote in secret ballot so they can decide for themselves on the day of the election yes I'd like to be represented by them or I don't want to be represented at all and that's really what the vote is going to be about I would like to be represented by mass Teachers Association or I don't want a union at all because that other unified group is out okay so that that's what they're gonna vote on so if I you know reach across the table to opposing Council and say listen my client's fine there could be an election we'll do it this way we can agree on the method of election it could be through mail or could be on site here I think someone from the state would probably will come and oversee an election if there's one here um before that we will have to agree on the list of people who are eligible so it would be all the Paris but one of the other things that we talked about in our meeting was to voluntarily recognize a bargaining unit allows both parties to agree on who gets to be in the union the way the petition is written it just says par professionals and you know there are other people whose positions are like Paris but not Paris and going to be in the union or not in the union we can still go through the process of agreeing through a consent election and as a matter of fact you do have to agree who's going to be voting who votes are the people who are going to be eligible to be in the union so this intermediate process as I call it a consent election will honor basically what I think you know labor unions have have you know strived for for years which is to have an election right let people make that choice and you're letting them make that choice rather than just going okay we're good with the cards and we don't get to see the cards we never saw the cards or the with the official name is the showing of Interest we don't know what they look like I guarantee you there were 50% of people that said they were interested but this then gives them that opportunity they an actually vote so that would be my recommendation for the school committee is to take the intermediate route which is to uh vote to have me just basically um advise the mass Teachers Association attorney that you will you know go forward with a consent election does anybody have questions about that process what did you say expired the 30 days was it the prior yes so when the petition for representation was filed by the mass Teachers Association on behalf of the par professionals the existing Union the or the unified group had 30 days to file a motion to intervene in any election process that was to be had down the road in order to maintain their interest in representing that Union if they don't do anything within 30 days it's deemed to be a disclaiming interest meaning we're not interested so they don't have to affirmatively say we're not interested they can let time pass is deemed we're not interested interested that time has passed I think it passed uh yesterday actually that was the that's right because they filed the petition on the 26th of January they got 30 days but that would have been the weekend and the next work day was yesterday and I've I would be notified because I didn't enter an appearance in the matter and I I didn't get anything and Carol told me she I asked her to check as well she didn't get so nothing might come of this although we would be voting on night would be to authorize you to to advise the MTA that if they do step forward we want to go down the route of having a consent election meaning we want the power for professionals to have a secret ballot the right to have actually vote and say if they actually want to have a union or not versus just authorizing the union yep that's what it or versus doing nothing where then they can just do whatever they want they would what would happen if you did nothing is most likely there would be the election anyway that would drive an election but it would be it would require the school district to participate in a hearing to determine who's going to be eligible to vote and things of that nature whereas we would be agreeing on who's eligible to vote we don't need to have intervention by the state in that regard the state will honor the agreement reached there will be a consent agreement between the mass Teachers Association and myself on behalf of the school district and we will you know determine who's eligible to vote okay because I think you need like the name of each person yep that makes sense okay what do you guys think I I like the fact that they actually get to vote about it yeah I think that's the fairest way to do it I also like that it's it's a secret valot because then people are really honest I do think this is a good idea I don't and they don't feel any pressure yeah like I said I think it honors what labor unions are about meaning we tried to get people to be interested they've said they're interested but ultimately it is you know on behalf of the individual to speak and like you said if it's a secret ballot something mailed to their home you don't that there is pressure placed on people to vote a certain way I agree yep I realize we're not like you know the Auto Workers in Michigan but it's it's basically it's a microcosm of the same thing right yes so it's it does kind of Honor what the system is supposed to be okay what do you guys think thoughts you want to vote what do you think I agree with lri Julie and Jess I like the voting aspect of it because they might say no we don't want it and then done what do you think Mike you good I just don't understand unions enough so I don't know what I can and can't ask there are a lot as I said before this is one of the more academic areas of lab law um that you're going to come across it it I it's just like I said it's governed by a lot of rules and regulations okay anyone else and it also stops the hearing it it yeah prevents the hearing there won't be a hearing the time yeah regardless of what we do they're going forward with some sort of organization right we don't know did you hear what she said vote for something so they would vote to be in an organization would vote to what be independent no the op the vote will be in the union or well be represented by mass Teachers Association on no Union that's individual work yeah it would be just how they are now they have these have these unified agreements so then there would be no contract if they do nothing they have no contract no no if nothing is done there's going to be an election anyway there will be but the people who get to vote may be a broader group of people through having a hearing with the state because the state gets involved and the state a right they're asking for information right some of the information that they've requested is who are all the par professionals what are the job descriptions who else has work that's like the PA professionals so the state can sweep in into the process additional people and say okay we think this group of people is similar in function to the Paris we're g to add them to make them eligible to vote if we do a consent election that that's not going to happen because one of my positions will going to be you filed a petition to represent the Paris that's who we're talking about okay so that's the difference is that you would the the election ultimately is not going to be any different in terms of what you're voting for because as I said the unified group has now they're out of the picture if they were in the picture the ballot would be unified group Mass Teachers Association or no Union okay it I get what you're saying I get it okay all right all right so could I please have a motion to authorize Kim rosac to advise the MTA that bbrsd would like to have consent election for par Professionals in the district okay laori and Julie all in favor any opposed right I'm an i as well that motion passes thank you so much all right that's great okay now the main event what everyone's been here to hear let's so we're going to jump into the budget Nancy do you want to talk about food service thing first or you want to just cover all right that should be pretty straightforward yeah so real quick in the drive you'll find the Food Service bid the Food Service bid was published Monday February 19th um all proposals are due on Monday March 18th and the request for contract award will be presented to the school committee on Tuesday April all right so did anyone have any questions about that RFP just where wear in here does it talk about how we wanted our food staff to remain employed whenever this comes about yeah I couldn't find it [Music] either page 8.1 the fsmc is not sorry that again on page 16 C13 C13 employees new employees be hired services to be employ the Regional School District it doesn't mention anything about pay or anything for them are they going to be hit with a reduction based on whatever the company's bid might be or they just GNA nothing changes for as they are now yeah they're up for um their unified agreement is up on June 30th okay so we're meeting with them I believe it's next week yes to start okay and the the only other question I had so this is the way you decided to go forward we thought we were talking about weighing this versus hiring another internal manager and go back to where we used to be just because this went out to bid doesn't mean that this is the direction we have to okay it's just been posted out yeah this isn't a vat it's just like an FYI for us it's like part of her update how would that impact the budget talks that we're about to have this is revolving it's not part of the budget so if we had to hire a new manager it wouldn't all comes out of food service revolving account all right all right so let's move into the budget we've got everyone here for questions so Nancy you want to get us started I've asked Nancy not to stand up and present this 40 page PowerPoint I think we've all read it I i' just give a really you that's a great idea I'm just going to the districtwide budget itself is 10% sorry put it on the screen do you want we're gonna this is going out to the public but if you want to put it on the screen now I don't know if do you have that capability I need you don't need your laptop can do you have everybody here has a laptop have access to it everyone has access to it when we do the public heing so the districtwide budget overall is it's presented as a 10% increase totaling $2,177 $177,600 increase for $1 4,528 Bon Elementary has a 12% increase at $688,000 I categorized each School individually it's presented with expense categories these are categories that are presented to you with the budget updates their Administration instruction other services maintenance operations fixed charges and AO District tuitions you can find the details of each of these categories on page two major increases for each category are highlighted in detail within school and the detailed backup is available in the drive for your reference Capital requests are detailed on page 20 in additional Revenue sources and assessments for each town with increased amounts from fiscal 24 are covered through pages 21 through 28 and in the appendix is your enrollment history and supporting information that is my super quick overview and now we'll leave it for discussion so do you break this down anywhere between the level and above level did I miss that it is it so it's done a little differently this year mhm differently than last year so it's done by school MH these are just the additions right yeah it so it's the increases these are just the increases not the full budget no it's the full budget so like for example if you go you can start with DMS if you go to so this whole thing is basically just the above level all the the detail the detail yes you have your increases page five page yes and that's your increases correct and then the highlights of the increases the impression then is there a reason salaries are in here right yeah the whole budget if you open the Excel spreadsheet no I'm looking on page five of your presentation yeah yes is that not considered level service increase it it this is different than how it was done last year these are your increases from 24 to 25 by category okay and then how it was done if you go to page three those would be considered your above level on three yeah okay that's probably the best way to look at it those are your major large increte highlights above level so I think a few things to note um the number for the SRO we only have um page one well the SRO is throughout we Nancy included SRO and she has it for um Tanto and for um bees I think it's under um other services right yes so and this is why I'm saying we got to fine-tune some of these numbers so right before vacation we met right before the the school break we met with um we had a great budget subcommittee meeting with uh the town of Boon and the town of Berlin and we got some more information from the town so the town of Boon advised us that they the school resource officer the entire cost would have to go into the budget we had it broken down that we had a piece going to the police department and a piece going into our budget they want the whole thing to go through the school's budget so so would that be a part time police officer um they want the full cost just how they full cost of the vehicle the training everything yeah you at that meaning thank you so what would he what would he do in the summer for the schools still in the school budget that was how they wanted it so so did I misunderstand that so the concern was that the amount of training that they have to do would take up any time that they would actually be functioning for the so that's my question are they going to doing anywhere for the Boon Police Department or is it the Berlin Boon Regional School District's private Police Department no it's the intention of the police chief and I think I can speak for him saying this that he would would utilize that officer in the Summers and then holidays and the vacation but the schools would be paying 100% for that that was what we were that was what we were told by the the Boon fincom does that make sense I don't know um so I think maybe they're they just said when we brought that up they said well we were under we were under the impression that they needed X number of weeks of training and we said well during the summer they're going to be filling in and they said well does the police force even need another part-time officer so it was kind of like that back and forth so we can certainly try to negotiate that this was just what they had told us at the fincom meeting it was right the week before vacation right Jess yeah yeah it was like that week right before break we went to that meeting and that was how they advised us um so definitely the cost of the car and the equipment what Berlin have to say about that since they'd be paying part of it for ton exactly Berlin has not commented on that yet because this was new information these numbers are not updated in this so I would imagine that officer might fill in for some officers in Berlin during that time maybe the officer from Bo no that would never have been the original plan not the original plan but if the school district is paying for it is basically the scho district private it's like the school district's private police force National Guard or whoever you know 25% so I would imagine then that officer could get shared between the towns as needed we had it in there I think oh Nancy what did we we had like 25% bees and then 75% atanto which would then would be what 35% of that 75 would be but we didn't what we had it in originally was like only 80 or it was only like 50% of the cost right School versus Town yeah we put X yeah because we put the vehicle to the town we put the uniform to the town and then we had put like just did the salary 25% of the salary we took 25% and put it back to the town yeah regardless of what the numbers are it's gonna impact theou I just gonna say yes regardless of yes will void the completely and I it would be like if we had a teacher going over into the police department but you can't manage we couldn't I could not manage a police officer no we even know what training that yeah so that's a point that we need to negotiate yeah sorry Dan private security what the school doesn't well they I mean that probably I mean that's you're talking about security versus an SRO completely different position something absolutely yeah we did the salary based on the school days yeah so school days so what's in this number right now salary based on school days that's all that's in this current number it's not the actual number no that's what I'm saying these numbers need to be some of these numbers need to be fine to so what we're discussing tonight I guess the point is I don't want to nitpick over numbers because we are gonna have to go back to them if we if this committee we nitpick a little bit to understand what it is absolutely you have seen this every day of your life for the last three months unun we have not yes no I agree but what I'm saying is this number isn't correct right now or we're gonna have to go back to the towns and negotiate something with them I agree I don't think that's right I think that if John anunziata is if the police force wants to use that officer in the summer to fill in but the town is saying well we don't need that so that needs to be fine-tuned we got to figure that out but I guess the question tonight is do we want to have an SRO in the budget or not do we want to fight for having an SRO well if that's what we're going to have then we can probably come up with other ways to utilize that person if we're if the district is going to be paying for the whole thing then he's 100% or she's 100% committed to the district so training whatever it is working with other SRO other community members probably do maybe it's a good thing yeah but but we we then we be financing a car like how is Carol keeping track of a police officer their car their uniform like does it it's kind I mean we bought a truck last year this is just a car it's like a 75 police car does it have to be a police car if it's not going to be a police officer I was just going to say that valid yeah what what is the traininga it's different forro than is for a regular police offic there there's a ton of there's a lot but would we save on non police training because you have you have to train that initial meeting right like you're still trained they have to be off have to graduate they come to us as a graduate we haven't paid for that ongoing training would only be focused on SRO very true I mean I'm asking question they haven't gone through the police depending right because town this is where again we have to go back because towns sponsor that Police Academy Stu too right so that's that's a piece that would have to be wor that was okay that's that's where it doesn't seem to make sense that it sounds like it school would it doesn't make sense I agree with you but it sounds like it could bring different unseen opportunities to the district I don't know um I think quantifying the continuing education is important so you know the perception is that the school vacations on the summer vacations will be consumed training is that true or not right and if it's not then then that Auer would be available for the town so yeah John didn't seem to think John seemed to think that there would be time in that officer schedule to work for the town but the town was saying we don't need any more officers so why we don't want to pay for that through the police budget I couldn't hear in the summer they could do stuff for the schools in the summer person wanted to do that well I was actually thinking to Mike's Point about about relationship building in the summer I Used to Know officers in in other towns who did service work in the Summer with the student with students and families I mean you hire very person I'm sure there a lot of things you can do I right and I don't know how the other part to your point like I don't know how it works the oversight as far as being a police officer to I think that's what we're trying to there like two different pieces there's so many pieces but I guess the first question is does this committee feel that we need an us our own schools we had this forum we didn't we had some turnout I got no feedback for con other than so does this committee feel that we want to have an SRO in the schools I mean that's kind of where we are right now the town has kind of said do you guys want this Lisa survey say that they did want an SRO no oh they didn't support it well they felt safe as it is oh I thought it said that it supported all the students felt very safe and welcomed and comfortable in their current environment that's what the survey reflected is that students felt safe the SRO though as we learned from The Forum would be be more it would not be a security guard or a safety officer it would be more focused on kids that might need another Outlet um yep in the building so build an element of safety in the building but maybe dare program stuff like that something that Berlin has in their elementary school because they have officer goody that Boon does not have and then you know Tanto being a high school we learned most other high schools do have an SRO right in this state it does say here in in the survey that they Al that the family supported the addition of an SRO okay and the family one might be speaking to the the the students feeling safe at school just the piece of the SR you know the safety at school that the feelings of things that was actually one of the higher ranking they definitely yeah I me I would hope so but we're not looking at this necessar for are looking from a taxpayer standpoint though like what do the taxpayers want for the school versus what the students want my kids want myew but that's not necessarily their best interest so I wonder is there a way to put it on the warrant as a separate so people could truly vote that's a great idea and I we did speak with somebody at the coffee chat who was very supportive and did suggest that you're abely [Music] I think when we think about this we also have to we could have all kinds of thoughts around this but we have to be cognizant of um you know putting that job description out and having applicants that would want this job so if this person is not going to be part of a police department and might be used um for a variety of ways that we might keep thinking is useful in the summertime that might not be a job that somebody finds appropriate or something that they would want to participate in so I think we need to be really cognizant of like we could vote for this but and then to get this money or whatever and but then we're unable to hire somebody because it's a position that no one wants because they're not part of a police department and they are not part of anything well they're part of a school but they don't have the camaraderie there's there's a very distinct camaraderie when you are part of a police department um it it's a very different thing to take that person who's been trained in that environment and then put him in a school which is a very different go so I I think you need think about that I mean with the that has to be Revisited anyway yes why don't we go with Jess's idea yeah i' like I definitely I think that's a great idea so one of the pl plans after this meeting next week Julie and I are going to get a fincom or sorry put fin a budget subcommittee meeting on the books and again we will invite the town fincom so that they can actually actively participate I see we've got a lot of Berlin folks here we have Matt from Boyston um so it's already closed but the there's a placeholder for our budget right so they're just waiting on our number well in the uh the yes the budget but oh the warrant's closed to add an article for the SRO issues of things like de exclusions with a large Capital outlays you're asking for those are type of things that's why these budget numbers are needed for an earlier date that's we've been pushing for this stuff because we can't even get get our budget figured out we don't know what your numbers are even so that's why the know it's a very late process you're at right now okay all right all right so um all right let's get back on track so I I want to go through this or I want you guys everybody already went through it I want people to come up and say or to let me know or let everyone know what you think should stay in this and what you're if you're thinking there's stuff that should come out or if you're thinking it's lacking anything I'm looking for high level discussion so I hear you took out my classroom list supply I wanted to discuss that let discuss it all right let's discuss it why' you take it out we talked about putting it in the committee never discussed taking it out Julie and I talked about taking it out a while back when the towns came it was substantial the cost was what was like 50,000 to school or something no all told it was less than 100 total was like 80 something total for all three schools yeah all right so when we heard from I think Berlin was the first one that said you know try to keep it at two and a half percent and we were already way up at whatever percent we were at yeah but you didn't discuss that with the committee though we didn't discuss it with the committee so it's not that's what I'm saying this isn't set in stone this isn't like this is out for sure this is like this version we took it out but I want to hear what people think about that about putting so it's about $80,000 across the three schools so John didn't get to go through his SOA presentation but when I read that I saw the numbers of the high need students uh and one of your subcategories was economically challenged am I right it's more High needs but then you there was three subcategories right which are um part of the high needs gr yeah it was a disability it's a student disabilities Lang Le Financial low income yeah so we're talking about these lists that continue to grow for individual parents to support that number of students within our district is growing that was the point of your whole report that stat in there was that it's growing I think this is the anxiety that I saw this cause parents last year is to be fair it's the first time I really paid attention to it because jent usually takes care of that but the anxiety causes for what is a requirement of the schools to the students to the parents to have for their public education should be funded publicly if they're requiring it the the extra things that parents might want to get for their kids or or whatever whatever they want to do different color bags whatever that's fine but if a school is going to require you as a student to have a particular Supply the school should provide it go ahead I just I so I'm just thinking back to when I was in high school which was like in the Dark Ages and when I was in high school we end up notebooks they didn't give us those we have to Bringing tissues I remember things were WR well you could buy any kind of notebook you want this is you need a specific red covered half inch spiral well so but then I'm gonna go back the district could probably get for 10 cents but a parent might have to pay three bucks but I'm thinking even back to when I first started teaching which was over 20 years ago we had list I taught in Westford I taught in Berlin we had list in Merlin we had list in Westford the kids would go out it's been like this forever I understand your argument Mike when I look at a a thick budget like we have and the needs that we have I just feel like this isn't the time when almost everybody else does it all over the place well sounds like we're getting rid of 150,000 in SRO and but it's but it's $80,000 that we can put towards something else I understand the stress and everything it's not like it's something that people don't do all over the place go car you go ahead you could and there's another nearby District that the kids pay $20 and they buy invol yes and we talked about so Julie Carol and I we talked about that having an organization is that every every kid or just certain kids with needs last year you had a buy into that that was so expensive though I think it was like eight yeah but again that's another volunteer thing this is you're requ iring a parent with maybe two or three kids to spend 80 bucks a kid just for pencils and pens of a specific color and ink and there's a lot of parents who can't can't go for that or they can but they got to make a choice and it's the anxiety you you wouldn't believe the anxiety these people went through would you mind if I have the principal weigh in because we have talked about but so if you hear there perspective and also a possible solution for possible well I there's a solution I'm like yeah you're right and John Adams would agree with you um free and appropriate that John been free and appropriate the reality is that people are right we you know have had school is forever I think there are two things one is that in Berlin anyway we kep the list the things your kid needs at $25 and no child who can't can't do that goes about that's why there's a general Supply budget for those kids some things we just buy routinely as smile have red binder we have red those take home folders you for your kids yeah we buy those that's something that comes out of General supplies but every kid comes with their own a black shirt a Old Sock some of those things and then we give them a list I tell the teachers and they have to give me the shopping list this is what you're asking for this is how much it costs do parents some parents do a lot more absolutely yeah parents do a lot more they they you know you've got boxes of tissues on list you've got boxes of tissues on that list all sorts of ridiculous things that why can't the school provide paper towels and tissues for does the bilding why are they being asked why are they being asked well because so for example you know all due respect to the facilities manager paper towels can buy for the children don't actually wipe up any water well then buy want stop wasting your money well and that's for another time um but so there's your point is it's too expensive for them to do the basics and I think for the majority of people $25 is not a reasonable request because I'm not sure it's $25 what's that I don't recall $25 that's the limit I put on the teachers and make them show me we usually use staples as our Baseline so you know box of pencils the sharpener a Sharpie and crayons and I make them give me a stable Shar because there's a wish list that that list needs to go out through the electronic forms on the website to parents because I don't think that list comes out well goes out it's actually on our website the shopping with prices links you can buy from yeah okay well I mean parents can figure that out and there's a wish list too like you don't have to buy tissue soap wipes and all that stuff like that's a wish list like that's like please buy two if you can or whatever so I'm sure you're not including that in your $25 limit there's parents St that but there's parents that want to like there's parents so you should have a schoolwide wish list like parents want to do it absolutely and you should do a midyear replenish because I think there's parents that be like I'm happy to I want to help I wanna there's people that that's how they feel like they're involved so but I agree that there's others that there might need help it's actually there's so much that's donated donated yeah the problem with like buying stuff like some of those Vault suppliers through PTO it kind of goes to what you're saying it's tough to get the volunteers to do that and yeah it's we're already struggling it's you know in some places to get volunteer support um you know we're very blessed right now you know's been very active parent hasn't always been that way um totally yeah no yeah volunteer volunteering is fine what I'm talk we don't control the volunteers we don't control the the donations we're trying to set these kids up with the supplies they need to get educated and starting in August you know first of all there's anxiety because you can't go on your final summer vacation because you want to start too early these lists these lists are out of control in some cases in some cases they're reasonable I don't understand why we require a kid to have a certain particular thing the school could get it for about 880,000 parents are probably spending twice that at their prices because they can't get the bulk discounts that the school could not too much but I mean it's like 50 bucks a door or something it's it's a lot to some people we we have to go through we have a vendor WB Mason and I can I I can um attest to this I for years have gone to Target in July Target July has dollar CR so a dollar thick markers a dollar thin markers and a dollar um Crayola um pencils colored pencils and every year I I buy 10 10 and 10 um I for WP Mason for our general supplies $3.99 $4.99 so there's so there's a couple things there though not all parents can get there in the first week of July and if if our suppliers is not giving us the best price then find another supplier it's it's a racket I mean yeah of course yeah I agree you got to shop on the sales or like the dollar store or something like that it's probably because same thing for my office we use WB Mason sometimes we just go off to Amazon or Staples because it's just cheaper but Mike I think at the end of the day at least my perspective on this is Boon has come back and they've said okay if you guys go over this am we're going to have to go to an override and that amount is really really low um so Megan with all due respect to the select board members and finance committee members our job is to figure out what the schools need and the voters can decide if they want to pay for it or not if they don't then okay there's a process for that I'm not trying to to write anybody off here y but we have a duty to to get the schools what we need we had a whole long conversation about how we need extra Paris or extra teachers or extra whatever it is for these supports for the students our our job is to figure out what what do the schools need approve something that is is reasonable that we need you know not everything in in one year we have a whole plan to guide us through this and the taxpayers and the voters they can choose to do it it's one of the reasons why the school committee budget is such like this ahead I say while so I I completely agree with you where it has been the norm that people have bought the supplies and there there are families that struggle and we do need to help them a family can donate a case of paper towels but they can't donate a kindergarten pair of professional do you know what I mean like these are things that families can do and have done it and we should be more cognizant of the low income and try to help but I'm just thinking when we're when we're paired down my comment to about that it was in general the number not just no I know but I'm just saying when we're looking at when I'm looking at this list and where I see PA professionals or um special education Transportation or you know uh a math teacher I'm thinking that's so much more important than notebooks and pencils and glue sticks and that's where I'm coming that's just where I'm thinking Mike I'm not disagreeing with you I completely agree with you I'm just saying given what we have this year I think we have to be a little more um Frugal about what we want and as a taxpayer if it was me I can understand saying hey we need you know business office support or you know full-time kindergarten rep professional more so than glue sticks and and notebooks I'm just what's that kindergarten par G teach if the kids don't have the glue sticks Le I'll donate like a like a gift card drive to be done at the end of the year for families that might or something like that but it has to sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you stuff like that I think has to float through the PTO though yeah that's a great idea but I mean we're talking about the budget and what the schools need to teach the kids the school should provide but so like the supplies would be like 80,000 so you look at F Memorial's first other services special education cloer nurse Transportation I mean that's like 88,000 so I just want to throw we we we had this discussion and I absolutely understand what you're saying I think the question that's not being answered is do we have enough pencils for the kids at school so why are we buying more pencils why are we buying more P why are we buying probably need to be fixed that's the first thing I want to know Mike because I I could see how the way you're hearing this is the kids have to buy their own pencils because we can't afford to buy the pencils for I just want to make sure have this very specific yellow 7 in mechanical number Ty pencils prear okay but do we really need the kids I get we should be pay for right so that's the first question because if we don't have enough pencils and paper for the kids don't we have a bigger problem and yes I would absolutely sport $80,000 more to buy the pencils for the kids and pens or whatever they need and paper I think it's the I think trying to figure out the language for these lists are they suggested or we'd love to have or wish list can we have would somebody like to volunteer to get all the clipboards or all 25 you know because this is what we'll use it for but the other because that's the other thing what do you use it for do the parents know what they're using this for because we're going to do celebration of learning and we're going to be putting a portfolio together and would somebody like to donate that I just want to make sure we first of all the first question is do we have enough of the supplies or do we have to do the we have to do wish it all home at the end of the year yeah I have so much crap next year I just reuse we buy like 20 boxes of them and give them you know what I'm saying so that's the question honest with you at um at the Middle High School level um there are no lists that are that specific we're just like you know you should have a three ring binder you should have some paper you should have something to write with you should feel comfortable either writing with a pencil or a pen with something to write with or we'll give you one right either use your own nice pen that you like to use right or we will give you because we have enough to buy you a pen yeah that is but you own that and you get it for yeah those are pretty cheap no I think they need like the Texas Instruments likeing calculators you you can't do that on the iPads and the AP got three of them we can so you can't use like an iPad on the test you have to use a specific thing oh no and we don't so that's so that's another thing you have to use a specific tool to take this class but we're not going to you know we're not going to pay for it for you we have some to borrow okay but then if you buy it it's like you own it for life right well and that's the challenge because you're right that's a good example of maybe we need to look at developing a collection of those very highend certain things hurt me to buy a second calculator but you know at the elementary level we were T we were laughing here we do ask for certain speci tyon robot tensils because it's GNA last a long Expo Market because they're going to last long you can buy me the Crabby ones from the dollar store but they're going to be useless but do you but do we buy T hoga pencils what that they're so good why don't we buy them for the kids why are we not ordering them well because then you're going to be spending $880,000 I pencils and everything else where you drop a line that's up three bucks public education this is just here's my take on the whole thing if we had Unlimited Supply of money but we are being restrained and we have I get what you're saying Mike our job is to put and that's what we're doing tonight but at the end of the day to push an override through for pencils I want to push an override through because I want to fix up these buildings get a new field at Tanto I don't want to push an override through for pencils now if we're going to group it all in together and say this is the override we're putting forward but doing an override is a huge process it doesn't just involve us agreeing in I believe the select board has to approve an override for the town and then it actually goes on the ballot um so it's not something that is just uh you know the school committee doing in a vacuum um so my understanding in Boon is if we hit a certain amount it's going to have to go to override okay so does this number that we're being presented tonight is this under that amount no it's it's it's more than double amount so how many teachers do you have to cut to get to that number and that here we are because that is exactly where we are I was just thinking about that that is where we are from last year because we have contracted increases and we have special ed needs just like we did last year where to get to that number which I'm hearing is now $500,000 our number right now that's being presented is 1.35 million in the assessment the increase right 1.35 million is the increase boilson is saying 500,000 so yes we would have to cut things to get there because the increase in just the teacher salaries and the special ed Transportation which we don't have a choice we have to pay for is over that $500,000 so in order to get you know any other need we'd have to cut other things in the budget with that number now I'm hoping there's some wiggle room with that I don't know but I think that's what we need to be looking at this I don't I don't know right let's do the work Carol how many teachers do we have to cut to cut 500,000 more how much no sounds like a million no we're if we're at 1.35 million and they want us to get to 500,000 how many teachers is that teachers programs courses 135 what's the budget 10 10 10 teachers good from just Boon that's $850,000 talking Boon right yeah we're just talking Bo BS or tanto both so Berlin going Beed Berlin will be affected by Tanto Cuts as well okay it's 800 we're $850,000 over the limit for Boon what they want with this budget which doesn't include the full SRO cost and doesn't include supplies so yes we'd have to cut 850,000 the teacher contract increases in Boon is 117 that's just at bees the special ed transportation is another 172 there's 300,000 right there of your 500 and then if you look at Tanto the contracted increase is 327 you take 65% of that we're already over the 500,000 sorry if I'm flying numbers too fast so nany's answer is 10 teachers to cut what budget there's no at sorry go ahead Nancy so there is no at level well I know with the increases so like the at level with those cont cont so your best the best way for you to look at that to look at the individual Pages for the schools look at the assessment Pages like for example go to P if you go to page 10 and then you look under personnel and it says Educators Association contracted increases 11 17,7 38 that you can't change that that there that's a that's contracted there's other contracted things in here too I pa professionals but we have to change it that's I mean what else are we going to cut no you have to cut bodies you can't just say you're not getting a raise this year yeah right and same thing for the special ed Transportation right there's nothing we can do about it we can't be like oh we're not going to transport you we have to cut bodies special ed transportation is currently we yeah $170 of run and it's going up to over 400 a run it's still out for bid but it's going to be between 300 and 400 a run companies so we're we're in a we're going out to bid with the aset valley collaborative um and it's just it's Supply and demands it's so double Bas double more than double huge hit yeah so um I mean a $500,000 increase on a $1 13 million budget is what percent I mean that's not even we have to provide special ed or we can cut that question we have we have to provide the special EG tuitions transportation and everything that go with it I mean salaries are 78% of what happens if we don't provide it that's a serious question like yeah we can't pay for it the town says we can't pay for it so what happens or we have to we have to do that we have to cut maybe we have to cut teachers this is just like what we with the situ this is the situation we were in last year the difference is last year the towns had free cash and they had wiggle room with the levy capacity we used that I think they kind of were trying to tell us that last year we used that last year now we're let's cut 10 teachers which subjects are and so that's maybe we have to do that and then we go to an override I don't know youve got three kindergarten classes you that's we've got we've already got we've already got 22 kids for kindergarten class at bees why don't we just you end up with larger class sizes yeah yeah class 40 kids in a class right what's the number it's at 20 right now you the kindergarten class there's 62 kids in kindergarten 61 kids 63 kids so there's 21 in each kindergarten class so if you you can have 32 in each first grade class that's no big deal how you deal with it I don't think classrooms could physically fit 32 kids I have to figure it out the desks aren't all going to fit in it tables yeah how much do that cost oh we have tables you got a whole room full of tables over be so I mean if that that's the situation we're facing we may have to um we may have to talk about an over but that's what we're here to discuss tonight I I want to hear what all of you guys think about all this because I've been stewing on it for a couple days now it's perplexing it is is this always the case like every year well no so since Co gotten worse since Co we had a lot of Grants we grants we made a lot of you know we added the assistant principles last year and and yeah I think the schools have suffered for a long we've suffered and we're trying to the towns are also I mean you can't be we're also in this situation because we have explosive building it is what it is it's no one's fault it is what it is but it's not like we're sitting here and asking for crazy things we're saying we have more people that's why we have a middle school and we have two schools in middle school and high school they got so big that even as Lisa said she doesn't know how they did it before without those two administrators we long over for that we're just trying to keep up and I I think it's I think everybody's between a rock and Hardway right now that's exactly what it is which is what our consultant pretty much said to Carol and I when we laid the situation out for him he's like oh you're between a rock and a hard place um yes this is not an easy situation so um something else lari said okay yeah so L piggy backing off of what you said the cost to educate a student the the taxes on these these homes that we're building the taxes don't even cover the cost to educate a student let alone the police fire Road whatever the else costs the family well we also have a huge apartment complex going up right so we're growing without the revenue the commercial real estate is what we need and in Boon there's so little of it right so it's hard right so this is the situation that we're in right now so so you're saying these numbers are not the ones we're looking at these have the SRO in here well has a piece of the SRO salary just the salary just the salary for 185 is it 500 something no so so okay so the numbers that in here though just isn't accurate though just well it's not that it's not accurate it's just that the town has come back and said if you want an SRO you need to include everything in your budget not just the salary so what what where's that in here it's not in there yet this is all new we're throwing kind of new data at you and I believe that figure was came after our meeting Julie is what that's like yeah so add an additional 200 on top of add an additional probably 125 it was additional 125 for the vehicle and the training so if we want an SRO it's this number plus $125,000 all to Boon we're already well oh yeah a piece goes to yeah you're right so it would be yeah yeah but we're already over by and that's ignoring capital capital is going to be totally separate because I think that the towns try to use free cash for that they try to use cash for the capital but we have limitations in Berlin that we' we've talked about so I mean we can if you guys want to look at the capital budget now we can do that if we took the if if the SRO was taken out of the budget here and done the way J said it's going still impact our budget one way or another it's still going to be it's going to impact the school budget if it was done it would probably just be what this number is now or close to it because it would go back to the I was thinking the cost of the car but it sounds like it's too late to do that now anyway well I guess for burlin the warrant is closed I think the Boon warrant's closed too or no we just open last oh okay because I feel like I feel like the SRO well I mean personally if if I was Voting I would vote for it's not about me it's about it's about the T it's about the town and everything else and I feel like if we if we could possibly get that as a warrant item so the tax play payers could decide about rather than putting it into our budget and taking away from the educational pieces okay um that would be my suggest I I like that personally yeah what's the difference it's all coming from the same place anyway well because some people might say we're okay with what you're asking here but we don't like the SRO piece I feel like that makes it on its own and then they can decide if they want to finance that because it's so costly yeah yeah I mean so what they said at the end of the day is the levy capacity is 1.2 million so that's for the entire town of Boon that includes the police the fire everything so they've allocated $500,000 to the schools it was so whether we put I guess my point is whether we put the SRO as its own article on the warrant or if it's separate it's still going to go towards that $1.2 billion which is going to push us to the override I'm not I don't know that I'm against an override this year I I told Carol at first I was because it's gonna be a ton of work um there's lots of rules around it like Carol could not go out and openly campaign for this override it would be something that this committee would have to take on so there's just a lot of different things we'd have to learn it would be a lot of work on our part so the choice is put a number before the voters at town meeting that would cause that situation yep or let's just start cutting teachers yeah that's pretty much kind of not necessarily teachers but we'd have to cut stuff programs which is gonna programs people we have to cut heads I don't know that we have to cut right power professionals staff whatever however car that would be Carol's and the principal's decision I know Matt would you like to say something yeah yeah sure um obviously no one wants to no one wants right no Town don't want no one wants to to do that that being said there's a difference between going for an override at a level Services budget right to say look we need this to not cut 10 teachers as opposed to saying we want an override and we're going to add this this this and this it's two very different conversations yep so I don't think it's a matter of go for override or top 10 teachers I think it's what's the most responsible thing to do here for schools and for the tax right there's a balance in there and it's our job between the towns the three the two towns and the schools to figure that out together but I don't think it's an either should never be an either or yep decision so going to have to come to some type of compromise and figure out if we if an override makes sense we're not the only town in this position if you look around yeah I say the vast majority of towns are in a similar or will be in a similar position very soon so I think don't look at as either look at it as what's the very best we can do without pushing and pushing and and make sure that we're giving the kids what they need tax respons last year we had the at level but then plus the ad and the professional right yeah so like Nancy could go through and um what would that do to the district if we didn't add what we're trying to add which is Paris and special ed and Math teachers for the new graduation requirements and athletic director not financially but what would it do to the actual how far behind would it set the district well we certainly wouldn't move forward at all but we definitely I think we'd slide backward again because I think there are certain things we truly do need we need that math teacher over into Tanto that's part of new graduation requirements from the state right right right and that's that's what's happening now that's become that's mandatory to run that financial literacy program you need at least one teacher we need another teacher over in Boon Elementary School y that's that's a must I I one one of the things we have been looking at is what we could delay I don't want to say cut him but we could delay but it still wouldn't bring us anywhere near that number that's what I'm saying the problem yeah that's the problem is even if we delayed but we I agree I think there's certain things in here that like we just need yeah we can't go without due to State requirements and it might not be like you have to do this or you're out of compliance it's we need this or our children are going to suffer so right and then this the special ed needs as well I we can't cut to to what you're talking we can't cut those there's soes all kinds of so there's like special one full-time specialed teacher like hypothetically if we weren't able to hire them would that lead to out of District tuition you know and I know like we have efforts for like in the Berlin school we have the the preschool program like yes those teachers cost money but how many outo district tuitions yeah that was our conversation last year our plan to move towards more internal inhouse to save that money right so that's $15,000 for that special ed teacher at Tanto we talked about would that cause students potentially to have to go out of District if we can't have that person there's that potential it's impossible for me to attach an exact number to it um you know Lisa and I are concerned a lot of us are concerned about the case load numbers um for the special education teachers particularly the high school level okay um at D so you know but but it's impossible for me to connect you know that to or make a prediction about how a district placement but for sure there are correlations some but that $100,000 salary or whatever the exact number is yeah like 105 covers more than one student versus out of District it's one student two students three students whatever multiples of that correct one teacher um in this in the public school is servicing more than one student yeah so for 100 grand we get multiple students covered right give up that 100 Grand we're spending three four 500 for for example the um the athletic trainer I'm not talking the director it's very different the trainer athletic trainer this is recommended by the MIAA um at this point currently um it is is going to evolve into a requirement at some point but right now there are not enough of athletic trainers in the state that are certified to do the work so it cannot be a requirement so that is something that could be delayed that's $60,000 it's not a you know what I mean it's $60,000 it's but it's only 60,00 ,000 but it could easily be delayed because it's only the for football and hockey that it's required and we co-op with those particular um Sports and that's covered through you know Coop you know athletic Fe um so that that could be offset um until it's kind of figured out at the state level big things on stfy concussion assessment can I just yeah I was quickly looking at the numbers and if you look at page three that's all the new above level requests which we know a lot of them are in need but if you I quickly just went through each School took out the transportation because we know that's something that can't be changed so the above level for BMS and this includes the district wide in these figures is about 257,000 the above level for Boyston is about 320,000 that's no transportation and the above level for Tanto is about 515,000 with no Transportation so that kind of gives you a ballpark where you can work with and then take your ab you know whatever you want to wherever you want to go from there but if that helps you guys a little bit so like things like the recess a um what can we stock charging for yeah that's another thing we talked about school suppli donations have to pay $100 a year fee for school supplies and the remainder will go towards charge for charge for buses I mean everybody can't charge for transportational not in Regional not even high school not what for regional buses you can't charge for transportation even when you live uh 300t from the school sports buses but you don't have to transport I believe believe it's one or two miles we do not have to transport the kids legally but I can't remember then maybe we need to look at that and of a bus what about sports buses like that if I'm reading the transfer thing correctly like that double you're right so that is because of the athletic revolving our funds and athletic revolving dropped we last several years revolving was used heavily for Landscaping on the fields and it's and it's dropping significantly so we can't use it anymore for the fields well I used half I took 20 from revolving and then I added 20 how many uh school choice kids do we need through the district to cover this what what is what's that five grand a piece no I'm serious Cho we talked about that last year yeah but what do we get for school choice 5,000 I don't and it's significantly dropping dropping well it will in like the next four years oh that we're getting not oh you're talk oh we're talking about adding new school choice kids yeah yeah if you go to page 22 that kind pass out we talked about uh both from the high school classes up to like 100 or so roughly 90 to 100 graduating right they're all at what like somewhere in the 80s right now I think you said at the current Pace we're at by fiscal year 27 for both elementary schools will have no balance left and for Tonto we'll be down to 105,000 if we continue to spend 500 out of school choice for Tonto so it's it's dropping quickly we don't have the space for more school choice or at Boon so like for example at Boon Elementary is there any seats for school choice potentially depends on which grade definitely not kindergarten definitely possibly first um third no not without this other teacher yeah there is some potential in there but the problem is we have two third grade teachers two fifth grade cannot take it at this point yeah yeah apartment there's not enough room for the desks in the classroom Dan's got a room full of tables falling over me when I went through the tour oh my no those are gone go see it's all cleaned out all right okay so um all right I'm I'm thinking that I think we got to wrap this up because I just so this is where we're at so I think next steps Julie and I we got to meet we gotta get with the towns Carol Nancy we gotta we gotta get with the towns and we gotta see options um but the other thing we need to do is we need people out there if you are watching this you need to come to the public hearing and voice your opinion because at the end of the day lii you made the point three or four times that's what the taxpayers want so we want to hear from the parents and the taxpayers um because at the end of the day this is just an unbelievably difficult discussion and to Matt's point you know it's not an Us Versus Them situation we got to all figure out what can we do what do we need and you know if we have this amount of money what can we do with this and if we have this amount of money what can we do with that we have to figure it out the answer can't just be like we're either cutting 10 teachers or we're going for an override we have to we have to figure it out so um you know nothing here is there's a few things that I think Carol and the administrators looked at that they could possibly cut out it's nothing major it's not anywhere close to the 850,000 we need for Boon um when we do come back to the next conversation on this carol whatever you do decide to remove cut or delay can you can you give us an analysis of how that's going to impact yeah the plans that we have and I I want to get more information on like the override process and you know if other departments are going for an override because I feel like other departments in the town might be pushed and you know maybe it's all going to come to a head so hopefully before we meet again we'll have some more information yeah I don't want to just hear like oh we cut three or we delayed three things and it saved x amount I want to know it it saved x amount and it means that you're not going to have X Y and Z that we wanted to have or that we needed to have yeah all right it was nice to have page three to have price tag sure AR 100 Grand on laptops like every year for every school that's in the cap Lisa that's in the capital budget so that's not that's not included any well it's on the capital page so the towns free cash add devices to the classroom lists and then do a transfer they could use free if we cut our Capital down that's a question I mean I'm sure some kids would like a different type of laptop if we cut the capital down to nothing could we could some of that cash be used towards operating budget we've got the bond at Tanto we don't is there there's some but Kristen told us there was like 500,000 berin for the schools we had um if you don't mind sure go ahead Julie I'm on Berlin and also Le Aon I just started with capital planning so I don't know what the rules but Capital planning voted it's capital budget using the free cash that we did have back in January um because we finally Sol your Capital needs we are going to meet on Thursday at 6 at the burlin Town Offices Thursday at 6 okay at 6 PM um and one of the things I I guess you don't have time if you have a priority list out of that Capital request that would be really helpful um because Capital plan we don't have another meeting scheduled after for one is Thursday so we have to schedule yet another one question all right so out of that meeting if we could get like an amount that you're able so they're going to prioritize I think they were looking at trimming a few things off that list but yeah if you could send that to us yeah and Nan's working on that this week right the C Capital list yeah but then the other thing for big big project that leaves to the roof and I may be a bit off on this because it's again not my area of expertise but Christan has been working with this when she's been talking about the debt exclusion yeah which to make sure that that work wasn't Mi yep and that's the other thing too that I want to mention to the school committee is that for these Capital requests they can they talked about you know we we are going to need a roof at bees so we talked about a debt exclusion for that because that's something that we just can't ignore and we're not going to get that through um through tax dollars I thought a bond was I don't know that's that exclusion y so that's like putting it to Future years right or like spreading it out over future years you pay it off over the years what it does is it doesn't if I'm understand correctly it is a tax but only for the time it takes to pay off so as a taxpayer you're only paying for it for the length of whether it's five or 10 years and it doesn't affect your L exactly correct that mean it's a temporary lift to the L that's the key piece that un like an override which is permanent I mean obviously you can also have an underride your main Town's going doing that but but it's done next like permanent year over year but with a de exclusion you will bond it for like typically like buildings and that stuff you do like 20 years and it slowly goes down after 20 years that's off the books there's no longer being collected it's done if you want to go another building or something or whatever it is you need to go for another deck SC uh they usually us process because people know first of all something tangible because usually know something they can touch new roof new building and also they do know they go away but it's the other override talk operational expenses because that's going to be the big thing they're going okay you need right for your operational expenses this year what what's going to constrain you to your operational expenses the next year that that's why we have to plan you don't want to be going into saying me operational override every single exactly because you need to look at where things are if your you know if your plans and expenses are going beyond the growth limits of the town in terms of Revenue you know you have the very difficult thing of basically having to come and ask for very large overrides which will even you know and then you also fall into your situation it fails I mean where do you that's why you know was saying here you have to come up with a we have Fe somewhere in the middle so that it's not all or nothing type of scenario because you don't want to go to the town know to a vot and find out you got nothing and now you're back you know can you find something in between and sell that and Megan I just want to confirm that there is no free cash from burlin for the operating budget not not for the operating budget Kristen said it was just going to be used for Capital just for Capital we I I forget the total number but out of that five no yeah she told us that you were not using any free cash for operating yeah yep no thank you for cash that you're talking about when Capital voted it's capital budget it was due in January so for all the other departments they voted I think is it 300 we used between 300 and 400 that I thought she said all right the total the total that was available was around 500 and we used about 300 over right all right so we'll have to confirm that number with you guys yeah offline so Megan what is what is GNA happen long term here talking about overrides and long-term operational costs these aren't like fancy wish list like let's have the to Hall School right these are Necessities because of the growth in the town and Berlin's discussing a 40 house roughly 40 houses 35 House housing project on like 20 acres or something which you know we've had these discussions already with Jay and whoever else is there about how many kids that's going to add just on top of this so what is the answer in the future not just this year but years ahead I don't know I I think that if we're going to do an override if we are going to do an override it has to be large enough that it's gonna account for the growth you're going to do a onetime override it has to account for the growth and yeah to all their point what just mentioned and I don't want to go tooo far down this road if we lose that and it is hard to pass an override because it's actually on a ballot and who goes to vote on ballots it might be a different population that's showing up to town meeting so yep exactly exactly so it could be a hard sell so um you know what happens if we put an override out and then we don't get it then yeah we we absolutely are cutting teachers that is the reality that we will be living this year well that's I'm concerned because electricity is has gone up in Boon yeah um our taxes have you like the assessments have gone up which is brought our taxes up people are stretched really thin I know and and while we have to advocate for the schools we have to be very aware of the squish that people are in right now yeah um so I I totally it's like it's it's just a tough place to be yep you guys did a great job with this though this this document is wonderful Nancy um and just it's outlined really nicely to very like like with Janelle's report too you can just really understand it um but it is it's tough to decide y all right so we're going to leave the budget discussion where it is we're going to work with the towns we're GNA learn some more about override and what that means we're going to see if there's any more capacity we're going to figure out what the actual free cash is so we can um clean up that capital budget and then we'll be back here in two weeks for the public forum and we really want to get as many people here as possible all right let's let's um bang through these last few votes okay so the budget transfers did you guys look at the budget transfers thank you guys for coming out budget transfers from fiscal year 24 by Dan thank you do anyone have any questions on the budget transfers what yes any we're just gonna do some votes so if anyone principes assistant principal please feel free yes guys Janelle sallye free call all right gonna do these very quickly all right guys does anyone have any questions about these fy2 24 budget transfers Nancy put together a spreadsheet it's been in the drive for a couple weeks now well it was it was in PDF but then it was in Excel you guys all know the document had happened thank you guys so much appreciate it I just had a question I don't know it's know to bring payrolls in house rather than we do an inhouse but they use Harpers as their software so to calculate payroll would be impossible to do it in-house because they need all the payroll tax laws so we have um Lisa crochet does payroll but they're using the Harper system I believe that's how teachers can like put their time off in and right the cost is right yeah that's what the cost is is because they switch to Harbor software yeah yeah we switched to Harper and it's online now we I'm sorry yeah no no she just said would it be possible to bring payroll in house I said it is in house that's not what it is yeah I said it's software that's used that people can report their time off and that Lisa needs to use because she doesn't know all the payroll tax laws in her head yeah so pretty much to C had a question about the translator item so it seemed like it was I don't know I guess my numbers were a little off it was 988 and it seemed to like go from 200 to, 15500 so I didn't know you know like if a state required are there any grants to help with that like I know in healthcare we do get a certain amount of reimbursement for it not not enough but I didn't know such a thing exist good question about the increasing need um not the need I understand the need of our incoming population but in terms of like maybe there's grants from a state like because I know Healthcare is some of it but very little of what should be but it's required too so I didn't know yeah that's a good point for us for keep an ey never seen one but do you have do you do you know of greens I've never seen one from and I know like I mean if if it's possible like I know like there at least one mom is certified translator for um Portuguese in towns I didn't know if there's any way to use the to resources like we've done it both ways Jessica and I remember we had had individuals who would do something like that either coming into meetings to translate or translating documents either way you're going to pay for that I think that's we're looking at the funding source really I think is what you're talking about but we're either pay that actual translator or these systems that will just translate the material which is a lot of what they use from like newsletters or documents that need to go home yeah yeah I mean right the what we're spending on on translation and interpreter Services right we're using free resources when they're appropriate um right and so the expense represents when we really need something that's professionally um Done Right perhaps like confidential document special education um a variety of other educational pieces but for sure we can keep an eye out and and see if we see anything for for transition Services no all right sorry um don't be sorry so it seemed like there was couple line items for BMS and bees I didn't see Dondo um but it was for nurse Contract Services and I didn't know we have part of a float nurse so I didn't know if it was outside of that or yeah that doesn't include the floa nurse because float the new float nurse is under salaries but I wasn't sure which line item you were the lines didn't match up and I didn't see anything under contracted so I was confused with that one I had line 26 so did you go off of in the drive where it says fiscal year 25 budget by school yes and which school was it for see what oh so the contracted Services IS 268 and that they're zero it's just a little and then so the 650 was off to I think they all were I'm sorry different yeah no no like talk yeah absolutely oh please absolutely [Music] all and as you guys look through this because please email me call me with any questions that's why I'm here so as you you know please don't hesitate must have Som merg them all one because it doesn't go up to 600 it yeah I'm sorry Google Docs are not looks like so much fun thank you so much all right budget transfers these are the fy2 24 budget transfers could I have a motion to approve the FY 24 budget transfers all right Lisa I hear a second second Julie all right any discussion on this all in favor any opposed I'm an i as well that motion passes but I have a motion to approve the Tanto internship program as presented by miss Sally tonight any discussion all in favor I any opposed am and I as well that motion passes I'm going to skip the next one um could I have a motion to approve the 2023 school committee annual report which you all read thank you all for your feedback that was wonderful as it is in the drive okay Julie and Jess any discussion on that thank you for all your all in favor I any opposed all right I'm and I as well that motion passes could I please have a motion to approve policy dj-1 Regional School District procurement requirements so move L Julie all right any discussion on that one yeah Le it just looked like there was some repetitive things in here like for instance it says in Black font like the chief purchasing officer May blah blah blah and then it says it again right underneath it in pink you know and I guess that was what the masc Yeah so so basically what the masc did is anything that was that was in Black they wanted to keep and then anything that's in purple they wanted you to add and then anything that highlighted was added by the um by Carol and nany suggestions yeah but there's some in pink and black that's the same exact thing so it's like they wanted to add it but it was already there I it might be in title oh maybe what you say yeah where's where do you see that um so okay so the right above a procurement for a supply like towards the bottom just look at the two oh oh that and I think it's in a couple places actually oh I see let me see let me see if the other one is like that yeah in up above a couple more paragraphs there's the the sentence the contract will be awarded I think that's twice as well right I know we'd have to go back and look because this was we did the first read in 9:26 do you want to do you want to throw this back to policy fix all all right so I made a motion it's been seconded so should I yeah we could vote against to approving it right I think they're just typos that were added twice by mistake so we can approve it to fix the typos the Poli the content of the policy was fine right all right so how do I amend it m here uh I'll make amendment to uh accept the policy as in the drive fixing the duplicated language yes anybody want to second that go somebody else okay Jess all right Jess all right so all in favor of that amendment I I I'm and I as well so that motion passes so then we have to vote on so there was a motion to we've amended the motion now vote on the motion all right so now we already seconded that motion so we have to vote on that original motion all right so all in favor I I hi I all right I'm an i as well so that policy passes all right so could I have a motion to approve policy EF civil rights complaint policy for Child Nutrition programs some right Lori Jess any discussion on that policy was that your policy I just have something really picky about it okay um I just don't know why there's so much bold why does it say you're it says you're owner on it me yeah it says Lisa may you modified it I didn't I might have highlighted something and looked at it but I didn't change it yeah the Bold will what's the question the Bold at the top of the bottom at the bottom you know where it says note and then the whole paragraph is bolded like I think I think that's bolded because it was added in okay but you're right that should not be bolded yeah and for the second note also yes both of those would be the only that's usually bolded on them is the is the top part um this is yeah this is brand new from the from the m masc so they're using their that's what they suggested but I'm with you I would take the Bold out as well okay I mean it's just a minor point but yeah but it does it puts your eyes to it I move to amend the policy to remove the Bold or unbold the Bold unbold the Bold yeah anybody second it second all right all right L all in favor of that Amendment thank you all in favor of the approving policy e with the amendment I I I'm an i as well that motion passes is there anything about imga Lisa before we go into that that one looks I'm was curious just in terms of like like if a kid has asthma and an allergy to that service animal all shake out usually they're not they're hypo allergenic aren't they service dogs the service dogs here is there's a procedure in there for that yeah covers allergies this one's another new policy by masc as well wait which one are we looking at now oh so if somebody has an allergic reaction they move the bu the animal to a different location designated by building principal or design in an alternative plan will be developed with appropriate District staff good question any other questions on that all right could I have a motion to approve policy imga service animals in schools all right Lisa second Lori any more discussion all in favor I I I'm and I as well that motion passes all right you guys have to bear with me I have to read so this is I have to read a statement that we have to vote on this is to allow Carol to uh submit this um statement of interest to the Massachusetts building authority and it has to be read exactly as so we're going to vote and then I need to sign it because it's due Friday tomorrow yep sorry okay resolved having conven all right so um do I have to say do I all right I would like to make make a motion resolved having convened in an open meeting on February 27th 2024 prior to the SOI submission closing date school committee of Berlin Boon Regional School District in accordance with its Charter bylaws and ordinances has voted to authorize the superintendent this is not the language that I need to breathe for the [Applause] vote no there's the language I have to read for the motion this is what I have to sign after we vote yeah thank you yep that's it okay maybe I just have to please use the text below to prepare the required votes for oh it says please prepare the text below all right so I'm G to ask for a motion to approve our superintendent to submit a statement of interest to the mass building authority with the following wording resolved having convened in an open meeting on February 27th 2024 prior to the SOI submission closing date the school committee of Berlin Boon Regional School District in accordance with its Charter bylaws and ordinance ordinances has voted to authorize the superintendent to submit to the Massachusetts school building authority the statement of Interest form dated February 2024 for the Boyston Elementary School located at 200 School Street Boyston Massachusetts 01505 which describes and explains the following deficiencies and the priority category for which an application may be submitted to the Massachusetts school building authority in the future high priority roof replacement as a result of deteriorating conditions that have created major leaks at the school and hereby further specifically acknowledges that by submitting this statement of Interest form the Massachusetts school building authority in no way guarantees the acceptance or the approval of an application the awarding of a grant or any other funding commitment from the Massachusetts school building authority or commits the Berlin Boon Regional School District to filing an application for funding with the Massachusetts school building authority you a second yeah [Music] okay any discussion my voice is gone I holding in there all in favor all right I'm and I as well that motion passes all right this is signed to 27 all right so we have our budget hearing this is the public forum in two weeks from today 5: PM in person we do our final vote on March 19th over Zoom anything else before I adjourn this meeting could I please have a motion to adjourn the meeting so second Julie Lori all in favor I I'm an i as well thank you so much we need

[Music] me in uh saying the Pledge of Allegiance thanks I pledge Ali to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all [Applause] okay um all board members are here um and two members of our executive team thanks very much for for uh being here and we have a full house tonight we have um 20 names um apparently for signed in for public comment so um we're going to get going with that right away and there are a couple things I'd like to say um I think the board really appreciates the sincerity that motivates individuals to come out and speak um no matter what side of the issue you're on you're here because you care about uh the kids in our community and uh we acknowledge that and we respect it we know that people are impassioned about this issue um please direct your comments toward the board please um maintain an air of uh civility um right next to your passion for this issue and we look forward to um hearing what you have to say that may inform our deliberations here tonight so with that oh gosh I apologize if in advance if um I mispronounce your name feel free to correct me when you do come up uh tell us your full name and where you live so um Mr s George corre I'll bring this but don't let me scare you oh and I forgot to say um shoot the whole thing I forgot to read um we welcome public comment ment and you'll have up to 3 minutes and with so many people we really ask no we demand that you respect the time limit um and Sarah's timing and she means business so um comment on any item included on the agenda for this meeting is allowed but discussion of school Personnel individual students or individual members of the board is prohibited and we ask that you all respect that so Mr s George start us off thank you um first of all I did not read the book fun house I have some understanding of what the book's about but I'm speaking mostly about just um the First Amendment freedom of speech um I think uh my concern is the possibility of banning not just this book if that if that is what the consideration is but of any book um I think that uh you know it offers some I think this book offers some understanding of a person who grew up feeling very alone and um I think as she Grew Older she had a better understanding of the environment that she had lived in and I think this offers um to many people maybe for their own understanding of themselves just an shared you know a shared story a shared common experience that is important for many people who who might otherwise feel alone so um again I'm an advocate of the first amendment in free speech I think if their concerns by parents uh that their child should not read a book then that's a parent choice certainly and even if it it was something that was maybe a uh a rating or something like movies are done to say that this might be controversial material and that this might not be something that your child should read without your parents consent then maybe that's appropriate but again I I stand firmly against the Banning of books thank you next ums next Tony Bosco Schmidt I'm Tony bosos Schmidt 16 Baldwin Hill Road good evening some of you may know my husband and me as local parents I'm also an actor who recently played the role of Bruce Beckle the father of fun homes author here at brookfields theater for the Arts Bruce was a complex and tragic character who struggled with his sexuality his family and his identity you see Bruce grew up in a community where he was afraid to express his entire identity instead he poured himself into perfecting outer appearances but behind closed doors he acted out trying to connect with that secret part of himself Miss Becka believed that for Bruce never being able to express his identity is what caused him to trag tragically end his own life I strongly disagree with the idea of banning fun home I believe that doing so would be a grave mistake and a violation of the principles of academic freedom intellectual diversity and artistic expression first of all Banning this book deprives the students of a valuable resource in this book Allison illustrates her struggle to understand her relationship with her father if you are a person that has too soon lost a parent a friend or any loved one you will see yourself in these Pages struggling to understand was there anything you could have done different ly said differently to affect the outcome this book offers unique perspectives on sexual orientation gender roles suicide emotional abuse and Dysfunctional Family Life by reading fun home a student struggling may see themselves may see that they are not alone and may see it's possible to continue to move forward secondly Banning the book sends a harmful message to students who identify as lgbtq Plus or who like our son have lgbtq Plus family members it tells them that their stories are not worthy of being told that their identities are not Val valid or acceptable and that their feelings are not normal or natural and that they should be ashamed or afraid of who they are it also tells them that they are not welcome or supported in this community and that they have to hide or deny their true selves this can have serious negative consequences for their mental health self-esteem and academic performance thirdly Banning this book violates the First Amendment rights of the author the publisher the teachers the Librarians and the students the first amendment protects the freedom of speech the freedom of the press and the freedom of expression which include the right to write publish teach read and access books of any kind without censorship or interference from the government or any other authority book Banning is a strategy used throughout history to silence voices Banning this book is an act of censorship that infringes on these rights and limits the diversity of ideas and opinions in Our Town therefore I urge you do not be known as a book Banner be known as a person who upholds the values of academic freedom intellectual diversity and artistic expression that are essential for a pluralistic and free Society thank you thank you next um Mr guino I wish this mic moved I like a I like a stage I don't like being St remember you you are talking I want like yeah I know you look like you could hold a stage I do right so Robert Gino 12 rocky road so um I'll dive into what I prepared but but no I'm just going to get into it then then I'll come back to some of my free thoughts right so I wish we were here talking about issues that actually address the needs of our children instead we're talking about the rights of parents being Stripped by the Brookfield public school system for those that say we want to ban books you're a hypocrite anyone that says we want to Bann books is a hypocrite and a liar okay so we have books currently banned in our system and it's it's just that simple Clifford's Halloween was removed because it didn't fit your agenda and not because it was hurting anyone after all can a dog pick what it wants to identify as what we are missing is that these explicit images and context should only be in the hands of our children if provided by parents or they could be available at the public library or provided by a nurse not left in the public school system where children could go where children want to go to be educated in non-explicit environment When government gets in the way of parenting we have lost our society these meetings waste time and resources but will continue to be necessary until we put guidelines in place and address the explicit material in our schools right we heard about a grading system already we heard about that stuff why isn't that being done I will attack this headon right those who vote for retention are pushing an agenda those who vote for removal have common sense value parental rights and voted in line with the voters of Brookfield you know exactly which category you fall into vote Yes to push your agenda vote no to support children and parents my last thought is instead of leaving it up to the 50 some odd people I didn't count 60 people in this room why don't we put it on the ballot in 2024 where we'll get 90% turnout because it's a presidential election and see how many people in Brookfield actually want regulation around explicit material in the school system why are we the only ones making this decision let's be pointed let's be smart with how we operate let's use the Democracy that's in place and let's finally get this right put guidelines around explicit material on our schools thank you Ron [Applause] Jeffy Ron jaffy 21 White Pine Drive uh thank you uh in full disclosure I'm a former Vice chair of the Board of Education many many moons ago I am am opposed to Banning this book censoring it taking it out of circulation uh I think it's important to understand what it is we're talking about when the book was published The New York Times called it a masterpiece USA Today said brilliant and Bittersweet the The Seattle Times said Brave and forth forthright and insightful kirkus reviews said one of the best graphic novels ever and it was a finalist in the two 2006 National book critics Circle award in the category of autobiography or Memoir this is a work of art but in terms of taking action to take it away from students um who have the ability based on their parents consent to to take it out I'm just going to read you three quotes the first from John Kennedy we know all the facts and hear all the Alternatives and listen to all the criticism let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors for the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our Liberty the next quote don't the book burners don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book Dwight D Eisenhower and the last quote I'd like to share with you if the book be false in its facts disapprove them if false in its reasoning refute it but for God's sake let us freely hear both sides if we choose Thomas Jefferson I urge you to take the right course thank you Jeremy frell Jeremy frell hello my name is Jeremy Ferell 13 South Lakeshore Drive um my name is Jeremy and if you have heard me uh speak before or know me you may know that I am LGBT bisexual to be specific and fun home made me feel represented in a way I never have before and it had nothing to do with being LGBT it had everything to do with how it talked about OCD and how it manifests specifically the author talking about the fact that her OCD manifested as an unbless to say that she was sure about something or that something definitely happened resorting to I think or I believe that is something I deal with as a manifestation of my own OCD and I have never seen a single person talk about it directly until this book and I wanted to open with that because fun home is not a book about sex it's not even a book about being gay it's a book that's full of honesty and vulnerability and difficult topics and that's one of the main reasons I think it should be kept because of what it has to say about these topics how it chooses to navigate them something that you cannot gather just from images and excerpts and the challenges in this way are dangerous and here I want to say what I said um at a previous Board of Ed meeting because unfortunately it still applies exactly people can stand up here and I'm sure they will tonight and say this is not about LGBT content at all but high schoolers are smart they will see that the last three books that have been officially challenged included queer content they will see that the last book had gay in the title and they will make logical conclusions from that and this would be so easy to address by pushing for a broader policy a full uh review of all the books and I know there are people pushing for that in here so why are we here doing this instead again challenging another book that not only has queer content but has been challenged for having queer content such as in South Carolina where the South Carolina State Legislature challenged it for as one member said voting the gay and homosexual lifestyle clearly for some people this is about LGBT content and I do not think we've given Brookfield students any reason to believe that's not what's Happening Here Brookfield LGBT students any reason to believe they are not being targeted I know the world is scary and I wish the solution to the dangers kids face were as simple as removing a few books from a library but we know what will make Brookfield kids safer because we have seen what harms them being critical of the school resource officer hiring practices in Brookfield make kids safer preparing for dangerous and horrible situations that we know can happen in Connecticut make Brookfield kids safer addressing the Mental Health crisis that has taken so many students including a student in Brookfield makes Brookfield students safer we know what will make them safer and I'm tired of taking the easy way out and blaming it on a few books thank you Alan vde thank you I'm Alan vber and my wife and I live at 118 Tower Road and I have lived in Brookfield for over 10 years I come here tonight to speak uh uh against book against Banning fun home from our library but more importantly the trend of banning books from the libraries in general and communities across the country my comments are not intended to insult or criticize proponents of banning this book but to explain why Banning funhome is a wrong and unwise I read this book this weekend and I found it to be a heartfelt Coming of Age biography by an excellent writer yes it was about lgbtq plus issues in her family and her own identity struggle growing up but what but that was the point of the book it was a true story of the author's life I would imagine there are tens of thousands of families in our country now dealing with dealing with the same issues and our own Community as well a library's role is to serve everyone in the community not just a select majority of residents fun home was published almost 18 years ago and is a recipient of numerous Awards including the finalist of the national book award and and proposed and a produced and produced as a Tony award-winning play and is slated to be a major Motion Picture starring Jake ginal as the father of the book this book was published in 2006 and I wonder why it's coming up to be banned right now could it be politics or anything to do with it I strongly disagree with Banning this book and all books I think Banning books is a violation of our freedom of speech and our right to an education and finally I would like to read a brief section of an article I read recently I quote these those who are affected by most by Banning books are students in the classroom when books are banned or are challenged the footing of the curriculum becomes unstable by o opening unfamiliar places to people diverse cultures and books help children develop empathy and others and by Nature children are self-focused and it's hard for them to imagine different experiences in lives outside their own books that show representation of different people and situations that are different from theirs can be teach empathy and especially Mar marginalized communities this is the second time I've come to speak opposed to book Banning and I will continue to do so in the future at other books are proposed to be banned I asked the board to ban fun home to not ban fun home from the library and respect the students right to choose what they want to read and what they want to think thank you Mr thank you Kevin [Applause] Pella I hope I pronounced your name right please let me know yeah uh my name is Kevin Pella I reside at 115 Heatherwood Drive um I believe that this book uh is sexually explicit in nature um and I don't believe that sexually explicit books have any place in front of our children I believe that that is up to parents in the home if they want their children to look at something that might help them with issues that they're facing I believe that it's up to the parents to direct their children uh in that uh regard but these uh they're children they're not even adults yet I don't believe that this material should be readily available uh at their fingertips it maybe the public library uh buying it from a bookstore is one thing but I just feel like anything that is sexually explicit in nature in front of children can never lead to anything good thank you Shannon Riley Shannon Riley 11 deer runroad um I came tonight because the root issue that prompted this special meeting tonight is something that I feel strongly about protecting access to information and to underscore the Integrity of the Educators that this district has hired and employed for over a decade to me it does not matter the title that we are discussing the issue is that the complainants are undermining the expertise of professionals who have made it their life's work to educate themselves on the content and curation of a library that Services a diverse group of young people to ask for specific titles to be removed because you disagree with the content speaks to a lack of understanding of the rights provided by the Board of Education and the district to exercise your right to choose what your child reads it further undermines the power of conversation between parent and child and creating connection and expanding perspectives thank you Debbie Brooks Debbie Brooks 21 Crest viw Drive I'm here tonight to ask you to please support students rights and the professional Judgment of our school library media Specialists and vote to retain fun home in the Brookfield High School library I'm the parent of three teenagers one already graduated from BHS and two graduating this year I encourage and expect my children to seek out books and other information that they feel as necessary to understand and empathize with people different from themselves other cultures or philosophies that may be different from theirs I want my children to have access to whatever books they need to read need to read to answer those questions and Enlighten them to a world beyond their own as a librarian myself I recently attended a workshop entitled constitutional and Free Speech issues for municipalities and Battleground libraries in this Workshop one idea really stuck with me that a certain amount of discomfort doesn't give a person the right to alter the choices that others make students in school libraries still have First Amendment rights according to the publication access to Library resources and services for miners which is an interpretation of the American library association's library Bill of Rights Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents and only parents have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children and only their children to Library resources censorship by Librarians of constitutionally protected speech whether for protection or for any other reason violates the First Amendment furthermore Supreme Court Justice William J Brennan Jr in Texas versus Johnson said if there's a Bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because Society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable this principle extends to school as well School administrators have broad influence over books used in curriculum but not books contained in school libraries please do the right thing and protect our students rights to access the library books they want to read and thank you for all your time and attention to this very important matter Laura Laura Orban 95 Stony Hill Road the addendum to board policy 6563 on school library media states that residents shall not have the right to determine Library materials for students other than their own it then goes on to outline the process for residents to challenge Library materials for students other than their own every parent has the right and the ability to limit their child's access to library materials in power school that policy addendum was likely well- intended for a parent who needed to bring attention to a book they stumbled across where they had a genuine concern for the well-being of of all students but that is not what's happening here or across the country in March of last year the Board of Ed received an email which read quote this is the first of more emails to follow that deal with lgbtqia themed books in the high school library a search of the library cataloges has been completed for 75 of these books 14 were found the sender of that email indicated that it went to 240 parents in town that was the beginning of the last book challenge for this book is gay this is not just happening in Brookfield nationally book challenges doubled from TW 2021 to 2022 and the most challenged books are either by or about people of color or lgbtq plus authors or subject matter this is a targeted effort to remove books with lgbtq plus content and the policy addendum is making it possible library media Specialists are highly trained in choosing material for our libraries these professional positions require Advanced degrees in either library or information science and a teaching certificate if you remove fun home there is a cost to the students who are looking for that book there is a cause to the students who see their parents trying to erase people from our Comm community that they consider less than we owe it to all of our students to leave the book selection to trained library media Specialists and there is another cost for every book Challenge and we know there will be more time is wasted there are three buildings to run 3,000 students hundreds of employees a $50 million budget special education program a curriculum and much more and all of this is for a single book this policy is at best contradiction it's a Time waster and these book challenges are targeted hate we should shut them down the cost is too high thank you Aaron [Applause] Zimmer uh Aaron Zimmer 50 up2 Hill road if there ever uh there are ever any items available in the school that I don't want my child to consume be it a book in the library or a cheese pizza well I I'd use the system that you've set up to opt my kid out I would exercise my right uh as a parent that doesn't seem to be what's happening with these book challenges though right and why not I mean if if if someone is so afraid that the damage that'll be done uh by a teenager reading this book why aren't they taking the steps to make sure that their own kid doesn't read it rather than do the obvious thing to protect their child they're filling your inboxes and screaming on Facebook neither of which solve the problem they say they have it's because there is a this is a part of part of a larger coordinated effort to remove lgbtq plus themed books from libraries everywhere and I get real tired of being characterized as a pedophile a groomer a porn Pusher um all because I'm not in favor of of of banning a book and speaking of pushing with these book challenges we we have people trying to force their ideals of appropriate reading on to others and then we have other people like me who think let your kids read the book or don't it's it's your choice so who's The Pusher who's pushing who here I respectfully ask that you not remove the book from the library there are a whole lot of kids who will never read the book and they'll be just fine even if the book's on the shelf and then there's going to be a few that who who will read it uh and it will impact their life don't let a handful of people who will never even meet these few kids strip them of the opportunity for learning or for self-growth just keep the book on the Shelf thanks Phoebe [Applause] Holmes good evening Phoebe Holmes 101 of du Hill Road thank you for being here tonight um I'm here tonight because I care I care deeply about this issue um I have something that I'll read in a minute about book Banning but I just wanted to say that I was lucky enough to see fun home the play um at the Brookfield theater this fall and it was amazing it was the best play I've ever seen um because it was so moving and and um I had so much empathy for the main character who um this gentleman who spoke um it was incredible thank you but um as to book Banning ladies and gentlemen I stand before you tonight to vehemently Advocate against the notion of banning books as guardians of freedom of expression and the pursuit of knowledge it is imperative that we understand the grave implications of this action first and foremost Banning books is an infringement upon the fundamental right to access information explore diverse perspectives and engage in critical thinking censoring literature sets a dangerous precedent that will erode our freedoms incrementally once we accept censorship on any scale we pave the way for further restrictions on what we can read write or Express it is a slippery slope hope and it leads us down a path of ignorance and conformity in any society where power feels under attack they target the storytellers let us teach our children to think critically and embrace diversity of thought let us trust in the power of literature to Enlighten Inspire and unite us let us defend our liberties and preserve the sanctity of int ual freedom for generations to come thank [Applause] you Tara Peterson hi Tara Peterson 18 West View Lane um one of the great things about books is that we are not all going to agree on what we like and what good and what we want to read you are allowed to form your own opinion about this book in any book you are supposed to form your own opinions about them you don't have to like this book you don't have to think that it deserves all the awards and accolades it's earned you don't have to want your children to read this book it goes without saying that every parent has the right the responsibility to raise their child according to their belief their worldview it's not their right however to determine what other people's children can read and what is appropriate for all students based on what is appropriate for your children we talk about parents rights we have a system in place here in Brookfield that allows parents to limit their children's access to library materials as they see fit and please do not buy into the argument that removing a book from a library is not Banning it because it can be accessed at a public library or at a bookstore that is saying that the school library is not meant to serve all of its students and if you don't support a school library that serves all of its students then you don't support a school library period please allow Librarians to do the hard work of managing the library please allow parents to do the hard work of parenting their own children please keep fun home in the collect thank [Applause] you um Mr McGovern Brian McGovern Brian McGovern three Handel Ridge Road um first of all thank you board for allowing us all to speak we appreciate it it's not easy to stand in front of these issues and we appreciate what you're doing tonight um I'm the father of a current Brookfield High School student I am strongly opposed to Banning this book I think this book offers a range of experiences for children of great uh differences in our community uh on a wange of issues that are important to kids facing real time I strongly reject this book or really any book is going to interfere with my ability to parent my child my that is my job it is not the job of a book by itself although it's part of the range of his development um please dump an this boook Ellen odonnell hi thank you for this time um my children did not attend Brookfield High School nor do they now I was living with my family in New Milford at the time but I come here um after listening to all these terrific points um and I think I'm going to bring some students to you right now I'm a professor of composition and rhetoric at Western Connecticut State University and we happen to be moving into argument right now teaching freshmen to argue and to do persuasion and so I knowing I was coming here yesterday in class I opened that up this up to my students in the classroom and I said if you were me coming to oppose the ban of fun home how do we begin what do we do and so they did their logos from Aristotle right they did their research they looked up the book most of them didn't know the book so it is almost counterintuitive with book Banning that bringing light to a book exposes the book to more students right and Allison Beal is very happy with her book sales since her book book has been banned but uh my students said some things they said isn't this a slippery slope when a book is banned and I asked them to go on with that a little bit well if you ban this book and then somebody else bans another book and then all of a sudden and someone said the First Amendment right the first of Amendment freedom of expression and then students talked about immediately identified the lgbtq theme of the book they announced that it was graphic in nature they also announced that well if I can't read that in my library in my high school library and I need to read that book and it has great reviews they did all the research in the class where would I find it how would I get to it and they also I had a girl who was from Brookfield High School in my class who graduated a couple of years ago and she said God I love the Brookfield High School library but I rarely took out a book I went there for quiet and to think right I encourage my students to think critically to be curious and to be creative and if those students were here today they would say the Bible is pretty rough which is something they said what about catcher in the Ry in suicidal ideation right please please address the board these students yeah sorry Wendy these students are yeah these students know the gig on this right and we can't let them down thank you so much thank you very much bye Sarah coffee Sarah Coffey 116a Tower Road um part of me is wondering if the parents that are here tonight speaking against fun home have kind of taken the wrong approach if we had just stayed silent maybe the book would have been already pulled from circulation due to inactivity but lo and behold we're here this is not the first time I've stood here but I'm really hoping it's the last and I wouldn't have to be here if there were a clearly defined policy regarding obscenity and sexually explicit content a school library a policy that would prevent the public from leaving things up to their own interpretations to me this isn't just about the book fun home it's about an inconsistent set of standards that provide no expectation or guidelines about what can and cannot be shown to our children or can and cannot be spoken to our children inside these School walls also how fun home physically being on the Shelf in the school library makes it that much more likely to be worked into future curriculum and mandatory reading in the classroom talk of of sexuality has has already bled its way into the school day it's been discussed far more than should be allowed in a school setting this year alone from a female teacher at the high school telling their students that even though she's married to a man she thinks she's bisexual or bicurious to Stonewall speaker assembly which included two transgender individuals discussing the topic of sexuality with your children I don't care if a teacher said they were bisexual but felt a little heterosexual inside or the opposite or whatever no teacher or administrator should be discussing sexual refence with their students at all that's a hard line yes there are other important things going on in this District maybe more pressing issues that should take up meeting space but it's important to heed the warning of how something can start out as an as innocent as a book on the shelf and snowball into discussion in a classroom so I'm here because I object to fun home being in the school library but more so because it's imperative for the be board ofed to develop and publish guidelines against sexually explicit material in school libraries because because the thing is where do we draw the line if the graphics of oral sex is allowed then what would not be allowed and that's it thank you thank you Kristen ventresca Kristen vesca 23 Arapaho Road as a mother of three in a Brookfield High School alumni I'm here to express my concern of the book fun home which is accessible to our high school students I'd like to simply just start out with a definition of the term pornography according to the mar Marian Webster dictionary pornography is defined as printed or visual material containing explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity intended to stimulate erotic feelings pornography is protected expression first amendment however it is illegal under federal and state laws for minors under the age of 18 to have access to pornographic material the book at hand fun home has numerous examples that clearly fall under the definition of pornography both in graphic and in text form scrimming through the book you'll find graphic images of two women performing oral sex while discussing the sexually preferred Taste of each other's bodily fluids an example of an erotic fetish you can find references to the enjoyment of group sex on page 167 as well as another graphic image of a boy masturbating on his bed on page 207 these are just a few examples to point out although the book does contain many anymore referring back to the definition of pornography these images and conversations are referring to erotic enjoyment of the sexual behaviors as well as sexual body parts there is no way to twist that to put it in another perspective to those who still may not be able to wrap their head around the obscenity of this if these graphic images and conversations from this text were displayed in the in the form of a video or online streaming would we feel differently with it in the hands of our children in our school I'm positive that to access video material of this same content you must agree that you are over the age of 18 prior to viewing it on the internet that is a federal mandate I've seen many arguments from the other side saying that this is an attack on the lgbtq community I personally view that as a distraction this material is not discussing a homosexual relationship without the sexual manner it's not alluding to safe sex practices among the homosexual Community it is introducing the concept of erotic based fetishes plain and simple I've noticed Administration and people people in general tend to let the line and the sand go a little bit further when it comes to something questionable because they're afraid of being labels anti- this anti that I said it last time I spoke and I'll say it again show me a book in here with equivalent sexual material and heterosexual characters and I will be up here demanding it has no place in a school library like truly where does this end at what cost to our children in protecting their innocence do we say enough is enough our children are exposed to enough through social media that they' become desensitized to so much so not naive that they don't hear about these Concepts however it's not the school's responsibility to be the ones putting this material in their hands that's enabling it and I sincerely hope that Brookfield can join new town and other libraries by removing this book or any other similar books that should never have been in the hands of our minors in the first place thank you Elena [Applause] Lopez yeah we we want to make sure that we don't distract from what the speakers are saying with um uh comments or or noises thank you so um Miss Lopez yes hi Elena Lopez 9 summer Pastor Lane as a society we have decided that adults of all sexualities will be provided a work environment free from sexually explicit content these rights are enforced legally under anti-sexual harassment laws and are outlined in company policies no one calls big corporations or small businesses anti lgbtqia PL us for following the law on this these policies make sense they protect employees from uncomfortable work environments and allow those employees to focus on their daily tasks we have a board of ed sexual harassment policy and students would be F uh punished excuse me for sharing explicit cartoons or sexually suggestive materials the kind found in the book fun home our sexual harassment policy also states that harassment can stem from staff during a previous Board of end meeting one member suggested that our Board of Ed add no pornography to the library acquisition policy two other members were quick to shut him down and insist that such a phrase was not needed as there was no pornography in the library these comments beg the following questions one what is a cartoon of the performance of oral sex found in the book funhome considered if not pornography and two if there is no pornography in the school and it seems you're all in agreement then that there shouldn't be then why can't we add it to the policy the answer is simple and frightening pornographic cartoons and sexually explicit material is purposely being provided by the district and is condoned by the previous Board of Ed majority and this evening we will find out where our new board of ed members stand on this issue the people who speak against content like funhome being in a public school are unfairly painted as bigots who are trying to persecute lgbtq children this argument is infuriating and it couldn't be further from the truth how is it that the people who want no child of any sexuality to be exposed to graphic and sexually explicit content in their school are considered the enemy make no mistake adults who insist that lgbtq children must have access to sexually charged materials while they are in school and should be focusing on academics are the adults of great concern our Librarians administrators district and bard of Ed must honor the bord of Ed sexual harassment policy and immediately address the standard for content that is in our school buildings retention of fun home exposes condones perpetuates and encourages sexually explicit content being circulated in our schools and it provides no leg to stand on for disciplining others who break your policy voting for retention of this particular book shows the community that there are few to no limits to what you'll provide to minors in a public school the sexuality of the characters and the story being shared cannot excuse sexually explicit content and the restrictions we put on cont content should have no bearing on the sexuality of the characters meaning heterosexual stories with graphic or sexually explicit content cannot be allowed either thank you Miss Lopez thanks I asking the board create new Poli policies while honoring existing policies that ensure a safe environment free from sexual harassment for all children Miss Stanley Tanya Stanley Miss Stanley Tanya Stanley sorry it's been a long night already hi Tanya Stanley 31 Laurel Drive um I just want to thank you all for hearing us again tonight uh thank you for allowing me in particular the opportunity to to address you all this is not my first goar around with the Board of Education um the reconsideration of fun home at Brookfield High School has proven to me both as a parent and an educator to be a very laborious process and it also begs the question is it truly considered Banning if perhaps it shouldn't have been acquired in the first place from petitions to writing letters to the Board of Education 200 signatures on that petition an array of research hours and hours to meeting with the Librarians and the high school princip principal personally to answering follow-up questions from the reconsideration committee speaking at meetings such as tonight I think it's important for me to emphasize that this is all coming from a place of care and concern for what is being made accessible to students at our high school is one thing to read sexually graphic material in words it is very different to have those sexually graphic words depicted in sexually graphic images the slope is slippery if we're going to allow books like this in our library what else is going to be permitted if a book that was acquired in 2008 at BHS had only been checked out two times prior to parents bringing attention to the obscene nature of the images in the book and then was asked to be removed it seemed like a reasonable request considering the low level of interest in the book by students at that time but instead of looking from that perspective heels were dug in and those parents and community members who found the book to be of unfavorable sexual graphic content were deemed homophobic book banners and hateful and for me I just find that really disheartening because I am here as a parent I am an educator and I'm somebody who cares deeply about the community as a whole I've taught students of all different races walks of life and to be honest with you it is absolutely appalling to me that this kind of imagery is being available to students I understand completely where people are coming from and wanting to have books that speak to a variety of different students I get it students are coming from all walks of life and I'm all for that but when it comes to images in books I think there needs to be an understanding that lines need to be drawn even if the book is of value for adults it may not because of the graphic images be of value to our students thank you Austin Montero Austin Montero I keep wondering if this is actually working I should just use my teacher voice all right Austin montario 17 Dairy Farm Drive so thank you for your time tonight everyone I want to take a different look at this uh from a from a bigger perspective to me this is about way more than a book or two or three it's about where we're going in terms of public education as a whole so after reading the responses from the reconsideration committee formed to review these books these book challenges now and in the past it seems to be just a regurgitation of the Ala the American Library association's handbook essentially word for word uh without much else added to that so let's dig into that because this is where I believe we need to make a change and follow more of a common sense approach as adults there are a growing number of states right now in our country that are separating from the a in including Wyoming Alabama Missouri Texas Florida Montana and others uh soon to follow and other districts within other states so this is not our parents American Library Association from the 80s and 90s those days are long gone just like a lot of other institutions we used to blindly trust and look up to things have changed unfortunately and it's high time we we take notice as a community this I find interesting and it's from the ala's own Bill of Rights which I think we've heard a few people mention uh and it's very powerful powerful to me as the direction they want to go as an organization so the American Library Association opposes all attempts to restrict access to library service materials and Facilities based on the age of Library users so again this is not our parents American Library Association so the question is are they cool with a 13-year-old accessing literally any material yes then we have to ask why is that well what this does in their Bill of Rights is actually is Place kids on equal footing as adults which we all know is not true and it is a way to abolish age of consent laws as it states right here in their very own words in their very own bill and you can look it up on their very own website so I strongly strongly dis agree with this and highly encourage us uh to leave the Ala as we know children and adults are not the same and for any other questions regarding why we should not be aligned with the Ala I advise everybody should just do a little research on who the current president of that Association is I think it may be shocking to some people uh to move on I have two reviews uh from this book one by Ken swandor of the Ala fun home is a mature work that may be best appreciated by mature audiences it contains violence sexuality graphic images nudity I would agree that all of these are contained within the work the book addresses themes of sexual orientation gender roles emotional abuse another review from ranell Whitaker who is an English Department director in Illinois and he uses ma maps m mpaa's rating age here and because although there's no violence there is definitely nudity and sexual act pres so this is an adult book Mr mono thank you very much [Applause] thank um so that concludes uh the public comment portion and um I don't know if I said this uh to you guys but thanks a lot for coming out on a Tuesday evening um to um just be part of this important Civic discussion it's it's really great that we get so much um input here tonight so thank you to everyone who spoke I know can be nerve-wracking my hands always sweat when I um do that so you guys did great too thank you um we've asked that um well so we're moving on to new business and and to Kickstart this we've asked Mr Banda to come here and just walk us through uh for people who who may be late to this game the chronology of um what happened and to give us an update um Mr Blanda that's a fair way to say it of what happened with the um Review Committee at the high school level thank you very much all right so I'll State the obvious we are all here because of the decision made by the committee uh at the high school uh to reconsider this book um so Dr bril has asked me to uh kind of go through the process because this has been a long one uh really started last spring uh and so I think it'd be important to kind of share the timeline with the board uh just to reiterate and you know highlight some of the areas and things that we did as a committee uh so the first thing was uh we did receive the uh actual um book uh challenge or cons uh reconsideration request uh at the end of May um and then the first opportunity we had to meet with uh the entire group as part of that process uh following the regulation 6563 uh was to meet and review uh the actual submission with the individual who submitted it and so we're able to do that on June 13th now if you're telling time that's towards the end of of the school year um and while we had that meeting uh we decided that what would happen over the summer to get everybody together me to create a volunteer committee we would do it as soon as we returned back to school so we spent some time online uh through was I think it was a zoom or Google meet uh discussing uh the the reconsideration form with the individuals that submitted it uh and then once we got back to school right before school started um I convened a committee uh a different committee than we did for uh the original book reconsideration of this book is gay um there were some members that did remain the same U but I there was uh two teachers uh one student support staff member an administrator uh our two library media Specialists and myself I actually facilitated I wasn't a voting member necessarily of the group unless it needed to be and we facilitated that conversation so the first meeting was September 7th of 2023 at that point we went through the process having gone through it uh once before we decided to go through it again and really walk everybody through what we are going to do at at that point we shared board policies the 6563 both the regulation and the addendum so the committee could see this particular part and also why this came to be that we're even hosting the committee at this point so we had that conversation we actually reviewed the board policy uh then I distributed the book and everybody that in the committee got the book and we arranged to come back at a projected date uh originally it was September 18th we were supposed to meet um but you may remember September 18th maybe you don't it was really hot and we got out of school early that day so we could not meet that day so it was rescheduled the September um 28th was our second meeting that we had and in that process everybody came back and there was Post-it notes everywhere uh and the conversation we jumped right into it and so we started by looking at what a what a library media specialist would do if they're going to pick a book brand new um looking to add to the collection what would you do and the first step is to look at reviews that's the part of the library media specialist process so they looked at reviews we looked at the available reviews and a bunch of different reviews to see what they had to say say and as a consensus we talked around the table and said would you be interested in reading this book given the reviews and at least taking a further look they all agreed that that would be a likely next step in the process so we're now at the point have we already read the book makes sense so what we did is we talked about uh the board policy we looked at the did it align to establish selection criteria there's a whole list in that board policy including things relative to the a American Library Association as well as the the including the Bill of Rights and some other things that are in the board policy in terms of weeding and and Criterion selection so we went through all that and asked that question did the book based on those criteria align and then we said we need to have more conversation right because we didn't get to the point where we could actually dig deeper into the actual um reconsideration form itself and all the details and so we decided to come back and we met again on December 4th and we went through Page by Page um October 4th excuse me went Page by Page to that reconsideration form looked at each of those pieces and had a very rich discussion around the table with the six individuals that are part of that uh that group um and so we I can assure you we talked about all of these issues right what was in the reconsideration form itself other things that have been brought up here everything was on the table we had a very open and honest discussion um and then while there certainly was a vote at the end I don't want to focus on the vote necessarily because it was discussion that we had that was the more important piece right we talked about what somebody has a question about well do you think this is appropriate to be a part of the u based on this page or this picture whatever it may be we had all those deep discussions which is why it took two full meetings to get through this uh at the end we did vote and there was it was a 5 to1 vote to be clear there was one person who believed that it should not be considered uh as part of the library collection um and it was a very respectful and civil conversation which was also fantastic to hear as colleagues working together that everybody uh felt comfortable sharing their opinions and their perspective but really grounded their decision um in what they believed how it adhered to their own personal values or what really values of the kids and we kept going back to the kids what does this mean for the kids does it do harm um you know and looking at all those things so the committee clearly voted 5 to one to keep it there and that's the first part of the conversation and that's detailed here in the rationale but behind what we did I think the second important part that's been brought up multiple times as well is the addendum and the regulation that does talk about two really important things one that parents can absolutely request and make a determination if there's a library material that they do not want their student to read they can do that and the second part is that the community is not residents can only make that choice for their own children to restrict it and so that was the second part of this so um that's all I have for you you've heard a lot of this you have our copy of what this is so I guess that's it and I it's now the board's turn to continue with the discussion great thanks very much okay I just have a couple questions mark if that's okay regarding this um so I'm looking at the acquisition criteria um where it says appropriateness of content concept themes and vocabulary suited to the audience so would you did they committee consider images under content or was that not a consideration at all so I I'm going to reiterate what I said before we looked at every single one of these things so any question you're going to ask about did we consider it we looked at every single one 100% we looked at every single one and deemed it appropriate anything that's in here the committee talked about reviewed and made the decision so you deemed that the images were appropriate yes okay um all of them I'm sorry all of the images were appropriate you guys so we look at a book in context we don't look at us we look at a book as as a whole book in not just and we don't take one picture out we look at the entire thing we the review the whole thing and absolutely the committee the ones that certainly voted for it absolutely believe that it's appropriate pictures and the images along with but it's a really dangerous thing to say look at one picture and say this picture is inappropriate you have to look at the whole context of the book as well so yep how did you um quantify quality so I'm looking under the rationale providing quality materials um was that talked about how was that defined the quality of materials so the quality really is B look at the reviews right so the reviews show that it's it's quality material based on New York Times uh the kirkus reviews and some of the other reviews organizations we looked at Time Magazine I time I I think voted it novel of the year so there's plenty of uh support that says that it's a quality material okay um it's another question on the last page M um it says fund home should be accessible to students at both the middle school and high school level is that cor am I reading that correct where is that top the top the third oh so if you if you read that so that talks about a rationale from the National Council of teachers of English so that is one so it says appropriate sub content concept themes this is excerpt so that's a bullet from the excerpt from NCT I'm this so that just explains that this is um this could be from that perspective from the nct's perspective not mine not the Committees the national counsel the teachers of English believe that this should be both a middle and a high school text okay so you're just you're just I'm focused on the high school this because this is where the book exists okay Y and is that also the same with the third bullet down this graphic memor should be incorporating classs yep okay Mr Blen you mentioned that not one image we should look at right was there a number of images we should look at to see if it's inappropriate or not is there like a threshold of images that are appropriate or in appropriate that you said that not to it's important not to take out one image right right I think you look at you look at the whole scope of the book yeah the whole scope of the book absolutely in context looking at one image in particular and saying this is one image it shouldn't be in here because of one you have to understand what the story is and what the concept is in terms of a memoir so that's the perspective is we looked at all images across the board we looked at every single one they were included in the uh the the particular reconsideration we looked at them and given in context across the board we felt it was appropriate so is there a number of inappropriate images a book needs to have in order to be not deemed you said you looked through every page and every yeah we we read the whole book and we looked at every picture yep and you felt every single picture in that book the committee felt I'm sorry five of the six committee felt every single picture in that book was appropriate for schools correct yes okay um you don't have to respond to this I just you know it's it's a concern that I want to share that the committee for both the book reviews had half of the same people correct yes I did it did it was it was important for the library media specialist to be part of that they had to be there because they're part of the the and one of the other person the people who was there uh was the same person it was an administrator who oversees and works with the library and the other people were brand new had not been a part of it okay I I would just say I don't think this is fair I mean it's very subjective to allow the same people to continue to sit you know on the same committee so I don't really feel it's an it it's an impartial representation again I'm not asking for you to respond I just wanted to make that um put that out there also um I'm not focusing on the vote per se five to one but can you share what was the concern of the one educator yeah that one educator because we we kept going back to students right and that was that's the focus of the conversation this is a a book that's available to students in the Brookfield you know Public School library uh that one individual uh when sharing why they felt that it should not be felt that the scope and the theme um in fact said it he just didn't feel it was appropriate he didn't feel that it it met with um there was personal values certainly and perspective because everybody bringing those to the table to say that we don't would be you know would not be the right thing to say we bring those to the table but trying to separate those things out even trying to separate those out he the the individual said that it just it does he didn't feel that it should be a part of the group of the of the available to students here in the library okay thank you thanks very much Mr um Dr I think I think we're good we thank you very much um did you want to talk at all about the appeal process sure so the um committee special committee Review Committee for the high school um made their decision in October um the talk to the folks who um the child advocacy group who had made uh the reconsideration request uh put that forward uh to me to let me know that the uh book for the time being the challenge was uh going to stay um and then that was it for the time being on December 4th um when it actually the new board had just become uh a new board at that time it was after the election on December 4th I think it was a Monday uh the book The Child Advocacy committee um sent a note to me uh and to Mr Banda notifying us that they wanted to appeal the CH the the special review committee's uh decision and so on that afternoon um I sent a note to the board letting everybody know that it's now been appealed and with some recommendations of how the board might consider things whether Committee of the whole or a special subcommittee or whatever the case may be at that time just to give everybody a sense of the timeline um that same week the board was uh receiving the recommendation for the budget for next year so there was a lot of budget work and then right into the holidays and then January and here we are in February um and we were going to have this meeting two weeks ago but we had a snow day so um I've got to give the the the new board uh Credit in the sense that that there's been no delay it's moved it right along the appeal came on December 4th and and here we are tonight um it's important as well for everybody to know I think that the um uh child advoc advocacy committee that put this challenge forward um did send a note to um myself and I think at the time uh Debbie Brooks who was the chair of the policy committee asking us uh there were several requests to take a look at within the policy um the policy committee I think has met now on three met on three occasions um and made some adjustments in November to the policy um and then most recently policy Committee just last week was looking at the policy again so it is a um a living and breathing policy that is constantly having scrutiny so that's a bit of a timeline there for you Wendy great thank you there's been so much movement with this and uh thanks to the members of the um Brookfield child advocacy committee uh for being patient with this process that we were ready to go on the night of the snow delay but then snow delay so um all right so let's um receive and possibly Act upon um the recommendation of the special committee regarding the book fun home um are you guys ready to um do you are there items you want to discuss or would you just like to share your thoughts do do you have questions that you want to discuss back let me let me start with oh no no you start H and then no no by all means ladies oh you have something to share sh no no no no no okay okay that's what I meant I thought that's us I my bad go ahead holler thank you all right thanks everybody for being here and for sharing your thoughts um I'm going to start with just a a couple as I'm thinking about and processing everything that everyone said I'm going to start with a couple of General comments and then I will move more specifically to the work that's being discussed the microphone holds up okay uh the first uh really the two general thoughts that I have are a reiteration of what many people have addressed this even and that is number one that I do believe as many people here do that every single parent has the right to choose what his or her child will read um choice is a very important word because if they if there wasn't such a thing as Choice then we wouldn't be here that immediately implies that there's going to be controversial material that some people will choose based on Family Values personal beliefs uh whatever the case may be that they don't want their children to access and that's perfectly reasonable uh the second uh point that I want to make that's also a general point is that we hire qualified and trade Librarians and I trust that process and I trust our Librarians uh to do the job that they were hired to do getting into the title fun home um we all have said and know that Allison beell is a highly acclaimed author uh Allison beell chooses to deal with very difficult topics in graphic form by doing so she re she reaches a wider audience why because people many people will uh prefer to read Comics or Graphics rather than text and uh that and by doing so she reaches people that me really maybe need to hear what she has to say um similarly I would say an author such as art spiegelman and has highly celebrated two volumes of mouse also has chosen to deal with very difficult topics in graphic form the topic of his father's experience with the Holocaust the suicide of his mother his very difficult relationship with his father um Allison Beal's novel though fun home her graphic form I feel is so much more than just about sex and sexuality she's dealing with a dysfunctional family her struggle to uh find a place in that family to make sense of it to discover her own identity in the process it's a memoir that's filled with anguish one that questions criticizes and reflects in the process of trying to understand now trying to write something in graphic form I also feel is a double-edged sword number one yes it reaches a wider audience people who really may need these texts but the problem with it is that you cannot turn away from the images they're there they're in your face and sometimes uh they may be uncomfortable to look at that is a given however if beckel's work is deemed unacceptable in a high school library how do we respond to passages in great works of literature that are far more graphic in nature that paint pictures with words not just sexuals sexual of sexual intimacy but also images of casualties of War victims of rape the brutal treatment of slaves and other minorities and on and on if we remove such a novel or such a work from our library I think it would set a very dangerous precedent and it would not be taking into account the Thematic importance of these works that we have approved and have been using for years in our Collections and in our curriculum thank you [Applause] hope there's no guys please keep your comments um to yourself so that we can focus on what um Robert has to say thank good evening ladies and gentlemen I thought it would be a good idea and unfortunately I was very uncomfortable doing this printing out these images to display to everyone everybody had a very valid reason for not having this book in in the school and also has a very valid reason for keeping it I felt that the imag is alone with the reason why but I'm also going to reference a few other things I did read the book and I thought it was very well very well written I thought she did a great job of outlining her experiences growing up I think she did a phenomenal job of explaining the OCD thing which somebody else mentioned that I can definitely relate to as well so I'm going to read through the notes that I took and then I'll sh and um reference uh what I'm showing she references her father as being an ideal husband but then ask what an Ideal Husband have sex with teenage boys this is very important other references later in the story page 76 takes a picture of a character masturbating um somebody's phone I'm sorry Robert somebody's phone is is going off and it's a very dramatic ring thank you thank you sorry robt that's all right on page 79 she has a conversation with her mother about her father having relations with teenage boys and how he almost got caught later in the story the explanation is her father got charged with giving alcohol to a minor and the other charges quote were dropped if he agreed to a court order therapy Compares James and the Giant Peach to pornography and on the same page there was an image of both women naked and one is reading the quote and quoting from James and the Giant Peach both women were laying down as one reads from the book wrapped in the other's legs the and it's displayed up there the walls were wet and sticky and peach juice was dripping from the ceiling James opened his mouth and caught some of it with his tongue now since we're talking about libraries and literary pieces I'm sure James and the Giants Peach is a phenomenal book and I don't believe he's referencing what she's referencing in the story but when you have two women laying next to each other and each other one has is reading between the other partner's legs it kind of sounds a bit different there's a picture on page 95 of a naked woman with her breast showing and this is my favorite one on page 112 the narrator herself is told by her father not to open the paper she has been fold given to her folded in her hands because it's dirty quote dirty according to the father she said it's dirty she opens it anyway to discover a plumber's calendar with a naked woman on it she then writes how she felt quote stripped naked herself inexplicably inexplicably ex shamed like Adam and Eve end quote I'm not sure how kids would feel if they saw this in again and I know parents were able to choose and decide what books they're allowed to read but I do feel that this crosses a line on page 113 another naked female what appears to be a calendar on page 160 the narrator goes to visit a family friend's house there's a painting of the wife in the picture she's naked laying on her back completely naked with her breast and vagina showing and later in the story references how that couple asked her parents to have an orgy father giving a 17-year-old beer on page 161 and taking him for a ride when he returns home home the other brother sees who gets dropped off and then the brother calls the police for some reason 171 demonstrates how to use a chair to get an orgasm when she's sitting down page 175 explains her father's legal troubles she thought it was just for giving a beer to a mind and then explains her theory that it was more serious than that she writes quote his legal entanglement seemed like a technicality to me but I didn't know that Furnishing a mle beverage to a minor was the least of his troubles then goes on to say the real ACC quote the real accusation dare not speak its name end quote quote I can only speculate on the exact relations of the brothers in the next Valley then on page 180 referencing the father's hearing she explains to the judge ruled how the judge ruled quickly uh on the other charge but then writes a whiff of the sexual Aroma is the true offense that could be detected in the sentence that's from the author's words page 190 the author writes I was moved by my own open-minded tolerance I was by arresting display of cosmeti masculinity the next picture shows a bulge in a man's pants page 207 which we see up here page 214 which we see up here as a board we've been receiving a lot of emails regarding this book one side of the argument States very clearly that book Banning is wrong in all shapes and sizes and that is a very true statement throughout history 100% I agree with that the other this side of the argument also states that parents canot their children out of any book they don't want them to read the other side of the argument regarding this book clearly states the reason for its removal very inappropriate sexual images as you guys can see over there full stop no other reason we're not targeting any Community despite being accused of that this book is very very well written and the author does a great job of capturing her childhood and the struggles she went through with her identity growing up I commend her for overcoming all of her struggles and and the issues with her father I would bet that young adults who struggle with similar circumstances can relate to this book however the true tragedy of this comic is the fact that the author felt the need to include inappropriate sexual images which in my opinion wasn't necessary in telling her story which was a very good story my support for removing this book from the Brookfield Library is solely based on the inappropriate sex images and nothing else and last but not least we received an email today stating that we shouldn't even be giving this any airtime and that any challenge book should be allowed in the library that same email also went on to say that those who opposed the book are quote politically motivated and are manufacturing outrage then went on to ask why we are giving a platform to quote people with a clearly bigoted agenda I don't know why we have to attack each other with this particular topic I really don't get that part but I just want to reiterate one more time the only reason I feel this book should be removed from the library is due to the inappropriate sexual references as well as the inappropriate SL possibly illegal relationships of father have with high school boys that same em email went out to say that we are members of a board and not professionally trained Educators we are elected board we are excuse me an elected Board of the citizen volunteers I've been educated for 23 years I'm currently an assistant principal of a campus in a high school in the Bronx I hope that qualifies me as a trained professional as well as a member of the board and I'm just curious if the play that everyone is raving about display these particular scenes as well that's all I have to say about the book thank you thanks Sarah I'm just going to address a couple of items that I have here in the interest of everyone's time first of all I want to say I appreciate everyone um residents and parents who have reached out to us and who have come here today I draw a preface this with saying I hope to see this turnout at every one of our Board of meetings going forward um and all of your opinions are your opinions and they're all valid because that's what they what you feel and of course we are here to make a decision based on what's in the best interest of our students um I appreciate those parents who have opened line of communication with their children and have an a healthy appropriate conversation with them about anything I expect that this book um and whether it belongs in the library is one of those conversations Kudos I need to be the voice of the children whose parents are less involved the students who will be less likely to ask questions about this book or anything else about which they are curious and a second thing if in fact this does remain I would love to address the policies and how they interact with the other policies where there might be overlap that need to be reconsidered I'll pass for now but I'm going to go last actually I think I got you on that I will gladly go for the record 50 people are not making this decision seven are and you'll never see something like this on a ballot because we live in a representative democracy and so that is how you vote Why by us voting I put thec these book challenges are born of a radically conservative political agenda that uses fear and conspiracies to accomplish their goals I know this because after the last book challenge I learned of a highly hypocritical especially as of late group that has published a step-by-step guide instructing followers which books to protest how to most effectively inundate your local Boards of Education with review work how to look for ways to attack their reputation and also to provide resources to make it sound like you've actually read the book you should want banned they tell their followers what to post to their social media accounts and how often so that their following grows organically they tell followers to make sure to say they're not book banners that they are in fact against book Banning that they're not anti-lgbtq that this is not about politics it's about age appropriateness and parental rights sound familiar I did hear tonight some truly well-meaning parents and I don't think all of them have even heard of this group but have been unknowingly affected by it still I also know there is a faction of our town that Wishes the lgbtq community didn't even exist they don't understand it or it confuses or repulses them some would rather remove all reminders of it entirely those are people who applaud and monetarily reward students who vandalize and call them Heroes it wasn't out of hate I recently heard a student say but I also heard this student say I was confused I was angry I didn't understand how incredibly sad I thought that this student who would soon be out of our schools and supposedly a fully functioning independent member of society was mature enough to know there was something not understood it wasn't hate but couldn't articulate what it was it wasn't hate but something needed to be gone worst of all this student would likely never be given the opportunity to have a genuine conversation that might lead to some clarity or acceptance without that conversation being painted as something disgusting and perverse Instead This student is STO is told directly or indirectly to stay confused don't seek answers don't become educated just remove the things in your world that you don't understand so that you can pretend those people don't exist talk about grooming this is pertinent to tonight's agenda the fear-mongering the radical agenda the undereducated blitz of legal terminology misusage and the assault on our policy language and a desperate attempt to control the worldview of our students is what is so wrong here and I will not only call it out but fight it as much as I possibly can our policy on reviewing books is clear we as a board will not review excerpts or parts of books but the work in its entirety after reading this book in its entirety there is absolutely no way anyone can say this book is about sex or pornography that alone is enough of an argument for me but I want to address other points first our librarian professionals are just that professionals I find it absurd that their credentials their expertise and even their reputations and motives for working with youth is constantly questions and flat out lied about parents have always had the choice to restrict access to school library books absolutely nothing was accomplished with the last book challenge but like the last book challenge I did inquire about how many parents restricted access to fun home thinking again that surely that was the very least parents who felt so strongly about it could do but again not a single High School parent put a single restriction on a single book perhaps perhaps they felt it was a pointless effort since as we've heard students with access can show other students without access so I inquired about that too thinking surely there must be a problem at the high school for so many parents to be enraged about this book but no not a single complaint was ever made about a student being shown anything disturbing or inappropriate from this or any library book for that matter so what is the problem here where is the harassment W is there any problem here that isn't manufactured just for a second I want all parents here tonight to think and just to themselves be honest within your own head does your child have a personal device and do you really monitor or restrict what your child reads and shares on social media or through text if your answer was anything less than a resounding no to the first question or yes to the second question then the hypocrisy can stop right here here because the honest fact of the matter is that on the whole parents are not actually concerned with the age appropriateness or sexual nature of material their child has full unencumbered access to because if they did then I wouldn't see every high schooler out there glued to their screens I wouldn't see a man proudly describing grabbing women by their genitals elected president of the United States and instead I would see parents firing emails at us demanding to ban the phones that force that kind of content into their faces and not the books sitting on shelves in a library there is no harassment here and this isn't even an issue with the content of the book because if it was everyone here tonight would have to come face to face with their own hypocrisy I thought it was sad that at least one student in our community clearly did not understand something about trans people and was then praised for removing a reminder that trans people even exist was called a hear for giving the community more days where they didn't have to deal with them forget about equity for a moment we in Brookfield still apparently need to work on just accepting that trans people exist or that gay people do in fact exist and as a difficult fact as that may be for some removing reminders will not change that books provide that conversation and provocation of dialogue for readers within themselves and a window into a world they may not understand but seek to to find parallels of their own life amongst obvious contrast perhaps that is what's most feared by parents their child understanding or wanting to understand something that they themselves don't worse still that their child wouldn't have a problem with it books like fun home should be in our schools for the students who can't articulate what they don't understand but clearly have strong feelings about maybe a student like that could become an adult who's learned learned that just because they don't understand something doesn't mean it's deviant and doesn't mean it needs removal that is not heroic or even a challenge to stay undereducated I support the retention of this book for the simple ever so basic fact that stories like this exist and deserve to be heard thank you [Applause] so ready good evening we have in front of us a library committee report from our library reconsideration committee that is made up of Highly Educated qualified individuals who made the decision that the book fun home would remain in the BHS Library it was not an arbit arbitrary decision made lightly or without discussion I would like to read the summary of their actions over the course of multiple meetings and the thoughts that went into their professional assessment and ultimate decision quote after discussing the submitted reconsideration forms reviews reading the book in its entirety examining alignment to established selection criteria and the Brookfield Boe policies regulations and addendums the library book reconsideration committee recommends that no action be taken regarding the status of the library book FunDome a family tragic comic we heard Mr blenda speak to that exact policy uh to that exact uh ruling decision I affirm that decision it is our duty and obligation to provide a variety of books in our school libraries in order to support all students at all reading levels we need to recognize that there are students who read graphic novels for a variety of reasons including English language Learners and those that struggle to read a novel cover to cover in fact here is what the Scholastic website says quote with graphic novels you'll not only engage your reluctant readers and help build important reading skills but you'll provide Advanced readers with a wonderful opportunity to think critically about a new form of Storytelling one that combines the most important elements of traditional novels picture books poetry and even film in a new captivating way end quote it is unfair to take these important stories away from our kids because we are uncomfortable with how they may relate to the story we need to protect students access to books that they may see themselves in or that may ask important questions our children are watching us and the removal of this book from our library is essentially telling an entire group of people who are already marginalized that they do not matter that they don't have a place here despite what some people have said this is an attack on lgbtq plus themes hidden under the guise of claims that it is inappropriate due to subject matter by focusing on a few images in the book funhome that do not qualify as pornography or sexual harassment under the legal definition you are also missing the greater more important points of the story I'm going to come back to that in a minute but I first want to speak to the leg legal definition of pornography which is material that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement if you have read read the book and you keep context in mind you will find that none of the scenes come with sexually explicit language with an intent to arouse this book was not written for shock value next I want to speak to the claim of keeping this book in the BHS Library being akin to sexual harassment the legal definition is forcing someone to view insulting and sexually offensive images this is not an assigned book and this is not required reading and in fact as it's been pointed out no student prior to this school year had checked out the book since 2010 the library reconsideration committee determined that quote This Is A Memoir of a specific life experience told artfully the author's life experiences are still relevant to today's young adults and their representation provides a unique perspective end quote I've said it before and you will hear me say it again if you do not want your child to have access to this book you simply opt out but But ultimately you do not have the right to restrict access to materials or tell another parent what their child can and cannot read okay all of that being said let me go back to my earlier point about the diverse themes in this book others have made this point as well fun home is actually valuable in unexpected ways based on the author's journey of self-discovery unrelated to their sexuality this book is about complicated parental relationships divorce navigating a parent's death discovering who you are and where you fit in in the world and not actually being able to have those conversations with your parent who's gone it's about a young woman from a small town whose world is increasingly becoming wider and more varied I wonder how many of our students might find that theme relatable it's about mental health and anxiety disorders and in speaking to Jeremy's point and experience reading this book regarding his OCD and autism Journey how many students may find themselves relating to that experience the author shows surprising reverence for old movies and writers and literature that could inspire a young reader some have called for a policy change well to Echo Debbie Brooks if we start censoring what our school librarians choose we pave the way for censoring any type of Library material what about books on Christianity that go against someone's fundamental atheist beliefs or Harry Potter which could be deemed as witchcraft will we start asking to remove James Baldwin because he writes about abuse or Judy Bloom because she writes about ministration that brings me to the school policy and the addendum that was approved in February of 2022 that says residents shall not have the right to determine Library materials for students other than their own parents or Guardians have the right to guide the reading viewing and listening of their children but must give the same right to other parents and Guardians thank [Applause] you I'm gonna speak up at the podium okay everybody hear me okay good so I'm not going to stand up here and lecture parents in this room I I actually didn't plan on sign that but that just came about and I'm not going to belittle some of you in this room as well I want us to take a moment to be reflective I would like to start off with a quote by Abraham Lincoln we can complain because rose bushes have thorns or we can Rejoice because Thorn bushes have roses so I'll read that again we can complain because rose bushes have thorns or we can Rejoice because Thorn bushes have roses so we can complain or be mad that parents or the community are challenging a book or we can rejoice and be appreciative that parents care about what their children are reading or what have they have access to and what we're putting in their hands so I'm just going to stick to the facts I'm not going to spill out my opinion on all of you I'm going to stick to the facts according to cab that's our governing body for the Board of Ed in our code of ethics it states the following I will as an agent of the state uphold and enforce all laws rules regulations and court orders so by retaining the book fun home you would be promoting crime and sexual violence against children the father is a high school English teacher who sleeps with his male students and supplies them with alcohol this book celebrates and promotes criminal behavior in the following statutes these are facts I'm not making this up these are the felonies he is committing and the Brookfield PD can can can um verify this Connecticut General statute 53a d71 Class B or class C felony sexual assault in the second degree a person is guilty of sexual assault in the second degree when they engage in sexual intercourse with another person the actor is a School employee and such other person is a student enrolled in the same school Connecticut General statute 53 a-70 class a felony sexual assault in the first degree a person is guilty in the first degree when that person engages engages in sexual intercourse with another person and that person is under 13 years of age that actor or character or teacher or father is more than two years older Connecticut General statute 53a 83b class B felony commercial sexual abuse of a minor such person in exchanges anything of value with a minor as compensation for a minor having engaged in sexual conduct with such person grooming him and giving him a beer Connecticut General statute 53-21 risk of injury of a minor has contact with the intimate parts of a child under the age of 16 or subjects the child to content with the intimate parts of such person in sexual and decent manner likely to impair the health or morals of such child several times supplying the alcohol to a minor Connecticut General statute 53 a-70 C aggravated sexual assault of a minor if the actor has violated risk of injury to a minor and her sexual ass and the victim of such offenses under 13 and there was more than one victim of such offense under 13 years years of age is this a message we want to send our students that grooming is okay that the impact of victims is not important or considered the book is glorifying the time when the victim actually apologizes to the father after the court case the author does not condemn or focus on the sexual abuse perpetrated by the father this adult male teacher was giving his student alcohol in exchange for sex or he was groomed him either way the judge paid no attention to the charges and made the victim apologize when the young boy was a victim of sexual assault it glorifies him molesting children essentially if reading between the lines and making inferences it places blame on the victim in addition to the written explanations of the crimes against the children he is committing there are pictures and images that also show what he's doing and that's glorifying child molestation nobody in the pictures are legally able to consent to have sex with an adult and specifically with an adult in a position of power or authority if this book was made into a movie according to the Motions pictures Association it would be given an R rating if it has explicit sex or rape scenes also according to the Motions pictures Association any front full frontal nudity will get an R rating or nc17 rating according to cab our governing body R-rated movies must not contain nudity or explicit sex so if used parents must be notified of its nature and possible offensive content content and must be given for their child permission must be given for their child if under the age of 18 to view it so with this clear-cut factual information funhome would be rated R based on the criteria just listed so then according to our policies we cannot show it unless unless we have parent permission why would we not hold the same standard for the book we cannot make it accessible without parent consent so any board member who votes yes to retain fun home will be voting to expose minors to an equivalent of an R-rated movie if these images are not offensive or pornographic then will a student be permitted to draw these exact images and wear them on their clothes or put them on the front of their notebooks or how about orally descri desing these sexual details to their peers in school what you can see up there students in our school have been disciplined for wearing alcoholic images on their clothing have been disciplined for dressing like a girl on Halloween and having them remove their breasts because they were told it was offensive and inappropriate but yet it's not access it's not acceptable to deem these images in fun home inappropriate so I'll answer that for you the answer is yes according to our policies our students would get in trouble if they drew these images share them or Worse wore these images according to our board policies they would get in trouble so then why is it okay to put it in their hands in the form of a book our children are minors it's our job to provide a safe and secure environment I have concerns over lawsuits that sent our around promoting and providing pornography child assault and sexual assault that should be at the Forefront of our discussion concerns that we will be held liable if this gets into the hands of a troubled child who's being abused themselves but yet is reading this book and dismisses and excuses the inappropriate adult we have to have standards why is it not okay to to determine if something is unacceptable to put in the hands of our students they come to school to learn why should we be encouraging sexuality in an already sexual driven Society according to cab our Board of Ed governing body the primary purpose of a board of ed is to ensure high achievement for all students I want to be really clear because almost every email that came in the title was book Banning book Banning don't ban this book don't ban this book please don't speak for me this is not an attack on a community and it it's a really grave concern regarding that my concern is the sexually graphic images and content um I don't appreciate being called a book Banner by by a fellow board member being called a bigot by someone's husband in this room that's not fair we had a speaker come in from the library that the library funded as well as the bef to preach kindness but I'm being called names by a fellow board member and someone's husband on social media I never said anything negative about any of you but yet I'm called a book Banner don't vote for her she's a book Banner that's really kind Joy please bring it back to the the issue on the agenda sure thank you well there were some other things that were not on the agenda but bringing up things that happen in the restrooms so a ban is a complete removal of a book that's no longer accessible that's the definition of a ban this book can be accessed at Barnes & nobl and other bookstores the public library Amazon in Barnes & Noble they actually have a section called banned books like that's pretty contradictory because they're there to buy so if they're banned then why are they there or is the intent to push an agenda for those that disagree with what I just stated did then what do you call the removal of C Clifford's Halloween and the several Dr Seuss books that were taken out of the library maybe I should make a motion to bring those books back into circulations that's okay for Publishers to remove words from books or stories and remove several of these Dr Seuss books but when we question the appropriateness of a book it's considered book Banning so I leave you with this who you know who gets to choose what's appropriate or not that's I recognize that that's the difficult conversation but where's the line just answer me this or think about this then what would be considered inappropriate would you support a gra graphic rape novel so children who are raped can feel heard um obviously you know where I stand um I think that and I you know mentioned that to mark that I think think that the committee um I think that speaks volume the one person that voted against and I think that um I'm not in favor of keeping the book fun home in our school [Applause] library okay um we've really gone um 360 on this issue I want to um point out a few things so there's no confusion um C is an association that supports Boards of Ed it's not our governing body we are governed by the state say um and um I just uh I wanted to um bring up two more things pertinent to your uh comments before I forget um I think that it's for people who have read fun home um I think it's pretty easy to see that in a memoir you know especially when gosh when we think about how we make sense of our own lives as adults and we go back and we think like this is how I understood something when I was seven this is how I understood something when I was 11 or 14 as you become more aware and as you find out more truths about what was happening when you were a little kid um you you look you unpack your life a little differently and so um and appropriately so so I think I I really read sections of the book differently about the glorification of the very troubled dad like he's his behavior was very yucky I think everyone can agree on that and I think that's part of the point is that she's sked out by that as she um grows into a more fully sensient adult um and that that's that's Pro part of the Crux is like how do we wrestle with our own demons CU we all have them um sometimes they're foed Upon Us by family whatever but so there's uh so those are the two things that I wanted to say and then oh also um you were talking about like um who makes the decisions like how how are we keeping like TR what I might consider truly offensive like we would all agree stuff that we don't want in the library and thank goodness we have as Hala pointed out and uh Stephanie referenced as well skilled professional Librarians who I mean and and the administrators who hire them um it's not easy to get a job as a school librarian you have to be really really good and brookfield's fortunate to have excellent Librarians and um I hope that they um Can can withstand the buffeting and and stay in their roles uh because they are curating a a really fabulous collection um thanks again to everybody here who had the courage and made made the time to come out here especially because the meeting went long and thanks to we're we're largely a new board and you guys showed a lot of preparation and courage um Robert you took us to the mat you know with you went you went to the the tough places and um and you brought it to National politics you talked about um a whole range of um issues with what makes this book review situation um so uh such a touch point for communities and we're not alone you guys know this is happening in lots of places um for me the bottom line goes to uh what holla started with and and Stephanie referenced and other people have referenced it to um we're here as a board we we're just residents like you guys we only have power when we work together um we're here to enforce policies and um the the policy make this vote very easy for me um policy 6563 and the addendum to the policy that parents who are aware of this book and for whatever whatever good reason you don't want your kid to read it you can opt out and we have gotten some letters from um parents uh who have asked that that their children not um have access to this book and we've passed that along to the Librarians so if if that's where you stand please let you don't need to write to us you can just write to um The Librarian or to Mr Blanda and and it'll be taken care of so I support keeping fun home um so for those of you doing the math at home I think it's you know you know which way we're going to go but we're going to do the um we're going to go ahead and and make the motion um would anybody guys has a quick question please I'm sorry for not being so prepared I should have known this one um what's the policy on inappropriate images though you referenced the policy for the sticking to was there no policy for inappropriate imagery in schools and by the way I only included two printouts I ran out of time few other wanted to uh if you're printing those at work no comment exactly well because it's all about context context it's all it's all about context and when you um so hold on um I think it's in in in the selection criteria it's a the appropriateness and it's it's it's about Conta about theti it's part of the criteria in the right but I'm asking specifically about an image though I don't think there's one policy there's no policy about an image multiple images I'm sorry it could be um in different policies all over I mean I we'd have to look into where it could be located I don't think there's not one policy that just talks about images right no I understand that part but there's got to be something that restricts even certain magazines from getting in a library right well that's that's the that's Li discretion you know okay I mean to follow the criteria that's in the regul for the librarian I thought you were talking about images in general I am told both really okay so there's the criteria in the regulation I understand that part so that and then what I was saying about images is we we could scour our policies to see see where imagery comes up gotcha there isn't one policy that just says imagery but we do have a technology policy you know so if and Technology applies to internet and computer resources and then there's other policies that have other pieces on imagery and that kind of thing right so if they Googled an image such as what you have there so if they Googled phun home they would get in trouble for Googling funel I I would imagine um images yeah I mean that's against the technology policy yeah no because will come up if they clicked on the image search well then then I mean I'm curious at that I think we may be getting into hypotheticals on a particular situation but I can tell you how um right I'm just I I just I find it hard to believe that anyone can accept those as appropriate pictures or regardless of what the context of the book is I mean she's a very very good writer I'm just curious where you guys stand are you guys okay with the pictures though I'm just trouble that the Comm the committee's emphasis right not regarding it's not nothing brought up about theual images like it was only brought up as a whole like the context we don't because we don't review books based on parts of that if you pick out parts of a lot of different books there might be crimes that are described in books I mean that kind of no you spot on about that so there was any argument over like there were atrocious things happening in this book I don't I don't know that you can prosecute any of the characters but what is very clear is that we don't when we look at a book to review it like we are now we're supposed to abide by reading the book in its entire so when you are looking at parts of it how do those parts as horrible or graphic as you want to consider them what do they do to the whole work so in the cont needed to be in the book I think there's an important point to make that I I think I was trying to stress and maybe um it was maybe I didn't make the point well enough there are passages written with words that are incredibly graphic and if we were to take out those particular passages from great works of literature you don't mean graph there's no graphic passages here in words no exactly and so what what happens with people who are graphic novelists is that they're relying on images and sometimes uh you you can't look away from it I think that's what we but there are passages that may be much more graphic in um in literature that we read and so if we were to take those individual passages and say oh we we can't this is inappropriate for our students because of these passages oh we're we're going down a very very dangerous road right and I understand that and I also understand what a graphic novel is I thank you for that um my question is is were these images necessary for her to tell her story number one number two do you feel these images are inappropriate Rosie you said we take the whole book including context right every single part of the book these images right as a whole and these pictures are a part of that book as a whole I would just throw yeah so so that's why I'm throwing yes like if you're talking about um having these images on a t-shirt let's say there's absolutely no context there mhm you're not nobody's telling a novel by wearing a t-shirt with some with some graphics on it well maybe they are Ian that's actually how would you that's not true how do you know you're assuming um in fact in fact you probably could ask the person what context the t-shirt is we're getting away from um my main point was is and really the question for the board is you feel these pictures are appropriate in the book as a whole yes well actually that sounds like the question for you and your wife to vote for me and my wife yeah that's some because you'll be making decisions for your children and what you want them to see or not and that's the question that you guys should be having at the kitchen table so I can't inquire from the board that I'm just I was just curious where you guys I think it's time to call for the vote I think we're getting off the main point which is it we we this particular argument all day is the main point though but what we're talking about the main point correct we are talking about work right and we're talking about a work of literature and you have an issue with the images and we do not and so we can continue to ask and confront or we can just take a vote because we understand where we all stand at this point okay I'm sorry for asking the question no one said you should be sorry for asking the question I think it's valid I just think we're you're just ready to move on you kind of you kind I didn't say ready to move on respectfully a question we should answer we have answered you asked what we do we think these images are appropriate in the context of this book because it is a vetted work of literature introduced by our Librarians uh who are educated professionals who have who decide what is in our library and we understand that this policy of the Librarians choosing work is also in question and that is going to be addressed as well in future meetings right today we talked about whether this book should be looked at whether this book should whether the book appeal that has been brought forward to us should be upheld and the library should keep the book or if we are going to overturn what the library reconsideration committee decided and I think that I'm I'm not saying what you have to say is not valid I'm seeing we all made our points and there's not really we're not going to agree whether or not we think these particular images everyone's very clear on what side they're on I think is just what I'm I was just referencing the images itself not of the book I was curious the board exactly so I have a question about the regulation so where in the regulation does it state that we have to look at the book as a whole um it's in the addendum item three on the second page I'm sorry item four item three on the first P right here materials in question shall be read viewed or listened to in their entirety yep well that that just I just I look at that as being yeah read it I viewed it and listened to it in its entirety I I don't interpret that as I evaluate the book in its entirety oh well I do no I I think that's you can't evaluate and make a make a decision without reading the entire exactly that's the point yes precisely right so but you can pick a piece of the book that you have an issue with sure right so that's what that's my question where in the regulation does it say you you can you have to evaluate and judge the book in its entirety number three it does not say that it says the materials in question shall be read viewed or listened to I read it I viewed it I listened in its entirety to about the book I mean it sounds like look I think I think it's been pretty clear um that it's we understand um I'm sorry I understand um the the particular pieces of the text that are problematic people have made it really clear it's it's not subtle like I I it's obvious and um we as a community may continue to talk about these things you know um this but the the material like when you read a book in its entirety that your evaluation is based on that typically I don't know guys I I really feel it's time to call the question um for for new board members that is a useful piece of um what's called um I'll I I will go ahead and make a motion um I move that the board deny um deny the appeal of the Brookfield child advocacy Council concerning the book fun home a family tragic comic I'll second that okay okay so um the the motion has been made to deny the appeal um that is to uphold the special committee's decision all in favor say I I I okay all opposed I I okay so with that I uh the motion passes 43 um and fun home will be uh staying in the in the DHS Library so um thank you everyone for coming tonight um without objection we adjourn at 9:02

right good evening everyone thank you uh have to call the uh Board of Education uh special meeting budget Workshop to order at 7 o' on the nose uh and if we could begin by the plge of Allegiance I pled Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice [Music] for first of all uh Mr Daniel send his regrets he does not like to miss board meetings and he rarely rarely does but he's a a business commitment out of state and uh he's communicated with Jordan certainly about his questions regarding the budget his thoughts and I'll continue to do that the one agenda item uh tonight which is a budget workshop and I'm going to turn it over to Dr grman to a super thank you Mr Shadow good evening everyone good evening to everyone that may be online and for those of you that will watch the tape so I'm excited to have a formal budget workshop with you it feels like that you've had a budget workshop at every single Board of Education meeting now for the past four meetings but if you recall this is a process that I said that we would start early and just continue on so what I'd like to do is take you through a presentation I believe each of you have the presentation for anyone that is online this is online also under budget materials and take you through a review and then take you through some questions that we had so I want to remind everyone of the vision of the cam public schools graduate to be creative thinkers communicators collaborators critical thinkers compassionate citizen that this budget is grounded in our vision of a graduate it also is grounded in the Board of Education goals relative to board goal number one student growth and achievement board goal two partnership and Community engagement board goal Three Financial Cal sustainability and efficient operations board goal four learning environment and belonging board goal five embracing equity and board goal six Workforce Development the administrative budget priorities were to number one student achievement in all areas across the district maintain class size according to the Canton Board of Education policy focus on teaching learning professional development and social emotional well-being of students and staff focus on creating an inclusive and cultural responsive learning environment provide a safe and healthy school environment propose a fiscally responsible budget that aligns with the Canton Board of Education goals so on page five if you recall new this year on December 8th I presented to you what I referred to at the time as a forecasted budget and at that time the forecasted budget was a 5.55 a net 5.55 and when we go into the operational budget that I proposed to you on February 13th I I'll remind you of where our our costs are but on December 8th I propose to you a 5.55 if you go on page number six from the time I presented to you on December 8th to me presenting to you on February 13th there were things that changed in that month and I want to remind you what I explained to you on February 13th that I had to add 98,5 to that 5.5 due to a kindergarten teacher was removed from the open choice to the general fund I had to add 97 ,000 9769 of added District tuition I had to add $5,000 to digital citizenship class I had to add $1,100 to tuition to the Farmington Valley continuation and then $38 to the K Mastery uh project for stiens so after the 5.5 I had to add another $23,000 to that number which is let's say approximately a 75% so right out of the gate from the time I met with you in December to when I proposed I had to add $233,000 So based upon some of the feedback that I received from December 13th December 88th to February 13th I knew that I needed to make some adjustments in the ministrators knew that we had to do that so everything that is in red is what I eliminated from the budget proposal that the forecast budget that I presented on December 8th to where I landed on February 13th we eliminated 1.5 K srbi Paris for 33 $30,000 benefits actually had a reduction from the forecasted I did 9% it actually our advisers told us we could go to 8% that yielded 44,000 in savings I proposed an athletic secretary that um is not in the administrative February 13th budget I uh reduce Legal Services by $10,000 workman's count by 5,000 athletic uniforms I took that from our operational proposed and moved it to our pay for play uh funding that we have an account for special education tuition we realize that there could be $155,000 savings small capital we took out 15,000 a lunchroom monitor 10,000 Mr delmastro felt that we would get some eate Savings of $5,000 we took out another 10,000 for district interior exter doors to look to see if we could get that through the security Grant equipment another 5,000 eate another for our Network switches 9,600 um to slow down the process of us going to a web based infinite Visions which is our software for business operations to just remain the same that was a cut a 17,500 interactive Tech equipment I have Mr deastro applying for a grant right now for $110,000 for uh equipment that we anticipate that we'll receive some athletic equipment related to chairs that will take that from pay for play adjustment to the open Choice based on enrollment we had in the the forecasted budget 925 25,000 we actually feel that it would we're going to receive 950,000 for open Choice and then uh this is our gym chairs that I refer to that that's 3500 so the 1,00 with some other Outlet equipment so I cut from the proposed forecast of budget that I presented you to you $342,000 which is roughly a percent in our budget so if you you net the $342,000 and the $23,000 that I had to add in it Nets out to $139,000 everybody understand where that came from okay so if you go to page 13 this is what I really want to remind the board before I in the community before I go into the the questions that were asked if you take last year's this year's fiscal year budget of 31 million [Music] 746,000 that's where you start from and if you take our salaries certified in non salaries we know with our bargaining groups what we have we already know that that's going to be $992,000 which is 3.13% increase we know our transportation and fuel is going up 06 we know that our health and benefits at an 8% is going up 436,000 which is 1.37 we know liability and insurance is going up 12,000 point4 we have some cost savings on our oil natural gas and electricity based upon some contracts that we entered in and we know that contracted Services is going up 46 so just add of the gate just to roll over the budget from this year to next year is a 5% increase just in those line items when you add special education netting out the excess cost and we netted out the excess cost at 70% even though as we know it should be 88% in the governor's budget but as everything that's going on with excess costs right now in the state we know that um we should go lower than what's anticipated so that is a 4.85 so if you just take the fixed cost of that in special Leed right out of the gate I'm at 9.85 5% increase then if you add in dues and fees supplies maintenance and upkeep facilities furniture and Equipment educational technology tech services small Capital items um that's another 2.47 if you add the 9.85 and the 2.47 that is a 12.32 budget increase right there then what we're able to do as you know we're we're able to take out the net of the $950,000 in open Choice which is a reduction of 2.99% and anticipated revenue from special education from the city of Harford for our children from Harford that we we get reimbursed for their special education cost that is another 2.68 850,000 so if you take that that is [Music] 5.67 and then that gets us another thing that the the in the governor's budget there's an additional $398,000 that is coming to the town for Education cost share which is over and above what we receiv received this year that Nets out 1.26 so that gets me to a budget of 33,45 7875 which is a net of 5.39 I also want to remind the the board in the community that I'm also carrying over just like we've been reporting to the board of Finance each month I'm also carrying over the shortfall by the prior administration of approximately a million dollar shortfall in special education services and um non-certified uh support staff so tuition and that so as you know we're writing a shortfall for um this year that we've been reporting to the board of Finance if I didn't have to put that in that that shortfall that this budget would actually be uh under three relative to the net so what I'd like to do right now is really just talk to you about the highlights to this budget and maintain the camp board of education class SES guidelines the core instructional and student intervention programs are maintained we have campus monitor positions for both Cherrybrook primary school and can Intermediate School and extended campus supervision at middle school and can high school our teacher Residency program to increase the diversification of the teaching staff a department chair for English at K Middle School in the high school math and English language arts instructional coaches for both ch CH Brook primary school and Canon Intermediate School and new course offering at the high school economics Early Childhood so I'd like to do starting on page nine is you you sent me a lot of questions and I thank you for sending me those questions I'd like to go through them and I also received some questions from community members so I embedded them in in the the presentation too I did not differentiate between board questions and Community questions because I actually felt the community questions were very good and deserving of me bringing them to the board so the first one when should we expect final numbers on insurance cost are the numbers in the budget final ones we received an update from our third party administrator two weeks ago and the 8% increase in benefits continues to be the number they suggested to use we will continue to work with them over the next few months to determine if we could get a cost savings there or just to be honest that could increase also so depending upon because we're self-funded CMS on page 10 CMS enrollment is down 10 students 7.5% for the next two years before starting to climb again the numbers are actually down 62 students from a decade ago how has this decline in enrollment affected Staffing for next year and over the past decade class sizes within the middle school have ranged from an average of 24 at the school's High Point and 20 16117 year to a projected average of 19 Staffing overall has been maintained from that High Point given the school strong focus on the teaming model and I'll add in the experientials that we're offering for middle school students also while staffing has remained relatively flat the board did approve for this fiscal year the addition of a math interventionist and instructional support coach to support learning at both the middle school and the high school question 11 or or page 11 excuse me are there any areas where it might be possible to phas and costs over two years in technology and equipment and Personnel so I want to really explain this one so new this year was a forecasted budget if you remember which began in September 23 from then to the present time a series of meetings were held both individually and collectively with administrators and businessman manager to look at the year's initial priorities planning and challenges challenges administrators were asked to prepare their budget forecast recommendation and priority for the upcoming budget cycle as well as exterior years through 20129 so if you remember I forecasted out for supplies materials Staffing for 5 years from now so we had that 5year plan so we actually did do the the phase in O over 5 years the phase in in terms of such technology equipment and personnel as already taking place is an accounted and is accounted for of course unfunded items may come up in in those years and those will be addressed in the proper budgetary cycle cycle as applicable the forecast of budget cycle is as transparent one with administrators talking openly about their school needs for the upcoming year and for the next 5 years as presented in the forecast budget memo on December 12 page 12 Ken High School textbooks are up $16,000 from last year where are we in the textbook presentation in the approval process the appearance of a $116,000 increase in textbook cost is due to the fact that the text resources from previous years were moved to open Choice funds moving the textbooks back to the operating budget creates the appearance of a large increase yet maintains a flat net overall so open open Choice had our textbooks in the budget we I move that back to our operational budget text requests from the middle and high school are anticipated to be made available to the curriculum committee in March 13 this was a new one for me that we had to uh uncover during the the budget process CMS math lab and CMS language lab tutors don't seem to appear in the 23 budget and do appear in the proposed budget for next year can you explain it's as simple as the tutor positions were not presented in the 2324 proposed budget they were not in there when the the previous administration proposed the the budget but we didn't cut those positions so they were not funded so I'm making up for that in this year's budget but we needed to account for that next year the math tutor has been maintain maintain while Staffing the ELA position remains vacant 14 under open Choice funding technology replacement District funding for all smart boards for this year's 5-year replacement cycle are the majority of teachers using the smart boards regularly it was my understanding they weren't being used as much anymore and were potentially being phased out please inform me we will most of the smartboards at the Intermediate School are being phased out and replaced by interactive laser projectors however Cher Brook Primary School continues to utilize smartboards daily up to three or four times a day the misunderstanding may arise from the replacement of old style smartboards with full LS LCD interactive Smartboard panels offering significantly improved resolution and performance teachers appreciate how these boards bring lesson plans to light with their enhanced interactivity 15 in the light of recent Connecticut budget challenges what adjustments are being made to ensure that essential programs and services are not compromised in response to the recent release of the governor's budget the Administration has accounted for these adjustments being made to safeguard essential programs and services from compromise we are F we are focused on optimizing existing resources implementing taret targeted spending and continue to explore revenue generated opportunities initially there's an emphasis on improving efficiency and streamlining operation operations within various departments to maximize the impact of available funds 16 page 16 what strategies do we plan to utilize to address potential funding gaps or shortfalls in the education budget great question we are proactively developing strategies to address potential funding gaps or shortfalls in the education budget firstly focusing on optimizing resource allocation identifying areas for cost savings without compromising the quality of Education this may involve consolidating services or implementing energy saving measures additionally exploring alternative Revenue sources such as grants and Partnerships with local businesses we continue to have an open dial with stakeholders including the Board of Education parents and Guardians staff in the community to gather input and Foster support for creating solutions by taking a collaborative and proactive approach we aim to navigate any funding challenges while safeguarding the quality of education for our students 17 can you provide an update on any grants or additional funding sources that the district is pursuing to supplement the education budget Grant revenues are obtained by both state and federal government grant funds enable the district to better support students by enhancing current programs Grant funds may not supplant local funding so I've listed out this was in your budget book I listed out all the grants that we have ranging from Title One title two title three title four right to read adult education Ida Commissioners Network Grant open choice and sr3 funds which I'll explain in a minute for the community so we're we're utilizing the the grants that are out there for us and if more come we will certainly apply for them page 18 how do we plan to measure the effectiveness of spending within this budget and what metrics are being used to evaluate the impact on student on student outcomes as shared in the proposed budget book the accountability index as developed by the State Department of Education will serve as the key metric for return on investment individual initiatives or programs may have alternative metc metrics used to articulate a return on investment and will be developed accordingly additionally this is the key additionally District administration continues to monitor its School continuous Improvement plans these plans allow continuous involvement and valuation of student achievement continuous Improvement plans are reviewed by each school in the fall it will be reviewed again in the spring these plans are available on the district website at ww schools under school information 19 for the English chair are you hiring are you hiring additional staff the district attends to post for a 1.0 FTE 7-2 English department chair requiring an administrative endorsement the district attends to complete a comprehensive search to identify the next departmental leader the comprehensive search will be first open to internal applicants who may be interested should to be be no interest qualified applicants internally this position will be advertised externally and that's according to our contract page 20 can you please explain the enrollment projections for the district so I'll start at 2425 you could see that from 23 to 24 we're actually going down from 1483 to 1475 and just remind the board in the community that we did do two um studies on our enrollment with the Peter Proud study and the nezda study so we have two studies and we did one last year two last year and two this year I want to remind you that we start growing at our prek through three next year and you could see in 2526 we go 474 483 480 487 that's the highest that Cherry Brook has been since the 2013 2014 school year and as we know we don't fit now at Cher Brook Primary School I've had community members ask me well why don't we fit and how why do how do we fit in 2013 and why don't we fit now education looks a lot different than it does than it did 10 years ago we have more preschool we have um more special education programs Within building we have more tutoring and intervention supports within our building and as we uh have mentioned and as some of you have seen in the walkth through our tutoring and interventions are out in the hallway now kids that are receiving services are in small little office spaces so you may say well our numbers look like that they're actually going down and where we're actually going down is the Middle School level so another question that I've been asked well have we looked at just moving our grade reconfiguration and moving our third grade to CIS and then our sixth grade up to the Middle School the board many years ago did study that and it's really just kicking the can down the road the the sixth grade would not even fit here at the the Middle School based upon that the the our current programming and the programming that we would want for our our sixth grade so that's why we are proposing modules uh W within this um conversation if you go to page 21 can you please explain the class siiz projection for the district we are not increasing any sections amount for for next year we're utilizing the same sections that we have this year as 54 in the same amount of 54 next year these class sizes are within our our guidelines I've been asked well what would happen if you removed a kindergarten section for example from six sections to five sections my simple answer is that's a lot of five and six year olds in in a a classroom um and I would not recommend that and then if we did do that that would make our class size guidelines be against the what the board is recommending and that's the same for all the great levels if we reduce a section class size would go up and and the board would have to relook at their uh class size guidelines page 22 what are the pay for play funds used for currently there's $69,000 in in the paper play that's why I'm offsetting um some of the things with the uniforms and the um the chairs and some other equipment Canton collects payto playay fees for students in grades 9 through 12 12 these fees are used to directly offset expenses related to Athletics current fees are $100 per student with the exception of football and hockey which is 225 page 23 what new educational programs are being developed for next year's curriculum at CIS CMS and CHS CHS adding personal finance per state requirement adding economics expanding dual enrollment in ECE opportunities CMS continued evaluation of the CMS schedule and partnership with the Commissioners Network to ensure flexible scheduling to provide opportunities for student support and enrichment CIS continued revision and expansion and math tutorial and enrichment programs continued evaluation of social studies program evaluating prospective Ela programmatic implications due to projected cbps reading adop uh program adoption 2 for what consists of Transportation fuel line item 148,000 this figure is based on the anticipated 2.5% increase in fuel prices in the actual expenditure from fiscal year 2023 we have a a vendor dime oil LLC is our main vendor for transportation fuel there is a small portion budgeted to this line to reimbursement to the town of camp for the Border ofed truck and ban usage of the town fuel pumps 25 please provide examples of purchase Services as shown in the budget py graph so these are all examples within instruction Administration special education maintenance and athletic relative to Services um we have nursing Services outside instruction Consulting and Therapy Services Pest Control uh elevator maintenance Sports official scorekeeper timers those are all examples of purchase Services then what I'd like to do is just quickly go through some of the um previous questions that you asked at at previous meetings so the first one is what impact does the Thrive program have on the proposed budget for 2425 is the program fully funded have any extra savings been realized the impact of programs such as drive and the learning lab are that they enable Canton schools to provide a least restrictive environment for students with unique needs Thrive is keeping High need students in District which is decreasing the need to seek out placements the program has already saved hundreds of thousands of dollars based upon the current and projected students the Thrive program is appro appropriately funded savings so far this year is 108,000 PPS anticipates an additional savings of 70,000 for the 2425 school year since we did that in um in December if you remember the monthly financials that I presented we have more savings we have approximately $130,000 more uh that we brought uh students back are there any new funded unfunded uh State mandates for next year that impact the budget yes just a reminder that an act on the implementation of the reading models and programs that is an unfunded mandate that could cost us in in the 25 26 year approximately $650,000 an act concerning resources and support services for persons with um intellectual development disabilities this requires Lees to extend the IP until the end of the school year in which a student turns 22 it is anticipated that there'll be 101,000 cost additional um for providing required Services the the the public act on hbac a reminder that we have $70,000 that is mandatory to do an hbac inspection and then the the legislation regarding the menstral dignity act ensures that all menstral uh menting students regardless of gender age ability or socioeconomic sta socioeconomic economic status have an opportunity for safe dignified self-care there in the budget there's $25,000 for that what items if any that were funded by eser grants does the proposed budget include in what are the costs it is likely that some of all these uh expenses will be sunset just a reminder to the board into the community eser funds were provided to the school district for during the time of covid the running out we only have um one thing relative still from Grant funds for next year and it's a custodian in next year's budget so the following as you recall originated originated as funding through Esser continues to be in the operating budget another custodian of 05 educational software for 46,000 tutors for 69,000 summer school services for 40 Communications coordinator for 24,000 in a literacy specialist at Cher Brook all those were in Grants and they're now in our operational budget what impact has the lack of the English department chair for the past 5 years had on curriculum selection and materials The English Department position was retained by Dr Kidwell concurrent with her assistant principal ship through 2021 Department coordinator duties were held by current staff in the Years following the department supervisor respons possibility were to oversee the department meetings and facilitate Department work evaluation of Staff occurred through current administrative loads in this time there were no new courses no selection of materials the return of the English department chair will provide expanded instructional evaluated support for teachers facilitate the material selection process for the department and complete curricular reviews and Lead Department improvements just a reminder that ventilation to the ventilation to room 100 Music Room B what will this $2,000 entail this room has been a storage room for several years it is partially partially subgrade with external fresh air intake this system will be serviced to ensure proper ventilation protection from weather and the air quality tested to ensure that air quality standards are met in order for it may be used as a classroom the room will also be clean painted and prepared for use what is the timeline for us to hear from the commissioner Network Grant we'll hear sometime around May 15th if we get that gr the Panorama survey regarding the Panorama survey reduction if we were go back doing the surveys inous how will we be sure of their accuracy the Panorama survey provided Norm School climate survey questions and out survey data the district will utilize survey is created to provide Community student and staff feedback relative to the National School climate standards campus supervisor 1.0 chair Brook Primary School CIS what is the job description for this uh Position will be someone already on staff the campus supervisor position is established position at CMH cmhs the campus supervisor will provide Safety and Security support by greeting visitors visors monitoring hallways and shared spaces and working in concert with the school leadership and the director of school safety is increase in special education based on the needs of our population or is it a projected number this budget is based upon the needs of our current students we do not budget for the potential of incoming students are we legally required to incur the riseing cost of special education services yes we are legally required to pay for students special education services however the excess cost for rent does exist with the cost once it reaches the 4.5 times rate of our per people expenditure how does the budget address improving student achievement this budget directly relates to board goal number one improving student achievement how does the Bill of Rights of the the Connecticut that the Connecticut Board of Education pass potentially affecting our budget for next year as I mentioned the the state they did this last week but they actually just emailed us yesterday um an update and they anticipate giving us guidance in June or July what is the process for what is done to ensure all items in the budget are necessary or fully utilized the budget process starts in September and from then to the present time a series of meetings are both held individually and collectively with administrators to look at this year's initial priorities planning and challenges administrators were asked to prepare their budget forecast recommendations in order of priority for the upcoming budget cycle as well as exterior years through 2029 detailed conversations and itemized budget reviews have been taken place so we anticipate that everything that is budgeted will be used and the last question how would the teacher minority recruitment work the Connecticut teacher residen program operated in partnership with C is focused on diversifying the teaching staff across the state of Connecticut the program partners with school districts and grow their their own learning model for the Connecticut state certification this program works to support legislative mandate Public Act 23126 section 10 the program works in conjunction with the district to identify and support perspective candidates for participation the program then supports the candidate in professional learning courses for 14 to 18 months while the candidate Works within the district candidates participate in depending upon the program and work with a mentor teacher for one school year while receiving paying benefits C candidates are then eligible for full-time teaching position in partner District upon successful completion of the program and then the last slide just summarizes our upcoming and future meetings We Have Tonight a budget Workshop if we need a budget Workshop this Thursday there's a budget Workshop if we um the another budget Workshop is March 5th and then on March 11th we need the board of education budget is due to the board of Finance March 20th is when U Mr Daniels on behalf of the board will present to the board of Finance I would encourage everyone to be at that meeting if they can while uh we present our budget March 26 a possible Board of Education Workshop depending upon if there's Board of Finance reductions April 23rd is the annual budget hearing and um to be determined but must be on or before May 9th a budget re referendum I know that was a lot we've been talking about this budget for a few months now but I I'll take any questions um that anybody would have well I won't start but I will say thank you for your uh continued thoroughness and transparency you have been right from the beginning of the budget process uh and thank you for answering all of our questions as as thoroughly as you did makes a big difference to us all with that said uh board members questions [Applause] comments I have two little ones I think uh I'm pretty sure you said this the uh projected special education excess cost you figured that at 70% 70% 70% so it's supposed to be 88% but we're budgeting at 70% and that's the better part of $200,000 difference give or take oh I think it's more than that I think it'd be more than that and the department chair position it's a full-time job but it's it it's not a full-time addition to the staff is it it is no because we right now we um we have a part-time position within our teaching staff that we offered a one-year contract knowing that uh this was something that was important so that's why you see a $50,000 line item within the budget knowing that we already have funds within the budget so the the new money would be for the supervisory end of it not for the teaching it all it all depends how it all works out depending upon the candidate that we get okay anyone I've had a chance to think for a minute or two I know it is an awful lot but you also sent in questions which were answered so uh comments thoughts I I know we did a study for um you know projected enrollment but did that include all these different buildings this work it did it did all and and and the thoughts that people have when you put up Apartments you think that there's actually going to be kids within the apartment I asked Mr Bishop and he reached out to the the the the management and I believe there was only three students at the the present time that we're in there that's correct so and that's all that's all factored into when they do their projection out there because Applegate we can't that's 34 HS I believe I mean there could be a lot of kids who all Factor it into their projections thank you good question Peggy for sure anyone else we can open it up to folks online uh is there anyone so want to just go public com this is we move to public comment um Bud we ask that you can find your comments if you have any to budget items that was the only item on the agenda today U and we ask you to be respectful of everyone's time and toine your comments to 3 minutes or less and please identify Yourself by name and address just for the record so if there's anyone online that has a question we would love to hear from you and and rather than just listen this time which is what we normally do with public comment Dr Gman has agreed to answer questions that people might have so if you're joining us online tonight you can use that raiseed hand feature of zoom and I'll call on you by your Zoom name and then you'll be allowed to make your comment I don't have any raised hands but I'll keep an eye on it if um and let you know if anybody does all right thank you and board members we oh someone in the I'm sorry folks in the in the audience no one question no I'm new with this so my forget you Jordan I have a question so um when I was looking at some of the policies um the the teacher minority teacher minority recruitment um policy was in there I had a question about that before but and this isn't really budget related but I'm just curious about the wording of grow a grow what a grow their own model means and also it says that you know after uh a candidate it goes through all of this kind of professional learning and all that kind of stuff that they'd be eligible for a position in a partner District how does that work I'm going to ask Mr Bishop to explain the the program he's done the homework on it so I'll let him do that sure cind it's the uh increasing educat diversity plan and through partnership with the teacher Readiness program um the trp I will use trp which is the the the program connection that we have uh heard from with that um the grow your own concept is should you have a a candidate who would want to be able to to um apply to participate within the program that they would have the opportunity to be able to join that and be able to um uh work through the program and participate in it however if we if we didn't have anyone within within our our Uh current Staffing the the partnership does work to be able to find um a candidate who might want to be able to work with us then to to be able to to do that work Okay I uh I served on the C uh committee for half a dozen years uh prior of the past two and in terms of broadening the diversity of staffs this program was Far and Away the most successful uh that been a lot of talk over the probably the past two decades that didn't result in much this has resulted in uh candidates that you know getting a chance to finish their education to become teachers and then to slide right into an opening and it it was uh as widely successful as any program has been for uh for CRA and and uh that's what we're talking about thank you other qu anybody have any thoughts on anybody comments thoughts I have a raised hand online if you still like the public to can do that sure all right I'm going to allow Lisa C to talk Lisa you should be able to unmute and make your comment now I did thank you very much um Dr Gman I just want to thank you very much for the comprehensive report I know you answered a significant amount of my questions and it's very thorough um I did have a question I don't I apologize I have not been a part of the process uh I know you've been discussing it since SE I don't know what the doll shortfall is that you referred to that's one question um and another question I had was um I know Mr Bishop has a meeting with the do on March 13th I hope to be a part of that meeting but the do has a green bus initiative which offers a grant for Ev options for smaller bus BS and I was wondering if anyone looked into that because I know there was a additional vehicle requested in the budget um and um I think that's it for my question so thank you very much super Lisa I could explain uh I could actually explain both the the the shortfall in the budget is when I arrived as the the superintendent of schools um I I uncovered when I reported out the October financials to the this board and to the board of finance that actually might have been the September financials that we were under budgeted by special education tuition of approximately I'll say $600,000 in special education tuition and transportation and then another approximately $400,000 in non-certified staff so that that was something that I had to work with the the board of finance of how we were going to to make up those dollars and we are doing that uh currently related to funds that we received from the the the city of Harford in special education that was a revenue to the town so we're working our way through that so th this budget actually accounts for that shortfall but also Nets out the $850,000 that we anticipate so I had to account for those students because they're still with us in in the can Public Schools regarding your your transportation with with with green energy um I I I've just arrived in District six months ago and it's on my radar screen that we need to look at that and not only do we need to look at that relative to Transportation relative to our vehicles but something that uh the the state and the federal government is also looking at uh Green Transportation for our our buses and our Fleet so that that's something that I haven't even entertain that that conversation with this this board or our transportation company of where we are but it you you make a a really solid recommendation and there is funding out there that we're going to have to look at so thank you for bringing that up I appreciate it thank you Lisa Lisa before you go could we have your last name and address for our minutes sure yes sorry it's Lisa cogin danard Drive thank you the all right before we we uh close up for the night um perhaps we could go around and you could give your your thoughts as to where we're at with the budget where your feelings are we you would support you're looking for changes looking for more [Music] information so Kim I'm eyeballing you first at that end of the table I can tell you who don't want to but I don't have any comment right now no comment okay Felicia um presentation was clear and and transparent concise I don't have any additional questions besides the on I agree up to me yeah I think the budget obviously Jordan's done a great job with Clarity or bringing more clarity to the budget process I feel like this year I'd say as a general comment it seems like a relatively flat I mean in terms of most of the increases are fixed costs that we have no control over at this time so I mean I I'm I'm all in favor of it thank you er um yeah I appreciate the format um this year where you would ask for questions and then write the responses I think it allowed for more of a thoughtful process um and thought helpful answers um I uh the the area that I um feel we are strongly needing is the English chair so I'm glad to see that in the budget um and I know I I know it's still some catching up since this is your first full budget as our superintendent so um I just appreciate all that's gone into it and I hope the community is aware of that as well that's it Cindy I thought it was really straightforward I trust you Jordan I think um I think you did a great job answering everybody's questions I have like one or two little things that I I can email you about um not really so much about numbers I'm more of a language person but yeah I'll send you an email and I would agree that uh I feel I know the budget well the information you provided us has been accurate thorough complete uh transparent um and and while it's a 5 plus per increase it does seem like a flat budget because we're adding an English department chair and one or two other uh small things and looking to make make things work better uh so I'm I'm in support of this budget uh would brings us to our next question uh we have a budget Workshop scheduled for Thursday uh is there a need for that I don't think so I I anyone anyone I I would agree I don't I think we're we're we're good now certainly doesn't preclude anyone from uh sending additional questions to uh to Jordan that he will answer at the Tuesday March 5th meeting um so please if you you something occurs to you or if you hear from somebody in the community that that's a question you can't answer please ask them to either contact Jordan directly or to you can do that for them um our plan then would be to meet uh next Tuesday right Tuesday March 5th uh again there' be one item on the agenda uh two two parts uh one would be to interview prospective candidates for the open position that wouldn't be in public session that would be in an executive session um I haven't touch Bas with L but I presume that would be before the meeting yeah there'll be it will actually be I'm just not sure the times yet there'll actually be two separate agendas there'll be one for that and then there'll be an agenda for a budget workshop and on that agenda will be very it will actually be the same agenda um and then a possible recommended action just like this one to possibly adopt a budget that time at that time to mve if if we don't adopt the budget on March 5th we'd have to have another meeting prior to March 11th because we do need to get it to the board of Finance for then so I I I would judging by tonight and all you know for the past several weeks uh I would think we'd be in a position to vote uh on Tuesday um but again please if you have questions or concerns or you know people that have questions or concerns Jordan is more than happy to address them before we vote it'd be great if I can get those questions by Friday um so we can put them together and take a thoughtful process on Monday and never ready to go on Tuesday if we have more questions and I make get more question from the community that I will definitely share uh so in terms of timing for Tuesday you'll hear from uh from Jordan or Lou sooner rather than later budget workshop's going to be at 7even so whether you go before or you do the budget and then people come in it all depends would all possible be good if you could uh attend in person for that uh I think it's important for the community to to see this is March 5th Tuesday yes and even though it's not on the agenda I call your attention to the insert that came out uh came out last week I think U it's really I think it's really extremely well done so to those folks that had lot to do with that we he that our thanks for that it it speaks well for our our district I think it gets people some important information as well too uh comments questions I'll take a motion to adjourn then beggy first is there a second Felicia uh I assume there's no discussion on that and uh we're adjourned that 755 thank you all thank you Jordan

at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum and lastly tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. at Desert Ridge High School we are having our second School connect Cafe School connect cafes are designed to bring schools and businesses together for the betterment of students we're excited about this opportunity and look forward to the collaboration and how um and the opportunity for us to create those relationships with businesses thank you to our local businesses who put the interest of our children in our community first Miss Jetty that concludes my report for this evening thank you Dr McCord sorry one last okay sorry I want to recognize a few people first of all from the superintendent student Senate Emma Goldstein she's a student at stand up Emma Camp oie high school thank you for being here phenomenal individual and our Aspire program we have some representatives there our Aspire program is designed to help Uh current GPS employees who aspire to be administrators to um learn about all things related to policy related to interviewing and finding out what culture and climate is all about in Gilbert Public Schools Abby Wheatfield are you here there you are Abby stand up if I have to do this so do you okay uh Michelle Woods and Sarah art where are you Sarah oh she just left oh she missed her moment thank you guys for being here this evening we appreciate it thank you Dr McCord uh we now have the request to speak to the governing board and we'll start out with the um admonition request to speak to the governing board pursuant to ARS 38-43 1.02 the board may make an open call to the public during a public meeting subject to the reasonable time place and manner restrictions to allow individuals to address the public body on any issue within the jurisdiction of the public body at the conclusion of an open call to the public individual board members May respond to criticism made by those who have addressed the board may ask staff to review a matter or may ask that a matter be put on a future agenda however members of the board shall not discuss or take legal action on matters raised during an open call to the public unless the matters are properly noticed for discussion and legal action during an open call the board requests that speakers refrain from voicing complaints against School Personnel or any person connected with the district as it may impact due process rights policies K Keb and Ked are provided by the board for disposition of legitimate complaints including those involving individuals forms required for the use of these policies can be obtained from the Gilbert Public Schools website okay we have six calls to the public tonight and while I'm talking about this we actually also allow emails and we received three emails today earlier and call to the public and I know every board member is cognizant of that that we are recognizing the people that that email so I'm going to start with the first three if you'll come up Richard young Carissa Arnold and thara is that correct Tenny did I say that right thank you she just say your name and you have three minutes thank you yes Richard young thank you and good evening I I was here in October when um the father of one of their students complained about his son being told that he could not wear a shirt uh in school the shirt was a shirt honoring deployed Veterans of the United States military that is problematic for two reasons the first reason it's a disgrace blue lives matter firemen's lives matter service people's lives matter when we're seeking safety they're going directly toward danger for us and from public school they deserve honor not criticism not banishment the other problem is it is illegal you can't do it you can't do it uh I'm going to if anybody wants this liability under section 1983 that's 42 United States code 1983 was prepared by some very good lawyers for the Department of Education uh in Orange County and it exposes risk to individuals not to the taxpayers but to individuals when action is taken against uh certain protected rights such as First Amendment rights would wearing a shirt honoring our troops be one of those protected rights the answer is absolutely yes uh the Supreme Court decided that in 1969 in the Tinker case uh in that instance students were wearing uh banners or arm bands uh protesting the war in Vietnam and they were told to go out there was a suit and the Supreme Court said no you can't do that students don't lose their rights simply because they're students there are certain limitations Tinker uh discusses those if some if it's disruptive that's a different matter I mean seriously disruptive in your code you have a problem this is the Gilbert uh dress code uh you can't wear clothing that use uses or depicts hate speech or symbols what is that can anybody here Define hate speech I can't I'm a lawyer I can't tell you what hate speech is what it usually is is whatever somebody feels like making up for the occasion in this case I guess wearing something honoring American troops qualified almost as hate speech it does not what can happen from that is you can actually be sued you can be sued personally the uh administrator who uh takes that action can't be sued he can be found liable personally not the taxpayers with a judgment against him just as if he' pushed the student and has become liable it is not a risk that you want to take I have a cousin first cousin grew up with him who more nearly a brother than uh a cousin is a now a retired superintendent of public schools I discussed this with him and uh he said we had an inservice by our Law Firm on the decision thank you Mr young one last thing if any of you want this have it in PDF form I'll email it raise your hand if anybody would like it it's helpful thank you very much thank you is it carissia is that correct Carissa thank you Carissa Arnold so um some of you have heard my our family story um my daughter was sexually assaulted in January of 2021 um multiple times by a student at our high school um who actually does have connection back to the Gilbert goons um we had fought we had an order protection put in place which we submitted to the school in July of 2021 it was not given to anybody else besides the one principal she didn't pass it to the SRO nothing so then on Labor Day in 2021 our property my daughter's livestock property was vandalized on the high school campus and Mel jenit tell you was drawn on the property going from there because the school did not have working cameras on the exterior of the building that entire year we fought like crazy with this kid teasing my kid's livestock we are still dealing with that today on the high school campus one of the kids who is closely connected with the guy who assaulted my daughter is also part of the goons and is seen in pictures with the goons um as well as one of the kids who has been named in Preston Lord's death also got involved in going after my kids animals that same kid was also part participated in discharging a taser gun on our high school campus to which my knowledge they were never convicted of because the person who initiated all of that just happened to be a football player at our high school all that being said it has been a hard and long battle we've caught staff members and lies it is it has been a fight school property was destroyed on the campus by this group of kids they were doing donuts they were tearing up the grass like all of that stuff we we were watching Cars come and go from the farm at the high school campus which I got confirmation from a gilber PD officer was indicative of drugs being sold there um all of this stuff was getting reported back and it and it did not stop my daughter went through a ton of emotional trauma because of everything that happened to the point that she almost ended up taking her life that year and has just now come to a place in the last 6 months where she is finally doing better my challenge to you is this and Chad Thompson had talked at one of the teen violence meetings about how we need to start convicting for lesser crimes and we need to start taking those seriously and it will help out with the bigger crimes going on and so for me it has been very frustrating as a parent as I have sat and watched kid after kid the the kid who assaulted my daughter was forbidden from going down to the barn that we were at he was repeatedly down there I had him on camera going down there I was told I could no longer take pictures because it was a student violation issue yet he continued to go down he was never ever banned from being in the the program and there was no consequences implemented to any of these kids whatsoever through that time frame and it has been an extremely frustrating process Gilbert schools needs to get a definition outlined of what discipline should look like and start enforcing that with these students thank you Mrs Arnold um next Thea is that correct and if the other three Katie mcferson Christine brenon and cter Landry would line up for the next three please thank you um it's Tara Tera weird so uh I am Tara Tenny and I am an educator in Gilbert Arizona I have been for about 5 years I teach honors English uh High High School freshman so I'm here to present my thoughts on regarding uh our new the phenomena that we're address fronted with respect to cell phones in the classroom so I submit to you that humans are not able to uh multitask efficiently impulse screen distraction is destructing cognitive development in the classroom this is what I am observing when it is not addressed appropriately I call upon responsible District leaders to collaborate troubleshoot and formulate policy procedure and practices that Foster a classroom environment in support of the teachers role as sole Arbiter of their classroom teachers efforts to increase cognitive cognition void of impulsive screen distraction must um be supported by policy District leaders have the ability to set the tone and that's what you guys are doing so powerfully I could argue the negative impacts of cell phone from a different different premises as I authored and disseminated about a year ago a bill proposal that adolescent should not have the right to purchase cell phones without the consent of their parents for a list of reasons and some of which were I provided this to our state legislators um arguing that I wanted the State of Arizona to create constitutionally sound policies to support the parents effort to uh Safeguard their children against precursors of adolescence sex tortion adolescence drug exposure adolescence increase to Suicide I could argue with evidence we previous talking here the sensationalized media um addictive behaviors vulnerability of Youth to explicit material cyber bullying and the list goes on and on and on but let's focus on uh Benchmark testing because as Educators that's what we are um passionate about and The Landmark National institute's Health study that began in 2018 found that children who spent more than 2 hours a day on screen time activities scored lower on their Benchmark testing so these benchmarks is what we use to measure our success and what we use to legitimize the allocation of state and federal funds and so that in in itself is enough to motivate uh District leaders to create policy that is in support of the teacher being the sole Arbiter of the classroom I'm not saying a a technology should be banned But the teacher should say when it comes out to be used as a tool for education but not impulsive screen distraction thank you thank you very much Katie mcferson good evening um I'm here to also talk about smartphone use on school campuses um 2004 five school year I worked in Scottsdale Unified School District and literally watched childhood flip on its head so to speak with the Advent of smartphones coming to my campus um I think we're all aware that we've seen a tremendous decline in our youth mental health and a sharp decline as well in coping in resiliency issues with face-to-face interaction the psychological term mirroring when we mirror each other and look at each other in the eye and have a conversation is real our kids need more of it um the Gilbert goons is sharp proof of this as conflict resolution was not not part of their repertoire they took it to a physical assault level lacking the vocabulary that you get from having that mirroring and face-to-face interaction additionally as parents we one of the most anxious sets of parents and Generation Um we need to redefine safety for our parenting Generation Um giving a phone and giving social media is one of the most unsafe things that we've done for our children um phones do not save lives during an active shooting situation we need our kids to be listening to our teachers our administrators and our law enforcement officials um they actually impede those processes and we watched in Uvalde as a stark reminder of that how phones did not save lives and if those children had been running and hiding and fighting for their lives as they are trained perhaps they'd still be here um Snapchat most of our Junior High and high school students have that I would guess about 90% of them um the front page of Snapchat if you're not aware has pornography on it 41% of high school students report watching pornography while at school this is a real problem not only about sexting but also just in general the behaviors that come from that and the rage and sexual type aggression that we've heard about tonight um lastly I think just giving our kids a reprieve these brains are constantly being inundated with the screen time the notifications the academic pressures all of it is there they're looking for some boundaries around that and I believe we can offer that here at school um I've been part of a national effort on this front both in Michigan as well as Georgia there's an amazing program called away for the day that Scottdale unified is currently using with much success I'd asked you to look at resources like the book anxious Generation by Jonathan height and the book glow kids g w by Nicholas karus out of NYU um thank you so much I brought some information I've shared with Mr Thompson as well so I'll leave some copies with the wonderful Mr McIntosh thank you thank you very much Christine brandan hi there we go members of the Gilbert School Board um I stand before you to today to address a matter of grave concern the reluctance displayed in addressing our students and Community following the tragic loss of Preston his old excuse me his untimely death shook us all yet the Silence from our institution was deafening it's imperative that in times of trauma a swift acknowledgement reaches our students and Community demonstrating our solidarity and support we cannot afford to remain within our silence oblivious to the interconnectedness of our students lives the reality is that such events impact numerous young individuals within our schools clear communication is not a luxury but a necessity while we may not have all the answers we must extend our resources in counseling to those in need within days of Preston's death it became known that numerous teens from Gilbert were present at the same party as Preston we need to be upstanders and lead by example for our youth an acknowledgement of the trauma along with the needed resources should have been sent within that week instead parents were left flaing and filling in the blanks that should have been filled by in by the leaders moreover tragedies like press and death should prompt a comprehensive review of our practices and policies we must ensure that we are employing the best strategies to safeguard our students and address pressing issues such as bullying harassment and substance abuse technology and youth are Ever Changing we should be taking every opportunity to improve and be better for our students and Community it is disheartening to note that your silence invert inadvertently perpetuates the very problems we seek to combat now is the time to acknowledge the uncomfortable truths and actively work to address them this includes better collaborating with law enforcement when necessary and engaging in open dialogue with parents and Guardians people are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law but the school administrators and SRO should be made aware of students who commit extreme acts of violence you can't fix what you don't know in conclusion I urge that gilberth school board to embrace transparency accountability and more Rob robust proactive measures in the face of adversity let us Stand United in our commitment to the well-being of our students and Community thank you thank you very much cter cter will you um just here to support him is that okay yeah absolutely speak I remember when you were in Kinder hi it's me cter and I would like talk about my past expence with Gilbert and in 2017 I report being sexually assaulted to my junior first Junior High Principal I was told they were going to investigate and we wait waited 30 days without a response AC and so the abuse continued it happened in PE it happened in the lunch room and it I reported to the police and no one did anything we talked to the superintendent about it and I changed schools and so did the bullies due to closing and they continued the abuse despite the Ida Ida law I was not protected the gain grew bigger and bigger no one stopped them I was in high I mean and in high was in the mouth and PR the principal in 8th grade did nothing and and at Gilbert High I was shown in appropriate porn video pornography and surprisingly the kid boy admitted he did it I we told the police and they did nothing I got suspended for the report and for trying to change into the locker room in PE and the truth why I've learned about GPS is that they do not care about the kids and the schools aren't safe too many bully issues too too many small kids being beat up by big kids thank you thank you very much we will move on to 7.01 the 7.01 02 and 03 which are reports Dr McCord thank you madam president governing board members um next up we have a report from our monthly Finance report from our associate superintendent of Business Services Miss Bonnie Betts um good evening um Mrs jetti governing board members this is the report that gives you the status of our financial situation as of January 31st 2024 so as always we always share the district operating funds but we'll go through a summary of the Federal Grant funds state Grant funds other funds and then finally the bond fund so to begin the district operating funds so this includes our main Levy funds which um are the maintenance and operations fund as well as unrestricted capital and then classroom site fund is also a very large contributor note that the available balance we reported about $1 million uh last month note that the available balance has increased by about $2.5 million that is due to the fact that we're through um more than half of the school year now and we're seeing some un encumbrance of purchase orders um the other uh important note is on unders Capital note that we reported about $26 million of available balance uh last month and this month you can see the $33.5 million balance again the same thing um invoices are being paid and purchase orders are being unencumbered finally the classroom site fund wanted to share that that of that available balance it's about 26.6 million note that what we're expecting to receive in the current year is about $29 million and the ongoing spend you can see in that column is about $22 million so that gives us some opportunities as we move forward um with potential salary increases um but I also wanted to share uh some details of the fluctuation of the classroom site fund dollars and those remember that the classroom site fund allocations are are based on two things both the state uh Permanent Fund which is the um state land trust as well as uh sales tax revenues so if you take a look at this graph you can see the fluctuations that that have occurred over time we have seen some sizable increases since 2021 but again we're careful about ensuring that we know what our ongoing money is is versus our one time but at any point in time uh it's difficult to know whether those sales tax revenues are going to plummet so we're always very careful just wanted to make sure that you were aware of that before I move any further are there any questions about the operating funds great uh the Federal grant funds just wanted to bring your attention uh down to the bottom which are the eser 3 uh the two eser3 pots one is the normal eser 3 and the other is the % set aside that needs to be designated for learning loss I just wanted to point out um a quick change uh if you look at the adopted budget when we reported this uh throughout the year that adopted budget amount was $21 million about and as we were going through the budget revision process to share with you in January we went through a lot of the details reconciled all the numbers so please know that the adopted budget that was transmitted to the state was always correct but we had inadvertently doubled up on some of the um the monies on the adopted Budget on this grid only so we have since corrected that as we were going through the reconciliation process after you all have approved the revised budget in January are there any questions about that the other the other thing is note that the revised budget even though it doesn't look like it here looks well it does look like it here that's the whole Point um the the revised budget went up by $7 million or $6.5 million uh that is because of the carry forward amounts that were that have now been awarded and provided to the school district in all these Federal grant funds this wood did you have a question so so the correct amount is now on that revised budget number one 21 million right the um the correction was really on the adopted budget the adopted budget just just on this grid not the actual adopted budget um just on the grid was erroneously stated at 21 million the reason is if you look at the last row where it shows 300 to 399 what happened is that the 346 fund mes were also included in the 30399 because we pull those out for purposes of displaying the information to you all okay so that it's clear that we have these Esra monies and they are fully expended have to be fully expended by September 30th of 2024 and then now the um so that 21 million is actual yes y y thanks okay any other questions on that great and then uh on our state Grant funds just pointing out the Arts consumable Grant we have talked about that a couple of times uh we had started spending it and then we received an email from the Department of Ed indicating that we must stop spending the Arts consumable Grant so it's still it's just on pause we don't know if whether they'll continue to allow us to spend or not we have received a commitment however that anything uh spent to date will be reimbursed so we are holding purchase orders at this point in time until it's clarified what's going to happen with the Arts consumable Grant and then the school safety program uh last month we shared with you the available balance was negative talked about the fact that we were confirming what the final allocation would be for the school safety program Grant so we have confirmed that it is that $674,000 and that means that we will be we have actually moved that that over expenditure of about $10,000 back into the maintenance operations fund so that negative has been cleared out any questions on that I did have a question on the school safety Grant is that the the grant we have a number of school safety issues so is that the grant that covers SRO and social workers or this is the grant that's specific to the additional support for our SRO yes okay thank you okay and then uh other funds the only one we wanted to point out is the employee benefit trust you will be um approving the pharmacy Benefit Management RFP tonight under consent um however I wanted to let you know that the available balance is still healthy at about $25 million however over the last three months we have seen some significant claims coming in so we are not having as good a year as we had in the past but you all will be receiving a um a rate recommendation for the 2425 school year um by the end of March and then finally the only thing I wanted to share on the bond fund was the transportation so there was um and you approved this request to purchase additional buses and so that those dollars have now been encumbered you can see the remaining balance is 1.3 it's expected that director Trace tolby will be making a recommendation to purchase additional Vehicles probably a mid to late uh fall of 2024 for the last purchase and that's all I have if there are any questions I'm very happy to answer any of them for you any questions I I did have one question on the transportation what is the average age of the buses that we're replacing about how many years do we use those buses before they out so um Mr tolby I would consider a fleet expert and he is constantly looking at the repair records to determine whether it's worth it to keep it or whether we need to dispose of it so um the a is not always the reason why we dispose of them um but I don't have that that answer right off the top of my head but I will include it in this week's board brief all right thank you you bet anything else thank you very much M Mrs bets Dr McCord 7.02 Proclamation National School Social Work week March 3rd through 9th 2024 thank you Madame President governing board members we would like to do a proclamation for National School social soci Work Week whereas School social workers serve as a vital members of the Education team playing a central role in creating Partnerships between the home school and Community to ensure student academic success and whereas School social workers are exceptionally skilled in identifying and providing services to students who face serious challenges to school Success including poverty disability discrimination abuse neglect addiction bullying mental illness homelessness familial stress stressors and other barriers to learning and whereas local educational agencies Community Support agencies should continue to work in partnership with school social workers to address and access resources and support services in helping to meet students social emotional physical mental health and environmental needs so that students May achieve academic success and whereas School social workers maintain knowledge of school climate which are necessary for responsible School safety planning now therefore I Shane McCord superintendent do hereby Proclaim Sunday March 3rd through March 9th 2024 as school Social Work Week in Gilbert public schools and commend its observance to all in our district Community by highlighting the vital contributions of school social workers to the success of students in our schools thank you to all of our social workers thank you Dr McCord we'll move on to 7.03 teaching and learning learning academic Spotlight thank you madam president governing board members I will turn this over to our assistant superintendent of teaching learning Mr Jared Ryan Madame President governing board Dr McCord thank you so much it's a pleasure to be here this evening um specifically we're going to going to address the topic of ready Jen ready Jen as you will um hear more about is a um product that we contracted with years ago and timing was a bit of a challenge as Co hit us hard and uh really never saw through the initial training as it it was it was intended and uh Mr berer is here this evening and he's going to walk us through what the last year or so has looked like and the work of uh a number of people I'm probably most proud of the collaborative nature of this particular work um certainly led by our Ela experts with Christina Larson and Kristen McCord along with Mr burer um but but a number of folks from our special education services through um otm services and being able to get substitutes in classrooms and support on campuses our principal and our principes on all of our campuses uh Dr Martin so it's really been a collaborative effort to get us to this point in time and we wanted to bring to you the work that's been done and and what's going on in our classrooms today M president governing board and Dr McCord I couldn't be more excited to share with you the progress we've made on the ready gen refresh initiative this was uh something that was lacking J Dr or sorry Mr Ryan um yep um had tasked us with creating common unit assessments upon his arrival as assistant superintendent as we started looking at What It Takes and what uh the capacity of the teachers as we um started diving into creating common unit assessments we realized that we had to take a step back and look at the capacity of our teachers to use the curriculum as it was intended as you look at the second slide in the presentation we officially adopted so ready Jen is our comprehensive Ela curriculum um and it was for case six and we adopted it in 2019 I was a site uh principal at the time it was the 1819 school year was the first round of teacher trainings it was a Pearson product at the time and every teacher was designated to get five full day trainings from Pearson is part of the package for purchase everyone got training one at the start of what was it the 18 spring of 1819 school year and I got almost everybody through training number two uh when covid happened so 1920 school year not even kindergarten was able to tr to finish the second of the five trainings that were required to implement with fidelity um we tried to revamp this and bring it back out in the 2122 school year but we still weren't ready is um we didn't have the subs to cover the amount of absences that it would take to pull this off successfully so like at Settler's Point where I was principal at the time we started cuz teachers are Learners as well right is we told them why don't we let the the ready genen curriculum let's start with the whole group reading selection we would move on to the writing later right let's partition this little bit cuzz that's the part you'd been trained on so far um I can tell you I'm a little embarrassed to tell you but when I left Settler's Point to take this job we hadn't added the writing or the small group some teachers had learned via trial and error but we had never gotten to the trainings for the writing and small group instruction with ready Jen so the goal of this initiative was by investing in teacher capacity within the adopted curriculum Ela achievement will will increase at the elementary schools which then has a further effect it'll help out our Junior highs and high schools as the students roll up the initiative was daunting in terms of logistics and planning when we looked at getting all 752 Elementary School teachers in for at least one full day training on this initiative I have to give major thanks to office of talent management um I talked to Rachel very often and I was like what days can I do trainings um given the sub allotment that we had uh for the district special education department stepped up huge they were at every training special education teachers both self-contained and some resource were included in each of the trainings we either had their Department coaches or uh sorry coordinators there to answer any sped specific questions so we looked at diving into the interventions included in uh the ready gen curriculum additionally professional growth and development played a pivotal role uh they were very they were active they were in many of the trainings and we found that it it was extremely beneficial when it comes to uh training new teachers and what this curriculum requires additionally administrative Services huge thank you to Dr Martin uh he was instrumental in number one Finding Me locations where I could have trainings of 50 to 70 teachers at a time and he also has been instumental in bringing it up and uh quarterly impact checks with principal so that we can ensure what the teachers learned is being further grown at the campus level additionally Community Ed hats off we pretty much took over their um training room for uh almost a semester I also have to give a quick shout out so Christina Larson our Ela k6 coordinator and Kristen McCord Ela coach were instrumental they were the two presenters for all 21 of these trainings it was a heavy burden um and there were times when we were like yep you got to do it again sorry but we're getting close to the end um and I have to just kind of she's going to hate that I say this but Christina Larsson was actually given today our uh teacher our employee of the year for teaching and learning Department because of the amount of time and effort that she put into this and again the amount of comments we and teacher feedback we got I think I'm very excited about what this is going to bring for student achievement they created trainings the first one was called program Essentials and this was a full- day training for our teachers that were never thoroughly trained in ready genen you can only get too much or so much from a 4:30 to 6:30 training after school this was a full day where that we immersed them in the curriculum and how to use it um but we tried not to give them too big of a chunk so that they would be overwhelmed and we thought that they were more engaged having it be during the school day and then they came up with a readygen mindset and writing training so it was two trainings that they developed but they went above and beyond if you know them at all that shouldn't surprise you uh they created each of those trainings within particular grade levels so like the sixth grade ready gen presentation included sixth grade stories and sixth grade topics so that they could engage the teachers better okay o I went too fast sorry feedback from teachers some oh sorry I went way too far okay September during the month of September we had our first initial four rounds these were the new to ready gen teachers not necessarily first year teachers but it's anybody that maybe from 1920 when we stopped doing the trainings to current that we didn't give a real good indepth presentation so we had all four feedback was phenomenal this is when we started realizing that we might Beyond to something special uh the coaches loved it and all of a sudden the coaches came and came and came because of the amount of discussions it created within their their coaching Cycles at the classroom level October through December there were 14 trainings in which all veteran teachers came in uh and they got the ready genen mindset and writing training and then uh I added in February um we brought back all of the teachers that we hit in September we brought them back for one final and we felt that this was super important to assure that all of our teachers are trained up to a certain point by the end of the 23 24 school year in total 752 teachers were provided at least one all day training session between the 21 different sessions some of the feedback that we got from the trainings um one veteran teacher came up to me after one of the first ones we had done with veterans and she said this is the first training that's provided by the district where I'm walking out and I didn't feel like a bad teacher um we kind of started each training with the whole Maya Angelou philosophy that when you know better do better if you're not doing this correctly it's no fault of yours we didn't build capacity correctly due to constraints outside of our control you can see a couple comments that we also highlighted on this slide couple of mostly what we saw is reading and writing are so interconnected that when you weren't teaching the writing you were missing the rigor of the reading so I think now that we're doing it better and more cohesively we will see the gains in ela achievement k6 one presentation I remember fondly at Pioneer um I remember turning around for a second at like a lunch break and I remember a bunch of the instructional coaches grabbing Christina and Kristen and making them take pictures that's when I realized like they were rock stars you know in kind of the face of this initiative um um and like I said we were on to something special and when you've got teachers right that are passionate in helping kids and believing what we're teaching them you're on to something special Reflections what we've learned during the process is number one you need more than two presenters um we had 21 sessions two people um we hit a bump in about October where they were like I don't know if I can keep doing this but they are the consumate professionals and they just kept on going um we actually had a check off sheet in Christina's office and we were like 13 more you know 12 more and we kind of had little celebrations in between but that's led to next steps what's the math implementation going to look like this cannot be on the shoulders of our two math coordinators we have to have an implementation team that's ready to um take the conversation any way it goes and so Mr Ryan's been integral in that and we actually have a committee started with 33 members that were ready um to help carry that that load of the math curriculum additionally we establishing the why for the curriculum is just as important as the how this was a big takeaway and I know a lot of people are like well yeah duh but I really got to see that teachers make thousands of decisions during the school day instructional decisions that come second nature and they didn't realize that by removing this part of text out of the curriculum it would have an impact in lesson 18 in the lesson so now that that's how we add address the first part of ready gen is these are the components so that teachers can make um I guess better decisions on the ramifications that they're making in the classroom and then I again I I can't thank Dr Martin enough for he uh ensured that instructional leaders instructional coaches and site leaders principles Deans had to attend at least one and we think that that's going to be influential in ensuring ready Jen is carried on past these trainings it can't be a one semester and done next steps I think we have to continue to bring ready Jen into the Forefront of our administrators they have to uh we've got to train them better on what a solid ready gen lesson looks like and what it doesn't look like so that we can keep this momentum going the creation of the common unit assessments will allow us to have better Dialogue on who's using it with Fidelity and who is not and again give certain plc's smaller digestible bits of data that they can reflect on um and provide intervention enrichment opportunities for and then we want to continue what we learned through this with the math curriculum so that is my presentation any questions on the ready gen refresh questions I I do have questions first thank you for all that hard work I mean um that is a big lift and um so one of the things I'd like like to know is just um as we go forward using ready JY what are some of the expectations now that we're putting the reading the reading and the writing and thinking together what does that look like differently than what we had previously fair enough okay I think what we had um in terms of writing was each school was kind of taking what they had already done it might be thinking maps it might be uh response to text and they were fitting it into ready genen Stories the best they could I think what we've got now is within each module which is about 15 lessons in ready gen you have what's called a PBA a performance-based assessment that is a writing assessment that compares two sets of text most of the time fiction and nonfiction uh and you compare and contrast uh this mimics the ASA exam so I think you're going to see more common assessment and reflection opportunities uh with our teachers on student achievement with the writing piece so I'm I'm excited to standardize what we're doing in writing okay that's great because I mean um compare and contrast with those two different elements would be something they really have to think about again these are elementary kids sorry you're creating the critical thinking and again that's the rigor for the Reading part that we were missing by not implementing the writing with Fidelity okay great to know thank you very much any other questions or comments thank you Mr berer thank you thank you very much Robert okay we will move to the consent agenda do I hear a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented so moved thank you Mrs paig is there a second second thank you Mrs humre it's been moved in second and that we approve the consent agenda as presented all those in favor please signify by saying I I I opposed so on a 5- z vote it passes we've already done nine so we'll move on to 10 requests for future agenda items if anyone has anything that they would like to have as agenda item please get with either Dr mccort or myself thank you board committee reports 11.01 Insurance trust that would be me and I think that Mrs Betts already talked a little bit about it but the what we approved tonight in the consent agenda for the pharmacy benefit manager is going to save us a significant amount of money um and we will be bringing some more information to you I believe at the end of this end of March correct for decisions so that's all I have for that Mr Thompson legislative representative nothing tonight thank you thank you Mrs wood city of Mesa um we are looking forward to the school connect Cafe tomorrow morning and Council mon Summers will attend it's in that Desert Ridge area and we're looking forward to making connections thank you town of Gilbert the on an audit committee Mrs humph um so with the town of Gilbert um they had a wonderful event today they're looking for feedback on the parks and rec system and park planning that they're doing and today from I think 3: to 6 they had tacos so if you went and to their booths and talked to them you got a stamp and you could get a taco I didn't get a taco but I did get to give my feedback um also this month I've been down to the legislature on parent advocacy day and also on special education day on parent advocacy day we had three legislators that came out and spoke to the entire group there was a a large representation and then on special education day even though the legislature was on the floor we did have during a break we had about six or seven legislators that came out and spoke to us and I think it was a very productive day to know that people are concerned about meeting the needs of our special education students and our students overall so um and that's yet we haven't met recently on the audit committee but that will be coming later this month thank you Mrs humph Gilbert Education Foundation Mrs Paige thank you Mrs jetti um for any of those that are interested there applications are due on this Monday March 4th for the volunteer varsity letter award scholarships so if anybody's interested any students you have until Monday to get your appli or your applications in and that's it thank you Mrs Paige meeting dates Dr McCord thank you madam president governing board members uh next meeting is March 5th board work study and brief board business meeting that's next month and then um we hit Spring break for 2 weeks and then the final meeting for the month of March is March 26th which is a board business me thank you Dr McCord it's time for adjournment do I hear a motion to adjourn so moved thank you Mrs pagee second second thank you Mr Thompson it's been moved and seconded that we adjourn all those in favor please signify by saying I I I thank you very much