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board and with in conjunction with the search firm to per to do uh the necessary broad broad Community engagement uh that uh we are all committed to uh in appointing the next superintendent uh so uh for with that I I would want to I want to ask Mr Chang uh aside from legal review was were there any administrative delays uh uh with getting a contra you know in the process of drafting um the contract or negotiating the contract with the the search firm

welcome everyone any additions to the agenda so on the I just thought a little bit ago time so there's there's two pairs that are going to fulltime Subs but in the agenda it says they're both going to be a so I'm thinking there should be what mine who's yours okay yeah they both say go to hey that's okay so chy will make that change else that was the only thing I saw I just happened to look at it she like she get and I just like and I was like wait a minute Sor okay with those changes I'll accept a motion to approve the agenda you're making a motion I'll motion to approve the agenda with the Chang second second any more discussion those in favor vote is it just that part of the desk subm your submit your V unless touch this over here motion car I'd like to thank for stepping board stuff that was in the I just wanted to say thanks I know that the board a lot of duties for you so than and I'll too because I'll tell you last two years have been quite a challenge but big thank you to Craig and Brad sh as well a motion for approve the consent agenda yeah where we did yeah we just did no we did [Music] theend written uh items so several thank you in there I think all you can see those thank you well you're on Deck again there Dar hey this is I saved up this from the last month I just want to give a shout out to and the after school kids she took on um a multi-week project with the kids to submit uh it's called planners for the Daughters of the American Revolution contest and the theme this year is about um exporing space for 50 years or something like that anyways uh you know the kids had a research project and they they came up with the concept and they well pass or something like that anyways um we had we had on our last end of the year assembly we had several uh Regional Area awards and we had invited families and kids got to come in and get a certificates and some of them got medals and then at the end of that day we got a package she brought down and we actually had several kids that were National winners like first place and so that was like four groups it's in there anyways I mean I just felt like this like I never get to bring kids to be recogniz to be celebrated because it's a pretty big deal so you're out of time you can bring them bring them abely good for them yeah we put it on our Facebook page and shared it and yeah it was it was exciting if we ever need to do like that do that when we have a bunch of kids we'll move the board me to like the high school or the elementary school that I mean because this gets a little crow if you have three or four people to recognize this one if you have 20 or 30 justs events alln I think those kids like be recogniz they were pretty Prouds like you can see in the pictures it's pretty they're pretty excited like it's pretty cool I guess we're going to skip over everybody else yeah they did not have to submit a report this month because they might had anything and they had the linkage too that be [Laughter] you no um I I Su just bill uh we we had a really successful year in the technology department uh had great staff uh hate to be losing Christina Lawson uh but have wanted to see her um you know several years back talked to her about going after a teaching degree and and so she's got to spend more time in the in the actual classroom and so U as part of that and so uh I'm happy for her but sad for our department uh but uh Courtney and Lavina Nikki Christina and Selena have been have been great uh help for all the buildings uh very supportive of of the uh and students um we did a lot of different projects this year including class link which has been I think a phenomenal uh assist to both teachers and students um the pair assessment is growing and growing uh and how it's going to be able to help our staff actually start disaggregating that data that CLI data they're you know they're doing their end of uh end of chapter or end of unit assessments and then you have to sit there and grade it and then figure out okay how many kids missed number one you know how many kids met this objective allowing pair assessment to do that for us and then be able to just say okay this is the these are the areas that we need to ret um and and being able to focus on that rather than the the the grunt work of of the data um we uh uh are reworking our website currently hopefully uh have that out hopefully by July 1st I don't know if it'll be by July 1 we're kind of waiting on them uh the company to do some different uh design tweaks that we've asked them to do uh but along with that goes our new parent notification system parent Square um which has got a lot of that will just expand upon our everbridge system that we had been using noticed U even just the other day andoria uh school district has just uh announced that they're uh utilizing parent Square also so um it's it's a it's going to be a great tool it's going to be a great tool coming out um that's going to be also a new website so the same company uh parents Square bot Gabbert which is our current website company and so kind of bringing it together we thought it was a good time to kind of revamp the website as we also introduce the the notification syst good yeah sometimes our website can be a little difficult to find things yeah that's what we're that's what we're hoping that we can improve upon the other thing is when we first uh did the website it was a while ago a while ago one of our one of our more recent iterations of it but still five six seven years ago um going into it they said do you want a a a district site or a multi site and we went with a multi-site which meant basically four total websites one for each building and the district which just makes a lot of pages a a lot to try to keep track of a lot of work but also um a lot often times you don't have enough for those pages you know there's not necessarily Elementary specific news reports you know and so people if they have that one landing page of the district that's where most people go to anyway from our from our uh Page hit totals um and so we're kind of compressing it down to a district s with from scratch again so I've had people ask me about like looking for information and they're looking for generic District information but they're Googling Burlington elementary school and then they're get to that they can't find what they're looking for well that's just the master calendar or whatever it is might not be spot so yeah everything is uh going to be uh revamped in in kind of categor uh hope everyone likes it we we spent a lot of work looking at other districts and working with their um the gab parent Square crew good yeah and I think I mean the goal is to just be able to get you know parents and the public to be able to find the information they're looking for easily without getting like super frustrated and having to dig and dig and dig make the website useful it exactly tool So yeah thank you for that and it really you lots of applicants because sometimes we get p like how do I get to that and it's like four steps in maybe this will be right it is the upper right hand corter careers um goals for for the next year uh uh we're needing to look at our wireless access points and our Network switches over the next year either doing them through erade or through our summer uh technology improvements um uh another item that I put on there don't get me wrong I think letters training is awesome I think it is so so valuable what I've uh seen out of it and listening to the videos that Lis is watching at home uh learning all about it it's so valuable but it does eat a lot of our professional development time right now and so um just you know our goal is going to be kind to try and find inventive ways to do more professional development in the area of Technology with our staff um to where it's maybe not eating up their uh extra time or or uh can be done you know off of those professional development days where they're doing letters training and that but not overwhelm them but um you know so that that's a little bit of a challenge but you know um I hope to come up with some fun or interesting ways to to increase that in the next year don't know we've got to we've got to think about that one okay we got all figured outly you're just doing thank you Craig any have anything else for Craig thank you Mr Mar I want to first of all start by saying thank you to everybody seated at the tables in the audience you guys have to be here but U I want to thank them for the work that they do it's not easy it's not easy what they do uh each and every day you guys know and understand that I want to acknowledge that and that's for all of our staff but um leadership is very important that this group we had an administrative Retreat we didn't go to Bahamas or Cancun or anything like you guys we don't do that for you guys when we go in August and September when we meet but went to our basement our house and we just had a real good real good uh day of uh planning learning discussion so on so forth um I'm big on motivation as you guys know I send monthly motivational statements to or emails out to the staff this is one we talked about here um with the group uh Kirby Smart's a very very successful football coach University of Georgia it's not on your report here but I want to read this here Kirby Smart's three costs of leaders ship you will have to make hard decisions that affect people you care about you will be disliked despite your best attempts to do the best for the most you'll be misunderstood and won't always have the opportunity to defend yourself and they sign up for that each and every day I'm not quite sure what they do but they do thank goodness they do because leadership is not not fun at all at times and uh you know the best of times it's good and the worst of times it's not really but anyway they do it and they do it well so thank you guys very much for everything you do and everything you're going to do in the future um again central office staff they've been working hard to rep of the fiscal year we're coming up to the end of June end of our fiscal year June 30th and again greatly appreciate the dedication uh during this busy time everybody's pitching in and helping out and working well together and uh just feel really good about U what we're doing to wrap up the year um we talked a little bit about selling the land to the south of BHS and the West usd244 Rec Center I don't know if you want me to look to pursue this like with a real estate agent Auctioneer I I just was going to bring it up again or if we still want to continue the discussion or whatever you I'll leave it I guess I'll leave it open for you guys to talk about here real quick and make comments i d buy it about six to eight times a day since it's a locked in for my house and since we built the new Fields I haven't use for anything other than testing out the so that's the rec center most remember that again the C literally the only I used to see little kids play there but that doesn't happen there anymore so I don't know what it's doing for us so I mean yeah we haven't had a discussion yet but I would be leaning towards let's see if we can sell it and make somebody a place where they can make it usable that's I'm for pursuing a sale and with some caveats on the other end of homes being built or development plans being I don't want to sell it for someone to just not someone to wait for the chip plant to come in before they there are people that live in this town that want to have property and build right now we don't have to wait for a chip plant employee to come in do it is what is that zoned right now for residential it's yeah R1 residential it is other comments mentioned um Cameron would do it without I mean I saw the county got a check for the land that for free actually the way he did it for the county was kind of kind of neat he did three different parcels and they bid on each parcel separately and then they would take the most uh and and was then they put them all together and they came out with somebody buy them all together as a better so I think you could probably do a similar deal there and I like the caveat okay you're going to start building within a year or something like that has to be we could set a minimum price for if we went to auction and with the U with the the notific or the information that you would have to develop the land within one year two years whatever we want or you sell the land back to us at 50 cents on the doll what you pay for it that's right something something to that extent we could create a document like that in agreement that we' had this I know forever for this long and we don't you know know you know sometimes you have I mean if we're going to build an elementary that place is not an option we've already we already have plan to do that I mean like it's not like we thought oh no we should do it there not enough everything we would do over there is across the street and so Ian and again the only other use would be for some kind of ball field but we don't need that now I I would let it go [Music] right so it sound and Ronnie do you have anything comments I just want comment my comments are the same as Lucas's 's sell it and I'm in agreement with that and put some sort of caveat on it that it's houses are built on it and put some sort of time on we just have to be fair on the time because we have so many builders in this area and uh you know got fair you I think anything less than two years would be unfair and I think you can put something under contractor build get your kitchen in Year let alone build a whole house on what can be built there a house a house well it could be houses it could be duplexes it could the way I don't we want yeah we could some stipulation single single family single okay I've got some notes here and I'll work on this probably talk with Cameron maybe even Angela Trimble a trust point to get some thoughts and information regarding that might talk to the county about them they put anything any specific um you know stipulations in the county okay okay I say we we'll work towards maybe making this happen I'm going to say by next month's meeting maybe even sooner and I'll just keep you informed on that um wanted to look uh and I added this a little bit late guys sorry for adding this late but we didn't get to this um we uh great news good news bad news good news is we had a lot of national and state type uh qualifiers and we're going to have even more as time goes on but the bad that's the good news the bad news is is it becomes very expensive for obviously for state and National qualifiers um and we can't provide every dollar and Cent for all the kids so having said that um let's see chrisy Jody Taylor myself uh have been kind of the key players in looking at this as they possibly can you zo that maybe a more well you guys there we go I need to's see if that helps a little bit okay so um I put out a survey was serve to all my superintendent colleagues got about 90 responses and um the information I got uh was was like I say a varying levels um we had we asked the questions about uh okay what do you for National travel I had this up I'm sorry I had it up I click out of it but uh what do you support for you know for National travel is it plane fair is it uh uh gosh motels meals uh trying to think of what other things we have I'm pulling it up right now I apologize I thought I had it up um but got some really good information from that uh from that superintendent list serve and basically out of those people that responded about half provideed motel for National travel about half uh about 30% provide airfare uh about 77% provide vehicle transportation and registration about 50% and meals about 50% so having said that we had the discussion amongst us four about what we think we should look to support and because Nationals well guys there there are so many different things that are coming into play we we believe that there could be cheerleading up here cheerleading is big now um and you can just sign up to go to a national tournament you don't even have to really qualify you can just sign up to go to Orlando Florida or whatever and there's a group that will take your money and you can go cheer and be rated and that type of thing so there there has to be we got some guidelines some serious situations that we need to think about and again um we even had track pop up here just recently um we could have sent some kids to California wasn't it yeah if you had some me that if you were a state champion of any classification in any state you could go to this National track meet in Los Angeles just pay your money just pay your money so that that's where this can obviously you can become very expensive if we start to to uh to to go into a scenario where we're supporting National travel anyway this is what we came up but we don't expect to vote on this like right now we we're going to talk about this and you guys can uh give us some feedback over the next month and we'll look to maybe look to Pol to to adopt this policy maybe in July so again for athletics Casa sponsored events this is how we're going to cover meals and registration will come from the BHS activity account District provides the transportation of hotels that's instate travel of course we're just driving Vans or buses or whatever the case might be that's kind of part what we've done in the past that's not any changes over you know for many many years as long as I've been here probably further than that activities Nona events BHS activity account when it says not applicable that means they AR covering they aren't covering anything from the BHS activity account like they did for the meals and registration these are Nona things district will cover vehicle transportation as well as registration club or group deals with the meals and the hotels questions on these State related things up to this point this is this is kind of falling in line with other school what other school districts are doing as well my only comment is H is do we need to put anything about a legitimate National event or just something that is a in business industry you have a good softball team come to the Nationals in Ohio I mean there's are companies out there that do that oh yeah and so right I'm all for you know National F being a big National event and sending kids to it but I want to kind of make sure that they're going to real National events I think that falls qualifying event like State qualifying event or national qualifying he just asking about State yeah yeah that that's okay that yeah you read my mind though that I'm I'm F again we'll focus on state for just a moment and then we'll get to the National piece does anybody have any questions on the state it are all this is going to sound weird when I first say are all Thea sponsored events all Athletics other it's also Scholars bowl and forensics are also but FBA is not is not is that the only major activity that's FFA is not so it's really just probably not the right way of saying it but it's just fbl and FFA that are in that second category so so to give you an example FFA when they would go to a National Convention they typically they AR kid they're not competing there so they raise money to go to that National Convention it's more like a field trip if you will per se for them fbaa would go and they would compete so it's a little different between FFA and fbl and that's I think that's our distinguishing trait is some sort of competition and and one of them with betweena versus Nona like comes out of the BHS activity account is it came back to like okay what contributes and gives back to that BHS activity account because for example F I mean it's great we have all these kids doing everything else but there's there's no we don't we don't get any money for them doing anything so like a VHS activity account we use for like officials to host tournaments and it all just kind of Cycles through and replenishes itself but if we had to pay for fbl and there's there even just their State registration we would go down to almost no money because if you're spending 50 kids to State each kid is $50 oh my gosh and then if we were paying for their meals too oh my goodness like it would it would go and then they're not like baseball especially now we're charging for baseball baseball whatever they paid for whatever it cost the BHS activity account to send in the states they more than paid for by hosting games and forensics hosted a tournament more than paid for them themselves to go to state so my question and it could be ask for state but it'll be a bigger deal when we get to the Nationals but I think it does apply here if it is a club or a group going let's say it's a FBA going to some State activity and they have to play for their meals and hotels if the group has not raised enough money to pay for everybody do none of them go correct they check with Casey like on our end they check with Casey and Casey is the one that and it goes back to them like planning [Music] theer Regal State um and you have the option to like if you don't want to contribute to fundraising like f f if you came to any of our sporting events this year you probably saw Matt laber in a concession stand because and you saw really good participation from his kids in those concession stands and they earned the money to pay for everything that they needed just through they only concession stands then we at the Nationals with some other stuff um and so that's because the sponsor like plans in advance knows who have kids qualify and I guess my biggest concern is two kids qualify for let's say Nationals and something and the group doesn't have enough money to send both of them and now for lack of a better word rich kid gets to go and poor kid doesn't get to go I would say any situation like that that would happen we would work to make sure that anybody goes now there may be let's say for example opportunities to help out with like cleaning after an event and we would hire that that student if you will to do some like custodial work or some some just some work after after a a baseball football basketball softball game whatever the case might be we're going to make sure they there there are opportunities to be able to make sure that kid can fundraise that's my biggest concern is that everybody has everybody gets the same shot to go ear yes so I know this year was a big year for all these events going on and stuff and that's kind of what brought this up but so could the sponsors present a budget early on in their deal to say this I anticipate this money kids actually they not going to actually hit it but you're going to say it's going to cost $25 each for registration it's going to cost this much for air it's going to cost this much and present that at the beginning and justification why they need to go and then there'll be a column in there they earned and what's left you know kind deal we we talked about doing a a a an an initial amount to each group so for example fbl you get $3,000 right at the get the GetGo if you use 2,000 of it that's fine we'll take the th000 back if you use 5,000 you got to you got to raise for the other 2,000 we talked about doing that we talked about it on a per kid amount you know you do $500 per kid that qualifies something along that line there are all sorts of people doing all sorts of different things I we tell you this emails from some of my colleagues they just F out said we don't cover anything I got a handful of those guys a handful of those we don't cover anything those that they go to Nationals and way shape or form you're fundraising because that's above and beyond States so so again I mean I hey there's more than one way to do it and it's kind of whatever you guys want uh you know to to look at doing it does become expensive like James talked about beginning of the year like FBA we don't know exactly how many kids would would qualify so knowing how many you you just don't know but hopefully as the year goes on the sponsor sponsor should kind of keep that up they didn't know that 10 kids qualified coming up in the week before and Su hey we just got 10 kids are going to go to state or go to National like oh how much is that well well one of the things with that um items and italics is that um kid going to even to be able to go to Regionals there's going to be some qualifications so if they don't yeah I want to be part of a club there's all kinds of kids that want to be a part of Club never go to a meeting they pay their prbs they never do anything else we're weeding some of those away so now you have some more focused kids and then you have the kids who qualify the one difference um as we talked about too is last year for f a good example they stayed in Tia at State and so we kind of were scrambling for money uh meaning like how do we do this and so the district paid for either the hotels of registration and F did well this year they made the conscious Choice knowing that maybe that money is not going to be right there is not to stay and so their registration alone was like $2300 and so they saved the other $2,000 by not staying so again when you're talking about sponsor that's what Mr Wilson will be working with them is because I'm very adamant about is if you don't Ser go in the concession you don't do your service p do is because what are we teaching the kids is that they don't get to reap the benefits um and so but I feel um one of the recommendations for since we talking about fpla sponsor has been F sponsor before so going into that feel pretty very positive about where that contined toe so is this currently what we're doing with Athletics in for State yes that is currently what we're doing and what we have been doing I imagine for a while but what we've been doing since I've been here for sure is Nationals this is the first time has this stuff come up because we actually are paying for registration for fpla for Nationals right we are but again we're putting this in place for 24 right I'm just asking them I thought we were go ahead so can I ask a national question okay any anything else with States for right now okay let's move on to National once you told me that's how we've been doing it yeah cool uh my biggest question is is how are you to finding vehicle transportation versus airfare and by that I mean I know the difference between vehicle and airfare but if we're going to Florida can the student be like well I want you to drive me down there yeah that would be the sponsor's decision on whether it's an airplane or a drive and if it's one person are we going to send a USD 244 van all the way to Florida for one person when it's probably cheaper to fly probably in my mind the answer is no you're right the answer would be no there it's it's going to be dependent that's where the high school administration is going to have to get in have the conversation with the sponsor and that that's where we go so again the reason we talk ground transportation we own the van we have we have good vehicles we can send people all over wherever my other question then would be if airfare if we sit that group well it's a rental car considered vehicle transportation when you get there um I would say no think so it's going to be hard those are good questions just youeh Transportation school school transportation district own School transportation we will add that in yes good point I a lot of people look for loopholes so Lucas is one answered up for you so would be District own transportation we will make that adjustment good point what else about good points what else about National you put a many miles I just don't think it could be this simple an answer when you're talking that amount of money it is hard and it varies it does I'm not want to lie to you guys it does and I think what Lucas was talking about what Taylor talked about earlier with the is this like a I know it's not Kansas but a High School Athletic Association event or is this Joe scho decided to put on a baseball tournament in Colorado and we got invited because he has our address and it and it is and there's a lot of that there's a ton of that for every sport for every activity I that's just what it is but it's even hard with the like fpla is a good example yes it's legitimate yes it's Nationals but they also are required to stay in this hotel that costs this this amount of money and do this and it's like it's it's legitimate but it is still very much like those organizations F National National Organization versus like a baseball softball there's no National to it's done at State and then the rest of it is just like I mean I've never heard of a High School National Baseball Champion or tournament the cheer the cheer is where we talked about cheer can get out of control really fast because it's a big deal there are National 12 National tournaments a year there's CHS different guys at different levels too I mean you can be the top of the top be going division one schools you going to be maybe the lower part of leaders they'll take your money a state champion in 3A Kansas track is not going to compete in California against all classes but don't take your money and go do it they that's not a knock against any of the athletes we have but let's be realistic it's different it is different if I can add to there something else that probably needs to be considered is these optional National events amount of fundraising allowed you know if a group just decides hey we want to go to the you know national soccer tournament or whatever uh and compete you know and they've got to fundraising to do it you know are to what extent are we allowing fundraising to go on that's a valid point because if you drain everybody dry on one event then that cuts into everybody else's chance of donations I think has to go through Administration yeah improve type correct good good points guys sometimes it's tiny the lack of preparation on their part well problem problem not our problem there was enough events that came up related to this this year that if all the activity directors are not thinking about it on August 20th of next year they're probably behind the you know I can say as far as fundraising goes if teams or groups would plan ahead they're not going to be knocking on doors asking for money because I tell you what I am knocking on doors asking people to run concession stands and can't find anybody to do it I mean I have run it sometimes has sometimes I mean and you can groups like f for regional uh softball ran it and brought all their own food and made a ton of money because they prepared and I'm like oh you bring all your stuff I won't buy anything you pay for it you keep all the money and they made a lot of so there is plenty of opportunities there that does not involve asking businesses for money or knocking on or anything like that the club normally runs baseball softball concessions we asked them if they wanted to do regionals they did not they didn't have the so that's why F snack on that they did well Charlie and Taylor also are good about if you do things that maybe aren't like Varsity like our our Invitational Basketball Tournament or Invitational wrestling tournament if they just host that concession stand they don't make a killing they may not even take any profits that night and give all the profits to the group because they may not make a ton of money but to have the concession stand is nice for people in intendance so anyway they Charlie and Taylor do a good job of working with those grps so what else anything else back to my question a little bit on what I was talking about the budget deal on the Nationals I mean airfare scares me a little bit as it's wide open you know and so we don't have a limit on that and so they wait till up to last and air crazy you know I don't know you put a lid on that or you just group pay for it the club goes get oh they're paying oh okay scratch that comment what he said was correct but like so J made the good point when fpla I had a student call me and you know they were like we have to do this by May 1 or whatever date was and I said well I said well I just said 10 IDE did so I'm pretty sure like you can get on that in the week within a week and you can have your money whatever so get on it instead of calling your morning to me you know what I'm saying like just you know get turn it around this is like I say just for thought right now we'll look to on July look to make an approval and actual put in a policy in place for this so if you have some ideas just email we'll make the adjustment to District transportation and what was there was one other thing is that right District trans well we what kind of I we're talking about like distance on ground transportation or airfare within so many do we want to drive a van to Florida kind of thing keep say mile yeah I think that so now I'm G ask another silly question so what's the limit on me what the R so like when like for State we pay um for lunch and dinner for every day that they're there because usually the hotel we stay not provides breakfast and so they do get a prdm that's given to the coach the coach has sign out that they receed their pm and then turn in whatever receipts they have to me how $810 15 so it was we up it we this year to $10 for every meal we're again $10 get you very far especially for a high school it was it was it was 7 and 10 so now it's 10 and 10 and we probably need to go to 10 15 for scks so that's that's another waya got you which I'm I'm so angry at because I was F sponsor for years they never did this um f is able to get airbnbs Brian broney was able to get airbnbs and it Sav you yeah and so they get there and they cook their own meals they maybe went out once a day or once every two days whatever they were there to go to the hotel and they have have to go there and have to go in that vendor and it's that it's it's ridiculous and it's so expensive [Laughter] we can run a concession stand at the National Conference anyway um yeah we may have to look we may have to look at increasing the dollar amounts I think most parents understand that they will be somewhat responsible for meals even though we're doing 10 and 10 well I think this will help clear the air yeah clearly what we we will hear some well this is for last year things have changed a lot which is great I'm going to go back to the good news bad news good news is we got kids that are doing great things that're going out and being able to be successful outside of the the the the town of Burlington and Coffee County they are going out and being successful the bad news is we got to figure out how to fund it so anyway so having said that um think about this and we'll make a couple of those adjustments we'll bring this back for final approval good um at uh in July Yay good work and that's that's all I've got again just thank everybody for a successful school year and we off and going big time of Summer board reports anybody have any they want to discuss s budget information real quick this looks very familiar from what you've seen in the past which is some updates chrisy thank you for helping me update this uh you see some updates for base a for student Excellence so the amount we have this year is 88 goes to 53 78 slightly less than the 5388 that they had originally projected final adjustments from the legislator legislature came in at 5378 from 5388 you see some other information here um not going to read through all these things individually uh I will uh one thing that's a big uh big uh I guess an eye popping Grabber is that 15 to 20% increase in property and liability insurance that typically we have budgeted for 5 to 10 every other year I've been here we just Christie and I just did get that information this morning from Kimberly and Angela that they say not only is this a some things you have locally that we're dealing with but also I'm going to say a a just a national overall trend so they not only figure out you know how things you're doing with your local with your local policies but also they look at National Trends with accidents and storms and and cost the cost of a windshield now is maybe it was 3 four 5 years ago or the cost to fix up vehicle is different than it was 3 four 5 years ago if you have't or anything like that so having said that um that that's that's guys that's pretty significant and I put a document now there that you guys can look and see Christy helped to create that and thank you for helping create that today um it's a real number um for that increase um questions on anything here you have those recommendations by me moving forward will the board continue to support the government's philosophy superintendent in charge of the development administration of the budget within the budget limits established by the board or the board continue to support a local option budget of up to 32.5% or the state average of 2425 and again that that will be dependent upon what the state averages we have to report chrisye and I have to report to the state what we want to for our l we're looking at at our L up to a certain amount we put 32.5 but if if our if our um if the state average comes back in at 32.1 will be at 32.1 and then the board will the board support a continuance of a minimum of 4 M Levy in the capital outway fund for the purposes of maintaining improving the physical plant and instructional equipment in the district and again that's the four Ms we have the one mil for 3 years we didn't count that in this for the specific purpose of the BHS Welling shot project that'll be hopefully starting in 2025 do you have any questions on any of this that's for information I just ha to touch that Lo until after we decide we're any other questions okay now we can go to a s I'll move to recess executive session for 25 minutes to discuss employee non elected personel exemption Ona return to the Open session in this room at the end of that time including Craig Marshall second discussion e e e motion exective session for 15 minutes to discuss employe person exception to return room at the end of the time including Marshall second second discuss d e e e 10 minutes disc employee pursu to non personel exception come to return Open Session room at time second discussion I don't think any time goes as fast e e e okay we're back in session and most recess con for 20 minutes to disc employee presumed non elected Personnel accept return to open session in this room at the end of that time including great Marshall first second discussion very none [Music] subm not thank you motion carry e e e uh Scott um Scott Jeffers was very pleased with the interest in the position so um there is a list of people that I shared with you and like I say they feel like all of them could do a good job um you would be appointing position three and you do have some information um Down Below in board docs and executive content I'll make a motion to appoint Jo a Recreation Commission position three board member second motion second in discussion vote Scott meal prices going up okay yes meal prices are going up Christie set in on a very lengthy Zoom meeting was it last week yes yeah last week in regard to some adjustments that we need to make with our meal prices cost of food as we know when we go to the grocery store is challenging um we also have challenges dealing with uh you know the cost of food tying in with the the the transportation um the the the you know the trucking pieces of of the food and the increases there going up so this is some information you have chart form there in regards to the increase in meal prices and then down below you can see what the increases are going to be um do you have anything else you want to add from your meeting wasn't much of increase with these prices going up I mean breakfast is a dollar so that's that one's like a almost 40% increase if it's going from $1.75 to 275 I'm reading that right is this increase going to affect the number of students who get um free or reduced I I would hope it would encourage people to fill out those forms because we do believe that there are some people that don't fill out the forms that are El are eligible so and that helps us what youve just heard with Darla earlier today on the 21st century after school program we need people to fill they're confidential no one knows I don't know uh I and it's it's confidential information but it can help us obviously with funding and it can help them personally with their own personal budget I guess my question really comes down to I don't know what the cut off is for those meals is it based on the fre anded lunches is based on your income family income okay so well it just makes me wonder if you're if you're feeding your kids then do we need to put that number out and say hey your kid would have cost this much last year but will cost this much next year you should consider is that information we you put out because an extra a dollar a day for breakfast is 200 bucks for one kid yeah and there are kids they're not going to get breakfast if they don't need it say you have three kids th me and there you're talking $1,000 Sor go you hold on Ronnie your wife's ahead of you you're you're you're next put we put out um a pricing list and it breaks it down by um semester by year um by week if they want to do so day week month semester will it show the increase from last year um it will not but we can do it easily makes me wonder if you told people meals are going to cost about 20% more than they did last year but if you put that out before enrollment enrollment or what you know I don't know when you normally put that out reduced lunch applications can't be released until July and then when's the latest they can be fill out social media we can advertise in social media just me prices increase this is how much remember when it was free a couple years ago well now it's going up a lot right I at least I at least think Christie we should explain to people that because I'm going to guess if you showed me this list and I didn't have last year's I wouldn't know that this was an increase because I don't know what the amounts are now Ronnie did you have something you wanted to ask the end yeah was say just to be mindful not to uh insult people yeah because some people some people no matter how little they make they might not take you up on it they might take all we can do is ask we can't incentivize I mean there's lots of probably good ways to or like you may want to do that but you cannot right right I just didn't know if when we sent out rollet packets if we could put a piece of paper in there or not and it went to everybody I don't know how that would work it did it used in the pack applications are in every sing okay now that we do now that we do online enrollment though it looks we'll work on getting some social media out there and some advertis will be very respectful Ronnie thank you for that comment appreciate your comment there being respectful we don't want to we don't want to um put have any my stigma or put down or anything in any way shape or form so um yes okay thenand Mo approve no approv 20242 scho year second discussion hearing none theage time's tough you heard say they get chicken nuggets oh yeah chicken nugget tax I didn't even know they got a very well and I was is that like an alterate lunch every day instead of having two main Entre and we focus on one main entree each day that's different and one that's consistent and we did it in mcferson guys and it made a huge difference because we talked about this kids eating chicken nuggets every day is that a healthy thing well it's it's probably not the best thing but they get the rest of the class a meal fruits vegetables milk it's a protein they they get the whole meal and hopefully they're eating the whole meal versus bringing you lunch from home that has candy candy corn candy cane candy candy you know I mean I me elf that's my elf reference for tonight you came to the board meeting you didn't know you were going to get elf reference I think that's I did not know it I'm thrilled but but it chicken nuggets and one of the elementary school has Chen nugget as a choice and they voted on that that's what they wanted the middle and the high school voted to have unrustable pbjs they they love it they love those and that's what they voted on we'll probably who knows we may do another vote to see if there's a difference but a consistent entree that doesn't take a lot of a lot of time and effort for them to prepare hopefully makes their their entree that they're doing different every day hopefully it makes it high quality that's our intention good chicken had chicken okayu resources talk about your incase okay yes on instructional resources here we've done a little uh research on this cig Christie and I did a little bit we went back and we looked in 1819 if you look at enrollment form there for 1819 and it uh had we actually have decreased our enrollment fees over the past 5 years so in 1819 there was a instructional fee for example at the elementary school of $45 Middle School of $45 and high school $50 that basically focused on the tech fee that was the the biggest primary piece of that um especially for high school and middle school because we were one to one now we had good we had good funds in our in our textbook line item at those times now we've kind of decreased those over the last few years especially with some adoptions that we've had for math for English language arts so on and so forth so the increase in fees it looks like it's a significant increase from this past year in the past 5 years but if you go back 5 years ago we lowered those fees and we kept them low for 5 years so now we do have to increase those fees to rebuild our funds back especially a textbook L an item and uh that that's what we are we're proposing uh for an increase in school fees what you're getting at is a few years ago that the elementary the Middle School were 45 correct and now we're going to 50 it looks like a $20 jump but really it's just returning to the mean correct Now High School back then was 50 though so we're kind of in the same 50 to 75 that has really gone down there right correct and part of the instructional resource fee at the high school deals with a lot of different individual class they can take we did before I when I first got here we used to have specific fees for those elective classes in a lot of cases we did we haven't returned back to that but we may do that we may look at that closely because I will say this we spent a lot of money on art supplies this past for for this coming school year do we need to say if you're taking art there's a $25 fee or a $50 fee do we need to do that we are going to look at that as a possibility for next school year May return back to those itemized choices for those elective classes like what was on the 1819 form correct yes good good good points other questions that you may have so for five years it was kind of good it's kind of like meal like mentioned for Co we had free meals for Cle May they'll decid for can we on the Elementary in the Middle School can can we add in the resource word because it just says instructional fee so to me that seems like I'm paying for the like teacher so oh you on the new en form so where it says instructional fee if we just put instructional resource fee because on the high school it has it we sure instructional resource fee instructional res I see I see that thank you good we'll get that yeah we'll change that is there a this one is there a reason the after school program fees and the preschool fees amount is not listed so this is um utilized sort of as like a checkout receipt and so if families would like to add those dollar amounts on there they can put whatever they want so if they wanted to pay two months for example of preschool they could add $300 or they they wanted to do certain amount $50 towards the after just kind pre for your lunch yeah just like food service payment at the bottom like you could put $200 in your account so so you didn't oll them she [Music] F all right we'll find that out FR after forids we will we will get that information and preschool is like 150 a month I think so don't hold me to that don't hold me to that I think that's it model all righty then other questions motion to approve instructional resource rentals and fees textbooks and laptop usage as second discuss [Music] motion car 6 C does the plan to wait till next year to look at those individual class yes do you I I don't think we really need to but we the first meeting got everything resolved non Financial we're waiting on some insurance information specific to us hopefully we're going to know this tomorrow Wednesday at the we may or may not meet Wednesday depending on that information and then U we're working on some like you know some some other Financial things but I think I don't really think we need to go into executive session unless you guys feel like we need to I don't not for that okay [Music] 11 most the recess ex session 10 minutes discuss a matter pursuant to exception Rel to actions affecting student under to return to open session in this room at the end of that time including Marshall are we going to get through that in 10 minutes I do believe yes okay I do believe I'll second motion second out oh yes sorry we got you sorry e e e e anybody have any comments good discuss thank everybody for having passion it shows we all care about school right we all care about the kids so I appreciate everybody's comments everybody come out without bloody noses great great discussion any have anything else hey

e e e all right just wait a couple right I appreciate that that's very nice I don't okay we'll go ahead and call the meeting to order's another down there first item on the agenda is approval of the agenda move to approve the agenda so motion by Alon and second by Josh all those in favor say I any oppos same sign motion passes 6 and then approval of the minutes from the May 13 24 meeting move second motion by Josh second by Allison all those in favor say I I any oppose same sign motion passes 60 and approval of the treasurers report present motion by Josh second second by Allison all those in favor say I I any opposed same sign motion passes 6 Z it five is approval of invoices are there any so the HVAC has one of those invoices on there and then have pretty large especially pass through also have 100,000 graduation Alliance those are some of the major ones other than that we you know we're doing a lot of startup purchasing also for next year any questions on anything I have a question on that irrigation repair was that on the new system is actually once you put the system in valves didn't work to get grass is this side the old what was the repair of the old Sy on the front yard front yard here yeah valve we change that water any other questions a motion by Kayla and second from Chad all those in favor say I I any oppos than motion passes 60 item number six is the reconciliation and cash balances report the documents are attach for there those all reconcile and match the bank balance to theas report anybody have any questions over that okay okay um item number eight is the handbooks have all you guys are sorry you guys are actually on later on in okay yeah sorry we have all the handbooks uploaded for you plus uh talking about the changes for uh the three schools uh you will have one from the virtual school that will add to this that after you review it this month you'll approve it next month uh the changes are attendance talk about chronically ABS what it means and so forth that talks about putting students at risk of not graduating and so forth also ask also States a child that missed 10% of the school year doctor will be required a note for further ABS be excused that's a recommendation dress shorts and skirts must meet the Clos fist level and must be visible the added Health Services basically talking about students that diagnosed with live headlights uh do not need to be sent home School they'll go home the day treated return to school best per Health Department guidelines report cards grades can be viewed anytime through PR school account telephones electronic devices will be allowed in the building they may not be seen or heard during school hours un must give direct information by the instructor other personal devices wireless headphones will not come out MET as to those and come up with an agreement what best changes there is a statement in there that these can be changed at any time it can be adopted in July at Christmas there needs to be another change it could be changed by at that time questions you mind if I add one to that yes go ahead so the whenever we talked with the administration team the technology and electronics was just for the elementary school for now so on that document you can kind of see that's on there as well so that's correct sry that so what what does that mean that means you can have those electronic devices in the high school as pered Elementary they don't whereas you can have those because they are loud at times meaning like the Bluetooth or wireless headphones as far as meaning like the Bluetooth or wireless headphones things like that or pertaining to like the cell phones and smart watches the Bluetooth headsets are allowed yeah in school and other electronic devices at this time here's saying there's no change to the Junior Senior High policy the changes on that as far as not allowing okay they not allowed in the grade school what's that they're not allowed in the grade schooling this yes not in the we had all the administrators and all the new administrators so did we take out because previously we had like if they had to be taken away or they would be get back within 24 hours or is that still in there or did we take all that out [Music] okay so more detail the gotcha okay so the same rules apply as far as if it does have to be taken away we did talk about that about changing like the 24hour to at the end of the school day or something do we need to clarify that remember I don't think that we unes yeah and that's why we know needed to clarify that in order to enforce that and be sure that we're enforcing it as per policy if we need to change the word yeah I'll go back it'll be enforced by the way it's written and if there needs to be a change that's can change any time that change can occur any time I think that was the sensus that not change it at this time and then maybe wait to see right okay any other questions and item so we're not going to take any action on that right now we'll take action for approval of the July meeting that was just kind of the first reading so moving on to item number nine policy updates so policy jbcc has been revised due to a state statute that was passed at the end of the session which changed some of the open enrollment rules and this policy addresses all those changes remember we had to publish and wait 10 days before we can have the hearing on this policy because we've already did that once all we need to do is to amend this policy uh this policy needs to be in effect as soon as we can because we're already in the process of taking applications for open so things that this policy changes the timelines starting next year applications will be taken from January 1st to June 15 okay another thing is it that allows the districts to deny applications on students that deem not a good standing but it also grants an appeal right to the school board and a timeline to be followed in this process it also grandfathers certain students that do not need to apply such as employees students siblings and so forth those are all grandfather they do not all the things we talked about during that session okay uh it does clarifi try to clarify the transportation you do not have to transport non-resident students unless another Federal Law requires it such as that IP or 504 something that has drawn up that says a student needs to be transported otherwise there's no Transportation also this policy does not apply to Virtual schools whatsoever I may clarify that uh non-resident student uh basically State Kansas besides the state of Kansas so those are the main changes within this policies the same policy we adopted with those changes to meet the state law we can approve it tonight amend it this it correct term we can't Adit that policy as we've already approved it earlier this year any questions that you've seen as you read the poliy I would entertain a motion to amend the policy jbbc as presented motion by Allison second by Josh all those in favor say I I any opposed same sign motion passes item number 10 and Junior High football Cooperative agreement we have a request from Chase to have a Cooperative agreement Junior High football they have four participants possibly we have 10 to 12 uh the league has already considered this and actually made some Provisions they had to anyway because Chase couldn't fight so they had to change Chase schedule so that's already been done uh if this passes the volleyball be triangular with play requested that they pay for half of the officiating at home bits because they'll be involved half of the contest in volleyball also how many kids do they got have how many kids do they got have for um we also bring kids to bushon for practice and to cl to the par and to arrive back home from the kids do we know them four students are they seventh or eighth graders and I know this says one year I didn't know if that's going to be a major difference next year or we right junior high is usually for one year at a time high school agreement but either team either school could back out of it okay in high school right get a twoe junior high is just for year and actually Junior High could be made right up to the time because there's no classifications no postseason so it's a pretty simple it's a lot simpler process than High School motion by Kayla and a second by Allison any other questions or comments all those in favor say I I any oppos say sign motion passes 60 item number 11 out of state travel request by FFA and courney and Callen and Charlie if you guys want to come up and talk right now thank you guys for having us um teacher Callen is my president this year he was my president last year Charlie's my vice president this coming year so both returning officers um both do a lot of things for me and they're here to talk to you about why um out of state travel is important for us uh getting ready for our officer Retreat here at the end of July and then also National Convention this fall guys want take away okay um so like she said the two things that we wanted to talk to you guys about was our officer retreat at the end of July and National Convention late October um so for some of the reasons that um we like to go on an officer tree um this year we didn't go on one this was her first year here um kind of getting our FFA program reamped um so we didn't have one this year and so uh are we're hoping that we get it approve this year um some so the state does do an off surgery but it's I think $1,00 well it's oh $200 difference between cost yeah yeah um but some of the perks of us doing our own um would be that we get to personalize it to what our chapter officers need um we the only thing we would ask from the school would be um Transit transportation to get to Colorado right I think struggled with like being able to around all the school events and we had meet so many times and it wasn't as organized as we would like it to be and so we're hoping to get this trip to like be able to get all planned out and we don't have to stress about it as much as we did this year the time count for one of our events if there's small things that need to be tweaked then we can do it fast and not have to worry about other stuff like there was a couple times this year where like we had stuff scheduled and then uh people other people decided that they wanted the schedule meeting around us and uh it would be nice to have everything planned out for the entire that doesn't happen yeah the bonding time these kids get in the vehicle um not only with me but with each other is really important um they really grow as a team when you shove kids in a van for eight hours together um and force them to talk about what they want to do what their goals are not only for themselves for their chapter um and as a team they really do Bond and create those experiences I've done the state Le um officer Retreat I've taken kids out of state within eight hours um the kids tend to remember the out of state experience es I think it's really important that we continue to um give our kids opportunities and experiences outside of Central Kansas I love Central Kansas but kids need to understand what else is out there um also agriculture wise there's a lot more out there um and a lot of cool opportunities um so yeah there while it will be fun um we'll do some fun stuff it's also a lot of work my officer team I expect a lot out of they um do a lot of stuff for me um so in return I like to reward them a little bit but there are some high expectations and they will be up late um planning out the whole year and getting work done as well um I know um other chapters in our school district have traveled out of state in the past um several schools follow the same method of taking kids out of state show them some different experiences um like I said we compared the cost and we're about $200 difference um and what we do the book I have them follow through um and everything we do fits our meets much better so that's as far as state officer Retreat um and then I was also going to say uh ever since we in April was our b um after our banquet we started talking more about fundraising and stuff for it so we've been talking about that U we probably gonna continue with the one that we had this year and then uh we have another company we might use that I found and so that would be good if we could fund little extra money just cover small National Convention also there's a lot of Grants out there um not only local but at the FFA level that I'm looking at um helping us cover those travel expenses national conventions just a really cool experience not only kid seeing what can happen at the national level in the FFA organization but the industry that buys into the FFA organization that's their colleges is um Expo Center it exposes kids to so much um and these two along with my 58 other members there's some really cool kids and they've bought into this program and I really want to continue to um give them their full opportunities within the FFA and I think uh these two travel opportunities will help us do that um and then I know I had um some people asked about the uh if you all I think you'll have the itinerary for the surgery um for their educational act tour that's kind of Broad and so um we have been talking about that and we aren't really uh we haven't planed like we have stuff that options like that we can pick from but we haven't planned it because we don't know we any other questions coms have you been to the colorer one yourself um so it's not an actual convention or anything it's just the kids and I hanging out doing this so I've done this setup in South Dakota and Texas okay where I follow this book and the itinerary you're seing I just changed it to fit Colorado instead of South Dakota or Texas gocha um and like I said I taken kids to the Kansas one I see the benefits of it the problem is is they get mixed in with other chapters I don't get to spend a lot of time with them so we leave with great ideas um but we don't have our year planned and I think right now where we're at we have some wonderful ideas we really need to have a set plan to execute well this coming year um Lions I know the I teacher really well at any point if we want to go collab with their um officer team she would be more than happy to host us so those opportunities are there okay six officers I have six officers this year yes they all are going that was part of their contract they um this was the first year they inter filled out an application interviewed and signed a contract part of their contract is that they have to attend um their officer Retreat it's very important that they are on board with me that was another thing with the state uh ones is those dates did not fit in our kids' schedules our kids are spread pretty thit in the summer some going to Washington right do yep uh no I don't think so two total different opportunities I am really excited oh all four of them are officers yes all four I'm taking to DC are officers I'm excited what leadership opportunities they get there they come back with fresh ideas to then turn around and share with the rest of the officer team so no these kids are pretty FFA hungry so um the more we can get them in better any questions thank you guys very much I would entertain a motion to approve the request for the FFA travel Colorado and Indianapolis and to provide transportation motion by Allison second second by Josh all those in favor say I I any opposed same sign motion passes 60 student feeds should have the spreadsheet we haven't changed me prices for a while except for adults which adults are supposed to keep up with what the reimbursable bill is given to us by the federal state it's a 485 so we just went up a quarter there uh we are asking a 10% increase because if we do the cap 10 cap uh the requirements for the transfer is not so great we've been very good it very close to self-sufficient we will make some transfer of course we always start with three months try to by law we can start with three months uh budget uh in our carryover and so that's to the very end here so very efficient as far as our food service but uh 10 cents will put us where we need to be as far as uh transfer what we need to do and the 10 cent is the minimum in do transer okay the other one's daycare at Wilson uh we're looking at a weekly increase is you know the loss was we talked about that this will help some as I worked on it looked at it I think the only way to overcome this would be to actually put two rooms with the same emplo that you could make money otherwise one room with two employees and three infants like we have is going to continue down this path so and this be districtwide just so you know this if the board adopt this fee as we look at Hol rote we're having discussions if we happen to get a room open in Hol room those these fees would carry it to that also we've had committee meeting to to discuss that and how to get that open but those are the only increases in fees that i' where does Day Care need to be at pricewise to break even lot more than that a week um because of the three infants only carry you know two slots so as half of your three impants are half of your slots want to carry six other children we have three of so you look at that calculate that it CS about 25% of your income uh I will tell you that one employee most home daycare is only run 10 even though they got 12 slots only around 10 because the other two children keep doesn't pay for your extra help you hire to cover so if you at 10 or less per bre it's never going to be a tell you that right now it'll never be what I'd say money maker it's more you know biggest problem with daycare is our staff right now we have some young staff members that have daycare issues I will tell you that you know there's other employees other businesses out there they can't get their employees to come back to work because they just had a child but they have nowhere to go they talk to me about that I they want their employees back you know we have more daycare so just want to bring that up cost of dayare where we're at continue to look at that I think the good option had discussions Mr Burpy and I we would had some discussions on possibilities you could be getting more funds help cover some so that is the salary still the only expense what's that is salary still the only expense on that or do you have other expenses pretty much I mean the rest is utilities and that's all Blended you can't cut you we cannot separate we don't have separate meters and stuff so you can't really separate what that one classroom is doing which is pretty I would say be honest with you that many square feet and they they're not there any earlier than what my custodian show up and turn lights on and get ready to go equipment or toys or all that that's just we that's all been donations and grants grants Grant we and then I think they had some other gr or other donations so I entertain a motion to approve the 2425 student fees as presented motion by Allison second second by Josh any further questions comments hearing none all those in favor say I I any oppos same signs motion passes 60 and the district Insurance renewal this is informational for tonight uh because our property insurance will expire June 30th July 1st as you can tell our our new proposal for next year's property insurance is a 21% increase last year was a 27% increase so we've went up 48% in two years uh we do have another proposal coming from it's called kites it's a KB sponsored pool uh waiting to hear what their proposal might we we're gu we've been told it be here early enough that we can look at it and have a proposal at end of the year I guess what I really wanted to say is make sure that we know what it's costing us because when the next week comes in and it will I want to tell you right now it's not going to be like we're going to sa a ton of money on it be honest with you property insurance all across the board's going up but I do expect that it might be less what this is and we really haven't had any claims per se for a lot so we looked at that last time another company the PO de U since I you went to Conrad probably we've been with them before yes we all that for a while and then we went back Toc yeah when we did that we were looking at getting of and when we went Toc that's when uh I know for a fact that they applications isue so it's one of those things everybody's Insurance there's several people that been can emc's cancel insurance I know at least five schools just can't they can probably lost lot of had a high claim which that happens all insurance companies sometimes do that so you know because we really don't and so also talk about deductible at one point we thought we were going to do a 1% deductible which would need 300,000 for every time you had a claim but they went to 75,000 per building claim which I will tell you the new proposal will be different it'll be an accuma to PL it will be so if you happen to have two buildings hit it would be 150,000 H basically they don't cover hail of wind they just know that we're in area that wind hail damag a lot of us so and it's going to be high I think even personal property the Residential Properties I would guess proba love this because the cost as long as we keep hailing and put new GRS on that will continue let you know where where we're at do we have any damage from the St from the last one up there now we had some leaks we have a this morning I looked at a 2X two foot area on the one FL that had cup WS but I think they'll go down it's only about a 2 by two fo area the rest of all links we've had we've been fight hood and fight links same same links every time green hard fight the company i s that did them just what two years ago two years ago have they been out yeah she said they were out talked to her and then they left so I called them and I just talked to Angie this morning they little bit they left so I gotta call John back to see where they're at I just talk to this morning I don't know they Jan were they at Hol Rood I can't hear Wilson was Wilson at your building checking leaks y did they do anything other than check them I think they did some more and then that's what I assume they're going to do a spray they're a Spray Company it's not there's a lot of water in that gy yeah yeah my dad said his insurance they want to charge him it was at least $5,000 if not more than that a year more just for working on school buses said he was temped to not even do it we we need some and Steve both so yeah insurance is just okay item number 14 the KB workers compensation renewal for good news modification anytime you get a modification under one that's very positive we've have a decrease in premium 23718 that's pretty good get a decrease size comp so that is a good news i' recommend that we approve the work this comp again next year along with a threeyear royalty credit program any questions any other questions about the workers comp okay I would entertain a motion to approve the Workers Compensation Insurance renewal with KP for the 2425 school year along with the threeyear Loyalty credit program so motion by Allison second second by Josh all those in favor say I I any oppos same sign motion passes 60 then the district's auditor engagement letter so last year we were up for a new agreement and we only extended it one year uh we did ask for a threeyear G threeyear commitment this year as you see the fees there for the next three years and what they've did the past three years I have continue to use was no longer the company that's how I know four names yeah I so any questions on you said it's typical that we do usually do a agreement but last last year and we used yeah that's only years and now you do everything upload so it only takes like a day maybe a day and a half so we do a lot of Correspondence onl I feel they're very good a company I know some other aors that's okay we'd rather deal with that than I move to approve Adams Brown as the district auditor for the next three years motion by Allison and second by Josh any other questions or comments okay hearing none all those in favor say I I any oppos same sign motion passes 60 the Wilson inactive activity funds we have 13 funds activity funds that have been inactive at Wilson U recommending that we end up closing all 13 of those uh as far as the funds dispers dispersing of the funds recommending the athletic gate of 16175 go to Central planes High School athletic fund uh class of 2023 have zero funds the remainder have funds totaling 7,607 88 BR Community theyo to the after school program fund Wilson to help offset any cost to the district might have to to keep the after school program ready I will tell you that currently the after school program is funded with funds that out September do you know how the after school program was funded prior to I don't think they didn't have one okay as far as I understand you started because of started because of that's where the Sal were set a little bit higher than our normal rates second motion by Kayla and a second by Allison um so the band club and the dragon account we're going leave used this year okay all of the all the funds that are not on this list have been utilized at some point The Learning Center is kind of a blow through which other one did you ask um the dragon account that is our main Elementary account that we use for any other questions comments hearing none all those in favor say I I any oppos same sign motion passes 60 item number 17 Consulting Services fees for Education First is there both on monthly and an hourly rates again that'll be up to the board superintendent Murphy to determine the need monthly it can change whenever it's there just for services of the so we had kind of talked um and especially this first month while they're doing the budget and just to get Mr Murphy kind of make the transition completely I think it would probably be ideal to do the monthly and then from there on out we can give Mr Murphy the discretion if you want to do hour basis or continue with a monthly basis but especially this first month that will allow time from Mr low to come back and be on site to help with with the budget and the daycare or anything else like that as we transition over are you comfortable I am especially with the daycare situation um where we're at with the taxers that Mr L is looking at you know for the daycare here and then the opportunity for the daycare in h as well with the ball roll it would make me feel a little comfortable if we did have access to him at least for the first month yeah move contract with Education First and accept the proposal for monthly services at a rate of $1,500 a month to be evaluated on a monthly basis is that okay sorry motion by Allison and second by Josh any other questions comments this will be like an agreement right and all that will apply this will be an agreement right it's it's a nonbing contract it's kind of like when you hire C no guar you want to do the first and then we go to be evu and make sure Hees it all right any other questions or comments okay there was already a motion by Allison and a second by Josh so all those in favor say I I any oppos same sign motion passes 60 the public schools Grant well-rounded preschoolers the eag has received a grant from one up for preschool uh for well red preschoolers like theard approve this grant for preschool one I move to approve the well-rounded preschoolers Grant in the amount of $5,000 for one Oak motion by Allison and a second by Josh and I would just like to thank Amanda Ingam for pursuing that Grant and getting that for the students in the school any other questions all those in favor say I I any oppos same sign motion passes 60 item number 19 vehicle purchase so I I included a state bid uh for a Ford 2024 Ford Transit U the base price is with other some options which they one of them is an uplift the state has approved taking a 12 passenger van and uplifting it upfitting it to 10 by qualified people so because they're not making t whether make it 12 so that's one of the major upgrades is that U I would recommend a couple other options but that's pretty minor the backup sensors on those things for people they don't and possibly depends on whether or not it's to be outside um cost of that would be right at $5,000 state it takes four to six months to get within 30 days they will put taking bids on 2024 repriced the 2025 put contracts back out my recommendation is to go ahead and purchase one off the state bed l do we need to um I would that's by any other options just that we purchas off the state B we got the state bid and I I'll have a letter contract they have minimum is 5472 maximum 55 so there's about $350 differ okay I move to approve the purchase of 24 for Transit from the state bedless motion by Josh second by Chad any other questions we gonna we're going to sell a couple veh wer we let me report on that we sold two purple W two that had two issues 29 and we sold one of the chair lft for 125 BS I still have one chair L B I could sell I haven't some that yet that chair LIF we went to another school right yeah I have one more to sell possibly to sell has about 146,000 but it has a chair which minimize the occup sold that at that time but yes we've sold three of those we approved that list last month pay for out account this okay so there was a motion by Josh and a second by Chad any other questions or comments hearing none all those in favor say I I I any opposed same sign motion passes 60 item number 20 the carpet bids you see the carpet bids from Wiston Millers you can look at the dollars different so the highest ones that Central PL Zary couple reasons number one the preschool rooms we going put half luxury vinyl so all carpet the electric vinyl is a system that you can pull up one put one down most luxury vinyls took together to where it's corner you got take it all to get to the corner and put it all back this is a system same system they used right Legion in Hol it's like magnetic yes has a magnetic underneath label so it's snap in Stamp Out along with three other classrooms to finish that one end uh at Wilson it's the entire office area work room plus the second grade room at this time on carpet and then here at the high Z plays High School is the opposite in W interor they they knew that it was a perm bid not just a yep they did a good job last year that did we have timelines from either one of them this Summer we got this summer might be one piece of I would entertain a motion to the bid for Wilson and cpes to went interior and award the bid for Place Junior Senior High School to Millers as presented motion by Alison second by Josh any other questions all those in favor say I any oppos same sign motion passes 60 technology proposal I attached our fiveyear technology plan that we did last year that we're in our second year of that so this proposal is to do those upgrades for four through eight plus some auxiliary ones along with three touch TVs I will tell you that we have a lot of people only put one in a building there a lot of people that would like to have one so at some point we can do that increase speed of put those in because a lot ofart starting to not function the looking at that normally are we ordering a total of computers yeah and that was just for 4 through and sub so we have like virtual so when I Tred to figure out get the same numbers this includes all of central PL High School right I'm sorry what because I mean getting the numbers I couldn't get them to add up unless I included all of central PL High School teachers so it would be like this year and the one the one uh one book The Chrome book is science some some I get it I numbers to match them I don't know what how you got 27 because I was looking through and in order for me to get 27 computers out of this list it included all of high school so I guess I don't know we it's 712 right I mean not 48 and I included those yep I have the four through four through eight or four through six and then has to be right yeah he says this year there's going to be four through eight teachers I'm sorry coming so because they sell so they would they'd be like a first grade a first grade teacher would get it because they're a new teacher they buy their own I don't know are they buying their teacher is this so so we have new in addition to the rotation basally I still would like to see that I I couldn't get them to work out even with some new that would be great have to so I mean if we are then that would just you know cut two years down to one while he's getting that handbook or that list I might explain too that in the past we've used our uh small rule schools Grant kind of in the I I want to say after the fact I feel this year we need to go ahead and pay for these up front and save that because that's not something we get until later in the year use that the following year because you'll have it in hand sometimes next it gets us back on like a better calendar schedule Capital you're not banking on it anymore corre and they give you deadline so spend it also extra months and it changes price like this year so you don't know I knew there's some supplemental type features that we get so Paris we give Paris equipment too that's even though she's a parish still normally the PA have chooks but this is the that does supports TR a lot with thear center stff and the U you know after graduation graduation so I know like on Wilson speech teacher she's through the co-op right is Central PL through Central cents what's up the speech teacher we have to provide our specialed okay just say with any spal L teacher or student will receive the same as any other teacher or student only if it's something that we don'ts all of our staff with special think it's 26 is what I'm looking at libr right Sharon coer is that what she said yeah yeah she's used she's been used in an old whitebook that hasn't been able to be updated probably four or five years the MacBooks I've got on there are not well they just announced new ones but I'm hoping we can get a six years rotation started in PC so like the ones that you um the ones that were purchased like or going to purchase this year like Lisa CES I saw we just purchased anyone her was on the AP invoices she'll be taken out of next year's thing right she what she the list this year well she though we just paid an invoice for a computer for her just this we just approved it well the one yeah the one she been using right so she'll be taken out of the rotation room for next year that she six GRS W get one what's that the sixth grade Wilson won't get one don't know ask Sherry takes care of that up there so what do you guys do with the old Department what's that what do you do with the old Department depends on how old it is some of them save Spar break down some resold through the technology they companies there's a company we used for several years same one that and they come pick it up or they pay for the shipping I mean you know we describe it they tell how much they'd offer for it and and they pay for shipping this box but we wipe them all first make sure everything yeah so we had before we started this we had several people have outdated maches by long 13 years that couldn't get upes one reason they could me the choice choic between Apple PC any other questions hearing none I would entertain a motion to approve the technology proposal as presented at the cost of $339 47 from Capital outlay this to be paid out this year also motion by Josh second second by Alison all those in favor say I I I any opposed same sign motion passes 60 end of the year meeting I to propose either 7 or 7:30 a.m.

e e e back into Open Session can everyone please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance my pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation God indivisible andice for does anybody have anything to add to the agenda can I please have a motion to approve the agenda second Lauren and Vivian all in favor I I any oppose I accomplishment recognition Mr Gold track and field state qualifiers all right I'm gonna invite coach Walters up to uh talk a little bit about his track team I appreciate I know we have a light turnout tonight but I appreciate you all uh coming and we want to recognize you for the excellent accomplishments that you had this track season and I'll let Mr Walters uh introduce you and share a few things Tick Tock star there go all right so we brought down two Rel teams couple individuals as well so eighth grade side both are absent today I know one's out of the country so we had jir and Tyler uh jir and the 10200 and Tyler in the 1600 uh jir missed just just missed placing by one spot in both his events uh Tyler ran a PR was all you can ask um six seven Great boys we qualified our 4 by1 team uh Radley Ben as a call on up I get recognized of Radley Ben Aiden Bo's not here Harrison and Martell R uh they run the 4 by one yep how was the experience being down east por lot of people pretty big track very good good you run uh run your PR right oh that's right that's right hand off good it's great to run against that kind of competition though isn't it glad you guys got experience right and on the girl side we had our had Ariana or Ari qualified in the hurdles she's our first girl hurdler to qualify ever and then said she was part of the 4x1 the qualified of zamira herself fada and Julia an alterate of Hayden so Aran zir want to come up the girls 4x1 team is are also our first 4x1 or first relay team to uh medal down as well by one they ran a a PR and School record so yeah record School record y that's the one here we have a former State qualifier all right if you want if any parents want want a picture of the kids up here we'll just go ahead and get you guys lined up here I'm going to step out of [Applause] all right board member code of conduct review I was gone last month so all read it I will sufficiently I will be sufficiently informed and prepared to act on the specific issues before the board remain reasonably knowledge about local State national and Global education issues consent agenda anybody questions on the consent agenda can I just mention something about item eight um the building usage form I made a couple of changes and you saw it in I want to clarify Grant B Junior Bulldog feeder we don't charge for their usage I just want to clarify that in our building usage form and then we also I'm recommending that we do the same for uh we have some and we've had an increase in the number of these like after school programs that only serve our kids so like a chess club or a and I don't feel right about charging them to use the space because they just pass a charge on to our families so I'm going to try to see if I can get them to lower their fees and we drop our so it's it's it's it's only our kids I know that travel basketball uses it and I want to just make sure that they're not going in under us because they charge their kids a lot to play basketball and so then the more as I know yeah they're The Challengers if they're using it they're supposed to be paying but I I need I would just make sure they are yeah okay yeah because they're they don't fall under us no correct I just wanted to point that out do you need to clarify what Feer program it is it does it well it says Grant Junior feeder programming so they would fall under a for-profit number four yeah I don't know much about yeah because they're all all like it would be like if the travel cheer did it or like the right fire yeah usually like unless they told us they were Grant bull Junior bulldogs and they really aren't that would that would be the problem right they told us they are a different program we we fall under number four okay cool anybody have any other questions okay please have a motion to approve the consent agenda motion Doug and Lauren yes yes yes yes number nine superintendent's report Mr Gold okay a couple items uh reunification planning I just wanted you to be aware that we uh this last couple weeks two weeks ago we our our entire administrative team uh our office staff in each building uh Transportation Food Service facilities all we got them all together we did a reification training at Grant High School and uh um and what I mean by reunification training it's a training that what we would do if we had to if we had an emergency onsite a catastrophe here at school and we had to relocate the kids to another place and and reunify parents to the kids from that location so we have locations already pinned out in our emergency plan which I'm going to share with I'm going to share with you all in closed session uh July or August but um we have all that all those details worked out but what uh Grant High School Fox Lake 114 Gavin 37 and Lake Villa uh we decided uh to all do um the same reunification training it's through a pro through a group called it's uh called called I love you guys that's the organization that puts together this training and uh resources free resources for us to use in case of reification but we thought we would all get the same training uh so that we could lean on each other if we had if we need it so if because if a catastrophe happens here it's likely that the staff that we would need to do the reinf may not have the capacity to do it maybe went through a trauma that day maybe you know whatever's going on so we would call Grant and have them run our reification at the other site so so anyway we all got trained on the same thing this and we'll continue uh moving forward with that just want to know you're make sure you're aware of that um Item B is a uh kind of a it's an exciting thing to update you on actually I wasn't planning on this happening um but the the legis there's legislation signed on Friday that I was not anticipating happening uh at our last board meeting we talked about the funding issue or the funding of the uh debt certificate and uh I think it was Ash that brought up what are we going to do in the future when we need more money and I couldn't really answer it because we either would have to go to referendum I did mention to you that there was legislation in the on the table I was hoping would be passed I didn't honestly think at our meeting last month that it had any chance to pass during this legislation I found out uh I don't know a week or two ago that uh the bill did get tagged or it got the the bill did get tagged into some legislation and it's been sitting on the governor's desk uh he signed the budget Bill last week but this one did not get signed and then over the weekend it did so what this does for us um in our in our funding we have the we have all the funds the fund the education fund the building maintenance fund the OM andm fund or the uh Debt Service fund the transportation fund we have all the funds that we use there's one fund that we do not use and it's the Fire and Life Safety fund we don't even use that fund because I we could we could put a levy in that fund we could Levy money put in that fund but uh if we Levy money and put in that fund we because we're tax capped we would just have to Levy less than another fund so it just does doesn't make sense to use that fund uh in my experience at a non-capped County District I use that fund um so I was very aware of how to use that fund and and and now with this legislation we're able to use that fund without impacting our tax cap so here's here's how it works um we have an architect that comes through and does a health Life Safety survey in our buildings which I did in 2017 you have to do it once every 10 years we submit that to the state first of all we have the board approve it we submit it to the state and the state puts it in What's called the uh it's a health Life Safety survey on our state site that's for Big Hollow in it if you go in there right now it lists all these things that our architect decided were things that we need to that are Health life safety issues that we should consider fixing in the next 10 years um the way this the way this is all designed is that as a district we can Levy money into the health Life Safety fund to pay for items that the architect and the state have approved are Health life safety items um we just don't Levy any money in that fund we just pay for those items out another way with this legislation we can first of all what I'm doing right now uh literally right now now is getting all of the stuff that we have planned with ver because those are all Health life safety items getting all of those submitted to ISB as health health Life Safety amendments I have to first have and I can also include all the safety projects we've talked about the window film projects the door locks all that can be included so I'm getting all that I have to get all of that submitted isby we're working on it right now um First Step will be to have the board approve it and then isby I submit it to isby they approve it at that point we can Levy money and into that fund and pay for those projects without worrying about our tax cap it's outside the cap uh here's where here's where I think I'm going to recommend and this we're we're in such a time crunch here because we've already started we we we need to get this done before we get these projects going really is where it's at and um so I don't really have time to have a finance committee meeting so this is an important conversation tonight we're not there's no recommendations or motions here this is just conversation but we have right now a million dollars so our taxes went down this year by 33% something in that range but there's still a this this tax bill that everybody just paid or is currently paying has a million dollar tax Bond a bond payment in there which is going to drop off next year and we talked about not rolling another not going for referendum to roll another one on there so we've talked about that I will I am going to recommend though that because I think the timing is right um but you can this ultimately be your decision as a board but my recommendation will be that because of this new legislation we have an opportunity we could I could go secure bonds a bond to not only cover the five million we're doing now but we could throw in like phase one and phase two um I put these on your on your desk on your in front of you phase one and phase two phase one we have at 4.2 ended up being just over 4 million but we added a million because of the Safety project so phase one for us is 5 million phase two they've estimated between 4.3 and 4.5 and all of these items will be added to health Life Safety fund or to the health Life Safety amendments we could stop right there and make we could get I'm just going to throw this out to you we could do A10 million Bond and I'm going to guess it over a 15year payback would be about a million dollars a year roughly and the first tax bill that that anything would show up on would be next year but this other million will be dropping off at the same time so we would be securing money to get all of these projects done we would not have to we wouldn't technically be raising taxes but uh we would be letting that Bond drop but filling it with a life safety bond to get these projects done it does not have to go to we we there's a process I do need to talk to you about that we have to go through but uh that's something I would recommend we consider um we start on phase right away or would we do with that extra we would start on it whenever uh we're ready to start on it yeah we could we could start on yeah yeah uh we would probably so uh verie felt like I talked to her today she said if we were to at least secure she could probably they could secure lower pricing if we started on it in the fall at least getting the projects ready they could secure the pricing before any price increases go into place but that would be up to us is when we want to start it the other the other option would be to do we could just do the five million now on a bond and do shorter payback but then you just whenever that's done and we're ready to start phase two we're going to have to do another one you know what I mean but it's it's just a levy though right there's no extra it's just a levy and all you have to redo do is resubmit the life safety or you're submitting this I'm submitting pH now I'm going to submit all this so that whenever we're ready to do it we're ready okay so then if we secure just phase one now there's nothing to stop us from securing phase two next year correct yeah correct the only thing would be um yeah the only thing I the only problem with that would be if uh the two payments together were but you could spread out phase two as long as you want I guess too yeah or maybe you could push them together I'd have to talk to Tim about that facilities up to dat too something to consider I don't you know I think all this work listed is all work that probably I mean we've been hearing about this for 10 years the roofs that finally they're getting done I mean I I would say for me I just don't want taxes to go up so if they stay the same I am fine with staying the same um I think everybody was gracious we we kept to our word and we we lowered them when we said we were um but I we've never said publicly that we're going to do any lower we've all said publicly that these buildings are falling apart and they're now coming on 20 some years old where things need to be replaced I mean I for me I just want to see a plan like I I get that this is a great plan here um but like I want to see if we take out a $10 million Bond what does that look like for the taxpayers if we take out a $5 million Bond what does that look like for the taxpayers when this when our fight school funding bonds come off that's a credit of this as long as this new Bond does not raise it over that amount I'm in general pretty good with it yeah that's what I'm thinking we need to make sure we do now that's where it's going to come down to you do you want to take 10 million over 15 years keep the payment where we're at now or do you want to take five million over six seven years keep the payment where we're at now knowing that you might whenever you want to start phase two you're have to do another one uh that's where we have to kind of and I can I can present all the options to you yeah I think I mean I because I want to see the bond rate I mean which one are we going to get the better rate on so here's here's what we have to do this is where it gets because the timeline is very short it will probably be the first school district in the state of Illinois to to be to utilize this new law because we are literally in the midst of this right now so um uh I tomorrow morning I'm going to actually tonight I'm I'm I'm going to send Tim King some information and uh I just have to let we have to have a public hearing that says we're going to be doing Health Life Safety bonds and and we have to say asking for no more than a certain amount what do you think that where do you feel comfortable me saying that no more than amount is is it 10 million 12 million I mean the whole thing here would be if you want to add phase three it's you know another so you're talking 14 million so I mean I it doesn't really matter where we say no more than right now whatever that number is because uh what he's going to do is I have to get that posted in the paper as soon as I can because then we have to wait seven days and we've got to have a board meeting that will only take about 10 minutes we have to have a hearing see if anybody because it's posted in the paper they can come to a hearing ask questions about what we're doing and then uh we will um at that meeting we would give Tim the okay to go ahead and try to secure bonds for us at at the different we could say secure tell us what it's going to cost us for a $5 million bond for $8 million bond for $10 million we can get he we're giving him the right to go ahead and go get those for us the other thing we have to do at that meeting next hopefully next week is um approve the health Life Safety amendments that I'm all of this stuff just approving that I'm submitting it to the state basically saying that you're you're okay with these projects going to the state that's all that is um so that's I'm going to have to find what would be best ideal for me is if we could figure out a time to meet next Thursday for 15 minutes to a half an hour this Thursday this come no a week from Thursday because I've got to have it in the P I'll get this posted and I got to have in the paper seven days before we can meet but I um the sooner I get it in the sooner he can start getting the bonds worked out and and I feel I need to get as much in as as soon as possible so that these projects we're doing all qualify so if we say we wanted 10 million but then we just you know you say wanted bond for 10 million we then we decide as a board that we only want to do the five million that's okay then right we're not yeah if I if I say in this uh in this press release thing this hearing if I say that we are going to ask for no more than 12 million we could still only take five so I'm not it just gives you the what number are you com from 12 would be I'd be totally comfortable with unless you wanted to include phase three but that goes all the way out to 2030 and I don't know if we need to worry about projects out that far because I feel like by then you I mean I think at the end of the day we could decide this later right yeah 12 gives us cushion and like I said we we may end up deciding just do five yeah right now so uh if I just say no more than 12 then uh I'm comfortable and then we can decide and then what I'll do is we'll prove that next week if we can agree on time and then um Tim will come back to us and say here's what it looks like you want to do five for this many years this is the payment I'll just tell them we want to keep it at a million dollars because that's what we're paying right now okay all right so can can uh is there any chance that you all are available on Thursday at any time could be in the morning could be anytime I just need uh and it would be very short excuse me look at my calendar I'm available anytime after 5:30 I'm like 5 o' 4:35 so anytime after 5:30 right now 5:30 to 6 after 530 and I and I just need and where do you teach at at the Y at the Y and I I only need four so unless you're not comfortable with that we only need four of you because we're not approving we're not actually approving we're not going to approve an actual Bond payment we're just approving us to get started on this so I don't think it's a huge deal and uh um yeah how do you look Ash after five would be fine Doug anytime so if we said 5:30 I could do training oh so you you said oh okay okay and you're 5:30 is okay hopefully yes 5:45 you will be easier for you well you want to do six yes but if she get I can't have to leave here probably at 20 and I think I uh we have two other guys I think we have two others that would one of them be able to come 545 yeah I let you know if it's yeah okay sounds good we'll do 5:45 and again 5:45 on on Thursday the 20th and uh yeah again it'll be extremely short so we'll basically open it prove a couple things and close it I appreciate that um that's really I think that's all I got for that it's a it's a very exciting thing for us because you're this board has been very conservative and you do things right I will say that uh it is a legislation that could be uh in other communities I mean you got a board you have to make sure that the board you uses that legislation correctly because could be abused a little bit I'm ofad a price tag EAS yeah this has worked out we wouldn't even be able to have it actually yeah it's it's really worked out well uh because in the in the health Life Safety amendments that I have to give to the state I also have to give quotes So this is all done so this is all done and uh ver is completing this for us right now so all right so that's it for that we have the board meeting dates item C uh we and then item D is an approval I'll let Kevin take that onebody have any questions to the board meeting dates you got do D first uh oh item D is just the uh board policy read second reading oh yeah sorry I miss that anybody have any questions on oh we don't have to approve the calendar I don't think we approved the dates I think I just yeah anybody have any questions on the board policy updates on the second reading can I please have a motion to approve on second reading the board policy updates motion second Ash and Doug all in favor I any oppose I have and then same with item e it's just I need an approval of the budget calendar you have any questions on the budget Calendar please have a motion to approve the budget calendar lauran yes yes yes yes and then item F uh is just an insurance update I give you each year at this time uh we did go down this year thankfully uh last couple years have gone up though this is for our liability and our workman comp so we went down just over 20,000 um and that's it for my report Kevin anybody any questions on theou between school district and bigall Federation of teachers no I please have a motion to approve the memorandum of understanding between Big H School District 38 Board of Education and bigall Federation teachers motion second Doug and Lauren yes yes yes yes any questions on the May 24 employment report please have a motion to approve the May for employment report motion yes yes yes yes anybody questions on our certification of hazardous bus conditions it's the same every year no changes nope I please have a motion to approve the certification of hazardous bus conditions motion second laurren and Doug all in favor any oppos I and I should just explain the next One D real quick this is because uh the situation we're in with the project starting this summer and we haven't secured funding yet and because we're now doing it differently I'm going to need a little more time so I'm going to have to uh borrow from some funds to make payments this summer and then I'll reimburse the funds once we get the money that's all it is anybody have any questions on that okay please have a motion to approve the resolution expressing official intent regarding C certain Capital expenditures to be in reimburse from proceeds of an obligation to be issued by School District number 38 Lake County Illinois motion Doug and Lauren all in favor I any oppose I have uh resignations we accept the resignation from chrisy Ortega lato transportation driver aced a resignation from Melanie Simco lunch monitor accepted a resignation from Nicole Hassler Transportation driver any public comments yes you're here thank you for coming anybody any questions on the Foye requests that we had none anybody have any questions on the monthly reports for the board the next regularly scheduled board meeting will take place on Monday July 8th 2024 with closed session beginning at 6 p.m.

e orange is quiet Jos something good okay I have 6:30 we're going to go ahead and get started for those that are able if you wouldn't mind standing for the Pledge of Allegiance please to the United States of America to the for it stands one nation God indivisible with liy and justice for all okay we have a full board here so we do have a quorum I'll GA all us into business meeting Dr Roberts thank you Mrs wildon we always like to start our meetings with a rehash of our mission vision and core Valu so a reminder that our vision is for bcsc to be the choice to learn work and play our mission is to develop expert Learners by partnering with our community to invest in people and then our six core beliefs we all can rise to the challenge of high expectations learning is most effective when we have Choice flexibility and see relevance we Thrive when our physical social and psycholog iCal needs are met our community and School District are stronger when we partner with one another we flourish because of the diversity and variability in our community our democracy and Democratic institutions are strengthened by civic-minded citizens thank you Dr Roberts first on the agenda if you hadn't heard Dr Roberts is leaving us tonight is his official last board meeting and we would like to recognize him I'd like to ask Mr Eric Frey executive director of administration for the city of Columbus to please come to the podium gosh it is my honor so you want me to use a mic so now I have to use a mic and I will I'm really excited to be able to do this so I have a proclamation to read so it goes whereas Dr Roberts began his tenure at Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation on July 1st 2016 and whereas Dr Roberts worked to pass an operating referendum in 2020 to increase employee salaries and student safety he's overseen millions in budget Investments and spending which includes the launch of a 306 million in projects to upgrade facilities and by the way one of them I think is Parkside and we're still enjoying watching all that work being done whereas Dr Roberts is an advocate to ensure Equitable access and achievement for all students and invest invested in work for welcoming safe and inclusive facilities and whereas Dr Robert's passion for both student and staff health and wellness especially during the pandemic is evident through his work on the Health Trust District Wellness Council and mental health professionals in our schools and whereas Dr Roberts has shared his love for music through lyrics and graduation speeches back to school videos and as lead singer in performances at Community fundraisers are we gonna have him do a number tonight and where as Dr Roberts worked to create learning environments in which leader thrives through positive relationships and academic support resulted in cohorts for the high school and block scheduling and whereas Dr Roberts embraced the use of technology and was awarded and recognized nationally for the Assa Coen is that how you say it is that right empowered Ed digital superintendent of the Year award and whereas Dr Robert was instrumental in starting the Legato Spanish Immersion pathway and whereas Dr Robert's tenure has placed a stem cell in every Elementary School students from elementary middle and high school have won State and national awards at competitions and he boldly proclaimed bcsc to be the stem capital of Indiana and whereas Dr Roberts has given countless hours to the community by serving on local boards he has also also won several awards for his leadership on State and national boards and whereas Dr Robert's dedication and Visionary leadership will be missed at Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation and we wish him a long happy and healthy retirement from public education now therefore I Mary Fon by the way I'm reading this on behalf of her mayor of the city of Columbus I Indiana do hereby Proclaim Monday June 10th 2024 as Dr Jim Roberts day in Columbus in the city of Columbus I ask all citizens to join me and thanking Dr Roberts and his hard work and dedication the last eight years and please repeat with me because I know you all know this Say It Ain't So it's time to go turn the lights on let's start the show congratulations [Laughter] hey congrat rations wow the KY of the city Dr Roberts start opening doors try to open doors see what happens okay we are not done yet I would like to ask that Indiana state senator Mr Greg Walker who is also here with some recognition for Dr Roberts approach the podium please sir thank you so much for being here is likewise my my privilege to uh be able to address you at the board this evening I have an award that's processed through the city of Indianapolis it's the city of cordan a c excuse me circle of cordin award and this award is by nomination and I'm your sponsoring legislator um for the several years that I've had the privilege of working with Dr Roberts with Jim uh here in the city of Columbus uh I just got to say that I've learned a lot about public education I have great respect for all of you in particular though I'm excited that I'll in my official capacity still be able to work with Dr Roberts in his next Venture with the city and with the area the community the economic Community let me read the circle of cord and award for you to all who are present may come greetings whereas the early leaders of our state gathered in cord in an 1816 to adopt the first Indiana Constitution and to create the state of Indiana whereas cordin was Indiana's First Capital and center of leadership in the early informative years in our state whereas like the founders of our great state many others have made remarkable contributions to the betterment of Indiana and to its people and therefore are deserving of consideration for membership in the Indiana General assembly's Circle of cordin and where Senator Greg Walker has made known the illustrious benefactions of one Dr Jim Roberts who has demonstrated in life and in service to the people of the state of Indiana the qualities exemplified by our state's greatest citizens henceforth being deemed worthy of such recognition the individual named above is hereby declared a distinguished member of the circle of Cordon in witness in testimony uh that whereof the unders signs set their hands and their caused to be uh affixed to the Great Seal of the state done in the city of Indianapolis on this 10th day of June the May uh in the year 2024 congratulations Dr Rob appreciate [Music] thank you Senator Walker Dr Roberts were you surprised yes okay good great job everyone that's not my mom sitting in the front room may have tipped things off a little bit but um and when I saw her try to park out front I thought I think that's my mom trying to park out there on okay we will move on your last meeting you better enjoy every moment of this agenda sir yes let's go let's have a good one okay we have next School Board member reports I believe is that right yes I've got one if you're ready You' got one okay Mr the uh thank you the district and Facilities committee m shortly after our last board meeting it was on May 16th uh we uh learned from City officials about new developments uh especially the ones that start out with the name Arbor Abby and Sutter uh kind of up uh on the north side of town we talked about the availability of infrastructure uh on the different sides of town and how that will impact future development uh got an update on the uh City View projects on the west side of town and then talked about the City Utilities uh master plan a little bit uh that was our second meeting third meeting I'm sorry third meeting for the year our next meeting will be in July for that committee thank you Mr Stenner Mr major do you have any updates yeah I have uh Redevelopment met uh we discussed some changes with Tiff we discussed the Toyota expansion uh there was talk about the 2030 downtown strategic plan and they appointed a project manager for that uh the pursuit of property at Arcadia Drive for the relocation of Department of Public Works which was previously known as the City Garage reapo reappropriation of ready funds from the hotel likely will go to the riverfront project uh this then there was a bunch of other projects that we kind of skimmed through with Riverfront Tiff districting infrastructure improvements that were out forbid final lease for beteto space Sears building purchase Water Street County Highway garage and a new project for downtown entrance Plaza so that was Redevelopment the Health Trust uh we talked about some slight changes that might be rolled out uh discussions with providers are ongoing um some potential new programs were also discussed uh spending is up a little bit from last year with simal enrollment um it's it's uh kind of hard to understand some of it because uh the list when you look at a drug list to understand the spend um you kind of need to understand a little bit I don't know what each drug does so it's it's uh need to kind of do a better grouping there to show by um you know is it is it hyper tension is it diabetes is it anxiety and then group those so that we can understand better what we need need to do to help uh put some preventive methods in place to just support the teams better so thank you thank you Mr major Mr Bryant do you have any updates Mr nellan um yes I have two the high ability broad-based planning committee met on May 16th for a end of the year summary uh 1,481 bcsc High ability students were identified and served this school year and 298 new students were identified for next year um it was Gail core's last meeting as the Director of the high ability programming and we welcomed Amy Ellsbury as the new director and in planning for the future there was discussion about working into future budgets um to hire an outside program evaluator to find out what we're doing well and where we might improve the council for Youth Development met on June 5th there was a report on the youth Le Leadership Summit that high school students participated in and that took place in May and youth ambassadors have been selected to work on next year's youth Leadership Summit Julie Orban from mental health matters reported on some of the connections to the community's mental health initiative for youth uh in particular she shared about a web-based credible Minds which is a mental health resource that is available to All baralu County residents through the mental health matter bamia County website and it looked like a great source for everybody but particularly for young people thank you Mr now Mr Schultz nope nothing on mine Mr GM um a couple things first from the Indiana school boards Association uh the State Board of Education just recently met last Wednesday on June 5th and probably the hottest topic U was a discussion that centered around the new proposed osed uh diploma requirements that will be that are scheduled to begin with the class of 2029 um like our meetings sometimes they had uh two hours of public comment um at the end of their meeting that um also included um input and uh the receipt of a memo from the Indiana school boards Association that uh included questions concerns recommendations um and things that the school boards Association agrees with in in regards to the new uh diploma U discussion so stay tuned to that that discussion is far far from over and then um in regards to the school Foundation hopefully either now or at the end so I won't steal his Thunder but Dale on the trail begins real soon and um his his 200 mile height um with proceeds to go to the school foundation and again I'll let Dale share more details of that at the end and then also from the school Foundation just this afternoon um board members had a strategic planning session uh to go over recent survey results regarding the utilization and purpose of the foundation and we also began work on revamping uh the current mission and vision statements um that we plan to fine-tune at the next strategic planning session um next month thank you Mr Gs uh today we had a Bartholomew County Redevelopment commission meeting um during that meeting we discussed the Kings Hawaiian project um up north of town they're actually considering a pretty substantial expansion of that so that was really exciting I think that was heading to County Council later today so we didn't get a lot of details ahead of that meeting but I should have more to share later this year um and the next meeting is November 18th at 1:00 where we will set our spending budget for next year so that that County Redevelopment hasn't captured a lot of Tiff dollars yet it's still kind of growing and and getting legs so it'll be um a bit before we can talk about how they might be able to support the school system but it is on their minds um so look forward to that that team growing that's [Music] it okay cabinet reports good evening thank you the first report is our uh semiannual required extracurricular account financial report um and you'll see the First Column after the the names of the schools indicate the current bank balance I'm sorry the bank balance as of January 1 uh and then also reminder that each of those schools has a significant portion of their extracurricular account invested since um interest rates are uh certainly advantageous right now and then the difference between the receipts between January 1 and the end of May um and expenditures you can tell that we the balance declined just slightly which is almost always the case since the schools collect a lot of their money through fundraisers in the fall and then go on a lot of their trips field trips um and expend those funds in the spring so the balance is down just slightly compared to January 1 happy to take any questions any board members have we added a cabinet report for you for some additional information so Dr Bosman is going to speak to something that involves school lunches good evening thank you uh yes uh for your consideration we've added uh uh an additional item to speak to um the application deadline uh for this program is June 30th so as this is our only meeting uh to inform you of some things in the month of June uh we felt it necessary to to include um the community eligibility provision is a federal funded um State executed program that um if schools and districts qualify can provide uh free free meals for all basically um in um our effort to align with our Str strategic plan of meeting physical social and psychological needs of students uh we thought that this would be um worth considering uh applying this year we do not have any schools participating in the C program currently um but in an effort to eliminate any possible barriers within our ability we thought it may be worth considering so I'll explain some detail on here and then um do my best to answer any questions uh do understand that unfortunately we cannot do this for all across the district if we were to do so would be a substantial Financial setback um Ju Just in Lost uh reimbursement from um the feds north of $600,000 um if we were to do all so I can explain um some of the formula behind that how it's calculated um and why we're interested in in pursuing what we are here so um so the state allows districts to apply individually or as groups or as the entire District um our interest is applying in the uh for the program for our four title schools that you know and that they are listed here um basically the um by applying the formula the that the the state has set forth um we would be receiving reimbursement of meals that you see just a little bit over 82% free um it is Our obligation to then reimburse the shortfall so it'll be an $86,000 shortfall um over the course of the year um again those are estimated numbers based off of April 24 um meal prices and uh we intend to use indirect cost funds to to compensate for that shortfall this program um we spent some time um talking with some of our U neighbor districts um that are of comparable size over the past few days um just you know like I said we've not done this before so are there any um lessons learned or shortfalls or surprises or anything of the sort um uh the answer was no for the most part they helped us through a few things um and a few questions that we had um one question I had for the group was what has been your experience with increased participation um of students with with uh meals breakfast and lunch the state advertises to expect about four or 5% increase both the districts we talked to said uh double digigit increases in participation which is obviously great for great for us and um anytime we can expand our ability to provide nutritious meals to kids then we're interested in that um but it is a four-year commitment although the district has the opportunity um to review annually if we want to participate um in that so um so it it is Our intention to submit an application this is not an a board requirement but we thought it would be um an opportunity to to educate and answer any questions that you may have which I'm happy to do so uh to the best of my ability at this time so as your Ponder your questions I think it's important from what Dr Boseman has indicated and the information is up there but that at Clifty Creek Schmid Smith and Taylorville meals will be free both breakfast and lunch for all students in that building regardless of whether they qualify for free reduced any questions from the indirect cost funds so the big question for me is at the end of the year are we is the budget going to be still met or are we expecting with this vote that we're increasing the budget by 86,000 uh I'll let Dr Phil speak to that it would not be a budget increase but he can speak a little more specifically about the indirect cost how that works so any federal fund any sorry Federal grant um districts are allowed to take a small percentage of that um put it in your operations fund U basically to cover the overhead cost of carrying that Federal grant with the food service Grant we're allowed to use the indirect or I'm sorry the unrestricted rate um which is usually in the mid teens which is a significant amount of money so Our intention is we will just take the the if it's $86,000 that moves from food service from the federal reimbursement portion of food service into the operations fund and turn around and write a check back um so it'll be a a wash from a net perspective as a district thanks just to make sure I understand the terms and the math ISP can you remind me of what ISP is I anticipated that question and I reminded myself back there and now I've forgotten already uh individual hold on identified student percentage so um that is basically um our school's DC rate which is direct certification um students that we have um so that number is taken times 1.6 which is the multiplier established by the feds which gets the 82.4 um% so that's um in this case it's actually an average of all four of those um I think off the top my head Clifty is 54% Schmidt and teville are both 53 and Smith is 46 so if you average those together you get 51 and a half gotcha and then the 86,000 that's identified as the amount to be reimbursed that's the 17.6% that's the difference between 82.4 and 100 yes for the most part so we we do get 48 cents per meal reimbursement on paid meals that factors into that but yes that's the the difference between the two roughly and then just in round numbers how many students if if you add up all these students at the four schools how many would we be serving with this investment um well we we would over the course of the year uh my estimates show that without without compensating any additional 10% you know 12% increase in participation um were around 1,000 additional breakfast meals and 31,000 additional lunch meals um that we may have been serving before but that would be uh without cost to those families so Mr S I believe it's approximately 2400 students between the just doing the the math in my head 23 2400 at those four schools I I just want to chime in with a comment is one to thank Dr bosan and Dr Phillips when we talked about this last year and now bringing this to fruition I think this is a huge Advantage as someone who grew up in Taylorville to see that opportunity for a lot of these I mean there's a lot of stigma with free and reduced lunch especially at the local schools but also the ones that are just trapped in the middle then it's right now the economy is not great and they're stuck and this is a hard point and I was actually at a Taylorville Community uh event and this when I was bringing this up this was a topic of like a lot of like that would help tremendously and so I think we'll see a lot of benefit and I know that online there's significant studies out there I think the national Educators Association and others have published that you know this improves academics improves attendance and tardiness and also reduces behavioral risks and so I think I mean it'll be interesting not only to see from a cost analysis of where this plays but how does it play in those other key Upstream metrics um that really improve a soon outcome so I just want to say I appreciate the work I know um it was a little last minute and I I do want to ask the board although it's not required I think it's important to show the commitment to the community that we ask that we approve this so that the government uh sees that the board stands behind it so I am going to motion to amend the agenda to add line item K to the request of approval under new business to read approval to enroll bcsc Title One elementary schools into the community eligibility program okay thank you Mr Schultz second thank you Mr Nan um in order to add an agenda item during a meeting we do need to have a unanimous vote from the team so just making sure that's a little different than some of our other votes and making sure everybody understands that so I have a motion in a second to add um Community eligibility provision to item K and the new business that will be voted on for approval later in the agenda all all those in favor please say I I all those opposed say nay okay item added to the agenda thank you okay we have nobody signed up for public comments tonight I know Dr Roberts you've left everyone speechless Maybe okay we are moving on to requests for approval all right I'll jump into the request for approval from an old business standpoint I'm asking for the approval of the minutes of our regular school board meeting the last one was on May 13th 20124 thank you I have a motion from the board I [Music] move I move that we approve the minutes of our last school board meeting held May 13th 2024 second thank you Mr grams and Mr Bryant all those in favor of approving minutes from the May 13th board meeting please say I I all those opposed say nay Mission carries all right under new business we have supplemental contracts field trips and professional leaves our school fundraisers as well as claims and payroll the claims dated June 10th about $1.6 million are pre-run for the month of May May 1st through May 31st about $3.6 million and we also cover the payroll for May 17th and May 31st that is a little over $8.2 million additionally asking for permission to approve a contract for the construction manager as Constructor for Northside Middle School and Columbus North High School as well as permission to award the contractor for the CSA Lincoln roof replacement also permission to award the contract phase one the Richard L Johnson Early Education Center renovation that's our prek building and permission to consider furniture at Schmidt Elementary obsolete that gives us some flexibility as the what to do with that furniture and then uh letter J go the right way here approval of change order number one for the GMP or guaranteed maximum price for Schmid Elementary then you've also added letter K giving us approval to participate in the community eligibility uh provision thank you Dr Roberts do I have a motion from the board I move that we approve uh line items 4 B through K as noted second thank you Mr Schultz and Mr major all those in favor of approving oh yes we do have to pause for questions Mr just going to check on item F uh ask real quickly Dr Boseman and Mr mcgyver the the contracts are a lot to Wade through um but we're satisfied with with the numbers and with the language in this contract now a no is good for me but yeah as Dr bosan is approaching I think that's the one Mr mcgyver we kept off of your list for last time in correct we had we had three contracts originally for last month and we pulled that one to have some further work done on the language they were responsive to the changes we had asked for and I think the language is in a good spot I'll let Dr Boseman speak to anything else I concur they've also been posted online for a couple weeks for any public review um as well thank you any other questions or comments okay I have a motion in a second to approve all new business items B through K all those in favor please say I I I all those oppos say nay motion carries Dr Le good evening I request approval of the 23 recommendations as presented in the packet consisting of one retirement five resignations 16 appointments and one leave thank you Dr ple I move that we approve the HR recommendations as presented by Dr pleet second thank you Mr gron Mr major all those in favor of approving human resource recommendations please say I I I all those opposed say n motion carries and thank you and we have no additional HR recommendations but I'll turn it over to Dr Phillips one special uh approval request here for you this evening I don't know of a time at least in my tenure that we've changed treasure in the middle of the Year this is usually an appointment that's done as part of the reorganization in January every year you appoint the treasurer it needs to be someone who's separate from the superintendent and so one of your regular human resources approvals tonight was Mr Jamie Briner who we welcome uh as our Corporation Treasurer uh and congratulations to him on his approval in number five but now we need the board to take action to actually appoint him as the school corporation Treasurer and so that's a request approval of item number seven on your agenda okay thank you Dr Phillips I have a motion from the board yeah I move that we um approve line im7 appointment of corporate Treasurer Mr Jamie Briner as presented second thank you all those in favor of appointment of Mr dami brener as our Corporation Treasurer please say I all those opposed say nay congratulations and welcome award Mr Brer okay board input and review um can I start with Mr Stenner again sure um first and probably um most important um congratulations to all the folks that graduated over the last couple of weekends uh all the students the progress that they've made the achievements uh it's good to celebrate and we also I think as a board want to be sure to thank the parents and families uh grandparents caregivers to help make sure uh as many as could cross the stage and then U secondly also almost as important congratulations Dr Roberts on your tenure uh have learned a lot from working with you and uh look forward to much progress in the community with you and your new position congratulations Mr major yeah so I got a few things here so the first one is I think um last time we were here I mentioned possibly bringing in the C4 architecture team I think we miss an opportunity to celebrate academic achievement um I hope in the future that we can get more of the the things like that that tie to um you know being the stem capital of Indiana uh that AR architecture design team ties in tightly with stem and so it would give the younger kids an opportunity to see what they can do with their future um another thing uh there's been some discussion in the background about Safety Committee um I've had numerous conversations and seen many things uh being shared in the public about safety issues that have occurred or may have occurred um and so I started discussion with trying to get myself on the Safety Committee and I know there's been several emails about this I would like to see this be part of the next meeting so I'm requesting that that be added to the agenda for our July meeting um and then this is kind of more of what I wanted to say for recommendations is uh welcome to summer I hope everyone can enjoy some well deserved time off I hope to see everyone re-energize over the summer and be ready for the start a school which will be here before we know it thank you to all those retirees including Dr Roberts for all the efforts that they've given over their tenure here with bcsc and welcome to all the new hires that hopefully will deliver in a very similar way I wish you all luck as you enter the next chapter in your lives and for all graduates I pray for your success whether it uh take whether your path goes through college a trade school direct employment or the military hopefully you can use what you've learned to continue Contin to grow and lead a productive life best of luck to all of you and enjoy the summer um I want to wish all the fathers out there in our uh bcsc family a uh Happy Father's Day this weekend and uh the last thing is kind of special for me I wanted to um publicly thank both Dr Roberts and Dr Parsons for the opportunity that um was given to me to present my daughter with her diploma uh last weekend which was very special so thank you um the only request I would make is please get some stairs so it's less clunky so I I luckily I didn't fall sneaking up the back of the stage but thank you for allowing me to do that I Know It uh probably um I I could see the wheels turning in her head as she was walking up the steps she had no idea what was going on so so thank you for that you're welcome Mr Bryant Dr Robert congratulations you will be missed thank you but last but not least Dr plee your experience your knowledge has helped us cooporation and best of luck to you and Happy Trails to you and we'll see you down the road okay Mr Nan um to Echo what what I've heard several times congratulations to Dr Roberts and it's been an honor and a privilege to work with you and in different capacities but particularly this most recent one um but I've I've always um recognized and and and Blown Away by your your commitment and your um your care for students um I have commendations to Columbus North student AAR payir who was who has qualified for the national debate finals and commendations to his coach Mike Spock um and Mr Grimes mentioned I got a plug so I'm not asking for money for me so this is easier to do um but I'm raising funds for the school Foundation two particular projects one is um it's called success in sight and it's to supply eyeglasses for students that can't afford it and need it and the other is to um help students who are taking dual credit courses and can't afford the tuition and I think we're at about $2,500 so far but it's not too late um back on the table next to Dr Boseman there are some cards that tell you if you'd like to be part of that I um take off this Saturday for hopefully 200 miles of the applean trail in New Hampshire and Maine very similar update uh congratulations all the graduates um um I hope everybody is ready for summer I'm sure parents are relaxing on vacations and also teachers as well is uh able to kind of get past I know my teachers were for my kid children were ready to see the end of get them on the bus and my bus driver as she brought him she was like it is the last day and so it was it was a great time to see everybody celebrate the the last day with the uh treats and everything um congratulations to Dr Roberts and Dr pleek on their next adventures and uh officially welcome aboard uh Dr Phillips uh starting in July um a few things number one um congratulations to Katherine Wilson a recent graduate of Columbus North who just became a two-time winner of the ihsaa individual State title um in tennis and will next year take her student athlete um talents to Purdue uh secondly um congratulations to 250 Elementary and these are approximate numbers 250 Elementary 150 I would say junior high as opposed to middle school and then also 175 High School students as they earn the mayor's work ethic certificate the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce um work ethics certificate and then the high school students the governor's work certificate work ethic certificate and there was a big spread in the uh two-page spread in the physical Republic on uh Wednesday for anyone who didn't see it so congratulations again to those 575 students um I have neglected to say it publicly yet but congratulations to Dr plee um your excellent at what you do and new palal is very lucky to get you congratulations and then sorry um so and also um to Dr Roberts um Dr Roberts probably um doesn't know it but um so we go back quite ways um I started my career uh 33 years ago at Hower with Dr Roberts um had the honor of being his assistant baseball coach and um he also um took me under his wing in terms of the Teachers Association kind of interesting where he his role is now and and his uh relationship with the Teachers Association but uh because under his guidance I whether it was I I don't know if it was a good thing or not but became teach the president of the Teachers Association at Flat Rock HW Creek for the following 10 years um when when Dr Roberts went to Batesville but um you know it's quite obvious that Dr Roberts truly cares for the concern and is concerned for the well-being of students and kids um he's very genuine very sincere and I hope I don't get zapped for this one U because I'll I'll display some of my personal bias here um after more than whatever three decades in education and and serving in some different corporations and different roles dare I say it I don't always necessarily consider administrators and superintendant as Educators or at least quality Educators and I would certainly still consider you know Dr Roberts as you know as a is a quality educator and you know his energy enthusiasm and and being out in the schools and being around kids and um you know his music videos um it will all be sorely missed so thank you Dr Roberts thank you to well that was sweet Mr Grimes um I similarly some people know this some people don't I was at Batesville so when he left you he came to me and I was a high schooler and I said I didn't know Dr Roberts because I was a good girl and I didn't get sent to the principal's office very often but when I decided to run for school board I I called him the last last go around and I I called him talked to him and he remembered exactly who I was he remembered who my brothers were and and so we talked tonight about your impact on the state um on the community but there's tens of thousands of kids thank you I'm a sympathy crier okay anything else we need to talk about tonight with that I feel like I should make a comment so it's going to be brief cuz I look at my mom and so hard but um thank you for all the the comments it's I've been blessed uh with with being able to serve um students staff community members for 37 years in this in in the world as a public educator and uh had a had a strong set of parents to to get me to hopefully an okay place for most I I tell um other Educators that you know the impact we have is is usually not in a moment and it's not it's not in the moment it's not inside the walls of of the building you'll find it out later you know a random moment at Kroger you know some some social media post or somewhere else you you'll maybe understand that impact and um probably each of the people in here have felt that from time to time and and just been blessed to serve and I thank my mom and my wife died okay [Laughter] okay Dr Phillips get ready we're doing this all over again with you starting July 15th 2024 at our next school board meeting okay with that meeting adjourned

we'll go ahead and start with our new ribbon SE update welcome to start Madam president Dr Smith members of the board the person okay um LC pool TI uh continues on working on the base of the pool uh LC finished work continues in the pool pool area as well uh LC multi uh purpose gym uh they're working on the ceiling lighting and walls and then we'll finish up with the floor uh front of L in a lot of uh brick work is going on uh to the front facade and windows will be next interior work continues on in the north Edition the more of the interior of that North Edition well in multi-purpose gym looks totally different today they've got lines down and that Sheen has softened a little bit it's not as bright so the main gym is complete little bit of finished work around the outside so looking very nice uh beler we have 40 classrooms under renovation as we speak uh and also a lot of outside work uh going on more of the Interior we had to dig up and uh put some new lines in through the main Corridor exterior the front actually some asphalts going back down so uh again moving forward for the start of School main gym will be uh finishing up here uh by the end of jun June and uh we'll be able to use utilize that in July W Creek Auditorium uh full strip full renovation going on and it's going back together and again 40 additional classrooms going on at fa Creek Valley and this will in both buildings all the classrooms will be completed by the start of School site work a lot of work in the back half of the property tennis courts softball and baseball all being re configured here at LCC south parking lot you'll notice a lot of asphalt going down uh started over the weekend tennis courts have been paved and over three4 of the South lot paid transportation we are moving furniture in as of today uh so they'll complete Furniture uh putting together this week we'll start our process of moving technology food service and operations out there starting uh the week following three bar or two bars complete we now have three on site and they'll be ready to utilize again during the same time period of the move LCC the new LCC just a little aerial out there the site uh foundation work is almost complete uh we'll be doing block work this week and uh steel then we'll follow this is an exciting time this is an exciting time to be part of Lawrence Township that's for sure board members do you have questions for Mr Smith tonight Miss D I just have one first of all thank you so much this is super exciting every time I go by the lecc on my nightly walks I am just incredibly impressed with even on the weekends people are working it is it is incredibly amazing just one quick question and I'm not sure who can answer this but as an educator I would be super super super excited about having a new room but I'm wondering if there's any type of opportunity for the folks to get paid to bring in like the new materials or is that part of the like obviously they have to set up a new room that's under construction so just wondering how that process goes um and how we support those Educators and a lot of our our large moves the teachers box their materials we supply all the boxes the tape whatever they need to make that happen and then uh we pay uh a company to come in and actually physically move them to their new location we'll place a box in there and then they work with the building to come back in set the room up prior to uh school starting hopefully uh usually a short period of time and uh they usually come in and get the room set up and we assist all through that process as well thank you so much I just say years oh I have no doubt I had no doubt just wondering for the record because some Folks at ask so thank you so much I the amount of work that we're doing is really tremendous thank you uh any other questions yes yes um it it's making great progress just for the public record Mr Smith um I have a lot of neighbors who are curious what the north side of Lawrence North will house um on the the new brick area New Brick area yes uh we'll have the senior Cafe in there the media center and two classrooms in the Malla room it's a kind of a meeting space uh and then two front entrance uh to the main uh portion of the building so that will truly be the main entry for student buses yes and access to the Arts auditorial are so for public faces for Performing Arts have come off so if I was to describe it to it would be very similar to the west side of Lawrence Central exactly uh the finished product okay thank you you forgot a media center oh he said you mentioned it oh senior Cafe media conference room two classrooms main entry cafeteria cafeteria y senior Cafe it looks beautiful in there and from from the from the photos it looks much bigger on from the inside than it looks on the outside be lovely are we good we move on Mr miles uh permission to dispose of vehicles please thank you madam president Dr Smith members of the board yes from time to time there is a need to uh transition out of some of our district owned uh fleet vehicles as we continue to U try to right siize the type and uh and what vehicles we have have within our Fleet so um tonight is just information item only we bring to you five different vehicles that have no value Beyond scrap um so unfortunately we we do work with an outside party to to analyze those and when they get to the point that they are out of their useful life cycle we need to get rid of them so um you have those Vehicles listed in a little bit of detail about each one um and again we will bring this back to you at our next board meeting for approval I'm impressed that we kept a 30-year-old food service van on the road very impressed it's it's hard to uh hard to say when the last time that saw the road but it is ready to go go away for do you have any questions about these vehicles I do have a quick question so before this um I was just curious as to do we own the vehicles outright or or I'm assuming these yes because we're disposing of them but have we moved to a place where we might rent Vehicles so that it is a more um costeffective way for us to do business actually that's a great question and we have moved that direction uh about three to four years ago we started kind of transitioning that direction uh we have a lease partnership now um it helps us uh not only in maintenance costs and keeping our Fleet um up to speed with you know from a maintenance standpoint but also newer um highquality representing the district and from a safety standpoint we've got you know uh something that's not 30 years old out on the road exactly I figure as much so thank you for that clarification much appreciated absolutely now that is for our fleet vehicles our school buses we continue to buy those yes I okay that kind of segued with my question so I assume this is completely separate from our 12year bus based on the ages of the vehicle these um there have been times when we've taken some of our older um you know school buses and converted them over to use for food service for a short period of time um but yes two separate funds two separate accounting and um yeah these are separate from that okay thank you you do own are there any other questions about just Vehicles okay let's move on then uh Miss bush we can move on to student handbook updates please good evening Dr Smith president must and members of the board we have a few updates to our student handbooks for the 20425 school year and luckily they are actually all the same for each level so um you can see what we changed the handbook update from and what it was changed to they are all around updates to the language with our use of cell phones and how that will that will go um it's the same language for the ELC and Elementary the middle school and the high school handbook um and then it's the same for medication there's a an update to our Pres cribed medications for overthe counter medications uh we just added from nurse Mandy parue that the over-the-counter medications have to have have to be unopened so that we don't have medications that are coming that are open I do have a couple of questions um so these um changes were brought about by the law that goes into effect July 1 first and also by a survey can you tell us just a little bit about that survey that was done given to parents um about cell phone usage and what parents wanted for their children drve you can step in policy to bring policy over student services student services is receiving the changes from policy so many of our policy changes go over into our student handbook and M bu doesn't stand in the way she make sure they get in there Dr har Parker just um a lot of those that you're seeing here are consistent with our policy now and what updates that we anticipate in making the survey was done it's one question survey essentially asking parents what they felt would have been the best design for allowing students to have phones during instruction time but not necessarily at other times and so that was put out we got 2500 responses so that's it's an amazing return um 80% of those said stowed away turned off and in in a bag so they could get to them in in case of emergency great thank you for that I just wanted to make sure anyone listening to our meeting knows that we absolutely took parent concerns um into into this policy um secondly um there I have three things teachers um tell me about um the support our teachers will have on this policy from the administration I know there were some teachers that were concerned that they they wanted to have complete support from their Administration to manage this policy so you're back to the cell phone policy this right so in meeting with our uh Lawrence Education Association we did get input from from teachers and from administrators as well okay there were different plans at different levels in elementary middle school high school so we took that into consideration as making these recommendations okay and one last thing which is probably policy to I'm reading this and it says except as authorized by IEP CCC or administrator students are prohibited so I would suggest we put a comma after administrator except as author this would be the one to third bullet point change to except as authorized by IEP CCC or administrator students are prohibited from using sure at that I think that would read a little more clearly um and uh and that's that's the end of my comments I I have one quick question and that is um when it says violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action or confin confiscation of the PCD can we elaborate a little more because I think it goes back to what president muston is asking about the teachers wanting to make sure that administrators are enforcing the policy and so have we clearly articulated to our stakeholders what will happen if students are in violation of this policy well it becomes a discipline situation at that point in subordination whatever the case may be but um I think an important thing really to remember is that this is already in play now we have a policy that has that same language and we've been using that for various things in the classroom so I wouldn't see that changing what when the students know the expectations procedure process then that's what would be enforced in the classroom and supported by Administration is just I'm worried that as transparently that parents will be upset if they're child's devic is taken from them and so I'm wondering if there's a way that we can explicitly communicate to individuals that this is our policy because it is a pretty significant shift from what we have seen in the past in terms of what as president must said that the law is requiring of us right now so I think we have to be just a little bit more um you've got to we've got to make sure we're following the rule of the law well I think um Madam president and board member dun remember that the schools will have their orientation meetings the principls will have their grade level meetings the principes will communicate with their parents and community and this is a change that's where it's appropriate we will give the information we'll send this information out to families as we do every year with student handbooks but the depth of it will come from our school leaders when they open up the school year and trust me this will be on their list of conversation points with their families and with their students as they come back to scho but we got to put the policy in place which we have and so they can have their handbooks to speak to it and I just want to reiterate how thankful I am Miss Bush that you have already added this to the handbook because obviously we have talked to um nausea about this change and so thank you very much just trying to proactively think about how we avoid any families that are um concerned that their children's devices are taken from them thank you very much okay any other questions Miss Norman oh no I just had a comment about it um it's already included in this as the handbook and the policy but just to expound on it um just having people in my family who are diabetic it makes that exception under the the bullet points for people who have a medical need to utilize for instance if they have a meter reader for their glucose so I just wanted to to acknowledge that okay great then uh we will move on uh Mr kusik and Dr Brown to our 2526 and 2627 school calendars please very important top yeah Smith MERS Mr Kik and iived to Le this committee the district AC and if you're looking at the screen now you can see that we do have individuals representing multiple areas serving on this committee teacher leaders division heads principles and of course also miss Norman representing the board and as aent the committee and so we met over the course of the semester and reviewed several different calendars and options and sought input before we made our recommendation to you tonight some parameters that we do try to follow are listed on the screen and some non-negotiables we have 180 student days 185 certified staff days we do try that the first student day be in August and preferably not a full week of school a shorter week to allow the students to and then also get AR rest um we do very much try to have our last student date before Memorial Day though there's an as Mr explain that in just a moment we observe all federal holidays we no longer have snow days but e-learning days you'll also see coming up at are that in presidential election years we do like to schedule an e-learning day for safety as our sites are used uh many of our sites are used as polling locations and finally we do try to be consistent in recent years on the number we week is numbered which weeks are fall break Thanksgiving break spring break break and also we schedule years ahead our graduations and so those are our parameters that we try to follow as we look at the first year in a reminder we're not looking at next school year or this upcoming school year we're looking at the two years after that so as we look at 2025 2026 I'm going to start with the end in mind and if you look at moral Day May 25th 2026 that is his early as Memorial Day can possibly be this was the asteris that Dr was mentioning earlier that typically our parameters are to be done by Memorial day but after looking at multiple options committee is recommending that for this one year only we do actually go past Memorial Day still ending in May but this prevents us from having to start in July and no one wants to start school in July so by going past Memorial Day again still ending in May this does to allow for our first day of school to be in August um also I want to mention a change on this calendar from previous years one thing we're looking at is now implementing a day and a half professional day for secondary before school starts typically there's been one day at the front for secondary two days for Elementary uh and then that second day for secondary was in December as a records day to finalize grad through the year we're going to change that day in December to a half day and move that half to the front secondary will have a day and a half at the front and a half a day in December uh to finalize that's the feedback we've gotten for the last several years uh from the secondary level and then I'll also point out on this year's calendar that traditionally we try to give a longer weekend when possible in February for President's Day that's a big meaty part of the school year when you go January February March most students and teachers will tell you that um but again this year because Memorial Day is so early it will just be a three-day weekend for President Day in February another calendar we're bringing to you today is a 2026 27 calendar and the calendar flips the way things rotate and Memorial day is as late as it can possibly be on May 31st so there is no problem being done before Memorial Day and we hold to all our parameters that Dr hoson presented to you earlier with no problem whatsoever present these two counters to you for information bring them back to you at the board meeting later this month for just for fun I always like to see where Christmas Falls and in each year our kiddos get several days before Christmas and a few days after even getting the whole week off before Christmas which lands on a Friday they don't have to come back to school until January 5th so um that's kind of fun for families um any comments questions parents I have just one question and that is how have we I did appreciate the fact that Miss Norman served on this committee as a parent but do parents have the opportunity to weigh in on the calendar and we also bring up the calendar when we meet with our PFO leaders each spring and we bring up those options and ask their opinion any items that we know are out also add that parents throughout the year provide us [Laughter] feedback some's watching watching this it's just because we know that calendars tend to be one of the hottest topics I the only um first of all mad kudos to having so many stakeholders and for listening to our teachers in particular about the need to have at the secondary level that time for professional development which I think is so critical I the one thing I I'm wondering is having students return after Memorial day do we anticipate having finals that week and what is and what will happen if students do not attend because sometimes we know after a break like that there is a disengagement so when looking at that committee was very strategic in making sure that students weren't coming back just for one day okay or something like that that might encourage them not to come back right so final exams at the high school level is over a 4 day period there's two student days after moral day that year so have two days before moral day and then two days after okay excellent thank you we've done thank you but thank you for your your effort and the high school graduation is after grad and psychologically I appreciate not starting till August I think there's just something about starting in July um and also having a little bit of a break between jump start and graduation having a little bit of time time between the end of the year and and the June activities so thank you all for your work great thank you very much and we'll I guess we'll approve those in a later Mee okay um then we will um move on Mr notor um to our strategic plan that's oh yes I'm so sorry that's you my bad Mr kosnik and Dr Brown again strategic Plan update yes we're pleased to bring to you tonight the end of update first year of our threeyear strategic plan and I would I would ask this is as a work session uh let's go uh one slide at a time and ask questions if we that's all right with you okay as we begin we just want to remind you of our development process of of the Strategic plan they came in four phases and Gathering input from our stakeholders and focus groups in large group meetings and then our executive committee took the information analyzed it into what you see today what you see today is six pillars of our plan from academic achievement culture Staffing and people facilities technology and finance each of our division Le tonight we bring to you a highlight for P year year one of year three before they do I just want to remind the board that forly we provide updates on our dashboard those updates are provided to our dashboard every quarter currently quarter three is posted and we're processing quarter four which we Pro posted later this month those are available to the public on our website first is academic achievement now we'll turn it over to Mr not thank you there's been much work um in terms of the Strategic plan with academic achievement but we're highlighting two specific areas this evening uh the first is the metric around increasing the number and percentage of students who enroll in advanced coursework at the middle schools and this really is an alignment with our goal of academic honors diplomas Technical Honors diplomas for our graduates and so that's got to begin much earlier than than high school and so that's the purpose of this particular metric the Baseline in 2223 was 49% 49% of our Middle School students had access to Advanced cours workk in 23 24 we were able to increase that uh percentage to 74% so 74% of middle school students are enrolled or were enrolled in advanced courses um in seventh and e8th grade you can see the the subgroup breakdown um across our various demographic groups um and this came about in a variety of different ways um one is just by making particular courses and this is the second bullet up there making particular courses for high school credit and that comes through the curriculum advisory Council and is approved by the board and an example for next school year is you approved that the seventh and eth grade Spanish language arts classes within the Dual language program will be for high school credit for next year so that will really allow us to increase even further for next year and particularly focus on our English learner subgroup as that was one of our lower subgroups in terms of of access another way that students gain access in middle school is through academic data and what we call an opt out process so years ago the process was students and families had to opt in to Advanced courses by signing up for them um now we've switched that so that students opt out students are scheduled into the classes based on their data and then if a family has a concern about an advanced class they would contact the school and ask to be considered for an opt out of an advanced class and that really has allowed us to increase our number numbers at the middle school as well okay so my first question is um we based on the data we place them in advanced courses and students have to opt out with their parents permission so if a student if a parent feels that their student should be in advanced do we absolutely great question that was one of the things I was going to ask um another question that I have is do families have the opportunity because you're talking about opting in what is the process for awarding the high school credit is that automatically when you opt in that you are taking it for high school credit or is it after the grade is awarded it is after the grade is awarded that it would be on the transcript for the student and so what happens if a student receives a grade that they do not want on a high school credit they can opt out of receiving the high school credit and then retake the question then retake yes and then when looking at this data obviously a 17% difference between white students and uh students who are black um what are we doing to close that achievement Gap and that'll come in our our next slide where we're really focusing on increasing access at the elementary level so that our students come in with the data that they need to be placed in those advanced classes um the other thing that we're doing um and as approved with the Spanish language arts as an example is offering more High School Credit courses that's approved for any student in the course so that will increase that particular example will increase our English learner numbers which was a low demographic group for us as well I just want to add thank you for this this was a benefit to our house to our house household I had a child who literally um we had bumped up we had opted her in for some harder courses and she was in tears and she did F fantastic and boosted her confidence and she was able to see that that extra push and I had another child who was opted in also on some harder course work now and I and I only say this as a point of when a child is challenged and they're able to see themselves push both girls were able to meet their meet their goal of of high honor role and I only emphasize that for the simple point of this system had pushed them to see something that okay I can really do this and so my family was at the benefit of all of this and so I immensely thank you for absolutely it's available the next slide um is around the area focus in the Strategic plan of increasing access to high ability programs in our elementary schools and this also is in our Equitable student nowc comes action plan so it it mirrors and the metric is by August 2024 so this coming August all elementary schools will have an advanced math curriculum for each grade level in the past our advanced math curriculum only occurred in our four elementary schools that had self-contained High ability programming um we through our high ability um redesign we now are offering High ability math and language arts in every one of our elementary schools and we started this year um as kind of a a trial run on a pilot with sixth grade students and those students were uh not identified for self-contained High ability they were identified for math Achievement High math achievement so using I ready scores using I learn scores 256 graders and representing every single one of our elementaries experien the sixth grade in sixth grade the pre-algebra math curriculum which then prepares them for the seventh grade algebra and that's where the opt out process comes so all of those students are being scheduled in to seventh grade algebra if families don't want seventh grade algebra then they have to contact the school have a conversation to um opt them out and so in preparation for this advanced math curriculum are uh at every gr grade level our principals and teachers are planning those structures that are needed so there's some logistical pieces that have to be worked out in each of our schools um curriculum development so that we can ensure that there aren't gaps along the way so our curriculum Specialists have been developing supplemental curriculum to ensure students have that strong foundational skill in mathematics with a focus on number sense in the early grades um if you miss some of those skills in in first grade because you've have skipped a year of curriculum you could be behind in the future so making sure we fill in any of those standards that um are are really important and then professional development is going to be critical for our teachers who are teaching advanced math that haven't done that before at our all of our elementary schools and so that professional development is planned for uh the Lawrence learning Summit in July and then we'll have our math math Specialists continue to serve as support to all of our teachers who are teaching this in the future so um thank you for that I'm just to understand a little better it's still in progress but um so if some students are identified as pre prealgebra Level Elementary will they be in a separate math class or are you looking at training all the teachers to teach it within their own classroom and that's part of the logistics that's specific to each school so in some schools there are enough students that it creates a full section okay in other schools there might be 11 students or 12 students and so that would be a differentiated curriculum that those teachers would specifically be trained for okay so it's flexible it varies okay thank you and so just to ensure that families understand so if a student were to take pre-algebra in the sixth grade seventh grade is algebra can you please explain the trajectory of their math math courses through middle and high school that's a really important question because in order for our students to gain access to all of the math curricula that we offer they have to access algebra in seventh grade that it's geometry in e8th grade it's Algebra 2 as a freshman it's pre-calculus as a sophomore and then it's um either probability in statistics AP or it's Calculus AB and then Calculus BC but in order for all of our uh in order for a student to access all of that they've got to be able to access algebra in seventh grade and that's why this work is so important exactly thank you so much for sharing that sure thank you and one last question I know in a few cases some outliers have been ready for high school math in elementary school how do we do that how do we work that out for the families yeah we meet that need individually and we certainly do have students that are on that advanced double Advanced trajectory and so we treat those uh circumstances individually based on what that student needs but they're always allowed absolutely to Bloom as much as they went to bloom when they absolutely all right all right move forward then to culture thank you and we have three initiatives that we'll highlight under culture and the first is increase access to programs that are demonstrated to improve student health and wellbeing we have had over 50 teachers 50 Educators who have gone through the certification with Dr Lori desel um at Butler University and we just we're just finishing up enrollment for 14 more that will start in July so that is really building a a team of of practitioners within the district that will continue to carry that work all of our CIS our communities and schools Liaisons have been trained in youth Mental Health First Aid this year as well as the Columbia suicide severity rating scale our vaccination clinics that we've held um a lot of them have been held here on site at LCC we've had some at the schools and also partnered with uh Castleton United Methodist Church had some there those have been very successful where we have offered all childhood vaccinations plus CID and flow kid and flow shots Co and flu shots um we have I've shared with you before that we have access through our partners to provide glasses eye exams and glasses to any student in the district who needs them and we have our links to 211 find help and the Immigrant Welcome Center are now posted directly on our website so that families and students can access those directly and we have the rollout of The Help Me app for the 2425 school year which is through the Cesc safety Grant board members thank you Miss Bush um on the help me app is that something accessible to both students and staff or is it more a student oriented app it is access I think it's accessible to anyone in the district it it's an app that's got three different components to it so there's a there's one piece that offers resources there's a part that well the for the for the resources I would say I would say students adults could access it but adults would have other means of being able to do those three things so it's it's mainly for students so it's more of um just so I understand better it's more of like mental health support it is okay it is there there is a component to that yes okay thank you yeah question um thank you for the question about um help me app because I wasn't sure what that was parenthetically I remember the first time when I was about 10 years old that I got glasses and I put them on and I could see the individual leaves of trees and I didn't have to sit in the front row anymore and it was so exciting so to me this is uh I mean it I still remember the visceral feeling of being able to see so clearly so I'm I'm thrilled about that we can move to the next slide I have a question and I'm actually behind a slide I apologize or I was keeping up with this one but I I do have a question that's concerning on slide number five um or no apologize it's on slide number four concerning math um math and the um Advanced coursework for high school credit um yeah that will be on slide four the question was um as our Haitian and um Spanish speaking population grow what support services do we have for those families because a a lot of our families have been here they have a lot you know they have access to some of the previous tools some what supports do we have for those families so they're not so so that a gaps not being created now are you talking about math math yes I'm sorry math I'm on C told you I'm on behind I'm on slide four I went back I was thinking about it go back to our chief so support for families of yes language Learners in area of math yes what do we have for them as far as supports is that language barrier coupled with sure yeah I think one of our our most tremendous supports is in our dual language program and the fact that um we have so many bilingual staff members um particularly in uh Spanish speaking staff members who are able to support families through that process um we're growing our bilingual staff members at the secondary level um we'd love to have more bilingual Math teachers um but our elementary teachers really guide students and families through that process in addition we have bilingual family Liaisons who are able to support families um we have um repurposed one of the the district level bilingual family Liaisons to have more of an academic Focus because of this very need um less of a a focus in in her daily work on um maybe the social work side of things and more focus on the academic questions that our families might have and making sure that they have access thank you for that sorry again sorry guys that I went back a slide but the wheels are always turning so I apologize I just Mr I've also witnessed firsthand when visiting some of the schools that there are sheltered instruction practices going on as well which I think is really important to note that the instruction that is being done is is done in a way that comprehensible input so there's a lot of gestures a lot of visuals in a lot of ways because a lot of times we think it is just um being able to translate items but I have seen firsthand how the district Works diligently to ensure that those sheltered instruction practices are in place um a lot of time for interaction to ensure that Reading Writing speaking and listening is being implemented um a lot of times to ensure that background knowledge is being tapped into um and so I think just wanted to on the instructional aspects that are best practices for our English Learners are definitely in play as well absolutely thank you thank you that helpful Miss Bush we go back to the second slide of culture that would be slide seven so for our parent teacher conference participation our elc's last year saw 88.7% and 83% this year slight dip there and for elementary we saw a slight increase up to 87.8% from 85.9 n our secondary uh parent teacher conferences are were measured in the number of conferences and this year was our Baseline year at 8,351 conferences we hosted a family support resource day with the Maran County prosecutor's office last August and it was uh also very successful and we are looking at possibly doing that again this year uh we had opportunities for families to um get get expungements to get help with um child support you know all different kinds of things anytime we can bring resources locally bring resources right here to the district that is a help so we are hoping to to do that again in this year you are aware of our conversa classes that took place at Sunnyside this year we also piloted a grade level Essentials of digital newsletter for parents uh in partnership with great schools for this year and we had three family engagement nights one was the restorative practice uh prep at um Ln with peace Learning Center in October and then we were able to have two parent parental assistants to reduce treny meetings um in October and February do you have questions questions on the side of the board um this was mentioned in another meeting but I I think the conversa classes um to teach English are brilliant and really wonderful and hoping that that can open up so that English speakers can learn Spanish as well I actually do have a quick question and I don't know if do we have an idea possibly on what had caused the dip concerning the ELC conference umse yes thank you for that question no specific um data on why it went lower but one thing that we were trying to do this year was encourage amilies to come in person um whereas in the year before we would do Zoom no problem and we still did offer Zoom but we were really trying to get the families to come back into the building okay let's move on to the next slide slide eight yes and then the last initiative was instituting more restorative responses to behavior in infractions we've had um all of our buildings trained building leadership teams trained by Dr Dominique Smith all of our secondary schools have had level one restorative practice training with peace Learning Center as I mentioned we had the parent night in October also with peace Learning Center and all of our buildings have received coaching with Dr Dominique this school year very lucky to have that partnership with Dr Dominique Smith and I think board members certainly our all of our administrators are familiar with his work um just for the sake of stakeholders that may be listening can you list um some of the things that he teaches so that they know what he's teach what he's teaching sure um to our team he is teaching how to establish a sense of belonging in the school that gives us something to restore when an infraction happens so it is um building up school culture we all we always talk about how restorative practice is 80% building the culture and 20% responding to the behavior infractions so a lot of times people think of that 20% as being all of what restorative practice is but it's not just about the restorative conferences and the restorative chats it is about all that we're doing in the schools to build a positive learning environment so that when it comes time to have that restorative conference there's a relationship to restore so he's he's he's talking about all of that with our leaders he is um he is a principal himself right now so he is a a a ready resource and he understands where they are uh they do a lot of talking about individual situations you know what if what when and just really think through if not if we're not doing this then how does this look with the restorative lens how does this look with a restorative mindset as we make that shift that's that's wonderful that 80% building culture is crucial is there a way as we do have we established sort of a baseline of infractions maybe numbers of infractions or um I guess there's I don't know if there's a way to to um quantify intensity of infractions but can we quantify the effectiveness of this work over time so we will get end of the end of the year data um and that's that's what we're hoping to do we're looking at how we collect our data we're looking at the new systems that we'll have in place and how how do we quantify that in a way that can show growth over time so that's something that we're working on thank you any further questions I have a question why is it why is it more of a I don't want to say more of a Ben benefit because there are times where you have to pursue a um punitive response so I want to make it clear that this isn't something that's wax or something that is used carelessly um but why is it important to have a restorative response versus a punitive response when necessary because we know that there are going to be times when students have to be removed whether it's from the classroom or from the school um restorative responses are when it's appropriate to do that um your question was why is it important to have restorative responses because it gives the student it makes that student not feel like they've been banished from the community it it makes the it helps the student know that I am still a part of something I am still welcome here I am still a part of this community and they do want me back I'm not being banished for and again when it's appropriate you know for for for infractions that are appropriate for that um because we know that sometimes we we do have to have removal removals sometimes shortterm sometimes long term I have one more question um do we see this helping our discipline data and I ask that because this is something that affects numerous school this is a Statewide concern you typically see higher discipline ratios between black black and brown students so do we feel as though this will help that data will that help to lessen that Gap to this help when when I when I've seen data and literature on initiatives like this there's always a three to five year you know three to five year implementation and I do believe it will help because um part of the conversation with this building of the culture is also about um how we relate to students of all Races it's about Equitable uh Equitable student outcomes Equitable uh relationships it's it's it's about that building of the culture for every student not just certain students and so whether they look like you or not so I I do believe that It ultimately it will help you know I'm just really asking these because I try to push back on my own thoughts and ideas so if I were looking at this and why is this needed I love restorative practices I use it within my home I use it in multiple places because it is a way to humanize and see to see a person when it is necessary to use that um and so I thank you for us leaning into this because it helps to humanize it helps to see hey you messed up but give you the tools to put in your toolbox future forward in life so I'm grateful to see these practices and thank you for um my answering my questions as I push back against my own thoughts and ideas secretary Pucket you must be reading my mind because and as an assistant principal this quote the children who need love the most will always ask for it in the most unloving ways was something that I kept at the Forefront of my office in very large print um to remind myself of that um and so I really appreciate president musk been asking about the metrics and wondering the the training is a phenomenal but is this something that is also included in evaluations or what kind of other followup is is done to ensure that our teachers truly understand the need for these restorative practices you are providing board the tools because this is in the Strategic plan to your building administrators to make this happen uh Miss D you have served in the role and we can certainly sit here and talk about it all day but what we have here is a structure that will support specifically our schools Dr Nomine is worked directly with our school leaders so if it's now board level it is now superintendent level which then becomes principal level yes we evaluate okay so it is now institutionalized but you're not just talking about it board you're providing the resources in order for our people to get better at what they do so that they can work better with the students and then we'll have success and that's what this is all about the restorative practices are tools in the toolbx that we're given through and we this came through the strategic planning process as something of importance to our district in terms of discipline of providing support to our students and that's what we've been able to do this year and we're going to continue to work on that so I I would just add that I have spoken to people from out of state who have walked through our schools our high schools in particular and and been amazed at how calm our schools are how orderly our our transition from CL you know from class to class is compared to schools theyve visited in the past and you know that comes from Pride that comes from a sense of belonging and I'm I feel so strongly that that all this work we're doing will only improve that sense of belonging and sense of taking care of their own own home their own space and each other so thank you um and thank you board for your questions for your comments and for taking um time to talk about restorative practices and a little bit of depth I appreciate that Miss Carla Johnson our staffing and our people good evening Madam president Dr Smith and members of the board um pleased tonight to be able to share with you with Staffing and people a highlight um you know we're working to increase staff satisfaction and but I wanted to highlight just our update on reducing um turnover and one of the areas of we're working on all year is just how we are tracking retention and on our our dashboard all year as I've looked at that and it feels like that one is my slowest area I I always remind myself you have three years in a strategic plan but this one was probably one of the most difficult and I really want to thank Mr gigline and our team for working closely with technology to build a tracking system and that we have worked on each month and so we were able um this spring to begin to share with our principles how you can look at your retention data not just by looking down the hallway and who's here and who's not but to really look at that data and look at the first three qus of our year and we have 94.5% of our staff that we have retained in the first three quarters now the fir the last quarter we're still working as um we're tidying up the end of the year and beginning to hire for the next school year but that has really taken a lot and we'll begin to be able to compare our staff data from the first day of school of 23 to the first day of school of 24 to really look at that full year cycle of data but we're looking at it as a district level and building by building for their leaders as they're going off this summer and really thinking about hiring strategic but as we're trying to increase our staff satisfaction it works with reducing that turnover I see them working hand in hand and year two in our strategic plan we're looking forward to really expanding this tracking system for our classified staff you know how will that look with all of our classified employees with all those divisions so it's a Monumental task but one that I'm excited that we're we're doing the work slowly but surely and that's just a highlight I wanted to bring forward this month thank you so much questions for Miss Johnson I just wanted to say thank you for that that's an amazing number um as a parent there's just something special about your kids going to the school same school each year and seeing some of the same faces you know greeting them in that continuity of the staff so retention is that's wonderful thank you we'll move on then to facilities Mr Mr SMI Madame President Dr Smith members of the board uh since we have renovated uh all of our buildings or nearing completion of we wanted to go back and assess each and every building to make sure that we are looking at capacity of each building because we've added classrooms so therefore um working with uh Dr hos Brown and Mr Kik and the building Administration with curriculum what truly is instructional space that counts for our building capacity so last semester we went through that process and gained that information and as a result of that we knew we had three elementaries that were way over capacity so we want to make sure that we have a correct data in place that shows the capacity of our buildings that we can monitor as enrollment changes look watching the capacity of each building when you start pushing that 90% Mark then you need to look at what ifs and the Blue Ribbon uh part two uh does address uh the start of this uh capacity issue with those three elementaries but then also giving us the capabilities of looking looking and watching that as we move through uh our Blue Ribbon part two that we can be in front of that rather than behind that curve great questions for Mr Smith on facilities capacity just to clarify the um transition from Blue Ribbon phase one to phase two the last buildings on phase one are the middle schools is that correct phase one is the middle schools uh phase two of this building and the new LCC building okay thank you Mr Smith for the public and the board remind them Blue Ribbon part two you're planning out for how many years which is important uh the next 10 plus years thank you okay I did see a study today that um our senior class has higher numbers this year and from this year on we expect the graduating classes to be smaller and smaller I don't necessarily see that in Lawrence Township because I know we still have Bubbles and and so I don't necessarily see that here but I'm sure that that you know management of facilities we'll keep that in mind as the demographics change movement in population change in birth rates Madam president if you recall we haven't done it in uh we did it prior to the pandemic so it's right before the pandemic we did have a demographic study done for Lawrence Township we may be seasoned for that within the next year to two that we do go back and take a look at that but uh Madame President was addressing uh recent information about the country and the and our state that uh our sch8 populations are decreasing so something for us to consider but our plan which projected our 10 years said that Lawrence was very much going to be very stable we do have to also consider in there school choice which impacts sometime how schools are um student enrollment but for us we were projected to be solid over the next 10 years with a very stable student population so uh we can look at that in the next couple years and yet we've grown every year yes we have Madam President we have uh made maintain our population and add a few students keep those good programming that good programming coming okay um if there are no questions we'll move on Dr gagin to technology Madame President members of the board Dr Smith maximizing technology means we need to make sure the students have the technology and so um we kind of take that for granted but we want to ensure that every student has a device and that we can afford to do that on a yearly basis so we did that uh I brought that to you earlier this year and with input from curriculum we were able to save some money so that uh makes Mr miles very happy I did discuss with you the virtual desktop infrastructure we are getting that installed right now and that will allow students to access some very sophisticated software from home now that they couldn't do uh for our staff in particular and eventually for our parents we're moving from sky 2.0 to Skyward cumulative that's essentially like on your phone upgrading your app it's still the same software behind the scenes it just looks better it's more user friendly and we're in the midst of training uh the various uh user groups on that and finally I brought to you earlier this year just improving the fiber running between our building and Sunnyside as well as between Crest View and Skyles uh just to improve overall performance in those buildings questions for technology I have a question I have had a number of stakeholders who have shared concerns about the transition from Skyward can you explain a little bit about what training is being done for the various stakeholders yeah absolutely we have um our heavy user groups are the ones I listed there registar counselors they are getting uh extensive training we are bringing them in we actually brought the registrars and did one at a time because if we don't get the student data in there correctly from the get-go nothing works counselors have been brought same happened with treasurers um counselors are getting that same training we've done an overview then we did another small group they've asked for more training um counselors never have a free moment because there's just always something so just trying to work it in uh We've now as I mentioned we've trained our e coaches those are our embedded instruct uh coaches who are teachers um we've trained them they will then have uh stations at the summit to begin to train teachers as well um and again it's not that we're switching from Power School to Skyward or any of those it's still Skyward there um so there's that anxiety that it's different but uh even I figured it out so it's cool thank you yes up and that was part of my question is if I'm thinking if it's if it's not broke then why fix it so what is the need for going from 2.0 to the newer it's much more user friendly and it's cheaper because could there we go save us some money so that happens time use it friendly and cheaper okay thank you thank you very much we will move on Mr miles to um Finance please thank you madam president and uh as I get to back clean up here on this one we're going to talk finances um from the finance lens we wanted to to uh our goal was to increase Financial alignment with strategic priorities so basically make sure that we've got the resources in place to support all these other initiatives and we started this year um as we always do annually with our negotiations and bargaining and so we worked closely with HR and our Lea to reach an agreement that we were all very satisfied with um you can see the highlights of that agreement for our teachers a $4,000 increase plus other um cash and benefit in increases over last year for our classified staff and administrators uh a 5% increase as well for those job classifications so that was sort of step one for us as far as making sure we take care of take care of our staff and our teachers from there uh we strategically developed a financial plan uh to account for the change in curricular resources a as you will recall there are no longer parent fees for book fees and so we had to come up with options and a solution to make sure that we could still provide uh the technology and and the curricular resources that our parents and students come to expect and we were able to do that with the board's help through um some creative um Solutions including uh funding from the state but also our Geo bonds that we've passed here at the board level um next we we've worked on a long-term plan from a finance side to meet District needs from an operation standpoint facilities equipment needs uh buses all to support our students and staff success um again some of that ties in with our Geo bonds that we've approved here at the board level um to um just Infuse uh resources from a financial standpoint that we we certainly need and lastly um proud to say that our our department uh has has met with other departments in the past on on a regular basis but we really kind of amped that up over the last 12 months to make sure that we are providing U the resources that they need and understand you know where we are going um from a strategic plan uh standpoint uh to make sure that uh that that we do have those resources available that we're properly using them that things aren't being wasted and so we've expanded uh meeting and having those regular meetings with all divisions and I think that's been a big success for us thank you um I just want to share the gratitude for this District in looking at creative ways to fill that Gap because we know that the state has not provided adequate funding for our textbook adoptions and um in talking with other districts I believe Lawrence was one of the first who actually took the plunge into the geobond route um and so kudos to to our district for for being at the Forefront I hope we continue to Advocate at a state level to ensure that we are adequately funding the curricular resources that are necessary in in order for our students to be the most successful so thank you for your leadership thank you to go with Miss Dunn's Point um one of the legislators told me that it's a good time in the summer um to Advocate because they're not as busy it's not go time quite yet so um anybody who wants to reach out to their local state legislators this is a great season Reon to do it um I plan to do it I know we'll be ramping up in the fall um and continuing to build on those relationships because this is what keeps us going and we are very grateful for the support and we're also grateful for the district stewardship of the tax dollars thank you couldn't agree more um we have a previous president in the room and I would just like to say um during president McGregor's time on the board we were the first district in the area to raise our pay for classified to minimum $15 an hour which caused all districts around the city of Indianapolis to do the same it was crucial our rate is a little bit higher now and um that that was a massive effort and it was a heavy Push by the board and a heavy Push by Finance so thank you for that thank you Mr McGregor okay that's it that's exciting that was thank you very much so um I guess we will at this point move on to student achievement part one and that would be Madam president Dr Smith and members of the board I bring to you this evening the first installment of our student achievement data report uh we're focused on our internal metrics this evening um those that we control within our district and so this first board goal focuses on Proficiency in math and reading assessments and this is our I ready data the metric is a growth of 12% in the percentage of students meeting grade level proficiency on District math and reading Assessments in all subgroups with accelerated growth from our underperforming subgroups so some District level data highlights uh we achieved the 12% proficiency growth in every subgroup at the district level in both math and Ela um the largest uh English language arts proficiency growth occurred in our dual language program at 35% um the smallest in our sped subgroup at 16% from a math perspective the largest proficiency proficiency growth occurred in our white subgroup at 37% our smallest in our special education sub group at 17% of note um and we always pay close attention to our numbers the English learner subgroup grew by 249 students from the beginning of the year to the end of the year um but we were able to um see a 21% proficiency increase in ela and a 26 proficiency increase in math while we're growing a significant number of students so that that is a significant celebration for us as a district um at the the school level 16 of 17 schools grew more than 12% in both Ela and math so all but one every grade level uh so we were consistent we had 12% or higher growth at every grade level with our largest coming from kindergarten first grade as we would expect uh to see the the highest proficiency increases coming with our our youngest students um this next data point isn't necessarily part of the board goal but it is important for us as we analyze year-to year so when we look at our results in 2024 compared to 2023 we saw a 5% increase in Proficiency in English language arts and a 3% increase in math so we improved year-over-year as well this last bullet I I think it's really important for us to address uh the racial achievement Gap persists in both math and Ela at the proficiency level um and that data is quite clear as you'll see on the next two slides however the Black and Hispanic subgroups uh grew out of the lowest proficiency levels so three or more grade levels below or two or more grade levels below at a higher rate than our white students did so we're seeing movement in those subgroups but we've not seen that movement at the proficiency level yet um of note and this was an important distinction from last year's data our special education subgroup uh grew out of the three or more grade levels below at the highest rate of any subgroup in both math and English language art s on the next slides you can see the breakdown um by subgroup the total number of students that were tested proficiency levels at the beginning of the year compared to the end of the year um and then that change and so you can see green in in every subgroup because we did meet the board goal in every subgroup at the district level this is for ELA and this is for math um same situation in Math green across the board um as we met the board goal in every subgroup at the district level so our next steps um it is clear we have got to continue our focus on Equitable student outcomes as outlined in our action plan um we have brought in um Ken Williams who is the author of Ruthless Equity um he uh keynoted our administrative Retreat um last week and um certainly is going to bring us a focus on our PLC work so we um have moved Beyond systems and process and we're down into um the very specific action plans that are created by teachers in professional learning communities uh the science of reading is working for us um we can see that in kindergarten in first grade and so we need to continue that focus and that training with our teachers our rigorous instructional framework has to continue um in that culturally responsive instruction that is part of our framework has to continue to be a focus as well as a focus on social emotional learning um we will continue Partnerships for next year to help support accelerated learning uh we have over 4,000 students that registered for this year's jump start and so we've got students right now working to uh make up ground and then it's important that we continue to support our principles to help them analyze their current data analyze where their gaps are and help them develop very specific action plans that are specific to their schools fabulous Bo questions any questions this is phenomenal data Kudos Kudos kudos to everyone I do have a question about the science of reading one thing that as an educator um has been alarming is um the states emphasis on lack of providing opportunities for students to read onlevel text um can you tell us a little bit about what we are doing as a district to ensure that students have both great level text access as well as onlevel access sure and that really is um a focus of Ken Williams and our PLC work um and that non-negotiable that our core instructional time is taught at grade level and that we're providing the scaffolds that students need in order to access grade level text and then there are other times during the day that might be considered an intervention time a win time whatever I need as a a win time where students would still be working on grade level standards but it would be with text that's at their reading level so that we're able to get both I I appreciate that because I know that is happening but I think it's really important for members of the public to understand that importance of the both and absolutely that we don't want to throw the baby out with a bath water but we want to give students access to texts that they are able to read and consume and be suc uccessful at so thank you we certainly know that no one can climb a ladder if four or five rungs are missing exactly sure thank you for that question um I would like to believe that along with the exceptionally um intense work that our kindergarten and first grade teachers are doing our preschool in kindergarten have more music study of and I would like to believe that that plays a part in their success particularly in math okay learn absolutely so the next internal metric that um I'm reporting on this evening is our rigor diagnostic metric uh the original metric was to achieve or exceed an end of year score of 10.0 or grow by 2.5 Five Points from beginning of the year to the end of the year this was a challenging metric for us this year because of recalibration from instructional empowerment so we had to do a data reset uh during the middle of the school year um and we now have a new Baseline so we did see District growth of 1.55 we had three elementary schools that achieved an overall score of 9.0 or higher and two additional schools that grew by two points and as you look at the next slide you can see just the the process that we went through um we had to reset several schools dur during that December to January time um because of the the company's reset um the next slides are just reminders of the different pillars that are part of the instructional framework and that are part of the rigor appraisal so we're looking at conditions for learning U many of the the questions that were aimed towards Mrs Bush earlier regarding restorative practices that comes out in conditions for Learning and relationships with students are we focused on standards and do we see student evidence of Standards um activating student teams are students collaborating are they working together in problem solving teams to achieve the standard um do we have systems to verify student learning and to track their progress so that's really the outline of what um this particular metric is looking for so our next steps um continue to support our principles and school leadership teams in the instruction framework um we are aligning um and have worked to align our teacher evaluation model so um f our Focus teacher evaluation model is aligned to our instructional framework with a focus on Equitable student outcomes and as always we have robust professional development offered throughout the summer for our teachers questions for Mr no regarding rigor I just I had a comment as a parent it was very helpful to get the data and the feedback fairly quickly on the beginning middle and end of the year assessments um and also just amazed at seeing the growth in of my student in particular but that feedback throughout the school year was very helpful good that's part of our strategic plan as well is increasing the parent communication and it was easy to access um because I'm not super technical so it was it was very easy to access so thank you for that too very good and Kudos um to miss Bush because I'm I'm looking at the this data graph and uh the conditions for learning rigorous standards did not dip in that mid year it continued an upward um the up uper director so thank you uh for the hard work work in our SEC thank you yes um I guess my question is I'm not sure what you mean by a company reset and how the numbers changed I I'll just give you the 30 second version of um they went through Staffing changes so we had different Consultants at the beginning of the year than we had last year um we immediately saw when we began to get the scores back um and asked some questions that that beginning of the year data didn't seem quite right with how we know that the scores have been in previous years so we asked for a reset for some schools where we thought the data did not reflect what was observed in the particular walk at that school um since then the company has uh assigned us one faculty member one consultant so that we can ensure that the data is consistent from each Administration thank you for that um okay questions thank you for the update on our strategic plan it's a thorough system and I'm sure will lead to exceptional growth in every aspect of our district now Mr harshbarger see how excited I was I got ahead of myy what policy does madam president Dr Smith members of the board bring to you tonight actually brought to you on May 20th board meeting volume 36 number one revision packet for Neil for first reading tonight I bring that same policy revision pack back for second reading happy to answer any questions are there any questions on the second reading policies no just thank you Miss Dunn again for serving on that committee and for all the reading that you have done um I think the district does provide free eyeglasses I need to talk to Dr Tavel I think so I think so um so if there are no questions the board are are there any further questions so I think we'll move to our action items which Dr harsh barer the approval of NE Neola policy updates Madam president Dr Smith members of the board mayor moments ago I brought you forward Neil volume 36 number one um policy revision packet for second reading I recommend the board approved the the old policy estimate so move second properly moved and seconded if there are no questions all in favor of approving those policies i i i any opposed the eyes have it um we'll move on uh Miss Johnson to the approval of our Personnel report please greetings Madam president Dr Smith and members of the board we present to you our Personnel report for your approval some move second properly moved and seconded if there are no questions all in favor of approving the Personnel report I hi the Personnel report is approved um and we have made it bored to our to our comments um who would like to begin the comment section today raise your hand vigorously and shake it mine is really brief I had a graduate come through and one of the things that stood out the most was he asked for his open house he wanted good food and cornhole and the thing that stood out the most at his open house I feel like my home was a small microcosm of Lawrence it was so many kids that came through those doors uh they all looked very different and they were loved on they were fed and they were Lawrence and so it's just one of those moments where I literally had to stand back they went through 20 pans of food and that's okay um just to love on them and just it was Lawrence in my home and so just wanted to share that piece that I was grateful to share my home with so many students of diverse population of just just diverse but then also too just you could feel the love you could see you could also see the love also and they're pretty good at cornhole I realize that too they're really good that was it for me all right Mama heart was full Miss Norman I think cornhole is a big 10 area like P time it should be yeah so they're ready um now since we were talking about niola and policy um in conversations with people in the community I wanted to let the public know that they have access to our board policies if they want to dig out their reading glasses anytime and it's accessible on our LT schools.org website so if it's it's accessible to everybody if they want to read and I appreciate the committee doing that but my last note I wanted to share was um one of the highlights of serving on the board is graduation um you know you could every year it's just such a a high you see how proud the parents are as a parent you know how many Blood Sweat and Tears and nights go through from toddler to teenager and just seeing all the families in the community celebrate um it was really special so thank you to everyone who um put that together um it was just a great celebration thank you I will Echo your comments vice president Norman I also want to say thank you very much uh Mr Notre for your leader ership with jumpstart um many times I I shared this at our last board meeting um but a lot of times we think that the school the school year ends uh right before Memorial day but yet we have a lot of amazing learning that is happening and again thank you as well um to you for your leadership at the high school level because these are such incredible opportunities for our students to get where they need to be and to close that achievement Gap so thank you for offering those opportunities for all of our Scholars and thank you to the staff members that are working summer school because um a lot of times we have this misnomer that uh teachers just spend the whole summer off eating Bon bonss and sitting by the pool but we know that Educators in Lawrence Township are um not just educating our students but also gearing up for next school year and so also kudos to you on the amazing work that you're doing for the summit so um very excited to see the amazing work that is happening this summer and I do hope with that being said that staff members have a chance to enjoy some time because it is imperative that we fill our buckets and take time for ourselves to to get ready for the rigorous work that we have ahead of us and so uh thank you for your leadership superintendent Smith and thank you all I Echo these wonderful comments from our board members and also would like to say about graduation that um I read Google I'll admit it and I see articles once in a while sometimes in newspapers sometimes in other places that students are refused graduation for displaying um a stole it tells the public where they're from where their families have come from what they believe in and I saw the most beautiful stalls throughout the building a magn magnificent diversity um some were wearing Christian stalls some were wearing stalls that had an American flag and a and a maybe a Mexican flag on them and and that's just two examples of of scores of different stols I saw it's so colorful so beautiful um and indeed I saw one of our Scholars who I know earned many many many chords walking graduation without any cords and um I'll keep that to myself but I thought that was very special um so congratulations to Lawrence on on embracing the diversity that we have and building on that diversity Dr Smith Bo your next meeting uh will be on the 24th and I do remind you bring your good hands to shake again because Mr kosnik and the secondary team has invited half the city to be here uh we like to do that we'll start promptly at 6:30 for our student recognitions uh we had a very successful spring season with performing arts and as well as athlex we always enjoy that we love celebrating our students but we do have a board meeting on the 24th would immediately follow board you'll be in your board retreat on that day also I think the public should know that as we always properly post that uh so the board will have their Retreat on that day so uh great close to the 2023 24 school year what better way to do it tonight with our board meeting and me and with you and it's good to hear all the great things that we've done this school year so thank everyone so that's all I have Madam president just thank you thank you Dr SMI thank you for all you do and um if we have as we have no more business at this meeting I would uh welcome a motion to adjourn so moved properly moved and seconded we are adjourned [Music] she said the rest of y'all did your little dances and solos she took the mic and said thank you for coming good all an audience what are they sending

[Music] good afternoon everybody uh this is Michael Herbert nashland Town manager we're here for another episode of Clock Town Chronicles um our opportunity to get into depth into things that are happening in and to Ashland uh Massachusetts this is episode three um you know previous episodes we've been able to kind of go through a 10e retrospective of the town uh and then our last one was related to the comprehensive plan and we're actually going to continue the planning theme in episode three today and we're going to talk about Municipal planning and uh specifically we're going to get a little bit into a specific type of project known as a 40b project but before we get into to the subject too deep I want to introduce my two guests here today uh first to my left uh is Peter matchak Peter is the town planner here in the town of mass as Ashley in Massachusetts almost the town of Massachusetts yes I have lived here more than half my life folks um and then to my right we have John traan who is chair of the zoning board of appeals gentlemen thank you both for uh being willing to be here today and uh answer some questions and and tell us a little bit about uh things that are happening in your world so thanks for inviting me yeah we're happy to be here Michael absolutely so yeah you know typical free flowing conversation and got Melissa Hayes here who's going to keep us on track and we'll have the time clock because I think between the three of us uh we've been known to go a little bit long sometimes uh when we uh get started peace looking at me like what are you talking about speak for yourself pal um but Pete why don't we start with you man uh Pete and I have known other for years um and uh Pete's always been interested in playing but Pete why don't you tell us a little bit about how you got into planning Municipal planning and how you ended up here in the town of Ashland sure thanks Mike so uh so yeah I've been a municipal planner for uh going on 10 years now and uh as I say I'm a I grew up in Massachusetts on the North Shore up in damis uh and uh I went to westfi State College starting about 2003 and and I studied Regional planing at Westfield State College and did uh also kind of was at that time working um working through GIS geographical Information Systems kind of learning the trade that was my undergrad then when I got out of uh undergrad at Westfield State uh 2008 um recession hit and then I kind of dovetail back into graduate school um a perfect time to go perfect time to yeah it was a perfect time to get out right in the recession yeah perfect time to get out of school and start looking for a job uh but it suited me well right I went to West I went back to school uh doing GIS work at Salem State uh which obviously was local and uh you know gaining experiences at that time I was also volunteering had had a great opportunity had some great friends in planning yeah uh you know Kate day who was a senior planner up in danamas was a great person that that I uh I interacted with a lot and um and at that time you know I actually volunteered on the damis rail trail which was a way for me to kind of get some Municipal experience uh kind of going and and that was that was a great project for the town of Danver and for where I was uh you know in my life and then um GIS you know you're sitting behind the computer sitting and clicking I always say and uh there wasn't too much um personal you know um connections going on you know you're kind of and I didn't want to be stuck behind the computer my entire life uh and so at that point I uh I shifted gears and and I went out to uh UMass Amherst and I got into a graduate program out there uh for regional planning landscape architecture which was a great thing to that that I did landscape wait landscape architecture you had that part of part of your program was landscape AR part of the program is landscape architecture yeah but my focus is my focus was Regional planning but um to tell you the truth some days when I was uh some you know when I was sick of writing papers I I always took a landscape architecture class to focus in on uh you know uh grading you know very interesting topics that Landscape Architects take see I had no idea about this about be yeah and then um but yeah I got out and then you know I've been practicing planning at the municipal level um for 10 years um my first stop was in Handover then in kasset on the Southshore you know as a as a Northshore guy I didn't think I would ever uh I I always joked around I fell in the draft to the Southshore and uh but I met some great people down there um still good friends to this day uh who I uh respect highly and I I still T stay in touch with and then about five years a little over five years ago I um you know I joined Ashland and and I was hired by you and uh it's been uh it's been a lot it's been busy as you told me five years ago um Ashland downtown Ashland would not be the same place it was five years ago and uh I would say this is that you delivered on that promise uh with the renovations to the downtown and and the inovations on Pawn Street and obviously the projects that we're working on and uh you know you know the state is actually in obviously in a different place after the pandemic um you know planning is a little bit different too you know so uh but yeah right now we got the comprehensive plan going um and obviously a couple big projects coming through but we've also dealt with some really big projects complex projects yeah you know I would say you know we you know the completion into the final permanent stage and and seeing the Final Phase Construction of Village of the Americas is is a big was a big part 100 Chestnut Street 100 Chestnut Street you know the 70 174 units and and 10 and half th000 square feet of commercial I think that's a real uh that was a real interesting project to work on to permit to understand MH um and uh yeah it's been it's been a fun ride these last 10 years five years but you know it just seems like 10 sometimes yeah they're busy I'll say that you know they're busy yeah we try to we try to we try to keep you busy and John how about you uh you know you're here well you work with the town of Ashlin in a volunteer capacity as a Committee Member so what I'm the only one here that's not being paid um that is well I did tell you I'd give you a couple bucks for this right didn't I oh yeah well yeah I'll at least buy you a coffee something food is good it's the least I could do but uh John yeah why don't you just let us know a little bit about you know why you were interested in volunteering for the town of ashin what made you decide like the zoning board of appeals was kind of the direction you wanted to go in well I was a retired attorney uh never practiced in the field of land use zoning or anything uh was looking for something to do and it was actually a project that had come before the zoning board of appeals project in my neighborhood and um I had spoken at the project in opposition to the project and notwithstanding my what I thought was a compelling argument uh the CBA approved the project yeah uh and I thought well you know maybe I can add something to the process um and I um filled out a talent Bank form and I think there was an opening I think for an associate member at the time yeah and um yeah the zba has has three full members three full members and asso two two to four up to four it's a maximum and at the moment we are I think we're at three okay um and um I was um interviewed over the phone by one of the um select board members at the time uh to sort of make sure that I understood the possibilities of conflict of interest and things of that nature and I said I did and I was appointed and I came on as an associate member for a year or two I think and then a position as a full member opened and I was appointed to that uh and that was a number of years ago now okay well and here you are yes it's been through number of different going strong for sure so John I'm actually I'll just start getting you hitting you with the hard questions right away because um you you brought up something that you know I I wanted to to lead into and you said you know one of the ways you got involved or how you got involved is that there was a project that was kind of affecting your neighborhood and you went to the zba and um you made some arguments against that project or maybe some particulars regarding that project and the zba still found that it was important to move forward with that project let me ask you being on the zba now do you do you understand well let me rephrase let me reframe this a bit um one of the things that we hear sometimes is that people they go to either the planning board or zba or the select board and they speak out against projects and then sometimes a lot of times those projects move forward anyway uh maybe with some conditions that have been impacted by the comments that the boards have received but you know maybe not but um sometimes it's hard to understand to or help explain to people why some projects move forward when they don't want to see it moved forward in the first place being in the chair position or being on the zba can you understand do you have a little bit of a better perspective now about projects in general well I think you know the the the short answer to that is yes um it was more the process and the the matter that sort of caught my attention that I I thought could have been improved uh and that's why I wanted to become involved uh and I keep that in the back of my mind now as we we come before matters I mean the zba unlike the planning board we're really in a pellet organization as it were is that the reason people come before us is because they want some change what they want to do isn't allowed by right under the zoning bylaws and they want a either a special permit or a variance uh to allow them to do what they would like to do right uh and in facing issues like that um one of the things that the zba tries to do um at the very beginning and it starts with the planning department when the uh the applicants meet with Peter or Alvaro and review the process and it continues with the zba is explain to people not only what the process is but what what the zba can and can't do uh and what we have to find in order to Grant what they want to do and that's not something that you know the average lay person knows most of the people that come before us on special permits don't have an attorney with them so they're proceeding prosay and it's a it's a new process for them uh but I think communication and trying to get them to understand and help them understand what our limitations are as a board is is help although they may not be pleased with the ultimate decision yeah I I would agree with that I think people appreciate others who take the opportunity to explain to them kind of what what your constraints are and and what you're working on and what you have to work with but you brought up a couple of uh you know technical terms uh things like special permits and and variances and Pete I'll I'll turn to you um you know maybe you can give the average listener just kind of an explanation of what those things are especially as it relates to zoning itself and and kind of maybe just a high level overview of what zoning is yeah so obviously zoning you know zoning kind of goes back to the turn of century mid 19th century you know mid I think it's 1954 the Supreme Court kind of puts it in play uh through a rule in ukle amer which is Ohio famous Ohio case uh but zoning is they are to from from an original Statue point of view is to uh protect health safety and Welfare across the board um state of Massachusetts and opts the Zone enacts the zoning act I believe it's 1952 uh most of these in towns in Massachusetts adopt uh such as Ashland in two ashin you know we adopt zoning um in 1954 um and so that comes under Statute 40a in Mass General law and there's a couple things to look at right there's the special permits which is you know see a special request regarding a use um that can in in some towns depending on the organizational structure that could go to the zoning board of appeals Andor it could go to the planning board um across the board it differs and I think it's kind of when those zoning bylaws are updated or drafted um the organization Andor those those hearings are held by separate boards right um variances in Massachusetts are always held and granted by the zoning board of appeals um that's under Section 10 of Mass General uh Mass General law 4A so if you want to do something that's not within the zoning correct you need to go see barri and so in Massachusetts and in in typically in in most communities the state and and communities have adopted the ability to Grant dimensional variances right Ashland is in the zoning board of appeals is allowed to Grant dimensional variances not use variances mean by dimensional Varian dimensional variances are regarding setbacks right how far you can set you can build uh in relationship to the street your side setbacks um your rear setback um those are the variances that that that can be granted uh those have to be linked to shape of your lot topography soil and hardship which can which should be not Financial but in some cases it is financial about reasoning lot size lot size would be a variance that's also a dimensional um and then and so those are the two elements and then obviously applying chapter 40b the zoning board of appeals also does he comprehensive permits um which which is a different process in its own but for for a whole you know the zoning bylaws are there to help um organize land uses um and protect the health safety and Welfare of residents um as a quick summary yeah I think you know when when people hear the word zoning it can be kind of this mysterious almost mythical uh thing right and really I think like you said Pete zoning is really kind of where that that intersection of where property rights kind of meet with the health well-being and safety of the community in general right yeah 100 yes yeah and so zoning says you know you can do things like okay if you want to you know in a section of town that's Zone res a residential a which is a specific Zone like you have to have a lot size of 30,000,000 Ft right you can only build a single family home or maybe a duplex um your setbacks have to be you know 30 feet off the front 20 feet off the side um you know things like that so it's Bas basically the rules kind of the constraints that you have to build within correct you know zoning creates your Zone what I would call your building envelope on your typical residential a lot you know a residential a lot 30,000 square fet and I would say across the board of Massachusetts that's your probably your most common lot size you know um it's a big 30,000 ft is a big lot right um and I think that's um a discussion point but typically across the board you know within subdivision development you're looking at 100 50 ft of Frontage on a roadway um and you're looking for 30,000 square ft of of space MH so you know I think um you know for in the simplest terms let's just say you're a homeowner or you're you're a land owner right you go in you buy a lot of land a lot and it's um you know Zone residential a you know if what you want to build which is a single family home meets the zoning all you need to do is just go to the building commissioner and pull a building permit that's correct yeah start building 100% yep for any residential single family house on any you know vacant piece of property right and and and meanwhile those are hard to come by these days vacant pieces of property you know buildable lot yeah you know I think you know the setbacks or the zoning requirements of the dimensional requirements create the building envelope and you as a land owner have the ability to file for a building permit and you don't have to do anything with the zoning board or the planning board you know um and and if you're in with proximity of wetlands that's a different story cuz you may have to go see the conservation department but uh in if you have septic or versus sewer another question then you got to go talk to the board of health or the DPW regarding how do you connect to the infrastructure uh but yeah no you do have the property right you know it's within your um bundle of sticks as they is as sometimes you know lawyers uh kind of relate to uh no offense there John no lawyer joke former lawyer so it's okay okay to to apply for a building perment and then and then you know with some of these larger projects that people see you know some of these apartment buildings multif family buildings some of the condos that were built back in the 80s there's a little bit more involved of a planning process right yeah 100% you know when you're talking about a big project right you're talking about uh you know over on Chestnut Street for example right the village of the Americas uh the Final Phase the mix use phase the one's being constructed right the one's under construction right now uh that was permited through the planning board not the zba uh due to the zoning and but they have to go through site plan review it's called right so it's a little bit more complicated right you have to look at the number of parking spots the ratio of parking to the number of units the residential versus the commercial um most importantly safety at access uh access for the fire department um Can their trucks maneuver the site moving around the site and then what become more you know increasingly important you know not just at the Town level but from the state level is uh storm water and storm water review and to make sure that whatever you build whatever water you displace that used to functionally um dissipate through that site um can now be mechanically and engineered to stay on that site to infiltrate through that land area and you're not passing that water that sheet flow over to an adjoining property that's now against the law um and so therefore whatever you build on your site you have to maintain on your site and you have to make sure that you have the um engineering capacity or the storm water capacity to make all these things work and so as you develop property any property you know there there's a lot of a lot of things at work you know that that a developer has to look at yeah and so I you know I think it's important that we have this kind of initial um discussion about zoning and what it is and kind of what these projects are and what kind of process they have to go through because you know in the time that we have left we want to just cover a specific type of project called a 40b project and and Ashland has uh seen you know if you've been paying attention out there you've seen that we've had two 40b projects essentially come across our desk I'm using air quotes there and uh 40b projects are uh they can be pretty involved from an administrative and a bureaucratic process but they are very very very controversial projects and uh Pete you know now that we've talked a little bit about zoning and what zoning is and what zoning covers why don't why don't you explain to us what 40b is and what a 40b project is sure so a 40b project you know to sum it up is comes under the it's it's known as a 40b because that's the state statute that that that was invoked to create this permanent Avenue I would call it right and uh the permit from a functional standpoint is called a comprehensive permit um and in chapter 40b law the legislation dates back to I believe um the mid 1960s is that correct 69 69 right after the fair housing act kind of gets passed at the federal level um in the the goal behind chapter 40b is to develop quote unquote affordable housing right now with a with a 40b project 25% of those units have to be deed restricted for anybody making up to or less than the area median income which is known as a Ami um a census driven statistic um and we and Ashen are part of the Boston Cambridge quiny census metropolitan area right and so that's just kind of one of the the things to to remember but chapter 40b if a developer is proposing a 40b project a comprehensive permit they have to go to the state and get what's known as a letter of Eligibility and then they can file with the local zoning board of appeals um what chapter 40b does is you know if a developer is proposing this and the development and creation of affordable housing right um the town well the developer gets to um create what's known as a whst uh has to submit what's known as a a list of waivers right and they almost Sid step a community zoning bylaws um regarding height density you know scale in in some instances right and so um that's kind of what's at play here yeah what does the town get in return right well chapter 40b another subsection of the law requires all towns in Massachusetts cities and towns in Massachusetts and demands all cities and towns in Massachusetts is to have 10% of their housing stock be affordable right um so with a 40b project you're only creating 25% affordability at a deed restricted level however the Community gets to add all units onto the Comm onto what's known as the the subsidized housing inventory right Shi for short and so for simple mathematical numbers right here have a project say of a 100 units of rental units um is proposed 25 units have to be deed restricted for people making up to or less than 40 80% of the area meeting income and then all 100 units of that project is added to the town's subsidized housing inventory um and that's for rental projects like and that's for rental projects you only have to add the 25 correct correct and just right now just for a matter of the conversation you know the town of Ashton is at 5.62% affordable housing and and it's interesting because so in 1969 the reason the legislature created chapter 40b is because Suburban urban communities were actually passing zoning and implementing zoning that kept multif family housing and affordable housing from being built and so the legislature said okay well this is a Statewide issue and so we're going to pass this law that essentially allows developers like you said Pete um if they propose building something that has 25% affordable you 25% of the units are affordable uh they get to bypass that town zoning like so things like density and stuff and stuff like that and uh so that's why you see in some communities Ashlin included but you know this happen Statewide and certainly in Metro West where you see some of these very very dense large tall projects being built um in places that you know are you don't see those yeah you may not think they would be appropriate for that site however you know a community uh has to provide 10% affordable and so um you know the over time you know communities have to put obvious I always say the community has to put the wave on the bow right and figure it out um but also in approving a project of that nature right the town gets to increase the the their their housing inventory right and and the whole goal of the state is to get 10 10% affordability right now Once a community hits 10% affordability you enter what's known as Safe Harbor right so then actually you can deny outright any 40b project there is that comes across the table right through a development standpoint and so all communities are Thrive are striving to meet well their goal is to get 10% afford you know 10% on the subsize housing right so I think that's a good explanation and uh that 10% number is important because you can like you said if Community gets that you can deny 40b projects that you know uh come to your community if you want to um so before we get into actually some of the new 40b projects that are being proposed Ashlin has let's see three well three that I think we've that that have either been built or were proposed and permitted let's see so um we've got the Robert Hill Way project um which was 64 units of affordable housing on off of Independence we had um the ugc project that was permitted uh a few years ago and oh we had Ashlin Woods 60 units that was uh approved and built on on the uh basically on the Hopkinson line and then we also had one 133 West Union Street otherwise known as the Valentine property that actually got a permit a comprehensive permit ended up not uh being built because uh the town ended up buying the property but John you've you've been on the zba when two of these projects have come across uh direct the Valentine Estate One and the UCC one I was on the board and a voting member yeah so what's what's been your experience and perspective with those so it's interesting to note so the 133 West Union project is is what what we call an unfriendly 40b meaning you know that had no Town support um whereas the ugc project and actually the Robert Hill Way project but the ugc project you're familiar with uh is called a friendly 40b 40b because it had select board support but um just with those caveats sorry I interrupted you just it's quite right um I mean they were two totally different processes the Valentine estate project that you said did not have a town support um there were significant the developer proposed making significant changes to what basically was um a wooded property um the hearing continued I think for well over a year oh yeah as we um there were requests for continuances on both sides um the town doesn't go into this uh you know empty-handed and without support we had Town Council at every meeting uh the zba retained Services of Engineers traffic Consultants Etc what's called peer review to review what's being proposed by the developer and we ultimately made a uh a decision granting the special the comprehensive permit but with a number of conditions M uh the developer uh was apparently unhappy with the conditions and appealed our decision to the housing appeal agency uh and that's where the matter was uh was pending and I can still recall sitting with the zba members in a small room in the basement of the of town hall while the matter was being adjudicated with between the lawyers and a mediator I think that had been brought in uh to see if we could resolve it and um ultimately um it was resolved and the town came to a decision to to purchase the uh the property and uh that's why it still is a primarily wooded um wooded property yeah dilapidated Farmhouse with a renovated Barn you know it took us a little while someone will hopefully come along with an idea and you know we got no shortage of ideas turn it into something that's Prof profitable for all concerned the ugc property um what you would call as a is a a friendly uh 40b did have support for the town um it was a different process because it was done over Zoom MH because we were in the the post-pandemic stage um it did not mean that there weren't changes to the developers proposal because the zba um working with the developer and the developers engineer made certain changes in The Proposal uh particularly the one that comes to mind is the um exit onto the roadway heading down to 126 there were concerns about people walking and not being able to have a sidewalk and whatnot but ultimately it was it was approved and we thought all was well but then subsequently litigation was started by a third party and things are on hold until that litigation is is resolved um I think think in both of those e both the unfriendly and the friendly the zba has very limited ability to make changes uh it's limited to certain areas of concern all the issues that are proposed developer would have which normally would go to the before the planning board or the Health commission or local ordinances under the Conservation Commission all come before the zba and the zba has the sole authority to decide on all of those issues although we would certainly do so with the advice of the various town uh boards uh but we really can't just say oh we don't like the project right there has to be we we can perhaps change size we can we can change design uh perhaps change the location of a building on the site things of that nature um if it's supported by a sound basis you have to have evidence you have to have some evidence of why what the developer is proposing doesn't work um there is limited ability to uh question whether the project is financially feasible um and that sort of a at the end of the project if we would ever get to that point but it's it's not like the project comes before the zba like a special permit or a variance request where you know all we're governed by is the zoning bylaws so the town of Ashland um those are basically set aside yeah and I think you know you brought up the housing appeals committee which is an important component here because you know the question's going to be you know as I'm sure people asked at 133 West Union Street you know when you approved it with conditions well John you know if the if the community doesn't like the project why approve it anyway why why don't you just deny it and the thing is is that you can deny the zba does have the ability to deny a project we do right but what happens at that point in time is that the developer has the opportunity to appeal to a state agency that's outside of the town's control called the housing appeals committee and and basically the developers case is that well whatever you know the denial is not right or whatever condition if their you know onerous conditions they can even appeal the conditions um that it's approved with and say that it's uneconomic and what history has shown um in over 95% of the time is that this housing appeals committee the state agency overrules the local zoning board and basically lets these projects go through and and that's I mean that is why it's designed if it's if it's a complete denial of the of the application the housing agency overrules the denial and the project is approved exactly as it was presented by the developer with no changes no changes nothing um and the reason why in these two one two specific iic proposals we approved it with conditions was we were trying to make speaking for myself the best decision we could with what we thought were the most limitations we can put on the project to basically make the best of what we perceived as a bad situation uh and hopefully the housing appeal agency would see that you know we weren't denying the project outright we had conditions hopefully they would uphold those conditions perhaps they would uphold some deny others but in any event the project wouldn't go forward 100% the way the developer wanted there would be some changes which we thought made the project better and were within our power to make but again we go in and it it's almost like you've got one and a half hands tied behind your back because you can't start out with an even slate you start out with the fact that there's a lot of U housing is important affordable housing is important Ashlin doesn't have 10% uh through other means so we are forced to deal with are with here we are and as you mentioned two recently with two proposals before the state agency um we're sort of getting walloped all at once yeah so Pete why don't we turn our attention to these two proposals so you've got the first one is uh located at the uh Mill The Old Mill site Ashland Mills at 10 to 60 Main Street it's called is that one the sanctuary the S Sanctuary at Ashland Mills the sanctuary at ashin Mills and then you know literally a week after we got notified of that one uh we got notified of a second one um which is on Oasis yeah the Oasis these I love how they come up with these names well interestingly the developer apparently has two previous projects one in Plymouth in one planville planville that are the Oasis at so this perhaps is the fits the theme fits the theme that going forward yes yes so Pete can W you tell us a little bit about these two so the fresh project Michael that you mentioned is at the the M the 10 to 50 million 10 to 60 Milli whatever you know the uh going by the addresses and the assessor database but that project is proposed for uh 250 uh units um in in like unlike other 40 BS there's actually a commercial component to this 40b project uh which would the commercial component that's being proposed is in the historical 10 Main Street um what commercial use uh that has not really been determined the indoor set yet however it's been hinted that the developer would be looking to put in a a restaurant um in that area um there' be other uh I think that's a biggest commercial user out of the space I think it it runs about the the space on the in The Proposal runs about 7500 Square ft um and then for the second project is the Oasis in uh Ashland and that project proposes um all residential with 226 units uh and that's at uh on on on land which is kind of in a in a pie shaped formation between Waverly Street and uh East Union Street um and but uh just so no access would just be out onto Waverly Street um it would not be uh accessing uh you West un you Union uh across from the high school and uh so you know as as we mentioned earlier there's a number of of phases that these projects have to go through and and where are these projects right now in those respective pH so so B both projects are still in the beginning phases right they are still uh applying for what's known as an eligible eligibility letter through a subsidized housing agency both projects are using Mass housing as a subsidized housing agency and so both projects are right now under review at Mass housing um the town of ashon has submitted a a letter a community uh excuse me a community comment comment letter Y uh regarding 10 main 10 to 60 Main Street the the sanctuary at Asha Mills uh however uh the town is also in the the the period for the for the second project um The Oasis uh we're still in our time period and and I'm sure the Comm will be putting together a letter for that uh for that project um and so um right now there's been there's been no permanent filings and the project has not been per uh received um and or filed at the Town level um and so uh if the you know when the applicant or if the applicant and or when the applicant gets a eligibility letter then they would file with the town and then I believe that the town has 30 days to open up a public hearing and so um that is the kind of the the the kind of rough situation that we're in right now um and right now you know obviously we'll wait and see what happens with with both project if if if they do receive an eligibility letter then they'll probably move forward if they don't um you know I think maybe you know that that will kind of maybe end the conversation for now right but right you know there's there's you know housing is is a regional issue um you know the the current Administration is is really focused on it pushing it hard you know pushing it hard we've been you know we as a town of Ashland that you know we're looking at the MBTA zoning known as 3A uh which is different than 40 which is 100% different from 40b but I would say across the board you know across the state Eastern Massachusetts uh housing is a is a is a number one to topic that we that planners talk about yeah uh on a day in and day out basis and um and and we're we're trying to stay ahead of the curve obviously regarding these two and then OB the 40b projects but then also MBTA Zing yeah I think you know I think it's interesting the uh the mill project so you know that's something that Peter I know you and I and and well a lot of people I mean if you look studies going back to the early 2000s and John you're probably involved in some some of these the renovation of that site has always been kind of identified as a priority as a way to kind of um I guess Revitalize our downtown area and um you know it's such a big site and it's a Gateway site and we all know what the condition of it is right now and it it's not the best um and so you know I think the renovation of that site has always been key you know and I think think actually if you talk to anybody they would be like oh yeah it'd be great if that was renovated and then where people start diverging is okay but renovated into what MH and you know a lot of people in town and I think we would agree you know if if it was feasible like you could do it would be awesome if it was majority of a commercial or a lot of it you know commercial um but the fact is is that's not where the economics are right now um and that's not what is getting financed and what's getting um what's getting built so we can say as a community all we want that hey you know what we'd love to have you know the 50 units and the rest of it be like a commercial property I mean I mean I'm speaking specifically to the one of the- Mill right now but the thing is is that nobody's going to build that and nobody is going to finance that it has to have a heavy residential component and so we've been really trying trying to work to try to find something that would be palatable for the community uh for that site and I know the planning board last had a um you know uh the the the mill owner had gone to the planning board and was actually looking at permitting a site permitting that site with something a little bit different and uh ultimately decided you know to go in this direction but um yeah you're quite Michael you know I can I can speak to that real you know quickly is that yes the planning boy did have an application up front you know in front of them uh about a year ago it was um coming up on a year now it was withdrawn this past September right so almost a year ago but previously the prior year that the planning board and the the property owner um were working on a project you know and and that project started off at 200 units with 25% affordability and it had commercial space in the range of I think it fluctuated anywhere from 25,000 Square ft anywhere North to about 32 uh excuse me you know um 30 32,000 ft right um that project at one point you know it within redesigns and going back and forth to try to you know mold and and manipulate into massage a better project um those numbers then drop down to 188 units with for uh 15% of affordability now with that the town could not add all units onto the sub size housing inventory and then it kept about I think it retained between 20 to 25,000 ft of commercial space in the building now you know working through that project and and and working with the you know the owner the property owner at the time who was the applicant um when he was trying to look at financing the project that was in front of him in front of the planning board you know with the way the economy was going with the interest rates the interest rates going you know North at that time you know we were obviously at the 2 and 1 half% range and then they obviously with inflation they Rose quite dramatically I think right now we're at the 7 and a half% um also in addition construction cost labor cost material cost the project that was there at that time was not feasible right from a financial standpoint um and so then obvious that the the developer well the owner of the property who was a developer withdrew the project without prejudice from the planning board you know and and that he obviously went back to the to the drawing board too you know I think um he wants to make an investment into that property you know I think um and to see the best use of his property um to see through with the best use of the property and and you know with as a property owner he has the ability to do that within his property rights uh but yes the planning board did work on a project however it didn't really work out to to into fruition and it was not it was not completed through that permitting process or that review process and and uh with that said however you know a project is back again in front of the planning board excuse me um a project is back again not in front of the planning board but right now with a subsidized with with a state agency um and could be in the future submitted to the zoning board of appeals and I think it might be helpful to sort of recognize the Mass housing when they could consider whether or not to give approval to the developer what they what they consider right uh specified very specifi very specified items they they look at whether the project is a generally eligible for the 40b right um is the site generally appropriate for what's being proposed um is the conceptual project design generally appropriate for the site um does the developer have control of the site and is the project financially feasible and those are both all sort of very general you know conditions uh so yeah I'm not sure whether the devel whether Mass housing goes back to the developer with questions or what have you um their Mass housing's sort of informational site talks about a 9 90day process from the date of their receipt of the documents to when they make a decision um sounds about right and we've gotten a 30-day extension of time on our 30-day comment period so arguably maybe we're looking at 120 days they're not they're not bound by that they can take as much time as they want but that in their handouts that's what they sort of give as a guideline yeah we we submitted that the comment letter to Mass housing for the mill site last Wednesday I believe so we'll be interesting then we have it until the 27th or the 29th of June from The Other One MH yeah I think right now obviously we are we are as a town for the mill for the ash Mills we're kind of we've done we've submitted a comment letter and now we're you know waiting awaiting news you know and to see how that project moves forward and if the projects are ultimately AU authorized by Mass Housing and are filed with the town there are very specific time frames that the town has to abide by or we run the risk of The Proposal being automatically approved we have to schedule and open a public hearing within 30 days of the uh date that the towned the documentation and I believe the hearing has to be concluded within 180 days although that period can be extended by agreement of the developer in the town and my understanding and talking in with Town Council on other previous matters that those extensions are usually granted by the parties yeah 100% you know I think we do you know when when a project does come in we you have to abide by the time line and the time frame set out in the statute uh but yes you know continuances are often granted um throughout a pering process you know I think for the for the ugc project which is up which is on Memorial Drive I think that took about I think from the start to finish wire to wire I think we're probably like six to 6 to eight months yeah I would say in that time period and obviously we're outside of 180 days and and but there's typically obviously within with a with good faith both parties do extend y all right well gentlemen we're we're actually quickly running out of time is there anything uh anything else that uh you want to make sure that uh you have our listeners now no I mean just that in the event that we do receive a comprehensive permit application and there is a hearing opened the public will be given an opportunity to speak speak uh at the public hearings it's good and um let their position be known um the board has been meeting via Zoom for the past several years and we found it's worked very conveniently for us with a 40b proposal I think we may need to revisit that and begin meeting in person uh just to make it easier for people to uh attend and and be heard but also for sharing of documents on the screens and what have you but that's not something that the board has really discussed but that's where my brain has been going and and so right now up on the planning website the planning section of the town's website we have information on both projects that's correct so um actually all projects in town VI you know that go through the planning office Freddy the planning board andoor zoning board I'll take the time to plug that all information is is is is up on the website under the current projects page um and under the on that page there are uh potential 40b 40b applications um and the two that we stated today um the the Oasis at Ashland and the sanctuary at Ashland Mills uh are both up there with information you know with the full application that is submitted to Mass housing um in the renderings and the site plan excellent okay well John Peter thank you so much uh to both of you for uh being willing to share your time today and your expertise and your experience uh on planning and 40b projects in particular um obviously this is going to be a uh a Prett wild ride here in the town of Ashton for the next few months just seeing where these projects go uh um you know as as you mentioned if Mass housing denies their letter of Eligibility it kind of stops the process right there if not we have to move forward to the next step which is the zba process and John doing a good job of outlining some of those time frames but encourage everybody to stay engaged again follow uh the town's website uh to get some information on that on those projects the zba hearings will be televised in person Zoom you you'll be able to speak people who are interested will be able to to watch View and attend and speak in some way shape or form um throughout the process so encourage you all to to stay involved uh that is it for this episode of clock toown Chronicles um if you have any questions or if you have any other things that you'd like us to talk about or or comments uh please email us at clocktown Chronicles at Ash mass.com looking over at Melissa she's nodding her head that I did get the email address right which is good um but uh anyway it's a it's been a pleasure to have you listening here today and hopefully you've got some good information uh on things going on in the town and we will see you for the next episode I believe our next episode will be newly elected select board member Makita Keegan who's going to come and talk to us about uh just kind of what uh her history of public service and what inspired her to run and what she's hoping to accomplish as part of the select board so anyway again my name is Michael Herbert uh Town manager uh thank you again for listening and have a good afternoon everyone [Music]

good afternoon everybody uh this is Michael Herbert Ashland Town manager we're here for another episode of Clock Town Chronicles um our opportunity to get into depth into things that are happening in and to Ashland uh Massachusetts this is episode three um you know previous episodes we've been able to kind of go through a 10e retrospective of the town uh and then our last one was related to the comprehensive plan and we're actually going to continue the planning theme in episode three today and we're going to talk about Municipal planning and specifically we're going to get a little bit into a specific type of project known as a 40b project but before we get into into the subject too deep I want to introduce my two guests here today uh first to my left uh is Peter matchak Peter is the town planner here in the town of mass as Ashley in Massachusetts almost a town of Massachusetts yes I have lived here more than half my life folks um and then to my right we have John traan who is chair of the zoning board of appeals gentlemen thank you both for uh being willing to be here today and uh answer some questions and and tell us a little bit about things that are happening in your world so thanks for inviting me yeah we're happy to be here Michael absolutely so yeah you know typical free flowing in conversation and got Melissa Hayes here who's going to keep us on track and we'll have the time clock because I think between the three of us uh we've been known to go a little bit long sometimes uh when we uh get started peace looking at me like what are you talking about sself pal um but Pete why don't we start with you man uh Pete and I have known each other for years um and uh Pete's always been interested in playing but Pete why don't you tell us a little bit about how you got into planning Municipal planning and how you ended up here in the town of Ashland sure thanks Mike so uh so yeah I've been a municipal planner for uh going on 10 years now and uh as I say I'm a I grew up in Massachusetts on the North Shore up in damis uh and uh I went to Westfield State College starting about 2003 and I studied Regional planing at Westfield State College and did uh also kind of was at that time working um working through GIS geographical Information Systems kind of learning the trade that was my undergrad then when I got out of uh undergrad at Westfield State uh 2008 um recession hit and then I kind of dovetail back into graduate school um a perfect time to go perfect time to yeah it was a perfect time to get out right in the recession yeah perfect time to get out of school and start looking for a job uh but it suited me well right I went to West I went back to school uh doing GIS work at Salem State uh which obviously was local and uh you know gaining experiences at that time I was also volunteering had had a great opportunity had some great friends in planning yeah uh you know Kate day who was a senior planner up in danamas was a great person that that I uh I interacted with a lot and um and at that time you know I actually volunteered on the damis rail trail which was a way for me to kind of get some Municipal experience uh kind of going and and that was that was a great project for the town of Danver and and for where was uh you know in my life and then um GIS you know you're sitting behind the computer sitting and clicking I always say and uh there wasn't too much um personal you know um connections going on you know you're kind of and I didn't want to be stuck behind the computer my entire life uh and so at that point I uh I shifted gears and and I went out to uh UMass Amherst and I got into a graduate program out there uh for regional planning landscape architecture which was a great thing to that that I did landscape wait landscape architecture you had that part of part of your program was landscape AR part of the program is landscape architecture yeah but my focus is my focus was Regional planning but um to tell you the truth some days when I was uh some you know when I was sick of writing papers I I always took a landscape architecture class to focus in on uh you know uh grading you know very interesting topics that Landscape Architects take see I had no idea about this about beat yeah and then um but yeah I got out and then you know I've been practicing planning at the municipal level um for 10 years um my first stop was in Handover then in coassin on the Southshore you know as a as a Northshore guy I didn't think I would ever uh I I always joked around I fell on the draft to the Southshore and uh but I met some great people down there um still good friends to this day uh who I uh respect highly and I I still T stay in touch with and then about five years a little over five years ago I um you know I joined the Ashland and and it was hired by you and uh it's been uh it's been a lot it's been busy as you told me five years ago um Ashland downtown Ashland would not be the same place it was five years ago and uh I would say this is that you delivered on that promise uh with the renovations the downtown and and the renovations on Pawn Street and obviously the projects that we're working on and uh you know you know the state is actually in obviously in a different place after pmic um you know planning's a little bit different too you know so uh but yeah right now we got the comprehensive plan going um and obviously a couple big projects coming through but we've also dealt with some really big projects complex projects yeah for sure you know I would say you know we you know the completion into the final permanent stage and and seeing the Final Phase construction of Village of the Americas is is a big was a big part 100 Chestnut Street 100 Chestnut Street you know the 4 units and in 10 half th000 ft of commercial I think that's a real uh that was a real interesting project to work on to permit to understand um and uh yeah it's been it's been a fun ride these last 10 years five years but you know it just seems like 10 sometimes yeah they're busy I'll say that you know they're busy yeah we try to we try to we try to keep you busy little guys and John how about you uh you know you're here well you work with the town of as in a volunteer capacity as a Committee Member so what I'm the only one here that's not being paid um that is well I did tell you I'd give you a couple bucks for this right didn't I much oh yeah well yeah I'll at least buy you a Cofe or something food is good it's the least I could do but uh John yeah why don't you just let us know a little bit about you know why you were interested in uh volunteering for the town of Ashlen what made you decide like the zoning board of appeals was kind of the direction you wanted to go in well I was a retired attorney uh never practiced in the field of land use zoning or anything uh was looking for something to do and it was actually a project that had come before the zoning board of appeals a project in my neighborhood and um I had spoken at the project in opposition to the project and not withstanding my what I thought was a comp comping argument uh the zba approved the project yeah uh and I thought well you know maybe I can add something to the process um and I um filled out a talent Bank form and I think there was an opening I think for an associate member at the time yeah and um yeah the zba has has three full members three full members and associ up to four as a maximum and at the moment we are I think we're at 3 okay um and um I was um interviewed over the phone by one of the um select board members at the time uh to sort of make sure that I understood the possibilities of conflict of interest and things of that nature and I said I did and I was appointed and I came on as an associate member for a year or two I think and then a position as a full member opened and I was appointed to that uh and that was a number of years ago now okay well and here you are yes been through number of different going strong for sure so John I'm actually I'll just start getting you hitting you with the hard questions right away because um you you brought up something that you know I I wanted to to lead into and you said you know one of the ways you got involved or how you got involved is that there was a project that was kind of affecting your neighborhood and you went to the zba and um you made some arguments against that project or maybe some particulars regarding that project and the zba still found that it was important to move forward with that project let me ask you being on the zba now do you do you understand well let me rephrase let me reframe this a bit um one of the things that we hear sometimes is that people they go to either the planning board or zba or the select board and they speak out against projects and then sometimes a lot of times those projects move forward anyway uh maybe with some conditions that have been impacted by the comments that the boards have received but you know maybe not but um sometimes it's hard to understand to or help explain to people why some projects move forward when they don't want to see it move forward in the first place being in the chair position or being on the zba can you understand do you have a a little bit of a better perspective now about projects in general well I think you know the the short answer to that is yes um it was more the process and the the matter that sort of CAU my attention that I I thought could have been improved uh and that's why I wanted to become involved uh and I keep that in the back of my mind now as we we come before matters I mean the zba unlike the planning board we're really in a pellet organization as it were is that the reason people come before us is because they want some change what they wanted do isn't allowed by right under the zoning bylaws and they want a either a special permit or a variance uh to allow them to do what they would like to do right uh and in facing issues like that um one of the things that the zba tries to do um at the very beginning and it starts with the planning department when the uh the applicants meet with Peter or avaro and review the process and it continues with the zba is explain to people not only what the process is but what what the zba can and can't do uh and what we have to find in order to Grant what they want to do and that's not something that you know the average lay person knows most of the people that come before us on special permits don't have an attorney with them so they're proceeding prosay and it's a it's a new process for them uh but I think communication and trying to get them to understand and help them understand what our limitations are as a board is is helpful right although they may not be pleased with the ultimate uh decision yeah I I would agree with that I think People app appreciate others who take the opportunity to explain to them kind of what what your constraints are and and what you're working on and what you have to work with but you brought up a couple of uh you know technical terms uh things like special permits and and variances and Pete I'll I'll turn to you um you know maybe you can give the average listener just kind of an explanation of what those things are especially as it relates to zoning itself and and kind of maybe just a high level overview of what zoning is yeah so obviously zoning you know zoning kind of goes back to the turn of century mid 19th century you know mid I think it's 1954 the Supreme Court kind of puts it in play uh through a rule in ukle amul which is Ohio famous Ohio case uh but zoning is there to from from an original Statue point of view is to uh protect your health safety and Welfare across the board um state of Massachusetts and Ops the zone and enacts the zon act I believe it's 1952 uh most of these in towns in Massachusetts adopt such as Ashland in to Ashlin you know we adopt zoning um in 1954 um and so that comes under Statute 40a in Mass General law and there's a couple things to look at right there's the special permits which is you know obviously a special request regarding a use um that can in in some towns depending on the organizational structure that could go to the zoning board of appeals Andor it could go to the planning board um across the board it differs and I think it's kind of when those zoning bylaws are updated or drafted um the organization Andor those those hearings are held by separate boards right um variances in Massachusetts are always held and granted by the zoning board of appeals um that's under Section 10 of Mass General uh Mass General law 4A so if you want to do something that's not within the zoning correct you need to go see barri and so in Massachusetts and in in typically in in most communities the state and and communities have adopted the ability to Grant dimensional variances right Ashland is in the zoning Bo of appeals is allowed to Grant dimensional variances not use variances what do you mean by dimensional variances dimensional variances are regarding setbacks right how far you can set you can build uh in relationship to the street your side setbacks um your rear setback um those are the variances that that that can be granted uh those have to be linked to shape of your lot topography soil in hardship which can which should be not Financial but in some cases it is financial what about lot SI reason is lot size lot size would be a variance that's also a dimensional um and then and so those are the two elements and then obviously applying chapter 40b the zoning board of appeals also does hear comprehensive permits um which which is a different process in its own but for for a whole you know the zoning bylaws are there to help um organize land uses um and protect the health safety and Welfare of residents um is a quick summary yeah I think you know when when people hear the word zoning it can be kind of this mysterious almost myth IC uh thing right and really I think like you said Pete zoning is really kind of where that that intersection of where property rights kind of meet with the health well-being and safety of the community in general right yeah 100 yes yeah and so zoning says you know you can do things like okay if you want to you know in a section of town that's Zone res a residential a which is a specific Zone like you have to have a lot size of 30,000,000 square fet right you can only build a single family home or maybe a duplex um your setbacks have to be you know 30t off the front 20 feet off the side um you know things like that so it's Bas basically the rules kind of the constraints that you have to build within correct you know zoning creates your Zone what I would call your building envelope on your typical residential a lot you know a residential a lot 30 ,000 Square ft and I would say across the board of Massachusetts that's your probably your most common lot size mhm you know um it's a big 30,000 ft is a big lot right um and I think that's um a discussion point but typically across the board you know within subdivision development you're looking at 150 ft of Frontage on a roadway um and you're looking for 30,000 square ft of of bace mhm so you know I think um you know for in the simplest terms let's just say you're a homeowner or you're you're a land owner right you go in you buy a lot of land a lot and it's um you know Zone residential a you know if what you want to build which is a single family home meets the zoning all you need to do is just go to the Building Commissioner and pull a building peret that's correct yeah so building 100% yep for any residential single family house on any you know vacant piece of property right and and and meanwhile those are hard to come by these days vacant pieces of property you know buildable lot yeah you know I think you know the setbacks or the zoning requirements of the dimensional requirements create the building envelope and you as a land owner have the ability to file for a building permit and you don't have to do anything with the zoning board or the planning board you know um and and if you're in with proximity of wetlands that's a different story cuz you may have to go see the conservation department but uh if you have septic or versus sewer another question then you got to go talk to the board of health or the DPW regarding how do you connect to the infrastructure uh but yeah no you do have the property right you know it's within your um bundle of sticks as they is as sometimes you know lawyers uh kind of relate to uh no offense there John no lawyer joke former lawyer so it's okay okay to to apply for a building department and then and then you know with some of these larger projects that people see you know some of these apartment buildings multif family buildings some of the condos that were built back in the 80s there's a little bit more involved of a planning process right yeah 100% you know when you're talking about a big project right you're talking about uh you know over on Chestnut Street for example right the village of the Americas uh the Final Phase the mix use phase the one's being constructed right the one's under construction right now uh that was permitted through the planning board not the zba uh due to the zoning and but they have to go through site plan review it's called right so it's a little bit more complicated right you have to look at the number of parking spots the ratio of parking to the number of units the residential versus the commercial um most importantly safety access uh access for the fire department um Can their trucks maneuver the site moving around the site and then what's become more you know increasingly important you know not just at the Town level but from the state level is uh storm water and storm water review and to make sure that whatever you build whatever water you displace that used to functionally um dissipate through that site um can now be mechanically and engineered to stay on that site to infiltrate through that land area and you're passing that water that sheet flow over to an adjoining property that's now against the law um and so therefore whatever you build on your site you have to maintain on your site and you have to make sure that you have the um engineering capacity or the storm water capacity to make all these things work and so as you develop property any property you know there's a lot of a lot of things at work you know that that a developer has to look at yeah and so I you know I think it's important that we have this kind of initial um discussion about zoning and what it is and kind of what these projects are and what kind of process they have to go through because you know in the time that we have left we want to just cover a specific type of project called a 40b project and and Ashland has uh seen you know if you've uh been paying attention out there you've seen that we've had uh two 40b projects essentially come across our desk uh and air quotes there and uh 40b projects are uh they can be pretty involved from an administrative and a bureaucratic process but they are very very very controversial projects and uh Pete you know now that we've talked a little bit about zoning and what zoning is and what zoning covers why don't why don't you explain to us what 40b is and what a 40b project is sure so a 40b project you know to sum it up is comes under the it's it's known as a 40b because that's the state statute that that that was invoked to create this permanent Avenue I would call it right and uh the permit from a functional standpoint is called a comprehensive permit um and in chapter 40b law the legislation dates back to I believe um the mid 1960s is that correct 69 69 right after the fair housing act kind of gets passed at the federal level um in the the goal behind chapter 40b is to develop quote unquote affordable housing right now with a with a 40b project 25% of those units have to be deed restricted for anybody making up to or less than the area median income which is known as a Ami um that's a census driven statistic um and we and Ashen are part of the Boston Cambridge quiny metropolitan area right and so that's just kind of one of the the things to to remember but chapter 40b if a developer is proposing a 40b project a comprehensive permit they have to go to the state and get what's known as a letter of Eligibility and then they can file with the local zoning board of appeals um what chapter 40b does is you know if a developer is proposing this and the development and creation of a affordable housing right um the town well the developer gets to um create what's known as a Wist uh has to submit what's known as a a list of waivers right and they almost Sid step a community zoning bylaws um regarding height density you know scale in in some instances right and so um that's kind of what's at play here yeah what does the town get in return right well chapter 40 be another subsection of the law requires all towns and Massachusetts cities and towns and Massachusetts and demands all cities and towns and massachusett is to have 10% of their housing stock be affordable right um so with a 40b project you're only creating 25% affordability at a deed restricted level however the community gets to add all units onto the Comm onto what's known as the the subsidize housing inventory right Shi for short and so for simple mathematical numbers right here if a project say of a 100 units of rental units um is proposed 25 units have to be deed restricted for people making up to or less than 40 80% of the area meeting income and then all 100 units of that project is added to the town's subsidized housing invent um and that's for rental projects like and that's for rental projects you only have to add the 25 right correct and just right now just for a matter of the conversation you know the town of Ashton is at 5.62% affordable housing and and it's interesting because so in 1969 the reason the legislature created chapter 40b is because Suburban communities were actually passing zoning and implementing zoning that kept multif family housing and affordable from being built and so the legislature said okay well this is a Statewide issue and so we're going to pass this law that essentially allows developers like you said Pete um if they propose building something has 25% affordable you 25% of the units are affordable uh they get to bypass that town zoning like so things like density and stuff and stuff like that and uh so that's why you see in some communities Ashley included but you know this happen Statewide and certainly in Metro West where you see some of these very very dense large tall projects being built um in places that you know are you don't see those yeah you may not think they would be appropriate for that site however you know a community uh has to provide 10% affordable and so um you know the over time you know communities have to put obvious I always say the community has to put the wave on the bow right and figure it out um but also in approving a project of that nature right the town gets to increase the the their their housing inventory right and and the whole goal of the state is to get 10% affordability right now Once a community hits 10% affordability you enter what's known as Safe Harbor right so then actually you can deny outright any 40b project there is that comes across the table right through a development stpoint and so all communities are Thrive are striving to meet well their goal is to get 10% afford you know 10% on the subsize hous inventory right so I think that's a good explanation and uh that 10% number is important because you can like you said if Community gets that you can deny 40b projects that you know uh come to your community if you want to um so before we get into actually some of the new 40b projects that are being proposed Ashlin has let's see three well three that I think we've that that have either been built or were proposed and permitted let's see so um we've got the Robert Hill Way project um which was 64 units of affordable housing on in off of Independence we had um the ugc project that was pred uh a few years ago and oh we had Ashlin Woods 60 units that was uh approved and built on the uh basically on the Hopkinson line and then we also had one 133 West Union Street otherwise known as the Valentine property that actually got a permit a comprehensive permit ended up not uh being built because uh the town ended up buying the property but John you've you've been on the zba when two of these projects have come across uh Valentine Estate One and the UCC one I was on the board and a voting member yeah so what's what's been your experience in perspective with those so it's interesting to note so the 133 West Union project is is what what we call an unfriendly 40b meaning you know that had no Town support um whereas the ugc project and actually the Robert Hill Way project but the ugc project you're familiar with uh is called a friendly 40b 40b because it had select board support but um just with those caveats sorry I interrupted you just it's quite all right um I mean they were two totally different processes the Valentine estate project that you said did not have a town support um there were significant the developer proposed making significant changes to what basically was um a wooded property um the hearing continued I think for well over a year oh yeah as we um there were requests for continuances both sides um the town doesn't go into this uh you know empty-handed and without support we had Town Council at every meeting uh the zba retained Services of Engineers traffic Consultants Etc what's called peer review to review what's being proposed by the developer and we ultimately made a uh a decision granting the special the comprehensive permit but with a number of conditions M uh the developer uh was apparently unhappy with the conditions and appealed our decision to the housing appeal agency uh and that's where the matter was uh was pending and I can still recall sitting with the zba members in a small room in the basement of the of town hall while the matter was being adjudicated with between the lawyers and a mediator I think that had been brought in uh to see if we could resolve it and um ultimately um it was resolved and the town came to a decision to to purchase the uh the property and uh that's why it still is a primarily wooded um wooded property yeah dilapidated Farmhouse with a renovated Barn it took us a little while someone will hopefully come along with an idea and you know we got no shortage of ideas turn it into something that's Prof profitable for all concerned the ugc property um what you would call as a is a a friendly uh 40b did have support for the town um it was a different process because it was done over Zoom mhm because we were in the the post-pandemic stage um it did not mean that there weren't changes to the developer proposal because the zba um working with the developer and the developers engineer made certain changes in The Proposal uh particularly the one that comes to mind is the U exit onto the roadway heading down to 12 six there were concerns about people walking and not being able to have a sidewalk and whatnot but ultimately it was it was approved and we thought all was well but then subsequently litigation was started by a third party and things are on hold until that litigation is is resolved um I think in both of those e both the unfriendly and the friendly the zba has very limited ability to make changes uh it's limited to certain areas of concern all the issues that are proposed developer would have which normally would go to the before the planning board or the Health commission or local ordinances under the Conservation Commission all come before the zba and the zba has the sole authority to decide on all of those issues although we would certainly do so with the advice of the various town uh boards uh but we really can't just say oh we don't like the project right there has to be we we can perhaps change size we can we can change design uh perhaps change the location of a building on the site things of that nature um if it's supported by a sound basis you have to have evidence you have to have some evidence of why what developer is proposing doesn't work um there is limited ability to uh question whether the project is financially feasible um and that's sort of at the end of the project if we would ever get to that point but it's it's not like the project comes before the zba like a special permit or a variance request where you know all we're governed by is the zoning bylaws of the town of Ashland um those are basically set aside yeah and I think you know you brought up the housing appeals committee which is an important component here because you know the question's going to be you know as I'm sure people asked at 133 West Union Street you know when you approved it with conditions well John you know if the if the community doesn't like the project why approve it anyway why why don't you just deny it and the thing is is that you can deny the zba does have the ability to deny a project we do right but what happens at that point in time is that the developer has the opportunity to appeal to a state agency that's outside of the town's control called the housing appeals committee and basically the developers case is that well whatever you know the denial is not right or whatever condition if they're you know owner's conditions they can even appeal the conditions um that it's approved with and say that it's uneconomic and what history has shown um in over 95% of the time is that this housing appeals committee the state agency overrules the local zoning board and basically lets these projects go through and and that's I mean that is why it's designed if it's if it's a complete denial of the of the application the housing agency overrules the denial and the project is approved exactly as it was presented by the developer with no changes no changes nothing um and the reason why in these two one two specific proposals we approved it with conditions was we were trying to make speaking for myself mhm the best decision we could with what we thought were the most limitations we can put on the project to basically make the best of what we perceived as a bad situation uh and hopefully the housing appeal agency would see that you know we weren't denying the project outright we had conditions hopefully they would uphold those conditions perhaps they would up hold some deny others but in any event the project wouldn't go forward 100% the way the developer wanted there would be some changes which we thought made the project better and were within our power to make but again we go in and it it's almost like you've got one and a half hands tied behind your back because you can't start out with an even slate you start out with the fact that there's a lot of U housing is important affordable housing is important Ashlin doesn't have 10% uh through other means so we are forced to deal with with here we are and as you mentioned two recently with two proposals before the state agency um we're sort of getting walloped all at once yeah so P1 we turn our attention to these two proposals so you've got the first one is uh located at the Mill The Old Mill site Ashland Mills at 10 to 60 Main Street it's called is that one the sanctuary the S Sanctuary at Ashland Mill the sanctuary at ashin Mills and then you know literally a week after we got notified of that one uh we got notified of a second one um which is on Oasis yeah the Oasis these I love how they come up with these names well interestingly the developer apparently has two previous projects one in Plymouth and ju planville planville that are the Oasis at so this perhaps is the fits the theme it fits the theme that going forward yes yes so Pete can would don't you tell us a little bit about these two so the FR project Michael that you mentioned is that the the M the 10 to 50 m 10 to 60 m whatever you know the uh going by the address is in the accessor database but that project is proposed for uh 250 uh units um in and like unlike other 40 BS there's actually a commercial component to this 40b project uh which would the commercial component that's being proposed is in the historical 10 Main Street um what commercial use uh that has not really been determined indor set yet however it's been hint did that the developer would be looking to put in a a restaurant um in that area um there'd be other uh I think that's the biggest commercial user out of the space I think it it runs about the the space on the in The Proposal runs about 7500 Square ft um and then for the second project is the Oasis in at Ashland and that project proposes um all residential with 226 units uh and that's at uh on on on land which is kind of in a in a pie shaped formation between Waverly Street and uh East Union Street um but uh just so no access would just be out onto Waverly Street um it would not be uh accessing uh you West Union uh across from the high school and uh so you know as as we mentioned earlier there's a number of of phases that these projects have to go through and and where are these projects right now in those respective so so B both projects are still in the beginning phases right they are still uh applying for what's known as an eligible eligibility letter through a subsidized housing agency both projects are using Mass housing as a subsidized housing agency and so both projects are right now under review at Mass housing um the town of Ashen has submitted a a letter a community uh excuse me a community com comment letter Y uh regarding 10 m 10 to 60 Main Street the the sanctuary at Asha Mills uh however uh the town is also in the the the period for the for the second project um The Oasis uh we're still in our time period and and I'm sure the community will be putting together a letter for that uh for that project um and so um right now there's been there's been and no permanent filings and the project has not been per uh received um and or filed at the Town level um and so uh if the you know when the applicant or if the applicant in or when the applicant gets a eligibility letter then they would file with the town and then I believe the town has 30 days to open up a public hearing and so um that is the kind of the the the kind of rough situation that we're in right now um and right now you know obviously we'll wait and see what happens with with both project if if if they do receive an eligibility letter then they'll probably move forward if they don't um you know I think maybe you know that that will kind of maybe end the conversation for now right but you know there's there's you know housing is is a regional issue um you know the the current Administration is is focused on it pushing it hard you know pushing it hard we've been you know we as a town of Ashland that you know we're looking at the MBTA zoning known as 3A uh which is different than 40 which is 100% different from 40b but I would say across the board you know across the state Eastern Massachusetts uh housing is a is a is a number one topic that we that planners talk about yeah uh on a day in and day out basis and um and and we're we're trying to stay ahead of the curve obviously regarding these two and then OB the 40b projects but then also MBTA Zing yeah I you know I think it's interesting the uh the mill project so you know that's something that Peter I know you and I and and well a lot of people I mean if you look studies going back to the early 2000s and John you're probably involved in some of these the renovation of that site has always been kind of identified as a priority as a way to kind of um I guess Revitalize our downtown area and um you it's such a big site and it's a Gateway site and we all know what the condition of it is right now and it it's not the best um and so you know I think the renovation of that site has always been key you know and I think actually if you talk to anybody they would be like oh yeah it'd be great if that was renovated and then where people start diverging is okay okay but renovate into what MH and you know a lot of people in town and I think we would agree you know if if it was feasible like you could do it would be awesome if it was majority of a commercial or a lot of it you know commercial um but the fact is is that's not where the economics are right now U and that's not what is getting financed and what's getting um what's getting built so we can say as a Community all we want that hey you know what we'd love to have you know the 50 units and the rest of it be like a commercial property I me mean I'm speaking specifically to the one in the- Mill right now but the thing is is that nobody's going to build that and nobody is going to finance that it has to have a heavy residential component and so we've been really trying to work to try to find something that would be palatable for the community uh for that site and I know the planning board last had had a um you know uh the the the mill owner had gone to the planning board and was actually looking at permitting a site permeating that site was something a little bit different and uh ultimately decided you know to go in this direction but um yeah you're correct Michael you know I can I can speak to that real you know quickly is that yes the planning boy did have an application in front you know in front of them uh about a year ago it was um coming up on a year now it was withdrawn this past SE setember right so almost a year ago but previously the prior year that the planning board and the the property owner um were working on a project you know and and that project started off at 200 units with 25% affordability and it had commercial space in the range of I think it fluctuated anywhere from 25,000 Square ft anywhere North to about 32 uh excuse me you know um 30 32,000 Square F feet right um that project at one point you know it within redesigns and going back and forth to try to you know mold and and manipulate into to massage a better project um those numbers then Dro down to 188 units with for uh 15% affordability now with that the town could not add all units onto the subsize housing inventory and then it kept about I think it retained between 20 to 25,000 ft of commercial space in the building now you know working through that project and and and working with the you know the owner the property owner at the time who was the applicant um when he was trying to look at financing the project that was in front of them in front of the planning board you know with the way the economy was going with the interest rates the interest rates going you know North at that time you know we were obviously at the 2 and 1 12% range and then they obviously with inflation they Rose quite dramatically I think right now we're at the 75% M um also in addition construction cost labor cost material costs the project that was there at that time was not feasible right from a financial standpoint um and so then obviously that the the developer well the owner of the property who was a developer withdrew the project without prejudice from the planning board you know and and that he obviously went back to the to the drawing board too you know I think um he wants to make an investment into that property you know I think um and to see the best use of his property um to see through with the best use of the property and and you know with as a property owner he has the ability to do that within his property rights uh but yes the planning board did work on a project however it didn't really work out to to into fruition and it was not it was not completed through that perent process or that review process and and uh with that said however you know the a project is back again in front of the planning board excuse me um a project is back again not in front of the planning board but right now with a subsidized with with a state agency um it could be in the future submitted to the zoning board of appeals and I think it might be helpful to sort of recognize the Mass housing when they consider whether or not to give approval to the developer what they what they consider right uh specified very specified items they they look at whether the project is a generally eligible for the 40b right um is the site generally appropriate for what's being proposed um is the conceptual project design generally appropriate for the site um does the developer have control of the site and is the project financially feasible and those are both all sort of very general you know conditions uh so yeah I'm not sure whether the devel whether Mass housing goes back to the developer with questions or what have you um their Mass housing's sort of informational site talks about a 90-day process from the date of their receipt of the documents to when they make a decision um sounds about right and we've gotten a 30-day extension of time on our 30-day comment period so arguably maybe we're looking at 120 days they're not they're not bound by that they can take as much time as they want but that in their handouts that's what they sort of give as a guideline yeah we we submitted that uh comment letter to Mass housing for the mill site last Wednesday I believe so we'll be then we have until the 27th or the 29th of June for the other one mhm yeah I think right now obviously we are we are as a town for the mill for the ash Mills we're kind of we've done we've submitted a comment letter and now we're you know waiting awaiting news you know and to see how that project moves forward and if the projects are ultimately authorized by Mass Housing and are filed with the town there are very specific time frames that the town has to abide by or we run the risk of The Proposal being automatically approved we have to schedule and open a public hearing within 30 days of the uh date that the town received the documentation and I believe the hearing has to be concluded within 180 days although that period can be extended by agreement of the developer in the town and my understanding and talking in with Town Council on other previous matters that those extensions are usually granted by the parties yeah 100% you know I think we do you know when when a project does come in we you have to abide by the time line and the time frame set out in the statute uh but yes you know continuances are often granted um throughout a permitting process you know I think for the for the ugc project which is up which is on Memorial Drive I think that took about I think from the start to finish wire to wire I think we're probably like 6 68 months yeah I would say in that time period and obviously we're outside of 180 days and and but there's typically obviously with think with a with good faith both parties do extend y all right well gentleman we're we're actually quickly running out of time is there anything uh anything else that you want to make sure that you have our listeners now no I mean just that in the event that we do receive a comprehensive permit application and there is a hearing uh opened the public will be given an opportunity to speak uh at the public hearings that's good and um let their position be known um the board has been meeting via Zoom for the past several years and we found it's worked very conveniently for us with a 40b proposal I think we may need to revisit that and begin meeting in person uh just to make it easier for people to uh attend and and be heard but also for sharing of documents on the screen and what have you but that's not something that the board has really discussed but that's where my brain has been going and and so right now up on the planning website the planning section of the town's website we have information on both projects that's correct so um actually all projects in town via you know that go through the planning office Freddy the planning board indoor zoning board I'll take the time to plug that all information is is is is up on the website under the current projects page um and under the on that page there are uh potential 40b 40b applications um and the two that we stated today um the the Oasis at Ashland and the sanctuary at Ashland Mills uh are both up there with information you know with the full application that is submitted to Mass housing um in the renderings and the site plan excellent okay well John Peter thank you so much uh to both of you for being willing to share your time today and your expertise and your experience uh on planning and 40b projects in particular um obviously this is going to be a uh a pretty wild ride here in the town of ashon for the next few months just seeing where these projects go um you know is as you mentioned if Mass housing denies their letter of Eligibility it kind of stops the process right there if not we have to move forward to the next step which is the zba process and Johnny done a good job of outlining some of those time frames but encourage everybody to stay engaged again follow uh the town's website uh to get some information on that on those projects the zba hearings will be televised in person Zoom that you you'll be able to speak people who are interested will be able to to watch View and attend and speak in some way shape or form um throughout the process so encourage you all to to stay involved um that is it for this episode of clock toown Chronicles um if you have any questions or if you have any other things that you'd like us to talk about or or comments uh please email us at clocktown Chronicles Asin mass.com looking over at Melissa she's nodding her head that I did get the email address right which is good um but uh anyway it's a it's been a pleasure to have you listening here today and hopefully you've got some good information uh on things going on in the town and we will see you for the next episode I believe our next episode will be newly elected select board member Makita Keegan who's going to come and talk to us about uh just kind of what uh her history of public service and what inspired her to run and what she's hoping to accomplish as part of the select board so anyway again my name is Michael Herbert uh Town manager uh thank you again for listening and have a good afternoon everyone [Music]

[Music] all right good afternoon everyone um welcome to another edition of clocktown Chronicles uh your show your podcast for all things Ashland uh my name is Michael Herbert I'm your town manager and um very excited about today's program because we've got two very very special guests uh from our comprehensive plan steering committee we've got Roger Ro and then also Grant Lewis uh they are the co-chairs of the uh uh comprehensive plan steering committee and U we'll talk to them a little bit about the comprehensive plan and a little bit about themselves and how they got interested in Ashland and um in part of the committee but uh first before we get into that I just want to uh remind everybody that town meeting is going to be coming up on May 1st uh at 700 p.m.

[Music] all right hello and welcome to the first episode of our new podcast the Clock Town Chronicles I'm your host Michael Herbert and this series is designed to bring more of your local government to you and your home each month we are going to talk about important things happening in the town of Ashland how the impact you and most importantly how you can get involved in shaping the town of Ashland for the future each episode we're going to bring on one or two guests that are involved in different aspects of municipal government and get their perspectives on today's issues and a little bit about how they got involved in local government at today we have two very special guests our assistant Town manager Jen ball and select board m Joe minani our longest serving select board member I should say um and today's episode we're really going to focus more on a retrospective of the last 10 or 12 years or so in Ashland and really how we got to the place where we are today um and like I said before in the future we'll talk about more current issues and uh talk about how residents can get involved in shaping Ashley's future so as I said before my name is Michael Herbert uh I'm actually the town manager here in Ashland and have been for the last 8 years uh a lot of people may wonder who what is a town manager and really at its core level the select board and the town manager they provide the executive leadership for the town of Ashland our select board acts as the chief elected body in town and they appoint a town manager who functions as the CAO and the CFO of the community so that's a little bit of my role I've been uh fortunate to uh yeah I've been Town manager for eight years but uh I've been here for almost 11 first I was the assistant Town manager and finance director so uh I've been privy to a lot of changes happening in town and um you know actually have been fortunate enough to uh to help be a part of a lot of that stuff so uh without further Ado Jen welcome hello good to good to see you here Joe welcome thank you for having me thanks for being here um so uh yeah Jen you're the assistant to manager and you're one of um you were one of my first hires and and probably uh probably my most important my as I always commonly say the the right hand and the left hand of the organization but uh you've uh you've been with me every step of the way since I've been Town manager and so you've seen a lot of things happening here in town and a lot of changes but um one of the things I I really want to know from you is what has been from a project persp perspective what has been the most important one for you uh on on a professional level um so I think that's a really hard question um to answer I think there's been a number of projects that I'm really proud of um and if I had to think of one I won't be able to so I'm thinking of um sort of two that sort of rise to the top one um Joe will be able to sort of speak to as well is obviously the new public safety building um sort of um helping bring that project to fruition um it was incredibly complicated it was um incredibly uh valuable to the Departments but then also the community and so that was um really rewarding project and it took probably three or four years of sort of time and effort three or four year I think you're being optimistic there well of my of my sort of full Focus I think that the community had worked on it for probably a decade which yeah it was uh Joe do you have any insights and thoughts about it I mean gosh we really started working on this I think in 2017 when we started doing a sky yeah you're right Michael and a lot of that a lot of that um Insight came from years of talking about having a new location and having a new building um and it progressed from and this started with Bob Gan Friday when he was the chief back in the 80s right uh actually late actually late 70s early 80s when that discussion started because when we moved into the the old police station it was BR spankin knew when we moved in and the unfortunate thing was it was too small and uh not not the right fit for the for the dep Department uh there was no future site for you know Progressive thinking of having women on the department at that time even though we had three women working fulltime at as a as police officers and dispatchers and stuff but unfortunately there was no place for them to get dressed this that and so there was no real thought and effort put into it it was it was a a design idea and it became an architectural design more than a functioning police station you know so that's how that started that's how it work and Bobby G was really you know disappointed that they didn't have much say in into the into that building as what we were able to provide for the Fire and Police Department that did departments and uh Personnel that are working in that building yeah it was H yeah it's funny you know when I was putting the guest list together for this first episode I I you know I thought about it just from a perspective of who's been here the longest but uh you're right both of you have been instrumental in the public safety building and again that was a really critical project for uh for the town and um I think one of the things I was most proud of as Town manager is actually the the vote that that that we took or that the community took uh to move this project forward but it was also not just the public safety building but it was the Mendes school and both of them passed with almost 90% of the vote pretty much the same and I really felt that that was that was uh just highlighted the partnership that we have with the school department and the way we feel is like a community and uh you know before we start talking a little bit more about projects and everything I probably should have rewound the tape back a little bit to how we got here uh so just folks just let everybody know we're winging it here um you know we don't have a script uh so we're uh we're doing the best we can so if we jump from one place to another just bear with bear with us but you know I think when uh when I started here one of the things that I I found was that um you know there there was a lot of arguments happening uh amongst committees amongst uh you know different departments and I I found that a lot of energy was being I think wasted on on small things and so you know one of my goals was to to help everybody I can't I think just kind of bring everybody together and one of the things I noticed is that if we could carve out some funds to do some of these um some of these projects these Community Development and infrastructure project projects and professionalize our departments a little bit or add departments um you know if we could find some funny to do that that would probably solve a lot of those um arguments in in complex relationships or or add to those complex relationships and so really what we tried to do at the at the very beginning um this was I mean back when Tony scabby was the town manager and I was the assistant really started trying to carve out uh money from fixed costs reducing fixed costs we moved our insurance to the GIC and thanks to the employees for being willing to do that we also did a lot of Energy Efficiency upgrades and that actually freed up the money to do a lot of the things that we're talking about um or that we're going to talk about today but um you know in addition to the public safety building Jen you were heavily involved in the Riverwalk project which I am I like to refer to as Ashley's first nice to have project you know it wasn't necessarily uh steak and potatoes type infrastructure work but um maybe you can give a little bit of insight and to what all went into that project and making it the the gem that it is today um sure so this is another project that the community had been working on for about a decade um and we were able to sort of take it from concept and design um to sort of um allocate the proper funding and bring it to fruition and so really working with the open space um and Recreation committee who had been working on it um and getting permit for I I believe 8 years before we had implemented um it was a it was a larger project it was one of the largest projects that I had worked on um up to that date um and it was complex meaning we had to figure out a way to have a a pedestrian bridge over U mil Pond to connect the actual walking trail that existed as part of the Bay Circuit um to our milpond Park um and we also had to work with several land owners just to make sure that we're able to um access the entire Trail and it connects down to ponder Roa there's a vision that we'll be able to connect downtown um initially we're hoping to connect at the VFW and then maybe Marathon Park and so we're sort of still looking at that so we're finished phase one it's a just a little over a mile and there's a component that is um Ada accessible that brings you to a beautiful observation platform so that everybody in the community can enjoy nature I think one of the best parts of that project is that it was intended to invite people who would maybe not feel super comfortable going into many of the other trails that we have in town whether it's either in the State Forest um or I mean the state park or the Town Forest um and so this is very accessible to anybody um it's well used I think there's been some really beautiful pictures I think um in the fall it's the most beautiful uh with the with um with the bridge and the foliage and the park and so I think it's really um met its goal of bringing people um to really appreciate the trail systems that we have in town and sort of introducing a whole segment of people to just so our Beau beautiful natural resources yeah and I think you know that project was think 25 years in the making I think Dave Foster John Ellsworth uh Rob St Germain I think back in the day they kind of cut the initial Trail but um in an open space and Recreation committee kind of took the ball and and got the first step of engineering done and then you know it was really up to us I think to kind of figure out how we're going to implement this and and make it a reality but you're right you come in uh you come downtown in the fall and you see so many people and a lot of them from out of town I know this just because I I chat with them because well that's what I do is talk and um you know they it's just become I think just that Anchor Point I think for downtown especially in the fall one of the things that uh that is also coming is on the other side of that bridge next to the Historical Society uh there was that observation platform and so that just became a little bit too old to be safe and so we're replacing that but we've actually exposed the old slle way that fed the mill across the street and uh so we're going to make that the walkway the old SLO way and so that'll be pretty pretty cool um hope everybody enjoys that but Joe like yeah I mean she I know you've been around for so long I'm trying to say that is respectful this D yeah you can say um not as old as D but you know you know you've been around since uh for for a bit and you've seen a lot of changes here but um not just from a project perspective but just a a community perspective what do you think's been the biggest changes you've seen since you've been on the select board well thank you I would say that the population has changed dramatic I mean the diverse the diversity of the folks that are coming in um with with the uh Indian population uh Russians uh population you know very large in on the uh West part of the town the South asally Southwest part of the town in the condos area and um you know it's it's it's it's nice to have the diversity it's nice to see uh more people of color coming into this community uh and being accepted where earlier when I was young uh there weren't many families that you know of color in the hound and me you could count on one hand how many how many there were but back in that day I mean the folks and the kids that were going to school they didn't see anybody of color they just saw a friend they just are person they didn't get into that you know we weren't into this is and again you know the radical movement in the late 60s early 70s was was was very prevalent so uh you know mtin Luther King and uh Bobby Kennedy and you know the uh the reform the racial reform was happening back then right and um you know Ashan didn't have a lot of that but they were able to live with each other in Harmony and there wasn't there wasn't an issue we never saw it as an issue growing up as kids in the school system whatever um but um you know that's probably one of the main things and there was a lot of open space back then yeah and and then unfortunately there was a baby boom and there you know there was a population boom in this area and it's still happening uh that uh you know more families are moving into town so the Open Fields and the lands that we used to hang around in and play or whatever was has been taken away so it it became a focus for several Woods that I sat on to purchase some of that open space and keep it and keep it that way you're starting with like waren Woods waren Woods right and then some of the properties that are buted uh the Town Forest along Oregon Road property off of Lincoln right so I mean those areas in and of itself I mean that's that's and I'm happy that we were able to do that because it brings back some you know great memories of what ashin used to be uh before it was all developed and um and we're almost out to that capacity right now I mean we're getting very close to it yeah the whole buildout uh buildout analysis that's coming as part of the comprehensive plan which is something that we'll talk about in a in a future episode but you know Joe I I like to say that you know know sometimes our best work happens when things don't happen and uh you know you talk about purchasing of op open space and to keep that land from being developed and Ashley actually over the last 10 10 years has spent um over 10 million do on on open space protection and in acquisition and we've got you know creative ways to um you know protect open space without just buy it like so we found some very generous uh land owners mhm uh who would be willing to put deed restrictions on their property if we bought a budding uh Parcels as open space and it's uh it's made I think a huge difference in town but then people people don't necessarily see that they just know that it's not being developed and um sometimes they don't even realize that the town has acquired that property and protected it for uh for posterity right but uh but yeah open space has definitely been a big uh a big priority I think for the town and that's something that we've seen in surveys and and everything and and with population growth you have children that are coming into the community so you know your school system is going to be affected by that uh they're going to need more space and more room and then uh you know the social aspect of of of children and a lot of that social aspect comes with sports and then activities and so now you need Fields you know to to provide that those areas of uh programs for kids to have fun in so now there there was a fields issue and a a lot of the discussion came about you know do we want regular natural turf or do we want you know artificial turf and in the long run with all the discussions and the Committees that were that were developed uh it came down to Common Sense it was going to be a lot of money to keep the natural Turf which needed resting period and you don't have enough uh grass uh grass fields to be maintained to let one field the rest before season and utilize something else so it turn uh option was was was used and it's been working pretty well uh the unfortunate thing is there was a time when we didn't have someone maintaining the fields to the point rening the fields uh we lost a lot of we lost many opportunities to you know generate Revenue yeah unfortunately to maintain those fields and now the other towns around us have developed the their their options to purchase you know T Fields so you know the rental is not there any as it was you know 10 15 years ago so you always got to recalibrate right right yeah you have you have to relook at everything the plan and then you know okay something goes ay and then you have to kind of look at a contingency plan and that's kind and unfortunately we we didn't do that we would just initially hoping to get you know FS available for the kids to to be able to play and and so far it it's wored other than you know the the rental aspect of it but yeah and so now I mean I think it's safe to say that our athletic programs especially the US Sports programs have outgrown our current Field capacity and I know there's there's plenty of demand for for new Fields um you know moving beyond infrastructure though you know we've changed a lot as an organization and uh Jen you've uh you've been a key part of that and you lead a number of departments um you know I think uh I think you know we've added a few departments like HR we've added an economic development department but one of the things that uh we really worked hard on when we started working together was this uh Human Services and and prevention program and you know maybe you can talk a little bit about that and and what uh what that's meant to you both personally and professionally and and uh and how it's helped people here in Ashland sure so when I came on we we had a Youth and Family Services uh division as part of our community center and so we always had a caseworker and we had a longstanding food pantry that certainly um meets uh with the help of the emergency fund the needs of people struggling with food and security and that has M we've maintained that as a vital part of the new department and so the department has really evolved um initially we brought on a licensed social worker and created a human services department that really was focused on sort of doing wraparound services for our most vulnerable um residents that might struggle with housing they might struggle with mental health they might struggle with substance abuse um or misuse um and we've grown that um just in terms of now um including prevention so uh decisions at every turn has been working incredibly hard in the community um with school AED um prevention programs and also really run by parents in town um that really are focusing on education around substance of use and as sort of we've streamed through covid really focusing on Mental Health crisis and what that actually H you know what that does to uh the adult population and also how it leads to substance misuse and abuse and so over they were Grant funded for 10 years and they had a coordinator and we've systematically sort of stepped off of that Grant and Incorporated Kristen French who is now our director of prevention and Human Services into the town so I think that's a huge feather in the cap of decisions that every return in terms of really institutionalizing prevention into our organization um it's something that you and I have really believed in from from go I and really worked to make sure that we could incorporate her and keep her and keep their mission alive and so now she's leading the department and incorporating prevention as much as we can in all aspects of our program so um working to have prevention me messages in Recreation programs in the library programs partnering uh throughout the community and then also continuing our partnership with the schools um we have a a really strong partnership with both the middle school and the high school in terms of some of their campaigns uh Human Services continues to grow and is incredibly busy oh gosh yeah you know really trying to deal with giant problems of housing which obviously you know there's a staff of Two and a Half we have two full-time case workers one is a licensed social worker and the other a case worker and then a part-time food pantry coordinator there and really sort of working on housing food insecurity mental health um working with the police in terms of Crisis Intervention um and their jail diversion program and so it's been really a successful program it's Inc it's meeting a real critical and essential need in the community and sort of as we can address those and help them connect them with Social Services throughout the region and we can help people to sort of um live a more fulfilling and stable life the the better the community is and sort of um we've definitely had a huge program a part of it is the which most people probably have heard of is probably the holiday program um and so that's really connecting donors within this incredibly generous Community um to families who may not be able to um provide gifts for their children during the holiday season and it's a really um beautiful Community Building program in which we have you know over a 100 people being donors meeting the needs of over aund I believe it was 12 20 families this year so that is sort of probably the most well-known but there's all this work that's happening year round that's never really gets talked about because it is confidential and um but they're incredibly busy dayto day yeah yeah it and Joe you know just uh from your perspective I mean you've been part of the organization that's the town of the town of ashin for uh many years I mean first as an officer you know for um for a couple decades at least right and then as a member of the select board there was a period of overlap there but from your perspective what do you think has changed the most amongst our among our organization is if you what's interesting that fact that in some of the programs that Jen just talked about and and mentioned it they actually started as grass roots uh programs um when I was affiliated with the police department you know we we had we had drug prevention programs that you know they were Grant funded by state and federal uh programs those monies have since gone and dried up so I'm happy to see that you know uh decisions at every turn has taken you know has taken over uh what we used to do um and it was just one person it was me myself and I that would go into the schools and do all things um Isabelle Harrison if you don't mind me mentioning her name not she was very involved uh with uh the the families Isabelle's a legend here and she uh you know some of the programs that she taught like that the holiday program I mean Town Hall you couldn't you couldn't go downstairs because that was the main focus of all the gift drop offs and everything down down the cell before the uh the change over was made and so you know everybody was part of that police fire you know even Town employees would go down they would R gifts or whatever people be dropping off and that also was the home base for the food pantry as well uh especially now we're uh I think it Britney's office and the office next to her Britney our finance director right yeah and uh the open well reference conference room a which is now the uh that call it the co yeah the co co headquarters Co headquarters right so I mean that was the era of concern where everybody would pile all the uh the food and everything and get the baskets all sent out and it was a whole town project fire office firefighters police officers would deliver the foods and and and at lons members would be involved so I mean it it makes me happy to see that these projects just didn't go by the wayside like like like the dodo bird right you know they progress and have and have flourished into these great programs that will be you know funded through town you know Town resources and and in the tax base so when people say our taxes are too high or you they may be high but when you think of all the social programs that have come out of this it's it's very it's heartwarming Ash it's very special that way uh we we do what we have to to do for those that that are in need and you know charity starts at home and and what else would a place to to have it continue but what within the town itself so I don't know if I answer that properly but I yeah and I also think we I think we cognitively sort of looked at and really we're trying to be respectful of all the work that have been done and so um building off of the holiday program and um you know everybody uh in that department still talks to what Isabelle Harris and um and all the work that was done in the past and then sort of sort of building off of that to just try to make it you know 1% 10% better I think even just changing the name from Youth and Family which many other towns still maintain that um we sort of looked at so if you're not a youth and you're not a family we still want to make sure that they know that there is a place for them to go and if they need assistance we can still help them um there is a sort of direct correl also to our senior Outreach worker to make sure that the seniors are receiving the services that they need um you know we love the fact that it's at the community center even if it's sort of sometimes we're a little squished for space particularly in the food pantry um but the connections that you have there you have the recreation department there so you already have young people you have the seniors who you know may not go someplace else if they need Services um so it it sort of does work and it does feel much more community and the holiday program still has um you know the fire department the police department still participate and assist with that um we do have members of the lions that are definitely volunteering their time and so it's sort of building on all of that um that happened in previous but it come you know it come it comes in time may just like when you take a walk into the woods you know you sometimes you go in an area where no one's gone before so you're you're the you're the pathmate you're the first one to to go through so it's uh it's nice to see that progress and now where it was a path it's now a crosswalk or it's a walkway you know so people can utilize it more there more there more benefit to it so to hear all of this I mean I I sit back and I I smile and say thank you yeah thank you to everybody that's taken that torch and and and continue doing the things that we started because that those folks haven't been forgotten and that's the needy that and that's quite important for me I mean it's you know we were small town back then we didn't have a lot there wasn't a lot there were rich people I mean we were all you know blue collar workers they wasn't you know we weren't we weren't the Sherin we weren't you know the Wellsley or white right you know so we we all had to work and whatever we were able to contribute to help the community that's what we've done and and I take and I take full acknowledgement that the both of you when when you came on board even as an assistant Town manager a lot of the work that was done was done behind the scenes by the both of you and you know other credit may have been given to other individuals but you guys were the folks that you know were were the ones that the overvie overview was overseers of the work that was really being done that made a difference so that was my observation when I first got on uh and I will continue that that observation because you folks are are very uh endar to me because I I've watched what you have done and made Ashland a lot better but not just not for the children for the entire Community as a whole thanks we bridged the Gap yeah and I know we're going to jump over some things but we bridged the gap between when we first started Joe I might invite you back again I mean keep on with this yeah well it's um people were buting heads departments were buting heads it was as versus then yeah attitude and when we saw and we looked at policies that would be beneficial for everybody to utilize I mean cooler heads prevailed everybody agreed that this may be the right approach to take and that is in effect right now and I hope it stays that way you know maybe there's always a little tweak that needs to be done but all in all I mean you're talking about the finan the financial aspect right I mean and no money's that come in it's a 7030 split and the way it should be and everybody benefits by it it's not well we need this more than you no it's it's we're in this together and and I think that attitude has has fostered you know a better and a a great change of how budgetary thought processes being done in this community and must much better than other communities around us yeah I would agree I mean uh we're fortunate to have great relationships with the superintendent and school committee and the finance committee and you know Finance can be a little bit boring but it it's really kind of the the foundation of any type of organization and any kind of Public Services Because unless you have money you can't really do anything you can't put cops on the street you can't uh patch roads you can't uh do some of these projects that were doing and so yeah that was uh that was a pretty important important thing that we because you know it also not only did it carve out money for the projects that we're doing today but um it also started addressing our long-term liabilities and so we're planning for the future as well so we don't get caught off guard and we're you know we're not totally kicking the can down the road um you know we're taking care of things like her OPB liability which is health insurance for retirees it's a fancy name for that and then also our rainy day fund uh which has been key but uh Joe wanted you just getting back to the projects one of the things that you know you and I kind of shared a moment with was uh something that's very near and dear to my heart which is the downtown project and um I mean I can remember you and me and Carl kind of walking yeah the walk we'll call it the walk yeah down uh down Main Street and just kind of envisioning what it would look like with the poles underground and everything and uh what do you think about the evolution of that project we're not we're not finished yet still we have to get the polls down we're almost there and it was funny I I I was in the company of col a couple couple of days ago and uh we were we were talking about that and I said Remember the walk oh yeah the walk was it was that actually started that that movement to let's let's do it yeah you know and and the discussion came well yeah we make the sidewalks better and you know beautiful crosswalks the whole nard to beautify downtown well you know it'll be beautifying downtown get rid of the of the poisonous suon get rid get rid of the bloody we got a few sound effect budes here which we haven't tried yet get get rid of the bloody you know wires and hang you know telephone poles out you know put them out of s put them on the ground and that then that whole that initial discussion actually came it came to fruition and and you know within the next year or two yeah I'm I'm going to press a button you there we go there you go look at that we down down downtown and and and it's come and and people are happy with it yeah especially this past year the the holiday season oh my gosh it was incredible it was absolutely incredible yeah see all the people you know do the Holiday Stroll and get the getting the uh the business folks involved in it you know Beth has done a great uh a great job and yeah Beth Reynold our economic development director tell H looks so pretty oh it looks very oh and and it'll continue you you you go from one building to the next and you know hopefully we can uh put funding and make a line item of that and and hopefully that and maybe the business Community sees that and helps towards that as well so we could we could all do that so but it was very very nice and uh I know Santa was very happy to see it when he came down and saw all those he he was very very impressed how Ashan get get into the holiday spirit real quickly yeah and Santa's the guy to impress that time of year it certainly is you know it's uh Santa Santa is a really really uh you know Santa when he comes to ashle uh isite spot it is favorite spot and I will have to say like I have a personal experience with that because and I like to share because my daughter you know when I started here she was three years old and believe it or not she wasn't she wasn't totally convinced about Santa and uh when Santa came to town one year uh she went and got on Santa's lap and Santa knew exactly what she wanted and um I remember her getting on that lap and Santa saying oh I hear you want um I think it was like a princess Sophia the First Castle I think that's what she was into at the time and I tell you her just smile like this amazed look on her face and she she came out of that little Hut a Believer so um I always got a special place in my heart for for for Santa here in town um Jen what are some of the other projects that you uh that you really like and proud of I mean we've got so many we got 126 we've got the Menda school we talked about the public safety building um what any of those or ones that I didn't mention that really kind of resonate with you I mean all of those for sure I mean I think all of them have a um a part in sort of transforming the physical part of our Community um I do love sort of programs also I think we've come a long way in our programs I think at the library we have a a crazy amount of programs any given day you can find um something that you're interested in I think with Recreation and our seniors sort of just keep building on programs and I think sometimes when we're thinking about Community we think about the physical places and sometimes I think we also need to think about the programmatic where you can actually connect with some people that you may not otherwise cross path with and I think that is invaluable and I think our staff does an amazing job with that um I'm lucky enough to be part of Ashlin is United that also does programs um like breaking bread which actually Joe was at um very cool program I'm waiting for I'm waiting for it to come up again to do that again that was awesome a lot of fun yeah so they do sort of programs Conn intentionally connecting people that might not otherwise um cross paths and I I think if we're talking about physical projects another project super proud of is the trolley Brook Trail which you know yeah you know on its face you're thinking it's less than a mile um it was sort of the easiest piece of the Opera Charles Trail um because we we owned the property but it was one of the projects that really sort of far surpassed my vision like I was really surprised and now I I walk it almost every day um but it's a beautiful path that you know you're weirdly sort of trans transplanted or something into the into the woods from munko road which is probably the most industrial I mean next to Nickerson Road off6 munko is pretty industrial and then you just walk into this environmental you know Beauty yeah it's like almost magical in a way that it sort of brings you to this place um from like you said the most industrial you know you're walking not on a sidewalk to this through the street and then you end up on this beautiful path um for a little bit of a mile it's so um that project was surprisingly satisfying in terms of you know what I had envisioned and then to actually see it um and again it's the start of something that will be much much bigger that will take likely years and years and years the upper Charles Trail which we're making some progress when it happens it'll it'll be a beneficial you know beneficial for every you know everybody you know whether they ride bikes or they just walk the trail right you know so right which would be nice um you know I'm sorry I mean to interrupt your mic the uh the programs that you talk you know that you had mentioned these programs are are essential for everybody you know not just groups of individuals but for every every sector of our community from children to the to the seniors and without these programs you can build great buildings but if you have nothing to provide activities for these programs you know for these for these buildings you know like you said the library my God I mean going back and look at what we had for our library and they were very limited with what we have and you know we had a almost the size of this studio was the was the children's aspect of it which was downstairs in a musty old you know basement uh and they had they did the best that they could do but now today you have a vibrant children's library that is just so full of activity oh yeah it it no wonder why parents love it you know and you know support it yeah it's a good good opportunity to give a shout out to Lois mlli who her last day actually as a children's librarian was uh yesterday and uh so she's been there for over a couple of decades but Mina um Mina Jane who has been our library director now two or three years has just done an amazing job of bringing programs in um for sure uh I think you know one of the things I want to just kind of pivot towards is just talking about you too individually and why you got into you know public service and Joe I'll I'll ask you specifically what made you decide to run for the select board well there was a there was a a discussion that was being had in front of a select board uh well at the time a selectman board that um was actually shutting out people's opportunity to speak on a topic and I happened to be and this was this was the war Woods matter that the whole project with waren woods and it was in a discussion stage and the unfortunately the folks that were you know were on the select as Selectmen at the time didn't want to hear it so they shut the people down and that's not what town government's about shutting you know the voices of people should be heard especially from elected officials so it annoyed me I can remember my father's voice telling me in my year to if you don't like what you see and if you don't do anything you part of the problem right so I said okay in my mind I said okay that's it I talked to my family to make sure it was okay with them because I knew it was going to be uh time consuming in in in the beginning because we all know Donna runs the manani household yeah yeah I wear the skirt I'm not I'm not I'm not ashamed to say that my my my skirt's a little high right now but yeah and uh yeah she's definitely the boss there's no doubt about it in any any Italian home the mom's the boss I don't care what people say oh for sure but anyway long story short she um they said fine and um so talked to some of my friends and we started as you know campaign to run um I was very uh I was I was humbled by the support I got and and still received over the last you know three terms that that I ran and uh I think I hope people still trust and believe in me and my heart is to do the right thing for the community I know that the current board that that I sit on uh we still have that same process and um we all feel the same way we still have a commitment to this town and um so but that that's that was one reason it was just the lack of not being able to speak and have and be heard on on a matter was was was very compelling to me and I think it's be compelling to anybody you know that's why I'm glad that we still have citizens participation you know during our meetings right uh even now with zoom you have more people available to to speak if they they need to speak so uh but that was one of the reasons and then other other uh issues that we talked about the public safety building that was a big concern for me for over the years and I'm very thankful that we were able to complete that and to uh the young lady sitting to my right uh Jen she was the uh brick and M of this whole project because she was the procurement officer and she did more work behind the scenes than in in front of us so and a lot of kudos to her for for the work that was done and uh we still have a couple more things left to finish on that but uh just a couple pretty soon we'll be able to dissolve that committee yes because we're all you know that's right Joe which you're the chair of I should have mentioned that at the beginning Jen kind of has the project manager and Joe as the chair of the of the building committee you know just I was a spokesperson the person that did all the work unlike Paul Kendall with the school committee group the school buildings uh committee this young lady was the one that did all the well Jen yeah Jen did a lot but don't uh don't discount the role that you had for sure sure she gave me she gave me the latitude to do that so thank you but uh but yeah Jen ran a tight ship on that project for sure so uh especially with especially with those people that were in the project and building the building itself right you know you had site supervisor and stuff but yeah they would come to her and Jen would make a quick phone call or too oh for sure yeah and then uh then things would happen for sure Jen what about you I mean so so just a little bit for those of you that know well you wouldn't know you know the history Jen and I have known each other for gosh 12 oh God no it's 14 years now right so we both worked at the city of L um for a while but you know you had been there for a while by the time I started in L but what what got you into public service so I think I've always been sort of driven for um Community impact uh so in in L I actually had a very different role I worked within the police department um really building programs and so again I think that's part of the reason why I think programs are so important I saw that sort of the transformation it can have um in an urban environment and how much um reach really small programs within one Department could have um I moved to the state for a number of years about seven years I worked for um the Commonwealth and the and under the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and um what drove me back is sort of the distance you have when you're in the state from actual Community um and and people and sort of seeing any impact that anything that you're doing is making on a day-to-day basis and so sort of driven back to come uh to a community and sort of put uh all of my energy into sort of um helping transform our community and I think Ashlin has been really welcoming to me and so I feel like all the work that I tend to be behind the scenes um sort of intentionally um but I can also see the change happening and that's really fulfilling for me uh personally and so I didn't have that necessarily when I was working on policy work um even some of the real work that we were implementing um sort of essential services at the at Mima um you don't actually see what's happening on on the ground and I think that's really important and you can't get that um anywhere else and I really do love the sort of small town feel that Ashlin still has as opposed to um some of the more urban areas that I've worked in um because you can really sort of be pretty flexible in some of the programs and some of the larger projects that we've worked on yeah cool and I mean I I would say I mean one of my greatest blessings is actually getting to work with both of you I think and just uh the the the commitment that you bring to it to the jobs and the time that you put in um Joe I mean you're in a volunteer role and and you you put in probably 40 hour weeks and Jen you know you you definitely put in 60 70 hour weeks um but no thank you for both going into that and uh thanks Melissa Melissa I was just about to ask for for a time check Melissa Hayes here let's give her a big round of applause for uh for putting all of this together as well as wacka and Paul Bowden and Barb Chism um so I think you know I think we're going to wrap this episode up we're about at the 40 minute maybe for close to 45 minute Mark um but before we leave uh we were going to try to do a a trivia question and Joe you and I were talking a little bit about one and so this is what I think we'll do all right so we're gonna we're going to have an email address clocktown Chronicles asland mass.com and so what we're going to going to do is we're going to ask a trivia question and people who want to write in and give us the answer uh just send it to clock toown Chronicles at Ashlan mass.com just got to remember to set that email address up but uh anyway we will but Joe what what is the trivia question for this um this month so the trivia question this month I have to be very careful because I don't want to give it give it away but there was a project that was done in the early 20s and it was a WPA project so for the folks that were born and raised in Ash and even some of the newer ones who have done their history uh research where was the WPA project done in Ashland so there was one WPA project one WPA project done in Ashland and it was for the entire Community that's the hint okay it was done for the and and where was it interesting interesting so yes uh W what was the WPA project in Ashland and where was do it if you have the answer to that uh write us at clocktown Chronicles Ashlin mass.com uh folks that's going to be it for this uh this episode our first episode our inaugural episode I want to thank both of my guests Jen ball and Joe manani uh for being with us today and and just explaining a little bit about their history here and kind of a recap of the last 10 or 12 years again I want to thank Melissa Hayes our Communications coordinator for putting all this together and our friends at wacka uh barbach Chism and Paul Bowden for uh setting all this up and kind of making it all work it's like magic so uh folks it's uh it's been great talking with you and um again I hope you enjoy this actually even if you don't have an answer to the trivia question if you could just write us and let us know what you think about the podcast and what you would like to hear in the future uh again use that email address and uh we'll be sure to listen so um want to B everybody ad do and uh thank you very much for listening thank you [Music]

all right we are live at nitic high school for the semifinal matchup of the eastl medal Spartans versus Walpole 530 game at a an alleged neutral site I'm Jeff Mor I am with my co-host Josh Weiss on another elcat Jamie Rook Don Macky production here at a neutral facility we've got four referees we've got a beautiful night here somewhere in the low 70s mostly cloudy uh we're getting on here a little bit earlier than normal the introductions have not been made yet but this is a big semi-final matchup Josh you know what do you think well listen I certainly expect you know when we got down to the elite eight round the eight best teams were left and I think that the the game against ring proved to be that it was a nailbiter it was an amazing game and I think probably since they lost 1211 to wple in the second game of the year that that this is very much going to be the same kind of thing so I look forward to a great game yeah this is for those of you at home this is the second matchup between the Spartans of eastl meow and Walpole they met very early in the season both teams have come a long long way since then so I'm sure they're playing differently they're definitely you know more um they're sharper than they were in the early season they've really developed figured figured their things out and um you know we'll see we'll see how how see how this one goes we've got you know we're going to have got four referees that are walking out there now it's it is a little bit windy here to be honest I know we're up a little bit High here at NAX Stadium but it is a little bit windy you can see the flags blowing across the way um there's you know I'd say there's probably a couple hundred fans here yeah people travel traveling from certainly western Mass for the Spartans and you know quite frankly right down the road for Walpole right it's 20 minutes away and there's a uh there is a pond over here so I happen to go to high school here so I know this area well there is a pond right on the outskirts of the stadium here so you do get a little bit of Breeze and you don't have a lot to hold it back so that will potentially be a bit of an issue but you know for both teams obviously yeah I will say this is an absolutely beautiful beautiful beautiful area of the state it's a gorgeous high school it's almost like a small College small New England College when you look at it beautiful facilities and uh I think this I think both teams are are ready to play wall pole coming off of a a win against Westwood that I heard was yeah decisive in number um but it was very controversial in terms of they were what I'm hearing I heard a little bit earlier there were some complaints from Westwood about you know refereeing and calls but I think you hear that all the time so you won't know unless you go back and watch it I I think in our you know the Spartans coming off of probably the best high school game of the last decade and just an amazing amazing game East Meadow for those of you that didn't see the reading game they were down and gritty fighting the entire game and then with three seconds left to go Mi calib throws a strike to Megan morno who was sprinting towards the goal and and threw it into the back of the net for a one-goal lead with three seconds left and that and the game was over an incredibly exciting uh edge of your seat finish to that game you know it's interesting because all year we've been a little bit worried about the fact that they haven't had close games and I think they proved to us right that that they were not only capable of handling it but they withstood the pressure beautifully and executed coach Moses's plan toward the end of that game she handled that game plan beautifully taking you know really good timeouts when they were boxed in and then working the clock down for that last shot was really masterfully done yeah I mean you're today you're looking at two two of the top coaches in New England not let alone just Massachusetts or western Mass I mean Moses has been an amazing turnaround to this East Long Meadow program not just at the high school level but also at the Youth Level just getting kids excited and then you're looking on the other side you're looking at Mike tone just a a legend of a coach at walpool has uh one child who's a a standout athlete playing for um mass and another one that's you know coming along the way just an amazing coach he been around the block a few times um Walpole like East longto in the semi-finals last year and got knocked out so one of these teams is going to make it through to the finals for the first time I think probably either in a long time certainly for eam it would be ever question yeah um do we know when the other game is uh yeah the other game the other semi-final is in play now I think they started around 4 or 4:30 okay and that's hangam and and Notre Dame Academy in hangam so certainly one of the teams from hangam is going to be representing in the finals yeah I wonder where you find a neutral site when you have hangam versus hangam but anywhere El I guess yeah and I think the two coaches are actually sisters of those two team so I think so I think so I think you might have a sister sister matchup in that one so certainly both teams Know Each Other Well in that semi-final they both they have played each other as well during the season Notre Dame hangam coming out of Victor over hangam in that one so we'll see if the rematch uh can get a different result in both of them it's to be determined you know we talked about the fact that they played each other in the second game of the year and as you you know rightly pointed out obviously they've both developed in different ways I think one of the real keys to that game was the turnovers for me Long Meadow um and I think that's going to be presumably you know another key tonight is to minimize those and to take care of the ball in the defensive end in particular yeah absolutely that was a big problem in the start in the first game we'll certainly hope that it's for Islam meow fans that it's not a problem in this game um Walpole has I think by far the fastest and most athletic team um remaining in the final four uh Notre Dame hangam obviously I think has the best all-around talent year after year but in terms of just pure athleticism when you watch wple play you'll see that their ride is unbelievable they're very very fast they tend to be able to carry the ball through the Midfield uh pretty cleanly and get themselves into the offens offensive possession and we'll see if East if that ride of Walpole has the same level of success that it did in the first game causing a lot of turnovers and I if I remember correctly in that game they did press right uh pretty regularly on the defensive end or on their offensive end our defensive end right they did they pressure all the field because they are so fast and athletic they have the ability to their players have the ability to take chances and then still be able to get back into position and still make plays so we'll see how it goes now that all the teams have been called and I think we're going to take a little break here for uh the national anthem so we're going to be remain quiet here for a little while honoring all the veterans thank you for your service to our country allise if you are able and remove yours as we honor America have defended are currently defending our freedom with the pl of our national an [Music] and [Music] all right the national anthem has been played the girls are going to get their last minute pep talk from their coaches coach Moses Gathering her girls in a circle giving their last minute pieces of advice with assistant coach Liz Maza they've done an excellent job this season you know it's really quite extraordinary this is the second time in two years to make it to the final four of the state tournament I mean that's from a program that that has really not been on the map at all and so kudos to them and and I think to the development of the program in town yeah you know absolutely you know kudos to the girls I mean the coach is coach the girls play and the girls got to put in the work not only during the season but even but in the off season as well and many of these girls are from Islam Meadow have really dedicated themselves and committed themselves to this team even if even if they're not going on to play at a high level of college or you know doing other things in college whatever the case may be or they even if they play other sports they have really committed themselves to not necessarily making this sport a Four Season sport for them but certainly a two and a half season sport playing a little bit more than they normally have and now they've come out and they're you know here they are in the semi-finals of the state championship division 2 which is um for Massachusetts the best division in Lacrosse is division two all around there are some obviously some great teams in division one as well but I think in the depth of the division 2 talent um certainly keeps up with any of the top teams in division one yeah so we're going to get started here Megan morno on the draw with Addy Jordan and Kenna Marino in the circle getting um I think coach MOS is early on recognizing the athleticism and the speed of Walpole and putting uh I would say her fastest players least on the circle number four for Walpole Caitlyn non and is absolute Rockstar player certainly the best player for Walpole very Speedy midfielders attacker great Dodger good shooter leads the offense for wall Poole first draw ball is up it's out and notton has it takes it from morno they're getting it through the middle it's not in a senior no notton is not noton is a 2025 I believe not is a junior headed little long pass there you know I'm not going to lie part of that is the wind we're standing up here and the wind is blowing pretty heavy in that direction and that one just you know kind of took off and Y and it was gone so up to Taft oh a uh and there I mean there it is right away that's what you cannot absolutely cannot have happen are those quick turnovers on possessions so now you see two possessions versus one and we didn't even get it outside the 30 got to make sure of those passes I don't think I need to repeat myself cuz I've been saying it kind of all year long oh good play there to knock that away by uh I think that Ken Marino is behind and there it is Kenna is going to take this one and yeah and and Shimmy Shake between them which is exactly what she did the other day at the end of the game and with her speed gets it up little long pass there again got some nerves here to get out and this is this is now going to be a problem here as they come down and they attack nice play there by Jordan to knock it away and slow it down temporarily but and it's going to be shooting space yeah yeah they just they just can't turn the ball over it's just got to be yeah and I'm sure that was drilled into their heads but I think there's that yeah I mean it's already two it's already two it's already two they haven't got the ball past the 50 yard line with two possessions and the ride is already proving to be incredibly effective for Walpole and that is going to be a first goal so clearly got to more care here without question or this is not going to be I think a little nerves already one you know you got one turn over I mean we're talking high quality players you know Taft has turned it over once Ken Marino dropped the ball on that pass from Taft it wasn't great pass but could have been caught and then Marino made a a a a bad pass really just had no business kind of passing that into a bunch of traffic could have could have turned it backwards I think on that one but we'll see y early in this one one- nothing Walpole 10 minutes and 14 seconds remaining in the first quarter it's interesting here it looks like it looks like walpole's going to try to draw this to the open space and then have noton use her incredibly quick speed to go get it and morno is probably trying to toss it up in the air and use her use her height yeah and there and she does oh all right so there we go nicely done by Addie Jordan to scoop that and by Megan to get possession there up to Moreno Moreno's got two players on her yeah she's fine now now we're now we're in the offensive zone we just need to slow it down yeah good pass to Thompson set it up here to Anam ma over to trulio behind the net there nobody there no no looking take your time yeah into Anam ma looking yeah get it over here to I kind I kind I have to be honest I kind of like mac kind of down there diving here taking your time look goes left switches hands going to get us get herself an8 Meer there that's nice so it looks like they are marking they're marking me looks like they're marking Megan morno with with a player yeah see here this one's going to come back this it's actually not an eight meter here it's a 12 yeah she wasn't morno into Maro fake shooting space foul there so thought she was going to let that go but uh me too and that's going to be on the goalie she's just got to run it in here I mean honestly on that goalie ah interesting okay so she hit the post Allie Thompson follows it up with a great shot there so heads up play there by uh Thompson to scoop up the uh the rebound SC up the Miss on the wide open net by Marino I don't think she's going to be happy going back and looking at that one but thankfully Thompson picked that one up it's 1-1 now wide open net it's now 1-1 8 minutes and 45 seconds remaining looks like the coach is coach is still you'll you'll hear yeah you can probably hear on elcat the wall pole coach is a very good coach but he's very very loud very very active constantly calling out to his players he's in a he's always in a football he's in the football crun Crouch stance like he's calling out a linebacker play all the time this one goes up in the air let's see uh off of looked like off of Marino's head whitler gets it makes a nice play to keep possession spins and uh sett it down good Weiss gives morau the stick Megan's coming up she's got her stick up a little behind Thompson into Jord just bad just a bad pass bad pass by Thompson Jordan was open but it just was not really in a catchable not really in a very catchable position Jordan it's called for a little penalty there um up on the ride here so let's see let's see if Weiss picks up number 27 for Walpole and slows him down for now um we got nobody on this player here coming through and she's wide open in the middle so there's a breakdown big time there uh where you know they they went to the corner um Hannah or Jill Stevens went to the corner and there was nobody that picked up the girl cutting through the middle so again you know looks like the Spartans are you know getting their feet wet here in a way that they're going to have to you know they've got to correct these things wall Paul's too good obviously to do this but it's 2-1 with seven 56 left yeah it's early it's very early so early these out of your system now certainly East Long Meadow hasn't settled down Walpole seems to be doing just what it normally does if you watch him on video it's been pretty consistent so we got notton versus monno here on the draw I think the draw controls have been pretty much even so far so far yeah this one goes up so not up to number three for w Marino needs to get back oh nice play by Thompson to knock that away like she does so well beautifully done looks like she's going to kick it back to Holly she does Holly all right so we're definitely seeing some some nerves here from the Spartans so they got to settle in wide open in the middle that's [Music] Weiss's it looks like all right they've settled themselves back into a defensive posture here twice is on number three doesn't look like Marino it looks like Marino and Taft are really unsure of themselves kind of on that side over there yeah does Thompson nicely done on the defensive side there to keep her out uh good good good knock down there by I think that was Thompson yeah that's analia that's okay it's not it's not it's not an a 12 right so they've just got got a mark up here and it looks like we have Grace Howard is marking number four just covering her trying to cover her kind of Wherever She Goes on the field okay looks like she's going to try to cut this one around so squirt out there Weiss jumps out to head off that line and Marino's up on number two for walpool looking surveying the scene to see if she can find an opening uh as she said Howard's on number four Weiss jumps out gets picked slides over good defense there by the Spartans to keep keep him out nice done there by Talia and M's clearly being patient here and and most good teams are when it comes to this kind of thing so so Howard with a nice play to initially somebody's wide open there so good good job by Jill Stevens to get over there but and number nine is open in the middle nice play by Hannah Taft knock that free picked back up by Walpole just weaving their way through and missed wide and looks like it's going be walpole's ball here Walpole controlling the ball here in this possession for sure five minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter so Hassen again a bit of a breakdown yeah that's that's going to be on Hannah gonna go yeah yellow card looks like she got up too high yeah so Spartans are going to play a man down here woman down yeah was she she might have been a little high there tan is saying no but we'll see so sort of how that goes she's going to take a little break it looks like it's going to be an eight meter opportunity here from from the side slot here yeah going to have to get in there quick she's going to definitely take it she's got the speed to do it so they got it here get in there nice job cut that off Thompson out on number 23 Morino in oh wide open there off the off the post looks like I think Marino's going to get there no no oh this is a problem no yeah there's nobody on her so Addy Jordan comes then throws it away too high just not getting back to the back end here so number four zooms pass and uh Grace Howard for uh not much jenah Holly can do on that one Noe jenah Holly made a couple good saves down there in the beginning good defensive pressure I think that uh defensively so far we just have to get a possession we have to hold the ball a little bit I mean I know we play fast but it's going to be exhausting if we keep going down and turning the ball over and only having an offensive possession of like 25 seconds yeah well I I would think that if if you get another one of these kind of possessions I think you know coach MOS is going to have to probably take a timeout and and try to get the defense to kind of they're a little frantic right now and Scattered and yeah they had I don't know yeah they had a good defensive they had a good defensive stand there they had a couple of chances to pick you know they had one or two chances to pick up a loose ball they didn't get it yeah Walpole used their speed to get to the end line first in order to kind of maintain the possessions here we're going to get Kenna Marino on the draw now to try try and get some action here against noton had had five draws they're kind of calling this out moros jockeying for position here we'll see if she can get in the ref is keeping them in that position attempting to get think not's going to try a self draw here Marina with a nice move there to get possession coming full steam ahead down the down the path here she she Jesus look I think that's a shooting space f yeah looks like it so okay so opportunity here for the Spartans 3-1 with 424 left in the first quarter again I think they just got to settle in here yeah I mean even that was a bad it was just a bad I don't even know if it was a shot but if it was it was a bad shot I don't even know but I'm not sure about that call yeah I mean we'll see if she can score with the goalie in that's a good move there there I like it beautiful with the goalie in this time makes it a little harder for herself and she jams the low ball in there gives Isam meow the spark that it needed Kenna Marino wins the draw control brings it down gets herself a shooting space and then uses her Speed and Agility in a nice low shot past the goalie 3-2 wall pole four minutes and 3 seconds remaining I think one of the real keys of course to this is not getting into not giving the other side any kind of a run if you can just come back after you know a less than optimal play that's what you want you got to stay close like they did against reading you know they had a lot of moments in that game where they you know had the opportunity they were down by three goals and so you know I think those runs are the ones you just got to avoid and if you can you're GNA have you're going to be in good shape to stay close and and then strike like they did the other day so he Marino on the draw again well done last time for sure and and looks like not's going to get that one and Ali Addy Jordan up or right around round Jill Stevens up to oh nice that could have it looked a little you know but they let that go oh so three three was open yeah uh all right so let's see if the Spartans can get themselves set Alli Thompson on number 23 out to three misses it but Spartans couldn't jump out on not going to lie I do agree with you it just looks a little frazzled here yeah it just and again it looks a little frazzled on defense they look a little bit lost yeah oh they are still so there's another player wide open in the middle and great save by Jenna Holly but but wide open like Point Blank yeah but they gotta remember they are a woman down and and that woman just came back on the field so let's be clear about that uh so Hannah Taft is back out there and you're right that that's true um but there's just a you know there is a little bit of a a frantic nature to all this at the moment so uh there's a call by the refs yeah it's G to be on number 27 yeah she has to be yeah behind yep so I think we're going to get this flipped to Jenna oh wait oh so what was that call I think Jenna Holly may have held the ball too long oh not sure oh number three is wide open in the middle knocked Away by or dropped really by number three monno picks it up trying to outrace everybody and she's getting there but she's got some Speedy people on her uh little high no that was not a bad pass that's no a little high but she should yeah Max got to grab that one yeah it's just but we're just seeing a disaster of turnovers by Isam meow and somehow they're they're only down a goal somehow they're hanging in this this I mean the speed of the speed of Walpole is a has been a problem and it's going to be a problem here the question is they got to mark up and see who's got whom here right because that's I think that's part of the challenge but they've settled they settled in there that's good way to kind of put up that wall for now and uh again what you know it seems like and you're right they were down a men so obviously that's going to be an issue but um but they've still lost a couple girls along the way here so yeah I mean we're that's a nice job by Thompson there cut cut that off looking for an opening for wal they actually had had one right there if the girl had just kind of taken it 130 left in the quarter right in two yeah just try Thomson Thompson just tried to steal that one instead of sealing yeah just tried to seal her off and leave her out there on the8 meter but she tried to kind of get the steal and she left the the roll Dodge open and if you you'll notice I mean I noticed a little bit on the video before wall Poole is very big on the roll Dodge they get in there they duck down low and then they kind of cut around the other way so they don't do they're not big on the Alley Dodge but they are on the roll Dodge they kind of roll back and cut back all the time okay so it's 42 1 minute and 25 seconds gone or remaining actually in the first quarter and it's been turnover City for East Long Meadow and so far I haven't seen any turnovers for I've seen anything I mean we've seen not an unforced turnover we've seen one or two forced yeah on great defense but no no unforced turnovers and that's really been the difference so far in this first quarter let's see if Marino can get this goes up and looks like Jordan's got a beat on it and oh had it but then Dro gra these loose balls they gotta get that is just a disaster of a yeah we had that one in our stick Y and just couldn't pick it up it was right there for the taking and now Walpole has another possession with one minute remaining in the quarter all likely Hood going to hold it for the last shot had a had a person but make close I'm lost as to who's in charge here on on I guess I would just called the shooting space foul there didn't quite see that it's a 12 meter um yeah it looks to me like Thompson and Thompson oh good play there by morno to knock it through and oh no they're going to call a I don't know about that one I don't know about that one either it but I'm not gonna lie it it it looks to me like Thompson and Weiss have don't know what they're doing they look a little lost in the middle of that zone right now they're not sure kind of sure where they're supposed to be this is this would be a big stop here if we can get it oh good play there by Jordan to knock that back out can't leave and nope kick kick save there 10 seconds left in the quarter see if they can hold them off here wide open in the middle but looks like we're going to survive that and morno smartly just tosses it out yeah to end the quarter so the Spartans surv 42 at the end of that quarter not bad considering that they did not play well yeah so let's let's put that in the bank for now and say they can play a whole lot better than that and I think that's what Moses is gonna talk to them about right now yeah it's just a matter of you know slowing I don't want to say slowing things down because East SL meow doesn't play that way but it's just slowing it down when they're under pressure not rushing under pressure take your time get the ball into the offensive zone but it's really been a problem from the basically between the 30s again just like we saw in the first game we're seeing the exact same thing the ride and the speed of wall Poole um and the aggressiveness on the ground balls um has been the difference really in the first quarter I I do think that there you know there on offense there's definitely been some scenarios where there not been Criss passes uh and then I think on defense as I said you know feels it looks fenetic to me it looks like you know that that people are losing their girls uh as they're coming through and that's the only thing there is you know that can be corrected it's it's just a question of um marking up and and you know like they had a couple of girls that were right behind the net all alone and the question is how'd that you know where you going with that how'd that happen I mean as one scenario when Hannah was out right so you're down a person get it but but the rest of that on offense those possessions it it looked like they were not as in sync as they normally are on defense and listen I you know again a couple just a couple of B couple of you know y couple of tough passes so couple by you know couple by Marino one monno Addie you know your your star players really Jordan didn't pick up a ball the draw control the draw control actually has been pretty much about even so far they've been seven yeah it's you know it's I'd say it's probably 43 43 somebody yeah I just think you know as this game goes on um you know the defense is going to get very tired if the offense doesn't only has 30 second possessions well and I think we saw in the reading game too which was not I don't believe was not on elcott but the we began to get some of those loose balls and and we're not doing that right now right that that we've got uh when those 50-50 balls are out there we got to come up with more of those and walpole's probably thinking we're up we're up 42 and we're dominating this game and their star player I mean grace Howard has been face guarding Caitlyn na has apparently been doing a a a stellar job I don't know if noton has a goal if she does it's probably one but we haven't been really calling out her name she hasn't been dominating the play like um she can very easily do yeah and I do think uh Marino's doing fairly well on the draws here um I think it's about even since she's come in uh just note some substitutions here for the Spartan so mi calabri is in as is Sabina mne for Anna macarini and Angelina trulio um so Marino on the draw again and I just I'm I'm looking for them to settle in here um it just doesn't feel like this you know we've seen Spartans lacrosse at the moment uh and I think you'll see it you'll know it when you see it and the only key is to make sure that it happens sooner rather than later so you don't get further behind yep and we are off we're going to have a draw control Marino against nton and morno looks like Marino's going to get there or no uh no so play and now and now you see what happens I mean they are just absolutely flying down here yeah nice oh [Music] so looks like that's going to be Spartan's ball good job there by Addie Jordan really stayed with it I mean she did just persistence for sure so Hannah Taft's got to get it back to nope knocked Away by wall Hannah Taft cannot so do that we cannot have those turnovers no it's really just super unnecessary there's no need for plays like that I mean she's been playing great defense back there all season but the passing has got to change that's two that's two by Taft already and we're only slightly into the first quart slightly into the second quarter and those are ating because Jordan worked like and there's Thompson again just got caught oh great save by Holly missed by wall pole by looks Thompson's getting Thompson's getting beat by her girl I think she's trying to go for the steel a little bit and she's just getting beat on speed yeah through the middle you got number we' got number 18 open so oh oh nicely knocked away there by you can come out of your crease and go get the ball girl go get it you don't have to stay in your crease looks like it's going to be Spartan's ball is out of bounds no I guess notth okay so they beat the ball to the sideline and have to reset here so but this is what I'm talking about is just exhausting I mean here she goes right using their speed and their agility and there you know it's interesting because wpo's getting a little sloppy here to TA got you got to pick the ball up here Mar pick the ball up man she's got to pick the ball up it's right there for Taft it's right there for Marino you got to grab the ball yeah it's just really difficult we're just L giv oh white we're just giving up possession after possession after possession after possession and it's gonna at some point it's going to become incredibly costly and exhausting the defense is going to be just incredibly tired and they're just going to be out of gas yeah yeah okay good D there by Megan morno Walpole swings it Weiss pops out Ball's knocked free up right to a wallo player passes back surveying number three's in yeah there it is it's just they can't it's just exhausting yeah it's exhausting I I do think I do think Moses may need to call a timeout over here at some point but Marino is not having a very not having a good game she's well and again she strl three four opportun she's struggling yeah pick that up and not getting there so you know she's doing great on the draw control but just got you know we got to get we got to get our players playing the way that they can I mean she's an absolute rockar of an athlete she's one of the best players on the team yeah but our defense is absolutely exhausted right now they look I mean they're you can tell by kind of how they're holding their stick they're just very tired very down yeah so 52 Walpole with 913 left in the second quarter let's see if the Spartans can get possession here and work work it down and give their defense a break as they could use it yeah yeah we need a we do need a kind of like the reading game we need a draw control win is and that's a nice job there by Ken Marino who as you've said has done well on the draws going to settle down a little just there it is yeah now we're settled in over to M Witwer okay soall in think you got to get Addy Jordan more involved here right I mean we just have not really seen her penetrations the way we normally do uh little pick there from Jordan for Orno and a pass in that got away but calab tried to make a spin move and dropped it another just another just another turnover yeah yeah yeah so Walpole with possession trying to get out of their Zone I mean there's not a player on the team that hasn't had a turnover foramto I don't think anybody who's touched it there's either a misg ground ball or a bad pass or a bad catch from every single person on the team so far so up to Midfield here looking to pass up gets it up to number 20 can't quite see the number here I mean they're just too far out they've got so much speed yeah you got number two coming in Weiss picks her up 23 is going to be wide open and Weiss slides but you know again there's the question of picking up these girls earlier on is is sort of the key and it still seems to be a little bit of confusion around it looks they look lost yeah knocked away there by Weiss SL ta Weiss gets the ball looks around surveys back to T Holly grabs it and settles it down dangerous pass there from Talia but we've got possession we gotta see how and she's gonna have to get rid of it and lost possession again there from 5 Seconds yeah all right wall pulls ball not quite sure there white so think I thought that you could lay it in the crease and the player can come get it no so I not quite sure but either way they lost possession there and uh try to make a move here by Walpole number three coming around the corner headed off by you see that yeah good play by Stevens right there to use her power and her speed missed uh good opportunity there from wole great save by Jenna Holly uh over to Kenna Mareno who makes a move gets around looking for some help gets pushed oh my God and then just throws it just throws it we'll see if anybody can get there and M wht's fighting for throwing the ball away all over the field yeah so we're just going to have to get either Jord it looks like it's going to have to be to get that ball over the Midfield Line it's gonna have to be it's gonna have to be Jordan or monno I don't think there's anybody else their speed has just been their speed has just been absolutely devastating to East Long Meadow so far oh and just again I think there's you know loose balls that we're just not we're not getting we're you know out of sync here and I think Moses is going to bring them all out there and talk to them and in a way that I think they need it right now they've got to settle down this is just you know a frenetic Pace on their end that that does not have any kind of coherence or consistency to it so their only real hope is to settle in here and get back to playing Spartan and Lacrosse yeah yeah Moses is literally lighting up the defense right now absolutely just lighting them up and explaining to them what they need to do in order to get I mean it's this is this is the most turn I mean eam meow has had a lot of turnovers in games this is unprecedented number of turnovers they I bet you their turnover ratio is I'm gonna say 75 maybe I'm gonna go 75% with six minutes and four seconds remaining in the second quarter I mean and honestly miraculously they're they're down five to two because it could be a yeah that could be a whole lot worse listen I what I I'm we have to sort of what you know the what that was with the goal because I don't quite understand why they lost possession there well Holly can't do that she obviously I don't know the rule but obviously right but H goal there's you can't be confused if you're the goalie you've got to know the you've got to know the rule about what you can do and she clearly couldn't do that you didn't even see Moses sort of was actually arguing with the ref there was there was there was no argument on it you just absolutely cannot do that so whatever that happens to be they cannot do and you know we're we're very very tight on our passes the pressure of Walpole is it's unbelievable certainly having a dramatic impact it's it's the different it's the difference in the game yep they are putting so much pressure on the ball wherever it happens to be yeah that eastl meow isn't able to handle it they don't have quite the athleticism in terms of speed that Walpole has but I think to your point that you made earlier I think R now the best thing that you can do is get the ball into the into the your veteran players hands and have them settle everybody down well I think originally it was going to be Marino but she's she's having trouble getting it through transition because honestly she part of it is she's got nobody to pass to and as fast as she is the girls from walpool are faster and they're just con in on her and she has nowhere to go with it yeah I don't know what's I I I don't even know what that what what I don't even know what that was yeah so I'm coming right out of that not quite sure what you know what what was going on there but um clearly you know not not what you're looking for coming out of that timeout so all right six to2 558 left um they're going to need a momentum shifter here we need a we need a a good possession and a and a and a score to kind of settle everybody down and and get a hold of this thing before it gets out of control yeah it's it's it's really starting to spiral four so that's that's what they need 558 we now have Addie Jordan trying herself on the draw control against notton although the draw control hasn't been the problem no it it not dump a nice play by to knock that away Jordan's got the ball racing down the side two wall Poole players on her but she's got possession coming around looking to make a play gets hit from behind spins through and gets it out to morno to set it up so into witw wit oh ground ball um knocked away and then oh and looks like Sabina mcky is going to get possession there um oh it looked like on a grounder there was on the on the ground and and attempt to bring the ball in what do we have here not sure clock is stopped 523 remaining that ended up on the ground it looked like a Spartan tried to just bat it into the net and miss the net and uh yeah so I think morno is gonna now take it uh mck shifts over with her so we'll see here I don't know why is it not sure why it's wp's ball here what no explanation here as to why that was the case are they saying that that wasn't a shot I don't know apparently they must have but I don't understand that one I will say this I don't I I will say this if I were East Long Meadow I would just give this up Al together I would just go back and set myself on defense because this is exhausting [Applause] [Music] and so uh call there on Jordan um some of the East Long meow fans certainly didn't like that but this is what this is what happening I mean look at her she's just flying down and we're getting and there it's leaving too much space here with all this speed if you see what I'm saying if I were eam Meadow nice play by and she just knocked down but it's gonna be Spartan ball there why is why is she giving it to TA Marino should have grabbed that ball all right gets it over to Marino Marino's got a like she's gonna make a move or a try she's got one on three over to Jill Stevens Jill up to hanft looks runs with gets it to ma whitward nice catch by Mac backhanded Mac breezes past the wall pole Defender and looking to get set up here um a uh over the top there and there's a penalty on or penalty on wall Poole reset here for the Spartans so see if they can get themselves set up but we're up to Thompson Thompson's looking let's try to make a play here and uh probably m not a bad idea to take their time here and get a good shot fakes it to Jordan keeps possession looking around gets it out to Mi calibri calibri looks gives it to Jordan 340 left in the second quarter 6-2 Walpole uh Moreno to Sabina mne mne pushing out on her to ma witw Mack makes a move gets hit and going to be a 12 meter I believe or eight no that should be that should be inside the eight yeah that's inside we need a need a play here for ma no it's it is a 12 meter ah so uh we'll see if we can get a cutter in here to get closer or if mat can get her way in there she gets it in uh Pat tried to pass to Thompson missed it forced in there by mne and thrown away wallp another another turnover there look at just their speed is on they can't do it and now East L's in trouble they're they're this is going to be a goal in all likelihood well and you got somebody wide open on the other side and so that transition you're right the transition they they're going to have to give up on any kind of pressing here and just pull people back because they're just getting they're just getting they're just getting they're just getting out athletic yeah is the best way to put it and and in all honesty we don't have the ball in the sticks of the girls that the ball needs to be in the sticks of mono didn't touch the ball in that possession Jordan barely touched the ball in that possession well so you got your you got your two best players and then you know a bad pass a bad pass as it's going to Thompson who yeah you know couldn't get that one in her stick it wasn't a great pass it's just really it's very inefficient right now down five goals and it doesn't I'm not seeing anything that suggests that the bus is about to turn in the other direction yeah so again a good possession will do that but we've got to get something going here and change momentum so knocked up Marino picks it up up sprinting down the field um looks like an opportunity here uh gets the ball knocked away of course why not yeah and uh the battle for it Marino working for M witw there Marino knocks it away kicks it back to Thompson and they both thought the other was going to take it and neither got it 27 this is all likely going to be another goal as well well let's see because they're not sto they got to stop the ball yeah and look at this it is shooting space thank God it's just shooting space they can't get back as you said I think have to change the strategy here otherwise this is going to get get further away it's already spiraled unfortunately just it's turnover City yeah but there's a long best players your best players your best top players are not just not playing good right now uh cut in there by Walpole uh working it around they're playing very well on offense I just I think in the second half I mean that is just what is Weiss doing just leaving that W Weiss and Taff just leaving that completely wide open in that Gap right there giving up all that [Music] space so and this is this eight meter for number two here good play there by Addy Jordan to knock it free JZ Holly's got the ball why is Moro running away from the ball that's what I don't understand we need this so Jill Stevens back to No Holly there we go up to Hannah tafta loses balance drops the ball so not much going right for the Spartans right now there's no question about that yeah well basically and right in and on the doorstep another goal for Walpole um Spartans are going to have to do something quickly here it's starting to slip away this is an absolute disaster I think now Moses is gonna finally call Moro and say just go get the ball oh yeah all right 8-2 Walpole with 114 left in the half I mean on any on any takeup they just need to give the ball to monno let her take it if they if they do catch up to her which they will at least you know you're not at least in most likely chance you're not going to get a bad pass you're not going to get a bad decision not going to get a bad turnover but they eastl meow simply cannot get the ball out of the defensive end no chance they've had not a single not once have they gotten it out of there and they're on the you know after their offensive possessions are ending in turnovers they're they're getting caught back right and they're not they're not able to get back because of the speed of wull and that's going to be a penalty on Jordan so here's where you know the frustration is going to set in and you so you got to settle it down here but it's definitely a frustration penalty no doubt about it it's definitely a frustration penalty and this is what I don't like I mean East Long Meadow needs to be back well I guess these are the offensive players but they've got to be back on defense setting up because yeah and and and there's no point in even being out on the 10 meter they're just too fast just stay right on the stay right on the eight meter yeah just defend your Zone nice play there to collapse down but you got a player wide open nice save by Holly 53 seconds left and by the way notton just literally followed through and hit morno in the face glasses came off and she's getting a yellow and a little bit of frustration for not in there too a woman up she hasn't had her opportunities and so right you know I get it I get it she's been face guarded the entire game yeah that's okay that'll help a little bit any little bit helps here why they're sending her back I don't know guess she didn't wait for the whistle anyways 44 seconds left in the quarter in the half 8-2 walp why the clock was running I'm not sure they should really put some time back on the clock if they're going to do if they're going to send her back I think they are trying do that they did yeah so they put 5 Seconds back so there 47 seconds left to see if Spartans can get anything going here before half monno coming try you know getting pushed gets past three wall Poole players Sprints down the field let's see if she can make something happen here makes a nice move another cut another cut in pushed that could be another uh another yellow no I don't know that was that was pretty pretty violent there how is that not an 8 meter yeah I don't know how that's not an8 meter either how was that not an8 meter I don't know oh over to Moreno Maro looking looking he got Thompson good pass and H just no it's not a good pass it's a bad pass well it was right there was behind her it's a bad pass it's behind her now they're now they're in deep trouble again 17 seconds left in the in the quter of course she's going to just fly on down knocked away there by Grace Howard good job up to Jill Stevens doesn't look like they're going to be able to get a whole lot down here all right Angelina trulio has got it she's fired in and nothing yeah just a a really bad first half by Elam medal hopefully they can turn it around second half lowest number of goal output that I've seen in a all season long with two in the first half and just y just really disappointing a long way to come but they've got to try to pull it together and get some energy and I think they've just got to get the they've got to get the ball into the sticks of the best players for East on Meadow and just see what they can do because it's not the I'm not going to say the team effort isn't working but the they're not able to transition the ball and so we're not able to get the ball into to the hands of our hands of our best player so we'll see we'll come back in five minutes for the second half e e e so we live okay well we are back for the third quarter 82 to Walpole absolute and pure domination yeah for a full two quarters yeah um you know Kenna Marino had a goal on an 8 meter I'm not even sure how the other goal was scored do you remember uh Alli Thompson knocked in the the rebound on the oh yeah on the wide open shot yeah um so really I mean really there's been nothing from the offense of East lto and that's in part because they have either turned the ball over in the offensive zone or just haven't got y so many turnovers this is a record number look they've got a they've got one chance here which is get a hold of the game start to play their game get a goal or two early to get back in this it's six goals which is amazing based on how how poor they just played you got a whole half to get there so let's see what happens y you can only and you can't score six goals at once Josh no nope you got to do it you got to got two quarters you do you got to do it one at a time right so let's do one morno flips it up M uh Ken Marino grabs it and enters the offensive zone and so that's what you need as a start oh my God bad very bad pass there by Marino another one that's about her fifth turnover in this game that was not absolutely devast why are you throwing it down there put the ball into the Stick of Megan monno and Addie Jordan when you're in the offensive zone how does it not get in there stick yeah yeah absolutely and and it's got to get to your best players right now yeah it's very very costly mistake right there I mean a chance to get a little momentum going and you get into the offensive zone and you just Chuck it into the end zone time to pull it together here Mar you got to get a little bit and they're not going to do anything Walpole is just going to try to drag if I was Walpole this is what I would do too well Addy Jordan's Back Field now yeah so you're just gonna you're just gonna drag Islam Meadow out like this and then you're GNA use your speed to attack right yeah once eastl meow gets this far out this is all they're just going to hold the ball here all day this is why that first possession was so unbelievably yeah and then Walpole gets kned back I think part of that was also to get her back on the field yeah probably probably so so they're starting their attack here we'll see if the Spartans can hold on defense um they look definitely look a little more organized at the moment which is a good sign we'll see if they can stay with that Weiss picks up number 23 cutting across and deters her from going further wall pool's slowly working their way around kicks it out to number three Megan morno jumps out on her working it through Ken Mar Marino miss her player there and she gets right passer and fires it down into the corner just not on not on the aame here y yeah so 92 Walpole with 10:05 left in the quarter uh absolutely not the start that the Spartans needed so let's see G keep at it looks like Addy Jordan's going to be on the draw here against notton and Grace rapold has come in for Hannah Taft uh on defense so let's see what we can [Music] do every draw now becomes more and more crucial they've got to win they've got to get on a draw run yeah 92 it's just an absolute blowout AB absolute blowout possession percentage has been 9010 I'd say in terms of possession control uh notton grabs it uh after the draw and uh I mean Mak yeah yeah throws it away uh Weiss tries to pick it up gets knocked out of her hand to rapold rapold that's it and looks like it's going to be well I don't know why I don't know why Wall Paul got that look like okay it's wp's ball all right so shifting over see what Spartans can do with this on defense W's looking for an angle oh number three open cutting through and there's yeah that's Marino again Marino's just having really tough game up there yeah yeah and getting too close too you know way too many good opportunities in there and bottom line is you know the girls are losing their players as they're cutting through yeah they really are the athleticism is is absolutely giving them a problem and they haven't seen this all year because they've been the most most athletic Team all year and they're yeah but they should have known from the last game really they they should have known I mean really they that this was that this was kind of but you know it's interesting because that went into overtime and maybe there was a false sense of confidence there that they you know but but obviously both teams are different clearly well East meow's not different they were different all season but they're they're definitely different today they're they're even turning the ball over even more yeah than they did in that original game oh a lot more yeah I mean they're just not playing right Addy Jordan on the draw looks like yep she's going to keep possession there we obviously have not seen this at all from the Spartans so spin moved by Jordan looks she's got more moreo uh low pass tracks it down Moro looks to see what she can do here she's got she's uh let's see honor wht's looking maybe to set a pick looks or a pick and roll nice move there by monno drops it on the transfer to see if she could get it gets it over to Thompson Thompson behind the net over to morau moro's looking to whitward wht's looking looking for a perhaps a pick and roll into morno there it is and she scores nicely done there 103 Walpole that's a good possession and we need another one this is going to have to be repetition over and over again uh and it starts with the draws so let's see if Addie Jordan can do it again or uh looks like Alli Thompson's going to take this draw this time uh so we'll see how this goes and we've got Jordan and morau on the circle to get in there quickly and try to scoop up the ball from the the draw need that athleticism at this point for sure and that's what I'm guessing Moses is going for so morno behind the player and G to get a little bit of a running start looks like I think well these both these players like to do a self draw so it oh just shot it right to number three for Walpole she speeds past morno which is not an easy thing to do cuts through to notton noton nice play there good play there by Weiss to knock it away gets it up to Addie Jordan nice play there she's looking to no she's going to keep it and see if she can get past number eight she does Addie Jordan straight on Fires it into the corner 104 again one at a time you got time plenty of time eight minutes left so you got to change the momentum and they're doing it but it's going to take a lot of work keep it up just listen one at a time you said you can't score six goals at once you can do this one at a time well we're East medal still down six yeah I know is that the same what it was at the half yeah maybe all right well you know minutes here and we got another 12 I'm going let's see if we can let's see if we can get let's see if we can get a draw control right now not's not's having a day yeah on the draw East LA Meadows tried everybody uh they've tried Marino monno Thompson and I'm I'm thinking it's been hasn't been horrible no it hasn't it's it you know as you said I mean they have an advantage on the draws but it's not dramatic it's the turnovers you know we know that we can see it right but Thompson nice play there by Thompson gets it knocked away then gets it taken away and that's that's too bad because that again so all right wple on the attack let's see if Grace raypole can sty she does Megan morno pops out oh boy all right and uh okay so right now they're settled let's see looks like walpole's looking for an opportunity yeah they wple tends to keep the ball up [Music] top and cut across interesting look there all the way across play there by Weiss nice play by Thompson to knock it you got to get that ball Weiss Scoops it up and loops around and gives it to Holly good play there by Weiss I don't know about that you don't know about what okay over to Moro and I think we're clearly going to see this kind of a thing okay and morno gets stripped and hit and it looks like it's going to be spark is yeah that's that's what this is what's going to happen don't don't don't pass it up to Marino Maro up to Ali Thompson Thompson up to Addie Jordan he got some space turns on the Jets wall pole player comes to meet her she spins she looks no she's got Angelina trulio fires it out but Anna Max there for The Possession keeper Anna Max spins in comes in quickly looks goalie goes down Anna ma throws it in the goal so looked like the goalie just fell down 105 wall pole here we come slowly slowly listen you never know you never know slowly but surely slowly but to play look cross after two full quarters right so let's see uh and that wasn't certainly wasn't the crispas of possessions but they stayed with it right so right you saw I mean when isow can actually get the ball into the offensive zone they have been relatively successful once they're there they just have had a problem getting there that's right but what you're seeing right is is on these last couple possessions it's morau it's Jordan that's what you're going to have to do to get back this game it's got to be in their sticks because they're the ones who can carry this forward with a calm head right and we're going to get a redraw a redraw yeah I agree you got to have possessions where the ball gets into the Stick of monno and Jordan if nothing else I mean they're going to open things up yeah they make they help create space for other people yeah and but this is they're the leaders of this team and this is where leadership comes you step up now because you need it because your season's on the line and and it's they're within Striking Distance it's not easy I'm not saying it is but I'm also saying it's not impossible so we got two Spartans on the right hand side of the draw see if Thompson can kick it that way and she can't notton wins the draw right back to number three Jordan in Pursuit uh swings it down to the corner and this is where the defense is going to need to step up there um it's been a little better recently but uh again going stay with it so I don't know Thompson was kind of like I don't know Thompson looks Thompson looks lost down there right now it looks like the center is kind of a weird spot so cut through there and I I'm just not so I'm not sure what was happening there yeah well that was I don't know if that was a pick but like morau got behind her player just a little bit Yeah and then I don't know whether Holly it looked like Holly didn't it's hard to tell flinched CU it like almost like she didn't even see look at moro's moro's going to the refs on this right here and gonna say something because she I think she got pushed her because she typically doesn't lose her player yeah down there so anyways all right and she typically doesn't go to the never goes to the refs yeah she knows better but in any event let's see what see what happens here Thompson something work in the ref absolutely nobody's had success on the draw yet so I think we give Thompson one more try and then probably going to have to Circle back right we're back up to a six goal lead 5 minutes and 49 seconds remaining and not just having a day on the draw Circle right now it's starting to become a little bit more dominant a little more yeah for sure 19 draws it's probably 127 right now I honestly think I would probably go if if we don't win this draw I think I would go back to so that's Spartan ball I think I would well anyways let's see all right so Thompson on the move uh gets around the corner and uh they're going to set their offense up over to witler Wht get the ball to Jordan get the ball to Jordan there we go okay so Thompson's got her stick after the draw uh from Weiss Jordan fakes makes a move uh makes another move she's got four players on her and kicks it and throws it back out and we'll see if uh if there's a battle for it who's going to get there and it looks like Walpole we had four girls on there four and we didn't get the ball yep and that's I mean that's key just an absolute another bad turnover just kind of Jordan was trying to sneak her way through I'm sure she's frustrated hasn't had really any opportunities in this game yeah and probably tried to sneak her way through there got double teamed triple teamed quadruple teed and then tried to pass it to open space and there was just nobody there just kind of threw it away but that's you know there's two I'm lost I'm lost on defense as to what is actually happening well there were there was two girls there and there was one Spartan so somebody's missing out on their assignment and then we got a swing over Jill Stevens looking behind all right let's see if Grace raple can keep that and then I think that I don't know looks like Moreau loster player I'm not that's the question that I'm not sure of as to whether that but is moros or whether that's the Clutter but it could be monno on that one I think not sure slipped in behind either way and and and was wide open there so back to a seven goal lead here for Walpole as as East Long Meadow was beginning to change the momentum a little bit uh looks like add Gordon is on the draw gonna change it up which I think makes a little bit of sense here yeah you got to switch it up and see if you can't find the right formula 429 left 125 wall Poole and that's a those are some big goals there because the Spartans were definitely beginning to find a little bit of GrooVe but then wall pole pushes back let's see you got Jordan and noton on the draw and noton oh kicks it up Allie or Alli Thompson gets it uh keeps possession and uh looking for a an opening looking for a play throws it right to God just throws it right into the Stick of a wall Poole player another unforced turnover by East this is the end here they're just they're just done they're just gassed absolutely gassed the turnovers have just been incredibly costly by that's typically outstanding players Al you know you're just seeing Isam meow just throw the ball throw it away they're throwing they've thrown the game away not to say Walpole hasn't forced that issue but these are I'll call them semi Force turnovers it's because of the ongoing pressure of Walpole yeah but the is in the Stick of an East Long medal player and we're throwing it kind of away yeah I mean the last couple possessions where we've had it we've we've thrown the ball away and and you just you know you're at a point in the game where you simply can't do it it's got to be perfect now the ball just needs to yeah I mean there's at this point it's it's problematic it's problematic but let's see that's why you keep playing but look they're down eight they're going to need something here 403 left in the quarter let's see if morno can get that and she does nicely done and working her way down makes a spin going to look for a player and a little too much there arms out on Walpole so moros got it and uh gets it into Thompson Thompson looks around gets it to Jordan Jordan it's a little bunched up there nowhere to go so kicks it back out to morno yeah just spread out leave the SP get now wht's got to get out of the middle there m don't uh so Moreno over to Thompson Thompson makes a move looks for something again don't force there's nothing there yeah there's nothing there they are absolutely covering that play they've watched it on video they know that when Thompson gets over there that they're going to look for Jordan to cut and they're they're just right on it morno here morno makes a move looks looks to and whips fires it in the top right corner goalie had zero chance of making that save beautifully done by Megan 136 Spartan's going to have to build on this again you know it's uh you got to put three or four of these together to get back into it still a whole quarter to go but not making it easy on ourselves here so uh but I think this is the time where again Jordan morau are gonna have to take over and uh and really sort of keep nudging East Long Meadow forward if they're going to have a chance Alli Thompson's out of the game right now looks like she took a shot to the ribs um and uh Addie Jordan on the draw with notton again you got every draw becomes that much more important as this game goes on um and uh yeah I mean I I I agree it's just got to be Jordan monno at this point there's nothing left for Isam meow they've go to use they've gota they've got to just put it in the hands of their best players let them take the shots and make the goalie make the saves I mean right there Moro fired an absolute left-handed sidearm bullet yeah no chance into the top into the top of the net and the goalie looked looked at her stick like I did it go where did it come from right and I think that's what I mean you just haven't seen that in game yet and I think we're gonna hopefully see a little bit more of it East low down seven and just grabs that draw she's been better and better and we've been trying to find a formula that's not working Addy Jordan Knocks gotten out of the out of the oh and that's the second one on Addy Jordan right so is that is she now she's now out of the game she now done she's ended her season yeah that's second yellow card of the game when you get two you're out for the game not what they needed yeah just frust you know a little bit of a she's very good on the ride she's very aggressive and just a slightly too aggressive right there it's her second yellow card she'll spend some time in our proverbial yellow chair without the yellow chair so she's going to sit on the green and the cones and Meadows defense is absolutely gassed and exhausted and now down a woman monno out on notton here yeah and that's wide open fir it over there's Howard slips trying to make up that uh that was wide open wide open yeah and uh just missing that that cut right there just going to stay with it so Rayle tries to jump out and then just gets swings on past her oh 14-6 wall Poole 207 left in the third I have a feeling that we are going to get to the proverbial 10 goal differential I certainly hope not yeah but I just think East Long Meadow they just look really really tired on D they do and and I think it's just you know girls are getting past you know they're just beating their players it's that simple right and and that's the you know well there there I mean there there's really you got a really gas defense and a woman down yeah I think to be fair it was probably just a matter of time before maybe wple was going to get a an excellent opportunity yeah so yeah so monno back in in the middle on the draw which I understand and makes sense especially with Jordan out Jordan's out Thompson's out up to Wht ma swipes and misses and again right there right that's in MA Wht stick yeah yeah gota make that play y yeah and that really you know that has been the difference today I mean they just plays that they were making all year or not you know it's just too easy there right um and not stepping forward so 15 and6 wall Poole 148 left in the third and this is is slipping Spartans are going to have to do something quick here as they say the water is going down the drain okay I don't think that there is uh you know listen we like to see a good we know this eastl medow has grit they I was gonna say they're not going to go down without fighting and they need to keep it up they are they're not going to go down not trying but this is one at this point you got a nine goal differential with a minute and 48 seconds to go with a wall Poole team that is Absolut has been kind of starting since the second half kind of dominating a little bit on the draw control that one doesn't go up that's going to be Isam medal ball and Talia Weiss gonna get this in the hands of monno who's likely going to pick this up and run it over so 135 left in the third Orno gets past one player past another uh Walpole again keeps on going makes a move makes another spin I believe yep I mean I don't understand how we're not getting how these are 12 meters and Moro I don't think morno should pass this I think she should just literally just take fire it yeah I think so too with her shot I would fire it I'd say just do a fake pass and then cut to the and then cut in center and then oh guess not that's to witor Wht makes a move fires it and into the bottom there's a good shot right there by whitw a little low one in the bottom left hand corner yeah s Walpole with 58 seconds coach back home will be happy with that Dodge Ryan Lynch one of her private coaches from Springfield College spending some time working with Meg witler and Megan morno in the off season and in the in season at times so all right good shot there by witor gets herself in the uh in the book in the semi-finals of her as a freshman semifinals of the MIAA division 2 which is very good who's monno back on the draw you know last one they had that was in witw stick really so we'll see that's right see what happens here wouldn't be bad to pick up one more here before the end of the quarter even two would be good down uh down what 15 minus seven is what eight down eight math Majors out there yeah so morno flips it up let's see if whitw can get there she does keeps possession uh making a move passes into calab calab spins does oh backhanded Twizzler hit the post probably not the wisest shot at this point I don't know that's a pretty damn I got to give her credit there that was a pretty darn good shot a Twizzler that hits the post I mean that thing could have just as easily gone in it could have for sure right wide open there right down the middle and pass across see if it's going to get out of bounds not going to get out of bounds not picks up with 25 seconds left in the quarter see if the Spartans can hold here this is an important one to hold porno pops out on 27 Hannah Taft on 17 Jill Stevens on number three Val cutting through snakes right around and just went right around Jill Stevens and in the bottom corner of the net there that's that's a tough one uh five seconds left in the quarter 167 Walpole that is not what the Spartans needed for sure no I mean the defense is tired they haven't really had a stop yet either I don't think honestly I can't in I haven't seen a stop here kind of as the game has progressed they're just tired yeah well I mean look you they're they are they're winning the one-on ones right I mean that's what it's coming down to right now is that that whether we're gas or what they're just their athleticism is winning the day at the moment so 5 seconds left probably not getting a whole lot before the end of this quarter I'm gonna go with uh this isn't going to make it into an offensive zone but we'll see and flipped out Thompson picks it up and nope and morno has it she tosses it up and that's the end of the third quarter with Walpole ahead 16 to7 one more quarter left to see what the Spartans can muster here and we will be back in two minutes e e e we are back 12 minutes remaining coach Moses Gathering the troops in there to try to finish out this season strong make sure that she gets a solid performance out of everybody on the field I have little doubt that that's what we're going to see wall pole coming out with a decisive nine-goal lead going into the fourth quarter looks like they have not going to say the game's over because I'm announcing but uh you know it looks like Walpole is likely going to be matching up against Notre Dame hangam for a rematch of an game earlier in the season that was dominated by I believe anyway it was dominated by Notre Dame Hingham uh who beat hangam today I believe 15 to five is what they had said 15 to five a 10 goal differential um and here we go we've got Megan morno on the draw again Ken Marino and Ali Thompson on the circle be nice for E sletto to just finish this out and have a good solid quarter and maybe you know finish out a great season with a great last quarter performance see what they can do here ball is in the sticks referee Blows the Whistle it goes up in the air and it is and knocked around and wple comes away with it and they've won a so many of those balls today that's been a huge difference in this game is they beat us to most of these open balls uh players kind of wide open there down on the base Baseline morno goes and picks her up uh Mareno head cuts her off looks like Spartans are going to just press uh like Moro knock that away cleanly but she's uh clearly not so I don't think mono's happy with that call but I think they're going to try to you know do what they can here to get possessions and yeah try to I think I think Moses without question said this is you know full on Full Throttle every minute you got 12 left so get after it and they're obviously going to be content to just burn some clock and play around with it so look like the Spartans are going to have to at some point start moving on out you know this is this is really it's a little bit disappointing out a wall Poole right now to kind of play like this right now at this stage of the G at this stage of the game with 12 minutes remaining I mean they're up by nine goals I mean they they really they could they can play they can play lacrosse this is yeah looks like the Spartans are gonna now they got to come out on them and and go guns blazing here so but the rest of the the rest of the players got to step out here can't just be one or two I think with they're you know they're trying to force the ball to go they gota I mean I don't know oh they're GNA just take their time and be yeah this is really boring it's really I just hate this is why I will say this while we're kind of here chatting a little bit we can talk about some of the changes that need to be implemented in High School lacrosse which is exactly this and you know in college lacrosse where many of these girls are going to end up going and playing not all them but certainly some of them I mean that's fine that's fine I'd rather you know it's really it's really boring to watch I mean you just saw there that was a that was an over two minute basically possession with kind of nothing happening um and I don't mind the two-minute shot clock I think is probably about right for high school they need but they do need to implement one because otherwise what you see is this yeah exactly that they just now they're just going to throw the ball around and now we've got a kind of a running clock which is Maybe what the coach wanted but that rule really does need to change so that you don't get teams and coaches doing things that really aren't um they're not beneficial to the development of the game for high school players to have a you know be holding the ball for three minutes and in all fairness eam meow did it last game they held the ball for two and a half minutes and three minutes at the end of the game and it was kind of ugly to watch even though it was an effective strategy but you're playing by the rules that are in front of you and I I don't I I think they need to change that rule and have yeah and nice play there by whitward to knock it free up to morau back to whitward whitward coming down makes a move and witw needs to slow down here and she's gonna fire it in and nice goal there from witor She's I guess she doesn't need to slow it down I guess not when you're not when you're down by you know 10 goals probably right just get in there and fire it and that's what she did so right right probably the right thing to do and that was a nice goal and and I think the goalie looked right into the sun uh on that one too was right in her eyes but hey I'm not taking anything away from whitw that was exactly what I'm not I'm not really gonna I'd be willing to bet you yeah if we go back and look at the stats to shots on goal East Low has eight goals yeah I bet you they have maybe 10 shots on goal total could be Ian I think they're scoring an extremely high percentage of shots that are on goal they just haven't had any possession oh and we're back to the tournament turnovers right basically yeah back to possessions and turnovers that's that's you know I mean honestly I think you just let him score here just let him go in and score why why not well because you can get a turn over and keep playing hard that's what I would do I don't know this is so boring well I I what I would be doing is everybody gets a man everybody's out on them here and and if you get beat one-on-one you get beat one see Marino needs to be back there yeah so yeah I think they I don't know that's what I that's what I would think to do is to you know just man up and and have you know get on it and if you get beat you get beat you know little pick set there by Walpole 754 left 178 Walpole it's passed doesn't make the move in uh they're clearly content to just take their time and stay right on yeah so and she gets past her long strides and oh this is going to be awful yeah well and so I mean this is awful for the viewers to be spending this kind of time yeah and yeah at least that's what I'm saying I mean if you get in there and you're up by nine goals shoot the ball you know there's no sense for her to not shoot that ball all right timeout by Spartans with 714 left 188 wall Poole yeah gonna take a two-minute break here I'm not you know I'd be encouraging just letting them score as opposed to running around and chasing it just let the ball go in the net if we don't get a possession because it actually shortens the clock you get a chance to win the draw and at least you're getting some offense otherwise you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off it's clear they're not they're not even going to shoot actually the is running so it almost well at this point yeah right yeah it almost doesn't matter but yeah well Josh I will say it's been a great season with you it has in the I'm glad that we were able to get an opportunity to co-host a state tournament game yeah it's not certainly not the result that we wanted you know but it's it was nice of elcat and yeah Jamie Rook to make the long journey out here all the way to ni to film this game especially for the seniors who will you know and all likely and this is going to be their last High School game of their career and to be able to have the highquality production video of elcat and Jamie Rook as opposed to what we might otherwise get which is nothing or some of these other networks it's really going to be special yeah and while they may not want to go back and watch it for the result they may want to go back and watch it just for one or two good plays or to get a clip of something um from their last High School game it's always something that's uh always something that's memorable in this case probably not yeah great memory for them but the experience for them has been great the the community support has been great and honestly just to get just to get here the challenge just to get here through this division two which is absolutely stacked this year because a lot of teams from division one kind of snuck their way back down into division two yeah just to get here has been an incredible incredible accomplishment for the eastlon meadow Spartans their coaching staff the athletic department Kevin McGee superintendent just everybody who has supported uh East law medow girls lacrosse um from the high school level all the way down to the kids Addie Jordan and um other people who are heavily involved in in Youth Lacrosse and Islam Meadow listen I know they had a goal to try to win the state championship but they you know there isn't one person on this team that ought to have their head down right now because they've played a tremendous they've had a tremendous season it's not where you wanted to get to but but nonetheless like really they are you know it's been an absolute pleasure to watch them play and a joy to sort of see how hard they work and and the fact that they they really are a team you know and they play that way all year they you know I've watched a lot of my kids games I've watched a lot of my kids play on different teams and this one was very unique and so kudos to them and you know I hope they can get the draw here and try to make this closer but I mean it's not even they're just dominating the draw right now yeah and it doesn't even look like honestly I'm not sure if they're even using a draw stick so so everybody up on a player and you know see how we do [Music] but Moses is pulling everybody up to the line there as close as they can get to try to disrupt whatever they can and uh [Music] Slash so Grace Howard pursuing pursuing just gonna play keep away yeah it's really this is what I'm talking about I mean it's just incredibly incredibly boring and we've got something I don't know what the call is off sides Maybe I it's very unclear what the call is at the moment look like it's going to be Spartan's ball could you it'd be nice if somebody would decipher something and what so now what we have no idea what's going on here one ref was saying I thought she was saying I don't I just don't know what the call was just sort of all over the place here and there's no Clarity at all right now so we're gonna have to wait they're trying to figure it out could be we're waiting I mean this is this is what I'm talking about they're up by 10 goals I mean come on do you need really need to be doing this like just passing the ball all around for six minutes 10 seconds remaining it's not like there's going to be a comeback I mean play lacrosse so it's still we don't really have much Clarity on what what the call was here um but it's being sent down to the Walpole player who is on the goal line behind the net they have yeah and it's obviously wpo's ball I don't really know why or what and there no explanation given so and uh we now have so and it goes J h's not in the net so yeah they try to double you know it's it's the play it's do yeah well you have the goalie go out and play a person you try to double team somebody and cause a turnover which is the right you know that is the play yeah and to walpole's credit they did throw the ball in the net yeah um you know this at this point honestly I think this is should be you know if eam meow doesn't get the ball it really should be the last possession probably hold the ball and just let this clock run down and call it a season and go from there yeah lots to build on Bo you know just to think going forward for the Spartans they've got quite a few solid players to pick up the mantle from morau and the other seniors who are going you got Thompson you got Taft you've got Weiss I'm sure that I'm not even coming close to getting them all I know that I know that there are plenty there are plenty yep and but you've got Mareno who's gonna be back next year you got Addy Jordan who's gonna be back next year you got Matt wh who's gonna be back next year so oh you lot of talent got plenty of lots of talented players yeah Jenna Holly will be back for another year absolutely so uh you know a lot there and and again you know really amazing season for them I know it's not where they wanted I know that's they're not going to be satisfied but um you know you got to also look at as you said one of the toughest divisions in in the state when it comes to Lacrosse so wall Poole continues to just burn some clock here flipping it around so boring it really is just incredibly boring to watch this kind of this kind of play and behavior this is exactly why yeah this is exactly why MIAA why you need to implement some rules so that this type of Lacrosse doesn't happen because this is not doing anything for the development of the game of Lacrosse for the players and this is yeah I mean this is kind of this is kind of what happens right there you're G to call a penalty and it is a penalty yeah but this is what happens I mean this should not be happening with six minutes remaining in the game yeah there needs to be a two-minute needs to be some type of like two minute or some type of minute on a shot clock yeah so that the game can be it actually takes kind of the fun out of the game and the spirit out of the game to be doing this I mean here we go right yeah yeah it's uh and I don't even like I don't even like so as Walpole continues just to draw the clock down we're just GNA have to watch them do it because that's kind of the deal here but um we'll see you know be it'll be interesting to see how how the the game between wole and n da Hingham well Notre Dames got Notre Dames got a lot of Talent on their team yeah a lot of offensive Firepower they're incredibly well coached yeah so well looking holding 320 left in the quarter in the game in the season for the Spartans and obviously a very frustrating way to end and I'm sure they're you know feeling it but continuing to try to play this out and not just toss it in the goal with three minutes left 20 to8 wall pole uh as the clock will continue to burn uh in some ways mercifully sad definitely mercifully um so 208 very great game by Walpole an excellent game they played outstanding it make some substitutions here Ashley be into the game Jill Stevens into the game for Grace Howard looks like Mi calibri is coming out for uh Grace rold So 220 left see if we can get the draw here and try to put one in the back of the net before the ends so morno on the draw with noton and flipped up and wall P's possession so 153 left in the game again G to play the keep away cat and mouse game for another minute and a half here um and Spartans keep trying keep trying to knock the ball clear away fighting to the end which is what you would expect from this team and this coach and uh we've got what shooting space what what I'm not sure what that call was off sides it was off sides ah okay so 115 left [Music] and this could be the longest minute in girls high school across history yeah it's a tough one [Music] yeah sometimes words aren't really helpful so we're just let this one wind down yeah oh Ashley beak almost that one almost grabbed that one looked like it got a little close anyway yeah so just Walpole was just a better team today a little too tough and I think the Spartans got out of sorts and it really cost them and and and it really they just never got into their game you know and that was the bottom line is absolutely and you know amazingly they were only down a couple goals early despite how poorly they had played and so yeah they had a chance and then just continued well Josh it's been great thank you again and the end of the season is winding down 5 4 3 2 one season over congratulations to Elam don't make it the semi-finals I'm sure they're disappointed Josh maybe be back next year absolutely e e

this meeting is being recorded for the purposes of posting to gctv if any other persons present are also recording you must notify the chair at this time is anybody else recording great hearing and seeing none um moving on to the public comment portion of our agenda um Melissa you will have three minutes to to make your Spiel um I can set up a little timer when you are ready oh I was waiting for you to be ready um can I just State my name yes please state your name and where you're from um Melissa web I am a parent of Three Gps students all in different buildings so yeah am um I'm just here I feel like I've been part of the redistricting from a very early stage of development and I've watched a lot of things happen and I think for me one of the very disheartening things that I've seen happen and I'm not trying to like push back the Wheel of Time but we did hire an outside consulting firm to come in and tell us our best options and instead of as a committee a district um looking at it and saying oh thank you for this we tried to reinvent the wheel that somebody had already taken time and money and put into I I'm I feel I'm still here to advocate for the K1 two three four five platform I still think it could be done I think there's a lot of push back on it I'm very happy to see that like hard lines are being drawn in the sand because we're not the only District that does that um many major cities that you live in do have very hard lines with very few exceptions for people being able to stay in buildings after they move I also have a very strong concern for people who are moving and how we are tracking movement of people who are moving to different districts but somehow still remaining in the same school um I have a neighbor across the street who has lived there now for a year and a half almost two years and started the new school year at Federal Street school last year however her child should have been starting at Newton um there could have been an exception made and I just don't know about it but from my understanding they're like no we just went to school first day and no one said anything to us so I've always been like how are we handling that piece of um kids who are already attending schools and making that happen so I guess that's more summer forward thinking but again you know we hired someone to come in and give us options and I feel like instead of following through with one um we just made up our own and we're I know that both askp and Christine have done an amazing job trying to make it work but at the same time I'm over here like why did we do that if we weren't going to listen to them like I don't hire an electrician to come in and tell me how my Plumbing should be in my house I hire a plumber um you know I don't take the person who's like The Apprentice and say oh okay well I'm glad that you feel that way you know so I guess that's just where I am as to why we didn't take the outside advice from an outsider looking in who had no stake in the claim thank you that was perfectly three minutes and I feel like you've had a lot of practice to get to get to that level of doing perfectly three minutes thank you for your comment Melissa um are there any other members of the public present any other public comments to comment I don't see any I don't hear any so um thank you again and we will move on to our next agenda item which is approving the draft minutes from the last meeting that was April 9 UM can I get a motion to approve I move that we approve the meeting minutes from April 9th I second that and then I think that we technically do have to vote even though we both made and seconded the motion um so all in favor say I I I we have approved the minutes from the April 9th meeting um the next item we might not actually have much on and that is almost surely entirely related to my misunderstanding of the process that things were undertak definitely was um I put this agenda item on this is updating up the update on Transportation related to redrawing boundaries this was my understanding that we were going to have new bus routes to be able to understand the impact of of children moving but now I've um been informed that those bus routes probably won't be run until August or so we doesn't it's irrelevant we do not have the information to have the discussion at this time so um unless there's any other update that I am missing from our esteemed colleagues in the district is that can we move right there's no nothing on busing they told us they'll do whatever we need them to do so um all right moving right along then unless uh an do you have any questions or comments busing nope no new info no new questions perfect um all right next item is an update on on Green River School and so I did receive a letter which I'm not sure made it into the materials but that Dr dearu had sent me a letter um that was also signed by the mayor and the msba the Massachusetts school building authority so I mailed the summary to them of what they had requested so that we could finally close out take Green River out of service so they got that they have since acknowledge that they have it um that was it we have your letter um and um the chair of the school committee the mayor and the superintendent I'll have to sign it we did and we are starting to clean out Green River Mike Buro our facilities directors going over there with all the principls and department heads to see if there's anything that we need that's there otherwise we will start getting things on the school committee agenda to have declared Surplus maybe as soon as next week and then we can start cleaning it out and the intention is to um have an item on the regular school committee agenda to discuss turning Green River back over to the city excellent um based on your understanding do do you believe that there will be a vote to that effect next week or that that will likely take place in July I believe that there was um the potential for there to be a vote certainly if you know if committee members aren't aren't there yet I think Glenn would would move that but I think um I believe the agenda would reflect the potential for a vote okay so we were looking to do the handoff of the school around September 1st um that would allow us to have time to do cleaning out um and that would also allow us to work with the city um we have you know the the schools have we have our computer server there that is respons it needs to be there to run the things that are at Green River that continue to run such as cameras um so we need the opportunity to work with the city to switch over anything that needs to be switched over in that regard um to get our technology out of the building they're old but we still have phone you know handsets desktop phones that we might be able to salvage for parts and things like that so we're going to use that time to get everything out and then then it will be the city's potentially it will be the city's prerogative to do whatever they decide with the building indeed um I was hoping that the mayor would join us because I would like to be able to communicate something with the public about where in the city does this decision live so that people know where they need to go um to to advocate for what they would like yeah that we didn't talk I have not talked to the mayor about that part so I can't even yeah I know from the building and construction committee green River School shockingly enough has been discussed and uh there were two views on the committee one would be in favor of entering some kind of a partnership with someone who would handle converting it into the sustainable housing which does have a campaign pushing for but there were also voices on the committee uh talking about the city's desperate need for offices and so that is one other potential future for the building yes I think there are any potential futures for the building and those are the two that were most heavily discussed yeah and that that at the exact moment that that moves from the school committee's responsibility to the city's responsibility they will decide what it is to do with that not to make a obviously I'm not weighing in on any decisions um that would be at the city but one of the um factors in the msba do documentation that was signed by mayor Martin many years ago almost um almost 10 actually might be 10 years ago now um there is language in there about the way that the facility gets used um and if if those conditions are not met that could have some impact on the status of Le payment of funds so that may also be a factor that the city considers when it makes a decision about future use indeed there the provisions around educational purposes yeah I wasn't remembering exactly what the language is but it's it's in that realm exactly what you just said so they may want to consider um I that yeah I I do wish that we had a little bit more clarity about just like what where is that line between an acceptable use that's going to not cost us money and and an unacceptable use that is going to cost us more money than it's already going to cost us to do something with this building and also who we could talk to in order to get stipulations waved well the I expect that um mba's response will help in some of that um in my letter that I did send to Stacy as the chair of this subcommittee um I did speak to one of the um options that has been being discussed um with the mayor um that we hope I think I made a pitch for potentially um if the city goes that way meeting the requirements for educational use um I don't know if that's the case but I think we would get some guidance when m SBA replies um so hopefully we will see um but the the lines for Capital expense which that is one um when you look at the chart of accounts those lines are on the city Side Of The Ledger um so I think at this stage the general thinking is that would be a city um scenario for addressing the repayment if there is any but yeah ultimately will not come out of the school district's budget per se only in the sense that the city overall is impacted we are part of them correct um that is the general thinking I certainly am not the final decision maker on any of that but when you talk about Capital all of those accounts do lie on the city side of the budget but you're right I mean we get soup out of the same pot to use Glenn's analogy from several weeks ago indeed okay um I don't necessarily see that we need to have that much more discussion on this topic um except for you know an it seems to be our prerogative right now as to whether or not we would like to you know recommend a vote happen next week and whether we would recommend the vote to relinquish the the school we obviously don't have to do that they can hold the vote without us recommending they do or not in the full committee meeting that is Glenn's prerogative um but we can sort of we can either choose to do that now or we can not and it my only question is when will we be hearing back from the MS I always forget the order of the letters don't know they had indicated to me when I originally spoke to them that um given the fact that there are no programs excuse me no students in the building no programs to be moved um that they didn't think it would take the six months that it says we're supposed to notify we are supposed to notify them six months prior to the building being taken out of service which clearly did not occur seven years ago um but that seemed to potentially have a positive impact on their timeline for a response but I mean I can try to check in with them um Monday and see if they have a thought but I think that would be good um I'm more inclined to say yeah let's go ahead and recommend the vote uh people have been waiting for this for so long let's keep momentum going great I'm I'm of a similar mind so do I need to make a motion for us to recommend that the committee vote on uh the Green River School decommissioning to satisfy Robert's Rules yes okay I hereby move that the subcommittee recommend to the full committee to take a vote on decommissioning the Green River school and I second that motion all in favor of that motion that we've both just motioned and seconded I am in favor shockingly hi great um okay so that seems to be that for the Green River School moving on to the next item is reviewing the subcommittee's purpose and scope of responsibility now I will just share that I um there seems to be multiple conversations happening with regard to this item and I'll just lay them out one is this committee is done its work is done and it is time for it to be decommissioned and move on to other work another version of that is actually the committee's scope is Shifting as opposed to being completely decommissioned and in particular I know that there is there is an you know discussions about other uses of school facilities and ways to collaborate with others using school facilities that some folks would argue falls under the scope of this subcommittee now the reason that I have this on the agenda is because I would like to hear I guess from you and what you think the purpose of the subcommittee is um and if you think the work that you've identified to me in the past that you might like to do is served through this committee or needs to necessarily have its own space that perhaps yet I think what we're looking at right now is the implementation of the plans that have been made and I do think it continues to fall under the scope of this committee because we have to make sure that the way things are implemented as various hiccups and obstacles arise do stay consistent with the vision for the district that this committee well subcommittee is in charge of so I'm of the opinion that it's a slight shift but not even that radical of a shift as we work through the Kinks and get this done we've done a lot of planning but there's still like messaging alone there's so many questions from the public that it is good to have a smaller group to come up with the answers that the committee at large can give so that we don't have seven authors on one memo yes so I'm I'm hearing what you're saying and I would like to be mindful of the boundary line that occurs between setting policy and implementing policy and the two are related I I'm actually of the mind that the two are very much related um and at the same time one of them is our job the other is not um I would say where we are is we are in charge of making sure that uh the Implement not that implementing it but making sure that if the way it's being implemented is going counter or causing problems for the part that is our side that we can see that and offer guidance okay um thank you for sharing so I you the the role of the subcommittee accountability to the reenvisioning um the other element of this reviewing the purpose or scope of responsibility is I was reflecting on the fact that Bradley as a full committee we at one point had a a racial justice subcommittee but when um the new members came on such as myself and yourself and we were reassigning and re sort of reenvisioning the Committees that we did have um it was decided that that actually did not was no longer a standalone committee but actually the work of racial Justice or or other Equity focused um elements of our policy Infuse the rest of the Committees and so I was wondering if we could also take a moment or two to talk about how we see the equity Mission um that we all share being being held up by the work of this of this committee and can we articulate how we are trying to advance equity in the district with the work of this subcommittee well I I'd say the biggest way that this subcommittee is working towards Equity is making sure that there is a standard set of rules that apply equally to everyone and so that in itself is the biggest because we had a system set up where people who were in The know were able to get access to things that people who were not in the know are people who had the cars and could provide the alternate Transportation had access to far more choices of publicly funded schools uh so part of it is the even playing field which I think has been the major push of the work that we've done these past few months um and then I had another thought but I've lost it what was that other thought it was the other half of what I had to say sorry um yeah but you know and then also if you looked at the numbers for the way our schools were divided I mean I grew up in the Deep South and if my town had numbers like that there would be an intervention of some kind but that not Greenfield I mean I one one would argue that we we're intervening yes that is the work of this committee is the intervention and subsequent work of the district think that my talking was getting a little bit into uh dangerous territory there but I think Christine wanted to say something I just wanted to make reference I guess I was a little confused because I felt like we've done a lot of intervening to write some of those um inconsistencies so I just wanted to I guess yeah check in with you in case we were not thinking in a same way no we it sounds like we're on the same page I was saying that that has been the work of the committee that's how it related to racial Justice sorry I must not have been clear enough because I was trying to recapture a lost thought so my apologies for my lack of clarity yes so what I was trying to say is that that is the primary way in terms of racial Justice that this committee has functioned great I also think the the shift that sort of got wrapped into this discussion of redistricting around moving the grade levels back will will support equity in general by helping make sure that students are with the peers that that that best support them to to be their best selves academically and otherwise um so I'm looking forward to seeing the impacts of those shifts as well um for full transparency um it is unclear if this committee is destined to continue um in a formal capacity after after next week's full committee meeting so I just want to name that for folks um I think that we just articulated you know especially you and just articulated a solid reason why it could or potentially should and I would if if you feel called to do so to share that during the during that time that we discuss those things next week feel free to do so obviously not going to make you um um couldn't I'll come up with more eloquent phrasing before then um but otherwise that was sort of the reason that I wanted to have this is just to revisit what what are we doing here um and and how are we supporting the broader mission of what our district is all about um okay with that I do have we is there more on that agenda item before we move on don't think so okay I do have on here a call future agenda items but pending the outcome of whether or not we continue to be a subcommittee um it might not make sense and if if if you have a future agenda item that does come to mind you're always welcome to send me an email okay with that we I sorry I do have one question when uh the full committee votes on Green River school is there going to be anything else that would need to be done by this subcommittee on it or once that vote is done we wash our hands it's no longer our problem best of my knowledge it's the ladder that once we made the vote and it returns to the city then it becomes the city's process like I mentioned earlier what I love to have um a communication about what happens next that we could share with people yes um but we are not responsible for coming up with that next step um okay I guess I was more of wondering like would the city need someone to be communicating with or at that point is it just with superintendent so who would the city be talking to during that transition is the real question imagining it I'm imagining it becomes Karen okay who gets to who gets to take over that lovely role sorry if it's a really obvious question I just wanted to have it out there in plane no appreciate that all right any other items all right I'm looking for a motion to adjourn I move to adjourn I second that motion um all in favor I think we have to do a roll call member Childs I me chair seon also I um with that we have concluded the subcommittee meeting for redistricting on this the 5th of June [Music]

on the 26 district office our budgetary making all the transfers that we need to make at the end of the year last was at it's usually up to our Farmers matter me I move to set the year end meeting June 26th 7:30 a.m.

and Open Session beginning immediately after Clos session ends um and then item 14 can I please have a motion to move to Clos session for the purpose of appointment employment compensation discipline performance dismissal litigation negotiations and property motion second La Vivian all in favor I I any oppose I have it we're done with close session we'll come back here and move back in Open Session

at the Ashlin High School auditorium uh we will have more information about the warrant and all the articles that are going to be um on the warrant at town meeting uh that will be up online on our website and then also through our social media pages and um yeah we look forward to seeing you there that's uh just a reminder for everybody town meeting is our legislative body and it's where a lot of very very important uh decisions get made and so we really really need your input and really need your participation as as residents to uh make sure that this town goes in the direction that uh that you would like it to go in So speaking of directions we're going to talk about a comprehensive plan here with Stacy Stacy and rerry um and I was just uh I'll just ask you the question what is the comprehensive plan and get into why it's important for for our listeners well that's a big question um I'll I'll take a stab at it first um hi listeners I'm Stacy Grant Lewis uh the comprehensive plan uh that we've named The Envision ashin plan is your opportunity as Community uh residents participants to take the next steps to what Ashlin will look like over the next 10 years so this plan runs from 2025 through 2035 and Beyond um we've hired a consultant uh very Adept consultant to help lead us and guide us through this process on your committee sits 29 very very passionate community members me being one of them um we spend our evenings uh once a month uh working through structural Transportation community recreation open space sustainability all of the things that we think that we know are important to Ashton based on your commentary so um yeah that's a start rri hi I'm rajashri um and thank you for inviting me to this podcast of course um so with the comprehensive plan um I look at it as a forward thinking um document a forward thinking process where we're looking at a shared commitment where all of us are engaged in a shared vision of what we want this town to be um and we are acting together through this steering committee finding commonalities finding the differences I think that most of us they're you know we we're different uh but that important so that diverse voices are seen um they are audible they're credible and that we all make this plan what it is great great and so you know both of you mentioned the comprehensive plan steering committee Stacy you you mentioned the fact that it's 29 people right um so what is that committee composed of who who is it composed of so we have um representatives from all the Committees and councils town councils um we have representatives from five precincts me being one of them I'm from Precinct Five um there is the the select board members two of the select board members two of the planning board members and several others and you're there too I I yeah in full disclosure I'm I'm part of the committee too but nobody wants to hear me talk anymore and Peter Peter M M also is part of the yeah Peter Our Town planner Peter who actually has experience in comprehensive plan he's the planner so he he obviously does exactly Peter I believe has been through two himself in previous community so uh it's great to get his experience and his expertise uh as part of the committee right and um you know I think just to give a little insight uh into how you know the comprehensive plan committee that makeup was uh how that Constitution was um was arrived at was a very long process between the planning board and the select board and myself and Peter and really you know we it's a big committee which has its own challenges uh which we can talk about a little bit later but uh it was very very important to get as many diverse perspectives as part of this plan as possible and I think that's why it's it's got so much representation on it like you said rry I think we got six precincts now we used to have five now we got six um and then you know the rest are made up of uh different boards and committees like the like you said the select board the planning board but the cultural Council I represent the cultural Council yeah yes and like like you said Rog you're representing Precinct Five Stacy uh is part of the cultural Council uh you're representing uh the cultural Council on the on the committee yeah may I add that those of us who are representing precincts each one of us went through a rigorous selection process um because we were not part of any town to council we were not representing any committee as such so that process was long wor than a job interview oh gosh and somebody even checked my job you know the other professional space you know who you are so so it was a rigorous process did I tell you I put you through a full background investigation before we did I wouldn't be surprised I wouldn't be surprised we we made sure we couldn't uh couldn't have any Riff Raff on the committee no and I hid well you did well yes hid um for sure um so you know we talked a little bit about what the conference of plan is and you know why it it's so important but you know one of the things that that we talked about that's an important component of this is is public engagement yes and not just getting the opinions of the 29 members on the steering committee but uh Representatives voices from all different parts of the town and so what are some of the ways is you know the comprehensive plan steering committee what are some of the ways that uh we are utilizing to uh to get that input well we're in a really exciting phase right now phase two um there are four phases to the yes and uh we're in phase two public engagement and uh which will this part of the phase will wrap up on April 26th but that includes we're doing these focus groups with M which Michael will go through a little bit more in detail called meeting in a box and when we're meeting with small groups two to eight people at a time going through seven important questions asking for their feedback um for those of you who are a little shy and not able to attend a meeting in a box we also have a community survey I will say this community survey takes about 10 to 20 minutes depending on your in internet connection so just be aware um we have a crowd map which is kind of fun to use um where you can actually pin um areas of opportunity for yourself so for example if you wanted a sidewalk on Cedar Street you could actually go onto the crowd map and pin that there and say that's something that you want ex so um these are tools that were provided to us by our consultant um JM goson and their team um so each of these tools you know all the steering members are aware of these and they will be reaching out in the next few weeks until April 26 um and talk to you about how you can be involved and so please look out for them um engage with us in whatever way you feel comfortable um you know there are people who are writing to us at the comprehensive plan um steering email address I want to be in a meeting in a box and so it's it's very resident Le um and so um you know your voice needs to be counted um you know you have an idea about the future of the town about the present uh conditions for instance you know we did an uh a meeting in a box with seniors um there is a lot of excitement with the construction going on in town but then there are other voices who are not so excited I think I usually hear from those voices I heard both I heard both sides and it's important to have both sides because that's what is our Consolidated uh response system that goes into the data processing which the goson will handle but it's important to give that input and and lend that voice sure and so both of you have been involved in several of these uh focus groups that we're calling meetings in a box and um you know I know i' I've had my own experiences with them and and my own takeaways but um for both of you what has been the biggest surprise that has come out of these these focus groups I just want to add on to what rajeshri said there's so much that we don't know about our beautiful Town um there's so much history here um there are people have that have lived here their entire lives and people who are still considered new even though they've been here for 30 40 years so I think that unearthing that kind of information has been really exciting and then there's like the natural tension between that and people who have moved here more recently and who want to see progress in a different kind of way so I think kind of just surfacing that kind of information has been really enlightening exciting there is tension there and I just want everybody to know experiencing tension is not necessarily a bad thing we just need to hear from all parties involved right so that's been really exciting yeah for me um you know I was exposed to um this group of people who have lived in Ashland for a decade or so but were completely unaware of Town's offerings um they're a cultural group and they now want to be involved with what whatever going on in town they did the survey they did the meeting in a box and they want to take it forward so that has been exciting for me that I uh I was able to reach them but it also makes me wonder how many other groups are there that have not been reached and they really need to be front and center in this comprehensive planning process um and then there are other groups that are that have been vocal through and through um but they also realize that there is a certain set of questions and that kind of brings them in a certain at a certain Focus um and streamline their responses according to that so it's not a Haywire kind of a process when we when we are asking questions we do want the response that'll help the town plan better right right and just to kind of echo what both of you said um one of the most interesting Parts uh and surprising parts of this uh whole process is for me I I should say is with the steering committee itself and I take for the granted the fact that I know all of you but a lot of you didn't know each other as you started this process and I think for me one of the most exciting things or fun things to watch is to watch the steering committee members like build those relationships and um have you know get to know each other's perspectives uh Stacy I know like at the at the very early stage is uh you had a a good conversation with Carl hackinson who is one of those uh gentlemen who who have been here his family has been here for Generations Y and you come at it with uh varying uh perspectives about things um can you just talk a little bit about your approach you know how do you how do you approach those conversations and um you know making sure that you get your points across by but also being open-minded right um well I agree with you that the steering committee is kind of a microcosm of Ashland it's everyone who's passionate and willing to devote their time to this project that's on that steering committee so I want to Echo that sentiment I think open-mindedness is how I approach this process I'm a newbie uh in the sense that I've only been here for six years um I'm also I still think of a newbie to the state I've only been here for nine years I moved here from New York where I was a hardcore New Yorker for a very long time and I moved to this beautiful Town Ashland where it's just gorgeous open space very friendly neighbors very friendly and approachable Town management uh all the things that make you want to put down Roots so having an opportunity to even talk to Carl in on a one-on-one you know uh basis was really new to me and really enlightening really eye openening because Carl had a wealth of information to share and just a different perspective and I just kept thinking wow other people should know this you move here and you get kind of you know set in your ways with your kids and your neighbors and the church or the synagogue that you go to and that's your world but there was a world here before we moved here and there are people who are moving here now to this new world that is here now and so I just think that there are ways to connect those points and that's what really blew my mind like okay there's something to be really offered here for everyone yeah and and rry how how about you what can you tell me one of those conversations that really kind of opened your eyes and enlightened you to a perspective maybe you didn't have before well there was many such occasions but um you know I Echo um Stacy sentiments um I came to this country as a trailing spouse um and um which means if you do ever do a segment in on immigration MH that'll be a big one okay um uh but spouses who are wives are not allowed to uh to work for pay um but they're free to travel and do education so there were years when I spent not being counted um I did not have a Social Security I was given a tax ID because I was expected to pay taxes out of what I don't know um but not being able to stand up for myself um that was the hardest few years and around the same time as when we decided to move to Ashland okay we thought okay let's make a change because this is not helping us um I was volunteering in different places I was uh working with um a women's studies program at bu um and I would take the tea and I said what's the next town that we can afford a house in uh where there's the tea option um and that was Ashland it was affordable and we just drove around we said oh we like it so so with that you know I I started to look at different opportunities where I could use my talent I could use my background um and I found that people in Ashland were welcoming to that um they could have easily said no it's okay you're the trailing spouse U but that didn't happen and as with the immigration process it was a slow um process but when I first first came into um when I first came into the situation where everything was regulated for me and I I knew how to work my way through um the immigration process um I realized that there was so much more that I could do in town um and so when I have conversations with members of the steering about okay there's a health issue somebody is uh going on with um there's somebody who's passed on there's a personal aspect to each of these members on the steering that I connect with um and it's important for us as a as a community of steering members um to lean on each other because there are so many moments um that we feel like maybe we failed ourselves in this job um but I've I've seen how people support each other um through arguments through um discontent um and through communication barriers but the fact that everybody comes together because they have the good in themselves and they're looking at how Ashlin can be a better place no matter which direction they come from that has been really um enriching for me oh great great wow that was ratory for me I didn't know that about you yeah and I've known you for years rry and I I didn't you never asked I never asked yeah um but uh F that's one one of the reasons I love these conversations is you find out new things about people all the time and uh both of you have talked about you know some of the great opportunities that uh the conference of plan steering committee has has provided for you as individuals but um I just want to turn and pivot a little bit and and what do you think's been the biggest challenge uh well I think people are uncomfortable with tension I'm going to say that t- word again um I am a project manager by trade that's what I've done for a living for some time and uh in project management I can say that tension is a good trait but not everybody agrees that it is right so they're uncomfortable about how to navigate if they disagree or um if they are not aligned with the overall project there's like you know this tendency to think it's got to be black or it's got to be white when there's a lot of gray area in between so I think that's a human tendency and working through that that kind kind of discomfort can be a challenge with a group that large right so there are people who may feel like okay I just won't say anything or people who overcompensate and say too much um I think it's just navigating that kind of personal discomfort retention yeah what about you R yeah so um I've worked with Community engagement for a very long time even in my professional space so I was dying to get into this public engagement phase because this is what is the Crux of the matter um um but what I found challenging uh has been um that all voices are not loud enough in the committee that I couldn't hear from a few people that was gwing at me um that you know there are some members who are able to vocalize what they're feeling or what they're um intending to say but the others were not and they were holding back for a variety of reasons it's maybe their personality maybe what they heard wasn't yelling with them but individual connections helped in this manner so I would go up to each person and talk about what really works for them what really attracts them to be part of this um and I think now they're they're blooming yes in their roles um you know in the recently in the in the volunteers breakfast that you missed but Stacy and I were there I was doing a meeting in the box so excuse but it it was great because there was so many of the comprehensive members steering members who were there and each one of them got up um to talk about you know were they were publicizing the plan um on their own you know and so it just made me feel really proud for them except for Chuck Lids who forgot he was on on the comprehensive plan he's on multiple other he's on multiple other groups and he talked at length about that but I I told him we're going to give you a hard time so this is the hard time oh okay I think Chuck been a little under the weather so we can give him a pass on that Chuck Chuck who's a member of the sustainability committee and represents the sustainability committee on the comprehens of plan steering committee uh does a lot of great work he does for the town um we can pull his leg though though he's hat surgery I was about to say hopefully not the one that not the shoulder but the leg yes um yeah I think probably the biggest challenge from my perspective is just the size of the group I think and um well you put it together so you deal I know nobody nobody to blame but me so um but uh yeah it was something I I I will say I underestimated a little bit is you know how big of a challenge it is to make sure that you've got when you've got that big a group making sure that there's equal access to and opportunities to make comments and I think you're right I I think some of the more uh vocal people myself included um are used to like speaking you know in front of groups or part of committees and I think it's easy to take for granted that not everybody has that experience right right um but over time I feel like the trust is has just just bloomed like you said over time I think those people who are less comfortable uh are able to come up to both of us individually and they're taking on responsibilities can I do this can I do that and everything is so important and um it makes a significant change um to to the planning process and and I will say just uh you two are are co-chairs and I think uh both of you have done a really good job of kind of laying that foundation and making sure that there is that opportunity for people to uh to get engaged but um I think you know speaking of co-chairs what what made you both decide to kind of enter your throw your names in the in the Hat through our names you know what that's a good that's a good point not as chair but I threw my name for a member I wanted to be a member right yeah that's right you were kind of volunteered we volunte we were volunteered as somebody somebody recruited us Steve Steve recruited me gotcha MH and he said you know what she can do it and then you were recruited by Steve by Steve yeah so Steve it's all your fault Steve we're GNA we're going to blame you on this one so Steve's used to getting blame for things so uh he can take it he can take it take it I think we both uh there there was a vacancy um in in leading the plan initially and we we had said that you know we would do it temporarily until the group made a decision and their group made a decision and here we are still yeah uh leading so that's how that happened so I gotta I gotta ask you um you know these focus groups or when we've talked about the survey and and we get updates from goldon about our community engagement and public engagement and how we're doing on that but um I have noticed in the different focus groups that I've been a part of uh very common themes out and and I'm wondering if you two have had the same experience and if you have like what are some of those common themes that you've heard um so um they all love the open space and the green spaces here um some of them uh have talked about the roots they take from downtown area to milpond and then trolley Brook and Stony and stone stone park and you know so uh that has been really one of the common themes that I see um the other thing is um many of the groups are talking about places to gather yeah um you know this is a social Town yes um and they're looking for spaces uh sometimes they talk about restaurants that are available but it it's not like what it used to be there were opportunities earlier apparently um way before I was here so um they want a replacement of something called news news Ash the ash news news yeah so it's like Drop in have a coffee chat with people and leave um so that kind of opportunity and then the other opportunity for gathering for cultural groups yeah where do they perform there's no Auditorium um so that they're talking about you know is the Valentine's property available for that so there are these questions um one of the young students uh who I interviewed U from Ashen High School talked about the fact that older kids have no place to gather because younger kids will go to the swing set older kids will be mocked you the swing is not for you so they were talking about why not the Dairy Queen be changed into an arcade kind of a mall so you know they can be indoor outdoor spaces um so there are different populations who talk about different things it depends on their needs MH um but overall there are many positives about the present but there are also positive uh aspirations that I see um among the groups that I interviewed for sure and and Stacy what about you I don't think it's a coincidence that I've heard the same exact things um uh listeners should know that those three populations that you just described are the ones that are the largest in town so we have a a big teen population 19 and younger um we have older folks and we have those people who are under 50 and raising families here who want you know to have a place to go so I think people are excited about the possibility the potential of Ashlin being a more ambulatory place where you can walk around downtown and enjoy outside activities but yes they are looking for indoor spaces um to gather and I didn't know about the News Corp until I had my meeting in a box exact and how much people missed it and the bakery that was there um and so that brings me to another area of tension is history somehow having history integrated into the town so that people know where we came from and where we're going right I think um so I've heard very similar things especially when you talk about Gathering spaces indoor Gathering space yes you know we have uh we have the farmers market we have The Corner Spot Great Outdoor spaces but they're Outdoors so they're limited um and so there's definitely been a desire expressed by a lot of people to have indoor SP that we can utilize in some of the um less warmer months um the other thing that I've heard and Stacy you alluded to this uh is sidewalks yes um now I was hearing that before we even started doing the comprehensive plan but it's just amazing how consistent that theme is uh throughout the different groups that that we talk to and uh open space being another one as well preserving open space um I can tell you I'm surprised just because I I heard from I hear from a lot of people all the time um that's just that's part of my my job and it's actually one of the favorite parts of my job um but you know one of the things that I I kept on hearing from people was expansion to Playing Fields and but I'm not hearing that in the comprehensive plan process I haven't heard that but also you know I think we need to uh interview the younger crowd more um maybe we'll hear it from them and in in those cases they might have that need but we haven't heard it as yet right right so um just kind of pivoting to to to yourselves personally um you talked a little bit about how long you've been in town and What attracted you to Ashlin um talked a little bit about your your professional backgrounds a bit um but what do you like to do in your free time oh I like I like eating like eating okay a lot a lot eating and cooking and traveling when time permits um yeah okay yeah what about you Stacy I am a fitness nut self-proclaimed I work out quite a bit I love being outside with my dog you'll see me walking around town uh with my big white dog you can say hello please I love nature I love being in Ashen State Park in the Town Forest um and I love traveling as well I I'll be out of town a lot as R asri knows as the weather gets nicer uh but yeah yeah reading eating traveling and walking and then you know the other thing that uh strikes me when when I look at the comprehensive plan and and all that we're doing you know in the past in in my professional space I have critiqued Master plans critiqued and it's very easy to criticize it's very easy to do it yeah now I'm in the thick of the process um and I'm I'm part of this whole big team and you know we're we're going ahead with it it feels like how much I didn't know um and how much there is to learn um I'm I'm connecting different policies both International and National you know they talk about 15 minute city um oh yeah yeah you know and I think about the ashon town in that respect and yes in 15 minutes I could reach many places from um from downtown if I start walking I could reach many places I could hike I could go to restaurants um the farmer's market is on I could go there I could go to the library um I could go into the town hall for anything that I need so you know we are approximating that even though we're not a city and we're not an international in that sense um but the fact that so many of those realities are right here doable and thinkable too um that it's been amazing awesome awesome so I I got to ask you you know what do you think we can do to increase engag in the comprehensive plan process this be one of our our final questions but um really important I think people need to understand that for the focus groups you're encouraged to host these yourselves at home in your neighborhood um all you need are two other people um you'll be the person that enters the data onto the sheet we can you can drop the sheet off at Town Hall if you don't want to submit it electronically um but you're welcome to do that and share the the survey with your network as well we encourage that um I think people need to know that there's a tendency and I think it's human to just kind of say okay that's not for me um I won't be listen to anyway nothing's going to be done it's just that's the human tendency right so you kind of have to if you want to see change or if you want to be recognized step outside of your comfort zone and realize that that may not be true uh that we do want to hear from you we're taking the steps to hear from you and invite your participation I have never met a town management that's more accessible than the one we have right I would agree it's not multi-layered in the sense that you're going to get caught up in hierarchy so just you know come out let your voice be heard yeah you know it's a really good point that you bring out Stacy that um people sometimes feel like you know even if they say something that they're not heard and you know it surprises me because you know one of I mean if you look at all the stuff that we're doing in town now right I mean downtown project 126 project you know working on the Valentine estate you know some of the new buildings that we've built uh Mendes and the public safety building you know all of those have were born out of community dialogue right and a community desire I mean a lot of people say it's like my vision or whatever and it's really not I mean like whatever Vision I do have it's it's really an amalgamation of you know the different people that I hear from and and listen to so like your voices are heard I mean some of the things that you know you're seeing happening are a direct result of your feedback as as residents and right I think that also that people need to realize that um although we are the steering and it sounds so lofty um each one of us is also a resident right um we are resident first before we take on any responsibility to do anything else um and so as fellow residents I think think this is a collective um task to talk about what we want to see in this town um we have a shared Vision about how this town should look like it's a it's a commitment that we we give to the next Generations you know how many more years are we going to do this um it's the Next Generation that we have to be uh thoughtful about and what are we leaving behind um so everybody has a say and everybody um it's a public Le event it's not a town government um they may have put it together but it will not progress if the residents do not feel comfortable being part of it and so we are making every effort to open the doors um every steering member can be reached um and I think all the all the councils have to step up and start doing the meeting in a boxes to make it more accessible to people I agreed and I think that's a that's a that's it's a good one to end on uh Stacy and rry thank you so much for being a part of uh part of the show I had to hit the button you know I've gone the whole uh whole podcast without hitting the button so I had to hit that um and just to remind everybody um you know there's different ways to participate there's the crowd mapping there's the survey there's the meeting in the Box um if you want to get to the website um I what I founds the easiest way to do to do is to basically type in Envision Ashland into the Google machine and it that's the first link that comes up and that gives you access to to all of those they can also go into the town website and it has a blue Rider right on top correct um and that'll lead them to to the website and our meetings are public to one the next one is on the 18th of April 18th of April um yes they are public you can show up in person or you can show up via Zoom because we do uh H have them hybrid but um again thank you so much for being a part of the thank you for having us thank you for having us this has been fun and um again everybody uh make sure your voice is heard get involved uh Envision Ashland or comprehensive plan process let us know what you would like to see for Ashland in the next 10 years and um so oh before I forget uh if you have any um comments or if you have any questions you want us to answer on air uh we have an email address set up for um for this podcast it's clocktown Chronicles at Ashland mass.com I'm looking over at Melissa Hayes at communications coordinator she's giving me the nod that says yes Michael you did get the correct address so keep it kind keep it kind yeah kindness matters folks um all right uh everybody again thank you for being here thank you for listening and uh this is episode number two uh episode number three I haven't decided what we're going to do but uh it will no doubt be interesting and probably deal with some planning related aspects not comprehensive planning but some more acute planning uh things that we're we're going through today so anyway again my my name is Michael Herbert your town manager your host for clock toown Chronicles and I'll see you on the next episode

second motion by Chad second byos that everybody all those in favor say I I any oppos same sign motion passes 60 Mr President I move that the board going to Executive session pursed to the cases open me act to discuss non-elected Personnel for the topic of s positions certified staff and classified staff to protect the privacy of individuals to be discussed with Mr Larry and M Mr Sherman pres and return to open session in this room 725 motion by Josh second second by Alison all those in favor say I I any oppose sign motion pass how are you doing good like e e e looks good hey we are yeah we're back in Open Session I move to approve Hannah dble as the part-time music teacher at Wilson Elementary for 2425 motion by Allison second second by Josh all those in favor say I I any oppos same sign motion passes 60 I move to approve to hire Riley Roberts as a parent professional at Central Plains Elementary School for the 2024 2025 school year second motion by Allison and second by Josh all those in favor say I I any oppos same sign motion passes 60 I move to approve to hire David Bowen as a bus driver for the 2024 2025 school year second motion by Allison second by Josh all those in favor say I I any oppos same sign motion passes 60 I move to approve Katie Bella as the Junior High Assistant girls basketball coach for the 2024 2025 school year second motion by Allison is second by Josh all those in favor say I I any oppos same sign motion passes M president I move that the board go to the executive session to discuss teachers negotiations for the purpose of noticing items for negotiations under the exception for employer employee negotiations under the KO ma that be returned in Open session in this room at minut still s 40 with superintendent Bill Larry and John Sherman attending motion byos second second by Allison all those in favor say I I any oppos same sign motion passes e e e we are back in Open Session administrative reports our cash balances match the Reconciliation Report we start a Camp invention today that's why you see my Camp invention shirt we have 25 campers they went from 8:30 to 3 all week this is what man this Crossroad teachers and it's neat to go there there and watch it I mean it's all creating and designing and stuff the teachers they share a few little blips with them and the kids are in their teams and working by the end of the day some of our Youngs were heads were on the table tired and all so um but all campers were present having a lot of fun summer school still working out final details of that which will be July 8th through the 19th Mr doy Miss Martin Mrs price and Miss hip will teach and we have 29 students signed up for that finalizing the schedule as you know working on the handbook changes getting prepared for meetings for next year and contining working this week to get ready for August custodians are working on the summer maintenance as well as our technology maintenance is underway and then July 3rd we'll meet with the administrative team to finalize the enrollment letters that will go out to parents and then one thing I forgot to put on here but I would like to do some changes and improvements on the playground if I can so we had a proster come out you know you know ground is a water hole um from the sidewalk to the playground equipment it's just when it rains it's just as my kids called it this year a lake and stuff um so we had a just come out and give us an idea of you know what his suggestion would be he feels we should we I would like a con a new another concrete pad out there that is 80 by 40 by five Ines um that matches the pad that we currently have out there um and put it just straight west of the pad that we have with The Gap because we'd like to put a couple more basketball courts because when it's rainy and muddy we just have the one court it's hard to get a lot of kids out there um but he suggested that we put the pad in first and then he would come back and um work on the drainage piece of it um this is something that not to do this year I'd like to get some grants uh try and work on a gr and get some I know that concrete's going to be quite expensive um but he really that we couldn't know we call them remember what he call the drainage where you have the the Ty dra Ty he really would suggest that he says we may only have to have it in one spot and that would be to the north of the new pad that we put in um he feels like the drainage on the other side looks like it would work but he was going to pricess I mean just an estimate what it would be tiling on both sides um but that would be his recommendation and stuff so he like where we were looking at putting the new pad he said they may have to dig out a little bit because we want it to be level with the current pad we have um and all so going to try and get some pricing for that one thing I because part of our um calendar money the calendar wle we had was to do some improvements on the playground and so I think with some of the money this next year if not this summer purchase a Dogg off DE the kids like do um with some of the rubber padding that goes underneath that we would have enough money from our calendar raffle to Bild put something like that together for this year so start with that and then work get some grants maybe I usually don't do a calendar raffle every year but might do one more next year just to get a little more money because I know that concrete pad's going to be pretty expensive plus add some basketball courts and maybe look at getting some little tricycles and things too for our preschoolers that they could maybe find design some tracks or something out there that they could so anyway just an idea right now wanted to give you head any questions what is that it's an octagon shape type and that they have a ball and if the ball hits you they they push it more if it hits you you're out or the life out yeah you got to bounce it you catch it I don't even know very very popular they played at after too that was like one of main things play the whole okay Toby before you go I'm gonna say that you know we're going to miss you and we really appreciate everything that you've done from everything you've done for 345 to everything you've done for usd112 I mean so much work goes on behind the scenes that I don't think people even know and the countless titles that you've held just in your time here from coach to counselor to principal and bus driver and more than we even know and thank you just doesn't even cover it so I app been playing three years it's the longest I've ever been where I grew up I app it's it's been interesting trials and tribulations go on you know so it's been been an interesting ride but it's been a really good been a great place to me thank well and you know we've only had two years Mr L you've seen how hard we're twisting his arm to keep him around so don't go too far I I told Jamie I might try to help out with buses and stuff we'll see how far that gets uh our Reconciliation Report m b bank statements uh State Track we had one person make it Eli early I ended up 11th in triple jump 20 students and Driver head class is over we'll finish I'll finish up with the driving later next week gym floors are scheduled for refinishing the first week of August building and Technology maintenance are underway um July the 12th through the 26th the air conditioning folks have contacted about wanting the gym empty so they'll be in here the 12th and 26th putting in the duck work and the electrical work and all of that stuff so coaches are aware they'll be out by the 12th of July um Washington Roofing has been contacted twice um it rained two weeks ago three weeks ago and rof Le so Tim contact boing they came they looked they said they found it they patched it great last week it we began and Saturday night it ped again so they' been contacted and come back check it again it's just one Skylight so thank goodness but everything else seems that Skylight not not sealed very well whatever reason checking that out um oh on late September they won't set the roofs units for the air conditioning meeting till late September we'll try to get all the work where everything's done that way when they come in September they think that any would affect anything inside uh summer leagues volleyball basketball are all underway uh we working on enrollment information to get mailed out in July we're not quite sure what all needs to get bailed out I've been working on it just coming in talk about what all needs to go out U online enrollment will open July 29th and close on the 2D be help available buildings do that if they need it I'm already getting some request they're out of District so they hav fill out District form so there's a lot of lot of things to consider yet Martin County was here already and as our kids that are wanted to do summer classes theyve already been enrolled and started and they've already got enrolled for may be back in the fall probably not cont make sure they still take those classes any questions thank you I appreciate all you guys do it's not an easy job to be a board member it's not it's not a popular job to be a board member right thank you okay uh in the school there at Wilson Elementary we had our Awards assembly and I did have a student that perfect all year chis Global did not miss a day of school the entire year we did have 11 perfect attendants last nine weeks which is the highest we've been trying to focus on that chronic absenteeism and get kids this less school so we hope that that will start to pay off uh we also at our award assembly we did recognize our sixth graders for promotion as Toby said the hbac all the events and all the changes will be made in July and then September they'll just set it up there and hook it up we'll be okay as far as the eler funds for that uh something I forgot to mention in my report was camp we also have Camp intervention this later this summer Sabrina is going to be running that up there at Wilson and also summer school and uh Mrs Moore and Teresa h will be ready for summer school program up there uh I think the transition is in good shape with uh superintendent Murphy and also new administrators Mrs Murphy and Mrs Moore they've been very active and preparing for the next year and I think the transition will be very smooth as we go forward uh I too want to thank the board for the hard work you've done the past two years while was here I appreciate time effort everybody put hard work I appreciate that thank you yeah we we appreciate everything you have done too Bill you still have one more meeting with us though okay any board member reports in all fairness I guess since our end of the year meeting might not be broadcast we do really appreciate everything you've done Bill knowing that it was coming into a somewhat tulous situation and maybe not the most most fun but you have really helped secure the future of 112 and there's just yeah not much more that we could say and again thank you doesn't seem to cover all the work that you've done for us in the last two years so really appreciate that any open Agenda items I put that in there as a reminder for the special board meeting on July 24th that'll be at the district office that's just a followup of the it's included in the price for the superintendent search with Gary C Chris with KB he's just the charg mileage to come out but that's part of their services to Vis with Mr Murphy and you guys and get the goal set up and um kind of have a initiation meeting I guess so and he said it an hour and a half and I we wanted to do that too or I know I definitely did to revisit our goals because our goals are not necessarily real cleared um what time is that the that's going to be 6 o00 do we need to discuss is that's when you an attorney 328 how long have you been an attorney for yeah 20 plus 25 plus attended board meetings for Monday nights about 46 years [Laughter] long well I think we have an opening John teach you yeah can slide you right into that lots of free time we need to hand out more than [Music] you impressive yeah you've been there to help us out a lot give us a lot of knowledge that a lot of us don't have and so items for next month's agenda organization Personnel ksab Board policies updates will be out they are out well we to discussed July has five Mondays and the next scheduled meeting the second Monday is July the 8th already so we were kind of just maybe suggest maybe a percent back a week because we just will have a meeting June 26 then there won't be time that with the holiday in there to get all the resolutions we prepared and then bill pay so how do you guys feel about that so we'll go the 15th you won't be there on the I mean that's the schedule I'm good with either day I I would feel a little more comfortable with the 15th just because you know just coming in July 1 and also with with the 4th of July in there on Thursday but I'm I'm GNA be here so city council so not it doesn't matter to me it's up to you guys it's your decision but just for Preparation and stuffff yeah ask to move makes we can discuss it meeting yeah we can discuss it again at the end of June the end of year meeting but it's up to you that's kind of what you Mr Murphy want okay okay well at the end of the year meeting we'll make a motion to change thate dat to July the 15 same time same location just yeah nothing else I would entertain a motion to adjourn motion by Alison second by Josh all those in favor say I I any oppos same sign motion passes 60 thank you every

e e e ladies and gentlemen good evening and Welcome to our 2024 senior sports awards night let's give it up for our senior athletes here my name is Kyle kinus and I'm the athletic director of the UN Public School District it is my honor to welcome you all to this special night as We Gather to celebrate the remarkable achievements of our senior athletes tonight we recognize the dedication and hard work and exceptional performances that have defined this season and indeed the entire High School careers of our outstanding individuals to our senior athletes you have demonstrated extraordinary commitment and resilience through every practice every game and every challenge you have shown what it means to be a true competitor and dedicated team member your journey has not been easy but your perseverance has brought you here to this moment of well-deserved recognition Sports teach us invaluable life lessons discipline teamwork leadership and the importance of setting and achieving goals each of you has embodied these qualities not only striving for personal Excellence but also lifting your teammates and contributing to the community spirit that makes our Athletic program so special to the parents and families thank you for your unwavering support your encouragement and sacrifices have been the backbone of these athletes success you have cheered from the sidelines offered words of comfort after tough losses and celebrated with victories with pride you may you may be also cheered in another way and have had to talk to you at one point too but that's okay too your role in your journey is immeasurable to the coaches your guidance wisdom and passion Have Been instrumental and shaping these athletes you have instilled in them the values of hard work perseverance and sportsmanship your impact goes beyond the field court or track you have helped mold them into leaders and Role Models they are today and finally again to the senior athletes once more as you move forward into your next chapter of your lives carry with you the lessons you've learned and the memories you've made remember that the same dedication and drive that brought you success here will serve you well in all future endeavors you are more than athletes you are leaders Scholars and outstanding individuals poised to make a difference in the world congratulations to each of your incredible achievements may you continue to strive for excellence in all that you do enjoy this night of Celebration you have earned it thank you and now I'd like to call out the superintendent of schools Dr Dave Genta [Applause] uh good evening everybody good evening everybody all right we're here for the kids tonight let's give them a round of applause as we get started very excited for the seniors I'd like to thank our board members who are here in attendance we have the Millers in the back uh I know we have our president uh Deb dudus down front anyone else I missed please just give me your hand all right Board of Education thank you so much for all your support and making Sports and extracurricular is a priority here for our young students and families it's a critical role uh and helping them develop and it is again my honor to be in front of you as your superintendent I am filled with pride as I look out and I reflect on uh the amazing Seasons that we've had this year um the dedication hard work and all the achievements uh that the student athletes have demonstrated throughout their High School career is nothing short of amazing and once again I'm going to give it up for you congratulations you did a great job uh whether you were scoring points or goals or touchdowns or providing those much needed assists or blocks or perhaps you're on the practice team just helping make the team better whatever your role whatever part you played on the team your efforts have certainly left the mark on the uing school district so thank you and as you prepare to graduate and step into the next chapter of your lives I'd like to just give you two lessons to think about as you go out uh first uh was mentioned earlier the power of teamwork so no matter what path you choose in in life After High School um what what the ability to work well with others is going to be invaluable being able to work with people that you may not like uh that's a skill that you're going to use the rest of your life and if you if you're not sure ask your parents your grandparents about that skill because I'm sure they do it every single day being able to collaborate and still achieve your goal uh is is critically important and you've learn that through your lessons here as an athlete uh whether you're going into college starting a job or pursuing your other dreams just remember that you don't have to go in alone so lean on those around you and uh be someone that others can lean on be somebody that others can count on uh second is just don't ever underestimate uh The Importance of Being resilient um Sports have taught you how to handle both victories and defeats uh in life you're going to encounter lots of challenges and setbacks trust me uh it's that resilience that's going to define the journey for you uh when you fall get back up when things don't go as planned adapt and push forward the strength that you've built as student athlet is going to help you navigate the ups and downs that come after so as we honor your achievements tonight uh know that we believe in each and every one of you your dedication Spirit perseverance have set a standard for future student athletes to live up to uh take away these lessons continue to strive for excellence and always remember the Ying Community stands behind you once a Blue Devil always a Blue Devil so congratulations to our senior athletes thank you to the parents who have supported them give the parents a round of applause your future is filled with Endless Possibilities I'm sure you're going to go out and do amazing things and we're going to watch from a distance and and cheer you on so congratulations uh at this time it's going to be my pleasure uh to welcome up the high school principal Mr schme [Applause] good good evening parents coaches and most importantly our senior athletes it is my honor to welcome everyone to tonight's senior athletic awards night this evening We Gather to celebrate the remarkable achievements of our senior athletes who have demonstrated extraordinary Talent dedication and sportsmanship over their High School careers first I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to each and every one of our senior athletes you have worked tirelessly pushing yourself to new heights and representing our high school with pride and distinction whether on the court on the field on the track or in the pool you have shown us what it means to be true champions Athletics is about more than just competition and winning games it teaches us valuable life lessons such as teamwork pers ofili resilience and the importance of hard work these are qualities that you have embodied throughout your time here at Ying high school and they will undoubtedly serve you well in your future endeavors I would like to take a moment also to thank the parents and families of our athletes your unwavering support and encouragement and countless hours spent driving two practices and games have been instrumental in your child's success tonight we celebrate not only the athletes but also the community that has supported them every step of the way to our coaches your dedication and passion has been the driving force behind our athletes achievements you have been mentors role models and motivators for that we are deeply grateful your commitment to Excellence has left an indelible mark on our school and our athletes and I'm sure they'll be remember you for years to come as we honor our senior athletes tonight let us remember the memories we have created together the thrilling victories the Lessons Learned in defeat and the caderie that has brought us closer as a community these moments will stay with us and they are a testament to the spirit and heart of Ying High School to our seniors as you prepare to embark on the next chapter of your life remember the lessons you have learned through Athletics carry them with you the determination and drive that has made you successful here and apply them to whatever challenges you may face in the future believe in yourselves just as we believe in you thank you thank you Mr sham next we'd like to get right to our senior Awards I would like to call up our assistant athletic director Miss gumel we ask that when you're we hold your applause till the end of all the seniors being called and our seniors come up the steps and they will be helped down the other set of steps down there thank you Liam aen Daniel Armstrong Sarah Ashenfelter Jeffrey a denava Joshua Baker Isabella balleri Michelle ball Jessica batala omir Benning Shae bigs Jamir Brown Amir Brown McMullen Thomas buer Paris Karu emaya Carter Peterson janelis sedeno love of God cheaty King Shel the Collins Cameron Crawford Anthony Davis Thomas Davidson Christian Ed Gonzalez tala delos janira Dixon Daren doet Gavin DWI damir Edwards Chu Colin Elam Christopher [Music] Yule Jacob FAL Lucas Ferguson Autumn Fleming Michael frolio Anthony genovesi Nicholas jevi Joshua Gillis Ashley [Music] gizhome wer gleon Naomi Glover Angel Gonzalez Jayla green Lydia green Connor Greg Isabelle [Music] hanlin chz heading Isabelle Hernandez Stefan hiar Madison Hill Caitlyn [Music] heran Belle Jenkins Kennedy Jenkins Joy Johnson niia [Music] Johnson Stephen Johnson Eliza Johnson [Music] Montgomery Yanik Joseph Michael Kramer lasai Lane Amir ladimer Vienna latini Shannon ly Keith leco Henry Lopez Bravo Ian Lopez Breo Marilyn Lopez [Music] Gregorio n Manning Jeremy Martinez Lawson McElroy anija [Music] mcquiller Lauren Nelson Jose ovala [Music] AEL Sunny Patel Angelique Perez ARA Lorenzo Patron precious Quay Valerie Ras Jahim Rogers Megan Rosa Christopher [Music] salmon Alex Santiago carabello Tyler Sean genica cidu Daniel Simkins Ryan Stokes Maybelline sers Liam to Demetrius [Music] Thompson Luke Tims Alexis trosi Ashley [Music] Tyson Jennifer umana dear Roa Genesis [Music] vaugh Valeria valz TJ Watson Courtney wiel Xavier Williams Fields Tomo Willie Robert Yates Giovani ziz a big round of applause for all of our senior [Applause] athletes all right we're going to go on to a a new award this year it was uh added to our our few other Awards it's called the Trailblazer award this award is a prestigious Accolade presented to individuals who have exhibited exceptional leadership innovation influence in their sport recipients of this award serve as role models for aspiring athletes motivating others to strive for greatness and embrace the values of sportsmanship teamwork and fair play the trailblaze award honors individuals who have broken barriers shattered and stereotypes and Blaze new trails in the World of Sports their pioneering Spirit combined with their exceptional talent and dedication has helped shape the landscape of the sports and Inspire generations of athletes to pursue their dreams fearlessly emaya Carter Peterson Shae bigs janira Dixon Jayla green Vienna [Applause] latini Angelique Perez Ora [Applause] precious [Applause] Quay one big round of applause for our Trailblazer [Applause] worlders I'm going to skip to the Caris mcer award which is dedicated to the memory of Andy Caris and Joe mcer Mr Carris and Mr mcer were very active in the father's Club at EHS in the late 1960s the club also provided other the club also provided other support to the teams throughout the year both gentlemen were great guys hard workers and always positive supporters of the UN High School Andy Carris died of a heart attack while working on the inground dugouts at the high school baseball field his son Jim which graduated in 68 was a football player and wrestler Joe mcer passed away in 1969 his son je who graduated in' 69 played football basketball and baseball our Caris mcer Award winner female carer Award winner is tiala delas and our male Caris mcera winner is Colin El [Music] let's give one more big round of applause for Colin now on to the female senior athlete of the year now this was a very very tight race this individual participated in three Sports here at y High School and in my three plus years here we seen a lot of great things that have her on and off the field on and off the sideline um she is once we sat down to crunch the numbers it was a clear-cut favorite Ana mcquiller you are 2024 female [Applause] yeah sry all right and on to the male athlete of the Year this was also close in the beginning but then when you look at the numbers it really wasn't that close again this this athlete came out for all three Sports put a lot of time and effort into do it is actually still competing today um he's actually taking a lot of young people under his wing um and has really grown in the track in the track and field world can we have Christopher yule [Applause] now both of these athletes are still continuing to run of the meia Champions tomorrow so they got to go home and get their sleep and their rest um but they are still going strong but let's give it up for our male and female athlet again I want to congratulate everyone tonight tonight this this award is very special to me because I have four of these for my high school and again we look back at my kids on these Awards and they go in a box for a while but you can show your kids all the sports you played from your high school time and they they like to see it again I know there's three nights of awards so mine is always the shortest I like to keep it that way um tomorrow night we have our activities Awards night so please come on out for our activities Awards night tomorrow night but we wish you the best seniors enjoy this last couple weeks

I'd like to call this meeting to order and we'll begin with a pledge of allegiance Margaret goby will lead us in that I pledge alance 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 just to explain we are operating with the quorum this afternoon uh Diana Butler is in the hospital hopefully she gets feeling better she's not doing well right now and Chuck Waldo is with his family on a vacation so we are here representing today um we don't have a whole lot on this agenda today so we'll just go right through as order that you had the an opportunity to review the consent agenda and is there any item that you'd like to take out and vote on it independently or we have a motion to accept the consent agenda as presented pardon oh try yeah do you want us to do that separately no oh yeah we need to excuse Dr Wright too he's teaching a class to superintendent today so he can't be here sorry yeah no one's here for the girl soccer but I can explain it okay you got that point yeah we'll pull that one out so we have to recomend right let's hear about it first the um who I guess they got it working oh have agenda okay so we are going to take item um six no yes oh yeah that's the summer physicals okay uh we're going to take item 2.6 and uh vote on independently so can I have a motion to accept uh I mean to pull it out the June F that's the June fund oh okay so I move that we take 2.6 you don't have to vote on yeah we don't have to vote on I'll just take it out we have to vote on the consent agenda with the exception of 2.6 so we have can I have a motion to accept the consent agenda without item 2.6 have a motion from Mar have a segment from Jennifer all in favor that would be unanimous to those who are here okay item 2.6 uh this is uh summer physicals for the girls Blue Ridge soccer team and I I saw something posted about this the other day and is it donated or are we paying for those can you yeah all right the girls um are the girls soccer team is Raising um they have a fundraiser and the way that they're raising money is that they are putting on an event where people kids can come and get physicals done for $20 and the doctors are volunteering their time so all the $20 proceeds for everybody that comes goes to the girl soccer team it's just a way to raise money and so the doctors and around the mountain are volunteering their time so so that's why it's a fundraiser okay I understand any other questions we just have to approve that what's the date again actually I think it might have already happened no it's at the end of June like June 20 around the third week yeah we can get you the day yeah these microphones driving me nuts okay so any other um comment or questions about item 2.6 so can we have a motion to accept item 2.6 about the uh fundraiser regarding bluid girls soccer team I have a motion of second by Margaret all in favor that also is unanimous okay business portion of this meeting dugdale do you want to explain the budget to us we had this presented to us last month sure ready me yes governing board members and governing president and we'll try to do our best with the mics of Ander Okay so so this is the proposed budget for uh fy2 just to caveat the auditor General's office released the budget forms from this fiscal year not from next fiscal year because the legislature hasn't approved the budget yet um but they want to get them out to us instead of us have instead of having us have to wait and move board meetings around their new system is just to release the old firms and then whenever the legislature adopts the new um the new budget they'll give us new forms and we'll do a revision just so it's more convenient for us so all right so um that's why we have a per per per pupil increase of0 or 0% because we don't know what the legislature is um going to do although I do believe they are going to do at least a 2% inflation increase but we don't want to guess on that so I just use last year's number of $4,940 um our and so the budget the budget is basically essentially um formed by that $491 1471 and our enrollment so our current enrollment um as of the end of school for May was $579 and some change so I our enrollment steady here so I just use those enrollment numbers for next year and our estimated carry forward at the moment is $0 because we haven't um close out our books real fast that sorry let me turn sorry yeah that's weird this time but 49471 that is the per student oh that's the per student um state funded rate correct okay all right so so uh uh the speaker's working though so that's good um so uh because of um we had so there's a couple factors of why our M budget has decreased and I'll talk about that on the next slide um and then our capital budget has decreased um just a little bit there's a and I'll talk about that on the next slide I do want to talk about our state and federal grants the reason why there's such a decrease on our state and federal grants is because the SR money is will be gone and so that's was $5.4 Million for sr3 so that money will be used up and gone and that's why you see that significant decrease in our state and federal grants of course we've been planning for that we knew that that was going to happen our impact Aid also um has decreased because we have less students that live on Indian land in the district um and the way that impact Aid works is that as you um lose enrollment from that population they don't um have you go down that amount they titrate you down by percentages so that's just an 85% um loss and then they'll s they'll they'll tight us down until they we get to our numbers so you don't have big cliffs it's just the way the way the impact Aid works so our M decrease um is partly because we don't have we don't have a growing enrollment and we actually have declining enrollment um it's not significant but we do have declining enrollment and last year's budget we did have um onetime uh payment of $500,000 from the state legislature that was again a one-time payment so we are not getting that this year that's why that's not in there and then our declining enrollment is the other reason why our ml budget has decreased and just keep it in the back of your mind that M budget is without the 2% inflation increase that they predict the legislature will give us so then it'll go up again but I just wanted you to know the real numbers as of right now with the legislature the where the way they're at um our capital budget um is on last year's enrollment so it's always a year behind our M budgets on current enrollment so we had a decreased in enrollment and that's why our capital budget has decreased a little bit and then of course our state and um federal grants that's all dependent on enrollment and that big decrease was our Sesser money we really don't have a big decrease in any of our other grants that are anticipated um and we talked about impact Aid um all right so uh this is our proposed budget so what will happen on our July 9th meeting is we will approve our adopted budget it'll be exactly the same as this budget because it cannot change by Statute it has to stay the same so we'll post it um and then nothing will change until um we approve it and then after you approve it you can adjust it however you need to um we will have a public hearing before that board meeting so Mr President or I would ask that we schedule that when we schedule that would be probably 30 minutes not even 15 minutes okay and then um the other thing is that we are levying for um adjacent ways uh for the project at Porter Mountain so we have to have a truth and Taxation hearing as well on July 9th so if we could have that before we do the public hearing for the budget that'd be great so if we can start at 4:30 I would ask for that if not we can work around it but we do need to have those two hearings um before or to have those two hearings on that day okay so the truth truth and Taxation hearing that needs to be prior to yes the public hearing for the so we can do it 15 minutes prior to just has to be prior to yep scheduled sure let's let that uh go into the minutes that we need to have those hearings uh next month on July 9th starting at 4:30 all right are there any questions so I don't actually have to pull out my calculator how much money will we be spending per student then with this new budget because if we're at500 students and that includes like grants plus plus oh so it's like 17 sorry Evander it's like 175 million divided by 15 so we are getting because our budget oh I I forgot to calculate the grants so the federal grants it's about 17.5 million so a little over $110,000 per and half of less than half of that is state funded yeah correct yeah do we know um I know this is probably arbitrary do we know other states how much they tend to fund at a state level we just at the bottom off the top of my head no but we're still in the bottom yes 49er under yeah I don't know 49 or under but yeah we're in the bottom I would say we're in the bottom quartile okay last I read we were number 49 right crazy all right so do we need to vote on this proposed budget yes Mr President all right so we have a proposed budget for the 2024-25 year item 3.1 as presented we have a motion to uh vote on item 3.1 a motion from Margaret second from jennif all in favor that is unanimous here I does do this every time like oh she just puts this paper in front of us and voila it's the budget I know it took a lot of time yeah it takes weeks to do this what frustrates me is that we'll have to do it again yeah when they send you to the new fors right and when they in new student population we have to do it again and we have to do it almost every month it seems like we're on a deadline but the state is not on a deadline crazy correct okay item 3.2 recommendation to approve the inter the IGA inter govern m al agreement for the uh School traffic project would you like to explain that cber sure this and melenia is here from the city and if she wants to come up she'll be able to answer very specific questions that you may have but I can answer the general question so this is a intergo intergovernmental agreement with the city um to work to do the um roundabout project at pter Mountain and this is so that we can help um contribute some adjacent way funding for that project um and they are um she'll be able to explain more about what they're doing for us and what we're getting out of it so I'm going to turn it over to her just now 3.2 and 3.3 are related yes different okay they're different but they're related thanks molena good evening president board um and staff um again I'm molena skilman from the town p l public works department um the project is currently underway it's under construction um it was awarded to Perkins Cinders which is a local company here on the White Mountains um the project is a little over $2.6 million project um included in that project is two um pedestrian Refuge Islands one is right near the intersection of Porter Mountain Road and Amanda which Amanda if you're turning off of 260 onto Porter Mountain is the second um residential street into that area there there'll be a pedestrian Refuge Island and pedestrian Crossing that will be lighted with um flashing beacons to allow people to have noticed that kids are crossing or any other pedestrians there'll be a second one down closer to the flag Hollow intersection roughly in front of I and Automotive um and that will go across the Northbound traffic southbound traffic and the roundabout connecting into the new pedestrian path that we're Paving also as part of the project project so all the way from Highway 260 where we did the pedestrian bridge 2 years ago I believe 3 years ago um that path will be completely reconstructed or is being reconstructed all the way down to the school and then from the north side of the elementary school all the way to the neighborhood that is on the other side of Porter Creek I believe it's Porter Mountain Estates or I forgive me I can't recall exactly the name of that subdivision but now we'll have the connect activity for pedestrians coming from both directions on Porter Mountain Road to the elementary school and the biggest reason behind this project is for the the safety of pedestrians and obviously most of those pedestrians on pter Mountain Road are our school age children so we've had several near misses fortunately and and thank the lord we haven't had any casualties um but it's just a matter of time so that's the the main reason behind this project are we on schedule yeah actually we're way ahead of schedule um they are Paving tomorrow they're beginning Paving um I don't have the for sure it's not set in stone but the new end date is July 28th so and of course we'll have a little leeway and some potential change orders and things happening outside of the roadway but yeah that's and another thing that they're adding is lighting to The Pedestrian path and the roundabout as well can you explain what type of lighting that will be yeah it's um if you've been to Mountain Meadow Recreation complex um along the path that the Ada path that we new put in the lighting will be very similar to that so it's very low IDI lighted bitting but it's enough to light the path for safety aspect so even if they had late practices or anything at the elementary school ride their bike home where somebody's walking their dog in the evening we all know it gets dark early in the winter they'll have Ed path now and so for the crossing area what are you doing for the crossing is it just going to be well lit it's well lit and there's also beacons um so they'll have a crosswalk button that they can push and that will FL start the flashing lighted beacons and to allow traffic to stop to stop so to to stop and then the kids or other pedestrians cross safely then there'll be an island in between the two lanes to make sure that they have plenty of time time to get across the whole that's awesome yeah yeah that's awesome I I can tell you it was scary before so um but that pedestrian bridge is great so I have a question kind of for our school and kind of for you too so we do we have any of the flashing lights that say 15 miles an hour Monday through whatever at this time to this time like they you know to slow down traffic I I have to look at the plans and I if be happy to get back to you on that I have to look at the plans but I believe that there are School signs in the roundabout area um and those crosswalks that do state that but I have to double check the plans to to answer that with 100% certainty perfect so I have a question in regards to our busing so now that we have a safe route for kids normally buses would stop on the way to school cuz I would get stuck stuck behind the buses that stopped at every driveway on the way to school and that's when people get really frustrated and start trying to pass the buses you know as they're starting to speed up so is that going to be only walking are we going to continue with our bus routes there will kids be required to walk which I think the kids probably should walk because they're not that far from school and um the last question that I have is are we going to now have flaggers um especially at that main crosswalk like our school providing it so as they're crossing the island you have the little cross didn't you say there will be a flashing light where they push the button it'll go to Red traffic stops so we might not need a flagger because it will they're supposed to stop anyway because then legally if they don't stop it's illegal it is a traffic violation okay that's really good to know yeah that is brilliant it's brilliant my question was is both Crossing areas will they both have the flashing light and yes they they're built exactly the same um just different locations okay and they are ADA Compliant as well okay that was my question okay thanks Molen you're welcome any other questions we have a motion to vote on the IG between the city and the school which is item 3.2 I'm a motion of second by Margaret all in favor that again looks unanimous okay item 3.3 which is similar to this has to do with the land and I'm not sure what land we are transferring can you answer that either M or Kimberly either okay uh so the land is um just south of the parking lot um right I don't know if you're familiar with where Porter Mountain Fellowship is it's right off of Commerce we have Pur purchas a rideway from Porter Mountain Fellowship uh that will connect to the the land that we're talking about from the school to the parking lot um that is to provide a secondary access uh the town will maintain it um that is part of the project so Perkins centers will be building that up and Paving it uh the town will take over maintenance once the final completion is signed off on and that the the purpose behind it is really for emergency access so God forbid there's for an emergency at the school and it's during drop off or pickup time this allows a more direct access for emergency services to get in off of Commerce Drive and not have to go through the roundabout they can pull off right there by n Pat electric report them out fellowship and get directly to the school Jennifer that's the current road that's there now correct as the by for the dour okay correct of question is will that be gated you know we've talked about it there's not anything in the plans and I believe that was brought up at the last board meeting that that Matt came and spoke with that's certainly something that we could we could look at CU I think people would just take advantage of it that'd be the next best drop off and it might plug things up even worse y i I'll admit that I'd probably be one of those parents take the shortcut but think we all all fit that category something we can definitely look at um we can put in removable ballards we could put a gate um whatever we decide to come to an agreement on okay thank you yeah I would totally recommend that because then the kids will be walking by that street and Crossing that main road and it would cause a lot of congestion because I would be one of those parents that would take that alternate route and they would have to uh cross the parking lot too and that's another scary situation and then it becomes also a safety issue for Access that they're not accessing through the front of our school we have maybe some crazies that access through the site of our school by the where the kids play so it's right by the playground area not totally but easier access to the playround yeah or in the winter the parents or kids would choose the best plowed place to go through and the emergency one's going to be first yes any other questions if not can we have a vote on item 3.3 which is a recommendation to approve the transfer of that small section of property I have a motion from Jennifer I'll second the motion all in favor that again yeah okay the next item on the agenda is call to the public we would like anybody that would like to address the board to come to the podium uh introduce themselves and uh why they are here um if we can get information from to given to Mary so we we know how to contact in the future those that are Mary I think you already have my information okay if you'll just tell us so we can have information in the minutes who you are and why you're here okay perfect all right hello again um ladies and gentlemen of Blue Ridge Unified School District board um I am here again my name is Lacy Rogers and I oversee the children's department at change Point Integrated Health today I come before you committed to attend every single school board meeting with new information until we establish a policy that implements the support of Jake's law and Behavioral Health Services in every school setting um those settings are from the classroom to the playground during lunch and even on field trips we are handing out um your school's report card from the Arizona Department of Education and the Arizona School boards association's sample policy to implement Jake's law um that can support teachers and students by referring to behavioral health Health agencies like change Point allow me to present to you some urgent facts that demand our immediate attention for the approaching school year in the report card for the past Academic Year um this paints a troubling picture for bluid Unified Schools with a dropout rate of almost 5% there were 1,237 students who had unexcused truancies under children with disabilities 28 students had in school suspensions 16 students had out of school suspensions 13 students were I'm sorry 13 students were referred to law enforcement and there were 16 incidents of violence this is all in your report card for this school district often these issues stem from underlying mental health challenges that are faced by students and their families change Point strives to alleviate these challenges at no cost to the school as a proactive measure we are currently right now working with 54 of your students in our summer group um our summer group is from June 3rd to July 23rd and we're working with these students four days a week six hours a day offering structure mentorship and positive engagement to prevent negative behaviors during the break and this will ensure a smooth transition back into the school setting during the last board meeting that I attended in May your biggest topic was school finances and not having the funds for certain programs last year Arizona's superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horn used the $80 million School grant that was meant for mainly counselors and mental health in the school to be redirected to funding armed police officers on campuses instead Arizona is now ranked last in the nation with only having one school counselor for every 76 students because the funding was going other places we at change Point can help with this need our services are free to the school and are being provided at all the schools right now in the scho Unified School District Vernon schools koncho schools the Heber overgard School um and some of the local charter schools that we have here like Lexington we have been providing this support for your school since early 2009 until just recently March 21st of 2024 when your superintendent stopped us from providing these services so now I trust that you will hear this call to action Embrace a policy that prioritizes mental health in the classroom create a policy that will support Jake's law and the well-being of all Blue Ridge Unified School District students thank you for your attention and dedication to our community's future thank you M Rogers we um can't make any comment regarding that because it's not on the agenda all we can do is uh instruct our staff to look into that and I know currently they are looking into that with legal counsel so thank you very much for your presentation avilable when someone want to talk about it thank you okay the next announ any any other individuals like to address the board not so we we need a motion to adjourn although one item first we need to announce that our next meeting will be July 9th and we'll start at 4:30 with two Public public hearings and our regularly scheduled board meeting will be July 9th at 5:00 so will we have anybody in conflict with that I I will only be a ailable via phone via phone mhm Market not sure yet not sure go around I am available the next week if we could postpone it to the third week of June I don't know if that causes problems with budget problem we're talking July I mean July I we can't we can we cannot cannot that's why I thought because it has to be by a specific date correct well I'll be here I am back on the Thursday you'll be back on Thursday yes well hopefully you're here Margaret and hopefully Chuck will be back so we can have a quorum I don't imagine Diana well Diana might be up and running by then let's just keep our fingers crossed and hope she is it Thursday make it yeah but if people want to come to these budgets they're they're not going to check to see that we we're doing on Thursday instead of Tuesday so you would rather us keep it on Tuesday well since there's two hearings yeah and we don't get many people from the public anyway for my deadline the 11th is fine the 11th is fine fine so it has to be by the 15th right so we can well I don't know what Chuck schedule is so let's uh can we make it tentative to say we will like can we do a vote or a motion in regards to the tentative date is this based on a schedule and B I don't think we can right just something we can schedule as long as we schedule 24 hours Advance we're okay so we could potentially move we could potentially right now let's just keep it the way it is and we'll announce it prior to that meeting what we have to do okay so if there's nothing further uh we could uh have a could we have a motion to adjourn I have a motion I'll second any all in favor

hi I'm just calling you from my and we're going to call the meeting to order and then yeah we'll just use the because we're moving over to the conference for yeah and then said she sent you the the agenda when we when we so I said we uploaded Greg's um financial report and the pro statement and then I send I it to you okay okay we'll have a call to order at 502 that will do theedge Mr fergon pleas iedge Al to the flag of the United States of America call please Mrs Le here M here Mrs Allen Mr MCG Mr here okay the agenda any comments on the agenda have a motion I move to approve the agenda for June 112 I would like to move no never mind any discussion no Mrs Le yes Mr M Mr yes with that we will go into executive session conference great what e e e back from our executive session so back to 610 so you're good here okay anybody online okay that we'll move into number seven approving the minutes from the May 9th or the May um yeah the May 9th I'll make a motion to approve M meeting I second discussion Miss yes Mrs Mr M Mrs Alan yes that it is time for the superintendent's report yes I would like to start we have one student of the month that showed up where to Phoenix go Phoenix come here Phoenix is he there oh he was made C of the month and did not um come for me so Mrs flow told them to come to June meeting so thank you so can you come up here please congratulations can you tell them your name and who your teacher is my name and my teacher is yes and Mrs Flowers wrote some amazing things about you so I'm going to read them here Cult of the month proudly presented to Phoenix Gilder it is my honor to nominate Phoenix as my name Cult of the month this young man in front of you is an example of resilience strength love and bravery in leader and me we learn and discuss a lot about the statement don't assume leave some room this is Phoenix it doesn't mean that because of his hardships he gets everything he wants or we let him win all the games it means we avoid assumptions allow diverse viewpoints and Foster empathy we are not here to share Phoenix's life story but to celebrate his now and his future accomplishments and there are a lot of them once very quiet and reserved Phoenix is now not afraid to express what he wants feels or needs he finds ways to have fun and be silly in just about any way possible and can have his peers and me rolling with laughter in academics he mastered his multiplication and division facts without a problem in Reading above grade level and loves our weakly Hands-On science lessons Phoenix improved 16 points on the science portion of the maths Benchmark assessment the most growth in my class these academic successes are not just a result of his hard work but from the continuous love that he feels da from his new family his in school and out of school support and his class me now a quick message from meia Phoenix I want you to know just how proud I am of you please promise to continue this path of bravery and reach out whenever you need anything I will always be team Phoenix love you Mrs Flowers ice cream at yes okay Papa if it's just down the hill so you're G to get to go get an ice cream this summer they do we have oh and go see Mrs D this because she has a shirt for you here's this here's your certificate congratulations Fe good job thank you very much we don't expect you to have to stay through the entire meeting so we appreciate you coming but you're welcome to stay okay thank you okay so without further Ado we have um summer enrichment Camp going on we have 85 students attending our showcase is this Friday from 10:30 to noon in the cafeteria and you can just see there's a few pictures of the kids doing their hand on um lessons and projects we had reptile exhibit kids are planting we have our middle school kids who were um pting painting the block for the um Garden area right there outside of Middle School um there's a butterfly garden in the maying we have a turtle that has been part of the curriculum and I think his name is Rob um so just excited kids are excited and there's some homemade wiches that the kids made also there on the right so it's nice to see so hopefully some of you will be able to make it if not you'll see highlights of the showcase at our next meeting registration just an update um we currently have 42 brand new students two continental 20 of those are um kinder kids but we have nine um preschool and 13 new students second through eighth graders that are going to be new for open enrollment we have 82 students approved nine are staff students and we have nine on the wait list and our total open enrollment from last year was n what was the 76 so we need to update that slide so we've gone from 76 open and roll students to 82 this year summer Network update you can see um Joel and Greg have been very busy um inspecting what we expect on these upgrades so the network upgrade um work has been completed so you can see that the project involved replacing network cable the cloud key firewall Network switches and wiress access points so that's been a huge um project we also extended our Network out to the snack bar and we're excited about that because we didn't have Wi-Fi out there and um we're the process of extending our wireless network out to the bus barn as well so kids are going to be able to do homework wherever they are on campus when they're watching sports out there they'll be able TOS um another the camera project replacement project is also almost complete we're hoping to issue the pledge disc items within the next week um we have a majority of of our new security cameras online and configured the completion of the project will enable us to monitor our facilities and grounds locally from a monitoring station and remotely from our mobile devices so I'm excited to get the rata app on my phone so I'll be able to see all the access points and cameras Joe did we increase we went from how many to how many no increase in cameras just repl a replacement of an an old full close circuit system perfect thank you PA system the PA project is scheduled to to be completed by the beginning of July as well so we've been using our phone system so you can see there and this is where the digital clock will be for us here in the boardroom um dedicated fiber has been run to each building building cdnf are finished with clots and switches mounted and building is scheduled to be completed this week so thank you Joe additional slummer work you can see the plumbing work is about 50% complete in school and they're currently working in the counselor's office where they have located an abandoned cleanout so you can see the workers there and our goal is to still have it scheduled to be completed July 10 and that bow still had about four feet down to go when that picture was taken yes so major majorly under construction in the Middle School okay Avid conference in San Diego there's our Avid staff members that are there so um as a reminder Avid is appren achievement lifelong advant lifelong Advantage which incorporates writing in collaboration reading and organization for kids so it's we will have maybe half of our staff will be Abid trained by the time this group comes back so we're super excited to just continue to grow our Abid school by effort efforts and again going back to like we discussed what are the Abid components that are going to give us the biggest B for our bu and how are we going to expect what we expect in terms of organization and binder checks and goal setting and students monitoring their progress as well um as I mentioned before I um presented yesterday at the ASA summer Institute so we talked about creating high functioning teams throughout School turnaround efforts AKA School Improvement and um I did say I feel like an Unsolved Mysteries investigator so School Improvement is a very hard mystery to solve and there's so many factors to consider jungle and systems to pay extra attention to um and just a refresher on the four domains of Rapid Improvement our leadership talent management and with talent management talking about our recruiting efforts I just want to make sure everybody knows that this is the first time in the seven years I've been here that we haven't had turn over in the elementary school and we had to replace one teacher who left for retirement purposes so I really feel that we have the right people in the right seats on our bus to move forward and I'm very excited because we will be able to just continue where we left off in a more seamless manner than having to retrain teachers on specific curriculum so again thank you just for another amazing year and feel like we have a great team as a board and I look forward to our continued work thank you okay that takes us to the consent agenda um I motion to approve agenda any discussion Mrs leer yes Mrs yes Mrs alen yes Mr mg yes Mr yes okay Mr SCH District all right so didn't have room to clear out so if you remember back in December we we needed to do our um our cut in our budget that left us was about 240,000 for the year so just to let you know that after the latest payrolls and everything else that numberers down to about $50,000 so we've got we're able to manage that $240,000 for six months so right now we're still looking at about $50,000 left over within the M um but with that being said I will fre it open to any questions yall may have happens I'll District okay what happens it get rolled over to the next some stuff can roll over yeah there is% the the gone away with the percentages so we can used to be 3% so the yeah so the rollover has been whatever you can carry over you know there you know that's an interesting piece of that I'm currently watching the lawsuit and the superintendent from tson high school district was on there and he was saying how he's happy he's got the highest rollover of any District in the state and they rolled over $74 million um them too much money right um and he bragged about having the highest paid teachers in the state all right well what school that tallest high school district oh yeah um where does the rollover funds fit into next year's budget does it live kind of outside the budget it's unrestricted or do we have to allocate it as like normal Revenue so it's since it's already been received as Revenue it just gets rolled over into our brand total so when we start to put in numbers like override AMS it falls underneath that line it's just rolled into this the county doesn't give us 50 Grand no no no there okay I'm surprised really yeah yeah so to to put a symbol if our budget next year was $100,000 with the 50,000 we have 150 good job managing that thank you is in tall order and you we saw couple those Greg will you address that lawsuit just tell them what it is it's kind of high level yeah this this still falls under the district Finance so the high level of there's a lawsuit currently going on um believe it's the Glendale Elementary School District who is bringing it for all districts across the State against the school facilities Bo you know their real names now is the school facilities division since they moved under a different department um basically you have an attorney that's representing the school districts and he's going going up against an attorney for this speaker of the house he's got there's an attorney for this the president of the Senate then there's another attorney for the uh the state um the state and the house and the Senate are claiming that since school districts have the the ability to um go out for ponds that Capital dollars doesn't need to be as high because you have that ability um they're also saying that um and this is one of the funniest arguments that they're making is that school districts have the ability to move their ml funds into Capital which is true we do have that ability but it has to be done with the adopted budget that we do in July um their argument is that you could take your entire M budget and put it in to Capital true we can do but then we don't pay staff we don't pay electric bills we don't pay any of utilities so it's one of the dumbest arguments I've ever heard of in um long story short glendel is representing all the school districts saying one the school facilities board is except tson I imagine they uh were testifying on behalf of the state no they were just every every every District administrator they they called up is school districts um because even tson was saying that they've got like a100 Million worth of projects that they still need to get done you know as an alumni of cison I know that the one building was built in 1917 they're still using and I remember back I'm just going to cover this up real quick back in the 80s when I was there um that that building did not stay cool whatsoever um but but the big the long and the short of it is is that they're saying there's not enough funding the process with the sfb is too long and too comfortable to get stuff fix um one of the pieces of testimony that I heard is that the sfb currently has about $197 Million worth of projects that they have not funded and they are basically out of money and it's the state's responsibility is that the legisl legisl responsibility to keep it funded so the legislature is the one that allocates the the budget towards the sfb um they have in the past allocated additional funding um I think I want to say like two three maybe even four years ago they alloc like an additional $600 million but that's the nuts and the BS of that so there are more money to go to more money to go to the sfb maybe streamlining the process you know as you guys are well aware we've got a couple projects that are in the pipeline that have been in there for a good year yeah you two of those projects won't even look to be approved until August and if if they get approved if they don't get approved in August they may get approved in December they may not but approval me funding once it's approved it's funded okay like we currently have a project sitting two pro well three projects that are waiting fund yes thank you you're welcome sir else for Greg okay that'll take us to new business to the superintendent oh yeah we got yes Mrs Amaria yes Mr MCG yeah Mrs Alvin yes Mr yes now we do the annual superintendent uh evaluation for 2324 scho so we met as everybody knows in executive session for about an hour or so a pretty good discussion approve I move to approve the annual superint evaluation I second any discussion I would just in this point like to thank mrso for all our hard work for retaining pretty much everybody which is pretty amazing so I don't care what they say about you they must like thanks thank you my pleasure yes Mrs Allan yes Mr yes the next is to approve the performance pay as discussed in the executive session approve the superintendent performance P discuss session second any discussion so that takes us to the override anybody get a chance to skin through that believe it or not there was a version of that that we had to scale down 200 or soed limited to so this is the one that came from the attorney suggest so that's another action um I move to approve the governing board proceed any discussion and this is current with current numbers yes okay so last time I thought we said the 1% increase would it was approximately $47,000 is that or did I misunderstand that it's so the 1% increase going from 14 to 15% does increase the total budget by about $47,000 okay I was just wondered what the six um 632 so that would be the the total amount for the 16 for the 15% okay I think that needs to be re somehow so that they're don't see those High numbers and then think that's what we're gaining that's because that's I mean that's why I'm asking because when I read it I thought we were gaining that 1% by that much money not the 47,000 right read I think the third paragraph should maybe be the only paragraph I mean that but larger f um 632 would be for the upcoming school year there's just a lot of words that I wouldn't understand right away States aggregate expenditure limit I want know that me unfunded mandate increase but one penny tax rate per $100 of net assess valuation um it's pretty easy to as a voter how it affects me I don't care how it affects the school flipflop that paragraph three with the bullets to the top and then put ariza's P at the end wait so I'm looking at a toally no this is I'm reading this different last I guess I printed it so I thought it the same no I think the one that you may be looking at is the one that we had to trim down to get to the work okay okay so still I think that the the numbers there should 632 because ites it that much you could put which is an increase of BL I like that only 447,000 that's not a lot of money that's being one teacher salary us an increase of $47,000 to our budget right yeah I I I like that better because it looks like oh we're going to be gaining 632,000 off of this 1% and I'd be like well good so with that change um and that clarification then we could we could vote no on this and then bring it back or we vote Yes on the letter with changes and then we can I mean do you see what I'm I like that the 47,000 rather than the 632,000 July in July but our is July 11 so we could we could vote and then tweak it and then it'll still be approved but then we can still bring the final so can I can I bring this point up so the next agenda item that we have is the proposed budget and with the state not having passed the budget yet I've got nothing to propose um what we could do is once that state budget comes in we could have a special board meeting to get that approved as well as I just so you guys have all the options on the table and then sorry and then we're gonna we're going to continue to we're trying to keep the small classes right we're not trying to lower the class continue to keep right okay so to me it reads like we have these things and keep and we're at risk of losing them if we don't ask i' like this letter for us as bullet points when people ask us about it I think this is good information for us to know but like I agree with Kelly might be a little lengthy but then I didn't read the those the the last one this last one yeah that makes more sense the yeah with the bullets somebody might read that and say um what about Reading Writing written you don't care about that I know this is the fluffy stuff there but um I think those comments are going to come from people who are going to be antagonis like what I see on the screen might just put the 47,000 that be might so they're not due we just looked it up till Friday August 9th is when all the pro and con statement but I know that but the count re the county would like like us to have julye is July 11 yeah I I think you should take off the sentence there are many unknowns as to what the final applications are by 50 5.4 million so this is a governing board letter so in that Google doc you'll all have to come together and make suggestions that agree on what you want to submit for the July okay Mrs yes Mrs are you sure you no no we're not we we're not approving it no thank you thank you we were paying attention yes I wasn't paying attention I was read no Mr Mrs alen no [Music] budget get honestly no so do we V this to well there's there's nothing for me to submit to you for a proposed budget but this will allow us to have a small discussion about it um right now what we're basically waiting on is the state to pass their budget there's a couple Lines within the budget that should increase um I do have the budget basically done I'm just waiting on those final figures to come in and as of right now with numbers being exact same we're looking at basically the same budget that we had this current fiscal year any anticipation honestly I was I was looking and looking today and I don't see any movement whatsoever from the from the state legislature as far as get budget I have never seen a budget this late ask I've never seen this late I I'm usually struggling to get you guys a budget for your 48 hour viewing prior to the so the deadlines are July 5th so more than likely we'll have to have a special meeting the end of June Drew could you call Katie all right looking at um the budget are we still looking at possible potential percentage increase teachers for July right now it's hard to say because I don't know what that increase from the state looks like you know I I I really don't want to go into next June you know with $50,000 sitting there hoping nothing major happens do they I I forget I should this answer the number is we get $88,000 per kit whatever that number is that's they give you and then so the numbers that we're waiting on is the base level right which right now is $ 4,914 okay that's the number that they adjust upwards for inflation so we're waiting on that there's also a group b weight or students on free and reduce lunches and from what I understand that's supposed to be going from a 022 to a 025 so that'll give us few extra pennies in our budget but the the big one is that base support level that 4914 see what it goes to but then do you go in you say well we have 600 kids and then they give you that you re budget for the 600 you remember last year we were short the kids so I I looked at where we're at right now with um student enrollment um our budget number ad last year was 587 in change so right now I have us budgeted at 590 and come this fall we end up with 610 get no State budgets can only go down or District budgets can only go down with DEC so what if we budget for 600 that's what I'm saying what if we what if we budgeted for 610 and don't spend the money don't spend the money and then if we have to pay it back pay it back I mean that is an option I mean we do that like wouldn't we do that is just so not having to do that budget Revision in December so that's you know a nice little thing I mean mox's out there trying get kids from s to come down think about bus if that work you're going to get to that number so I think we're all asking for more budget right if you can't go up but you can come down that doesn't make sense that we can it's because the tax rate is already set so the tax rate they can't readjust the tax rate I think we need to ask for more money and just not spend it and when they ask for it back we WR we would we would be able to Project based on enrollment how much money we need to leave and Reser decision yeah because it's really going to come down to what the state's going to say we're gonna have as far as kids in January on day that's what it all comes down to but rision to doe in December but they go but they they they base it off of their they're not their ADM number projection for for January based on our Trends and I feel like this is a feature not like they they misplace all of these steps and dates on purpose yeah so that you don't ask for the extra to be honest it was so much nicer when it wasn't current year funding when you just basically said okay my 100th day ADM last year was this this is how I get well of course why keep it simple well because there's a lot of districts that were complaining that um Charter Schools were getting current year funding and didn't have to do you know be a year in re so the state said okay have the same we have our the goal of 80% of our students will show growth in the year we can be good for us to be a little bit mty and the students that we're anticipating we will have for that purpose that we will be able to have a reserve and readjust then without without um if you do that on your financial report this buffer we're building in I assume they need to be spread out among the lines items I would put it I would put it where I have always put it there's a line item for um employee Dent okay remember that R some feathers in the but there's no line item in the budget that says astery stuff as long as there's a clear way to keep to keep an eye on it between June and December could be teer I mean if it's 10 kids and we get those 10 kids at four grand a piece well it could also mean get the St well I know but I'm just saying that's a whole year yeah 10 yeah so with that being said do we want to at a tenative date at the end of June since July 5th there's Fourth of July and then the fth the fth is a holiday so it would have to be by well looking at any dates Now is really irrelevant because we don't know when the state's going to pass the budget but they have to pass it before July 5th um they supposed to have it passed before May 15th exactly so you know that was what six weeks ago four weeks ago they don't because we only have two weeks before July if the state doesn't pass a budget they can't hold us to dates if there's nothing to submit 61 because we're 590 is what you're asking for right now that's what I have it in there as 590 and what's your what's your projection Ro well I didn't have a projection you guys threw out 610 you're get do do you see kids from coming is there family interest so Greg he budgeted right now to the TIY for 59 because we were 587 yes the last budget so I mean if we project 10 more kids do 601 if we do 600 or 601 597 which is 10 kids 590 59 you said You' project 590 so if we did 600 or 601 we're looking at 11 more kids than that than what you originally put you feel comfortable we do have on the waiting list do you feel comfortable of your open en we've got on our open is open is still open yeah there's 10 we still have found these movies in so we're wasn't n going to go adopt five kids we asked so what's what's with the nine kids on the waiting list I mean are they we had to deny some for capacity okay whether it be class size or special special needs capacity um and grade level based on the number of students already on IEPs on where they are in the grades that they're going in so but but the law for open enrollment has changed you can no longer deny them they have to be on a waiting list so with with the intention that when there is a vacancy or kids withdraw you can call up kids that are on waiting L and then throughout the year and you can't like once you accept them they have to stay here not necessarily yes yes I thought think is it a grandfather's sence like your year to year or do they have to reapply so they have to reapply every year you don't have to accept them next year we don't have to accept them but it's not common practice for us to not to deny kids who have been here for you know five years and just all of a sudden you know we don't have the capacity to your needs and then and also siblings so the priority is Staff kids and then continuing open enrollment kids and siblings before we look at brand new in students so we we will we will track down our staff members that live in the district to have them get more kids the neighborhood Ali is not in the district but it be open en yes open enr and my God son is coming he's a kindergarten that got the from right see so we had that that round up from somebody the parents so once the work gets out how great we are and how happy the kids are then we're have more so I know how our Spanish Immersion going I know that was a big sell point for me when I open so it's it's it's probably one of our programs that needs a little bit more refining um but the problem becomes when you have only three teachers and you're trying to separate kids or gender and behaviors and it it's very hard for that the students to they there's a lot of drop in I want to say so kids who come in New Or who are new at the grade level so it's hard for the teacher to keep up with the progress of the current kids and how they develop their Spanish language so that becomes a challenge that was a big selling point at that point but it was strong then I mean when came to kindgarten first second third grade it was it was it was strong so we have teachers still teaching it we have kids who are taking the Spanish assessment um and we have the curriculum now with Benchmark Advance we have students who truly will be bilingual biliterate kids because they've going be able to read in Spanish as well which before we didn't have a read curriculum for Spanish it was more development to you know the oral communication and songs our goal is to have a bilingual biliteracy seill out of middle school so that maybe the kids and cl out of Spanish at the high school so that's that's our goal for the program Olivia translated for me at church on Sunday oh good so I mean she hears it understands it but I don't know if she would have been able to get get and speak it you know but she she did very well and I yeah I was impress so that's what we want to keep keep fostering that on to you see the events coming up the next month and a half you can see the list is a little bit smaller than it's been in the last three months so we have um water day in our showcase Foundation our regular meeting so and our new teacher induction like I mentioned we do not have any new elementary teachers it's be one person so going to give us more time um for us to continue to dig into the data we more prepared for teachers on what we're going to roll out for service um July 31st are our staff pictures um and at 7:45 in the morning with our govering Bo breakfast right after at 9 so please mark your calendars for pictures and that day week [Music] ises okay Wednesday morning Foundation is working on cafer we can walk and go see it if you'd like to go see it at meeting they did run the kids through summer school no I think they're going to do it um on Thursday the summer school kids are going to are here are GNA work on the mural mural [Music] stay reled reled [Music] do they count the en budget so preschoolers they only count as half and they only count as half as if they are just identified as and Kinder again is half is half we have whole day yes we should push that and smaller classes and that's another thing that that the attorneys in that lawsuit bringing up is that you're offering full day kindergarten aren't you offering half you could use that money for Capital needs so I my two older kids I put them in a charter school because I worked full time and the charter school is offering full day so he lost two students yeah and that's just another argument that those attorneys are making in that lawsuit it's not a good arum no it's not well there's districts that charge for the full day ma charges full day and then they Char inter that we are 659 two off

e e e Miss Paige are you on the phone yes thank you e e I assume so ready y good evening um I would like to bring our work study to order um we'll call it to order now and then we'll we just finished an executive session we will follow it with a brief board business meeting so call the work study order to um in session we'll move to 3.01 monthly financial report for month ended April 30th 2024 um Dr mcord thank you Madame President governing board members um tonight we have a reinforcements yeah there you go wow guess this is serious um two things for you from these wonderful folks here the monthly financial report like we do on a monthly basis as well as 3.02 the 2025 proposed budget presentation so I imagine Personnel won't change for both of them is that right okay all yours stuck with us so good evening um just a reminder normally we present the monthly Financial at the end of each month representing the end of the prior month uh due to graduations Etc the U May late meeting was canceled and so we are catching up on the monthly Financial so this one is uh the results the financial results effective year to date as of April 30th 2024 okay and yes I have um Jackie Matten with me to the left and uh umur to T Lauren T I almost said Holly torka that's why I Lauren to on my right um to be the color commentators for this evening and I understand we do have two individuals on one one R Ronda on okay okay yes okay okay great so um just normal District operating funds Federal grant funds state Grant funds bond fund that service fund all of these will be all these grids will be presented to you as you know that they don't represent all of the grids the the formal financial report showing all of our funds are available to you as part of this agenda item so we always start with the district operating funds the biggest thing I wanted to point out was the column highlighted in um oh shoot I'm not connected here sorry okay forgot to do that so the first um uh item I wanted to point out is the uh column highlighted in yellow this represents the revised budget number two which you all approved in early May uh and then you can see uh the changes that have occurred in maintenance operation a slight downturn again a reminder were funded on current year student counts and so that slight downturn is reflective of the loss in average daily membership throughout the year um and then note on undried Capital conversely we actually gained a little bit of budget capacity on revised number two and unrestricted Capital due to last year they always recalculate our final average daily membership in July and we captured that additional budget capacity in this final budget Revision in unrestricted Capital so still in a very positive Place regarding our available fund balance um we did anticipate that we would have a little bit more available balance on the budget on the proposed budget that we're sharing with you um this evening on m&o um but we'll we'll go through that a little bit more when we get to the proposed budget okay any questions on this is our main uh grid of all of our operating funds here in gilber public schools okay I'll move on um so the Federal grant funds again revised budget number two this revised budget number two reflects the awarded carryover of all of the Federal grant funds we did want to point out the sr3 and the S3 required 20% set aside so based on our last our final revision uh to the grants management department at the department of Ed we are um proposing that all of the S3 set aside be completely uh expended associated with the approval of the math curriculum adoption that you all approved last month as well um however just a note that uh that final Grant application has not yet been approved um and so things could could change but we'll bring that back to you of course monthly um finally the state Grant funds again uh revised budget number two reflective um of the final that you all approved and then uh we highlighted the fund 465 which is that Arch consumable Grant and so I'd really like to hand over the explanation of that to Jackie because there was a tremendous amount of effort and work expended over the last five weeks to get that money spent thank you Miss bets so just I want to talk about the story behind this grant a little bit um Cheryl poock nozer applied for the grant um it was a very complicated and laborious process the grant was approved by ad for Gilbert in early January so Lauren and her team set up the account code set up the budgets appropriately um on February 9th the state put these funds on hold there what's that I remember that uh in the meantime in between those uh dates there were there were a few purchase orders um that were initiated but not nearly um the amount of the Grant on April 5th we were notified by ad that these funds were no longer on hold however uh the window in which to spend was closing very quickly uh they didn't the spend and encumbrance process didn't follow the normal Grant cycle we asked questions about that um all reimbursement requests had to be processed and sent back to to ad by May 1st which is unusual um we should have had an encumbrance period so a process was developed to assist the schools in spending These funds we provided them with a list of inore um shopping options with vendors approved vendors and then also options to order from our main Warehouse so remarkably um in 6 days administrative assistance at the schools entered more than 600 purchase orders and 320 Warehouse requisitions um in about 14 days teachers went shopping for art supplies and provided proof of purchase to accounts payable so we could pay the bills uh over the following two weeks accounts payable paid 1,533 invoices from the Arts Grant so I really want to give a public shout out to the administrative assistants the teachers uh Lauren and her team did a great job of keeping the schools informed with process and deadline updates um Barbie Wells and her purchasing team did an amazing job of working with our vendors to ensure that we had sufficient credit limit we do have a credit limit like everybody else um so we had to increase that on an ongoing basis um they also helped facil facilitate a shopping day at one of our in store vendors uh which was really um a nice option for teachers not to mention processing over 600 additional purchase orders um Eli Melton and his Warehouse team worked non-stop to make sure that the shelves were stocked with all of these art supplies um and we he didn't know what to expect but he just kept ordering and ordering and the orders kept coming in it was uh really quite remarkable um so all in all 7,265 items were purchased for 430 teachers in a very very short period of time so shout out to everybody that was involved including Federal programs um my team Eli Barbie everybody it was uh accounts payable it was a it was a heavy lift for sure um so it's a reason to celebrate and we are uh receiving those reimbursements right now so was pretty great because we had been allocated almost $600,000 and we were able to get spent $430,000 that was really quite remarkable in a very very short period of time yeah and then one thing that that wasn't mentioned is that we had to submit the reimbursement requests by teacher with all of the backup information so it was a very complicated Grant so anyway it's a big success story I thought we'd share it with you guys so the rest of the grant does that have to go back to the state that will go back to the state so we were it was a reimbursement Grant so right so we weren't able to spend it funds but we don't we didn't receive them so we them okay got it thank you that that's what I was trying to understand thank you nice summary thank you well nice work thank you very much good I didn't do anything they did it well and did that that kind of coincided with our um having the art teachers teach more as well right I mean was that part of that they could use that oh absolutely our Elementary art teachers so that was that's really awesome that we we just didn't want to take we just didn't want to lose the the money POS fa getting it spent yeah that's awesome okay um so the bond fund uh we're sharing this with you to show you all of the transfers so we had allocations in security and Technology because of the equipment heavy purchases in security and Technology we thought it was probably made more sense to move those potential in uh expenditures in the future into unrestricted capital and so the decision was made to go ahead and move all of the available balance into facilities renewal where we have some significant projects and those make more sense to have significant projects paid for out of bond instead of equipment um so the only item we did leave uh in was Transportation they have been spending about $1.2 million for six to eight buses annually um and um Mr uh tolby has been very disciplined about replacing the fleet in a regular way so that all the buses are not old at the same time and need to be replaced at the same time so we're being very careful about how the fleet is being managed and so we did leave the $1.2 million into Transportation just wanted to make sure that you were all aware of that and you can see where the changes in the bond proceed you can see the bonds authorized and you can see the bond proceeds the dollars have changed reflecting the amounts for security and Technology any questions on that and that's legally we have that ability we do we are allowed a 10% fluctuation um so out of $100 million we are able to easily move around uh $10 million of that we're well within that limit by making these transfers and then finally Debt Service the only reason that we're sharing this this time is the final debt service payment for the year is due on July 1st and we always reflect that in the uh current year instead of applying it to next year uh so the money we are monitoring cash balances as we speak to ensure that we have adequate Cash In The Debt Service fund to meet Our obligation for The Debt Service payment on July 1st and that is all we have if there's any questions we're happy to answer any that you might have any anyone have any questions or comments about the monthly financial report appre I appreciate the hard work that is put into this it's very pretty um I think we've gotten a lot easier to understand over time in the last few years so there's no questions because you guys explain it so well good it's good okay thank you we'll move on to um item 3.02 excuse me fiscal year 2025 prop proposed budget presentation Dr McCord thank you madam president govern board members as you know it's that time of year where we're trying to figure out what's what coming from the state uh but Bonnie and her team have put together uh a budget that we think will definitely be sufficient as we move into the next year of course the budget at the state level is not complete yet so um we don't think we're shooting in the dark but at the same time I think it's a very educated guess but anything can happen when the final budget comes down from the state so there you go um as usual we feel that our planning is more on the conservative side than not uh it's been a really rough year though we've had very limited even less information coming from the legislature than we've had in the past so there's arguably probably more risk associated with budget proposal uh fortunately though we are in a pretty solid um solid Place financially to be able to mitigate any unforeseen additional uh reduction so uh we feel like this is a pretty good proposed budget we have to approve a budget by June 30th we have to propose ose and and then adopt a budget no later than July 15th July 15th okay okay thank you so to begin um we have some introduction information we're going to go through the 2025 proposed budget that's not just about M and unrestricted Capital but some of our other funds to give you an idea of what's in our that big budget presentation package um average teacher salary of course we have been reporting every year since governor juicies uh 20 by 2020 and then uh estimated tax rates and then finally proposed budget risks and opportunities which are more than usual um and uh probably more important that we talk about them as we propose this budget so to begin this is the budget development timeline really wanted to bring your attention to the April and May time frame generally the legislative session uh should end by the end of May first week in June we are obviously on June 11th and there's not completed um but regardless of that we are required to as you just asked adopt our budget no later than July 15th we have historically hearing Gilbert ended our year um and did not have an early meeting in July so we will have to adopt our budget at the June 25th meeting and and of course on the agenda today you will have a request to approve the proposed budget as well as authorize us to um to advertise that proposed budget in preparation for the public hearing on June 25th okay so this is alignment to the Strategic operating plan it's very important that we always share with you the fact that we are making recommendations about spend increases that are directly related to our strategic operating plan we've been very disciplined about that over the last five or six years and so we're going to share that um the the uh main SE segments of our strategic operating plan are save and support of Schools employee Excellence financial and operational efficiency family and Community engagement all surrounding the main goal of Student Success so this again this proposed budget absolutely is fully aligned to the GI Public School strategic plan strategic priority employee Excellence this kind kind of goes to our recommendation regarding um employee uh increases for going into the 2425 school year it's it's very very important that we remain competitive and these are our strategic priorities related to employee Excellence just a reminder all functions of gilber public schools contribute to the achievement of inspiring excellence in every learner all employees regardless of their role contribute to the achievement of this Vision whether they're a transportation bus driver or a nutrition services worker or a custodian at our schools along with of course our direct um direct staff teaching our children every day a strategic operating plan employee goal is to always retain and attract high quality employees in all positions throughout this the district and then compensation increases when possible shall be consistent across all employee groups so I'm happy to say that that this recommend this recommended proposed budget does address all all of those um priorities so in addition we have a 15% M override and that we made commitments to that that override to the public to a um receive those additional taxpayer dollars so the proposed budget maintains salary competitiveness maintains our Safety and Security Personnel includes our social workers and our Behavioral Health Counselors and it still maintains the $2 million annual allocation to class size reduction associated with with the highest classroom needs in the school district so as you know the basis for our proposed budget and any budget is our student counts and so we always start with the conversation about our budget capacity with our student counts so this is our average daily membership comparison from 2020 to to the 2025 projection we have been using 2020 as our base year because that was prior to covid and represents what we would consider sort of a normal operating year for gilber public schools and so I always would like to compare our student uh enrollment to to that metric so you can see over time we we had a significant loss in uh fiscal year 2021 came back a bit in 2022 and since that time have lost um a little bit each year um going into the current year we did budget for a 600 student loss and our loss was about 580 students um we are now caught up with our cohorts so at as every year has started our kindergarten classrooms have been smaller so now as kindergarten goes into first grade and then those lower first graders are going into second and the lower second graders are going into third we are seeing a fairly significant decline in our overall um enrollment K12 due to that cohort movement however um Don an uh don McKay and her her team as well as maai as well as all of our schools have been working diligently to try to increase enrollment getting making sure that we are enrolling students as early as possible um to date even though we are projecting a 1,200 average daily membership loss to date we are tentatively feeling fairly positive that it may may only be a and a thousand a thousand student loss but we're watching it closely there's always that fear of what happens in July when we're we didn't hear from any families and then all of a sudden they're not showing up and we have to um withdraw them so that July to August early August time frame is really key to determine what our final student count will be I have a question and I know you don't have your little crystal ball there to make this kind of a prediction but just along those same lines about you saying that like every year now the the cohorts the kindergarten there's less kindergart gers the next year there's less which is is like a whole situation with a community I understand that that happens as they grow up um it's happened in some of the surrounding districts and I know we have a consultant that that does work on that particular like projections is there any have we have you had a discussion with him about about this and if so what can I well we always have ongoing discussions with Rick Brammer um you know I think he's told us we've outperformed his projections over the years and I think it's kind of catch-up time to be real honest with you um our goal is still to outperform his projections and I I I think we will but um we always have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best but this is not this is different than like losing kids to another school like a charter or whatever correct I mean I think you're seeing a a a collision of all kinds of things I think uh effects of Co I think Esa I think charter schools and I think birth rate right and I think prices of houses is I think it's all just a contributing factor I don't think you put your finger on one thing but we can definitely point at all of them yeah well and you should you should know from a conservative nature as well we took the 1,200 students from the ADM as it exists today so we did have we are in constant contact with um Rick Brammer and he did send an email oh gosh I think last week saying okay I'm just clarifying I'm seeing an enrollment loss so I want to make sure that we're talking about enrollment not average daily membership but your over your enrollment loss was over 900 enroles it didn't reflect a full 900 ADM M loss was closer to like I said 580 ADM but from that enrollment we are projecting that 1,200 loss so we're being very very conservative um and we've been very um we've been pretty good about beating the projection every time um so but you just never know for sure so any other questions about that the only other thing I wanted to point out is please uh note the Arizona online full-time and part-time are zeroed out for the projection for 2025 so that 145 and 98 students were actually moved into the inperson uh which could result in a higher budget capacity because we are no longer going to be subject to the 95% and the 85% penalty and that was due to all the work that we've done over the last couple of months regarding the instructional time model associated with our um Global Academy as a reminder of about that okay and then this is just the average daily membership comparison over time you can see the the pretty high um ADM in 2020 and then the decline in 2021 then recovered a little bit in 2022 and then just very slowly going down since that time due to those things that you pointed out um the fact that that it's not necessarily we're losing all these kids for another reason but there's so many things that are competing meting against us right now so so given all that information uh we wanted to share with you the M budget capacity projection and this is based on the governor's proposal as I indicated earlier we do not have the legislative decision yet or even any idea what might be approved um so this is the basis for this Pro uh proposed budget the base level amount increased by 2% we feel fairly confident about that 2% increase as it's in statute associated with um the prop 301 classroom site fund rules um the district additional assistance increased by 2% as you know charter schools have historically received an inflationary adjustment for their Charter additional assistance uh last year probably last year maybe the two years ago um school districts began to receive um the 2% uh increase to the district additional assistant assistance so we are looking at that and then our teacher experience index has dropped from 1.026 to 1.011 18 so that does result in a little bit less in budget capacity due to that okay so whenever we present the comparison of the M budget capacity we always want to share first with the budget balance carry forward so if you look at the attached budget document and you look on page seven of eight um you can see that the the total budget at the bottom matches about that $87.6 five million but note a couple of things you can see the the transfer here of the district additional assistance to M that's in the budget but that's a one-time money and then Additionally the budget balance carry forward we would also consider that one time recall that I shared that our budget balance carry forward on the monthly Financial we're anticipating is about $14 million right now but we are expecting to get at least another $2 million due to our all of our endof year processes and un encumbering purchase orders and stuff like that um but wanted to make sure that you knew that the budget on the budget document matched that 287.4 five million if we did the comparison with all of those one-time monies we would have a loss of 4.45 million a couple of years ago because the budget balance carry forward has been so much higher than we've seen in the past and under understanding that's largely onetime money we have opted to present to you the budget capacity without the budget balance carry forward and this also does not include that $2 million transfer and the reason why we're doing that we're trying to to share if we were stripped down in the current year to the projection for next year the the dollars really represent what we would consider ongoing dollars so we're trying to compare on ongoing to ongoing which is the strategy so you can see without the budget balance carry forward and without that District additional assistance transfer our budget decline year-over-year um primarily due to the loss of students projected is about $3.62 million okay are there any questions about that before I move on you good okay great so when we talk about doing it without the Balan budget carry forward this is based on the the number of students we have now taking out that extra money that it's more it's more pure with ongoing to ongoing yeah okay right okay thank you so our non-discretionary budget uh budgetary increases we have these every year note that you all approved a no medical insurance premium increase which was good news and then we all have over the last couple of years added inflationary increases we're hoping the $500,000 is enough um city of Mesa school resource officer increas as we were notified last fall that all of the school districts that are within the boundaries of the city of Mesa are now funding 100% of their school resources resource officers so we are will be absorbing the full cost and then an hourly increase due to minimum wage increase in January 2025 we have no information about what that could be at this point in time and you all did approve a 2% pay increase for all staff that is precautionary so another level of conservatism not sure of what that minimum wage increase might be in January okay so $1.3 million are what we consider non-discretionary then we have a projection of 1,200 student loss so there's going to be uh less of a need for teachers please know that there are no layoffs uh going on right now it's up roughly 60 FTE generally speaking we've had normal electrici of 80 to over 100 depending upon the year so we will easily be able to achieve um that $4 million in savings and then as has been uh John castalano's practice over the last five years he's always looking at how he can get greater value out of his technology staff so he presented to us a te technology uh services staff reorganization which resulted in about $300,000 of additional savings so we have $4.3 million of savings to offset um the decline in the budget as well as those non discretionary increases so finally the recommended pay increases which um have not been fully already approved by you um because we've we have another uh increase that we're recommending but all staff to receive 2% pay increase you have already approved we are recommending an athletic coach sipen increase I think this was shared to you in shared with you um last week in the board in the board brief and then of course the hourly stat $600 stipended and the exempt staff $800 stipended um those dollars are there as well anticipating the successful passage of the override in November so that's a total of about 8.01 million in recommended pay increases so what is our total budgetary increase need trying to build the budget with each page right so we start with $3.62 million reduction year over here based upon the governor's proposed budget we add back the projected ongoing savings we decrease the total non-discretionary increases and then we consider the cost of the pay increase recommendation so our total budgetary deficit year-over-year ongoing to ongoing again is um 8.63 million so are there any questions on that okay great so balancing so okay how you're looking at all of us and saying okay you guys how the heck are you going to balance that budget right how we get to zero um so uh pay increases funded by other funds as you know we we look at the district globally and we look at all the cost increases based upon that 2% but we know nutrition services pays for their own increases Community Ed pays for their own increases CED pays for their own increases title one pays for their own increases so we've considered all of that and there's a savings or an offsetting cost of about $430,000 and then the classroom site fund if you recall three years ago I think the classroom site fund rules changed allowing us to include other instructional professionals such as psychologists social workers um orthopedic and physical therapists um and as well as instructional um support Personnel uh we are able to have classroom site fund fund $4.7 million of the pay increases for all of those employees that are eligible to receive classroom site funds and then there is where the district additional assistance transfer is coming in note that we have labeled it under onetime so it's onetime which is a onetime district additional assistance transfer of $2 million and then onetime budget balance carry forward from M remember we're budgeting for just under $16 million um and then allocating 1.6 million to balance the budget one time again as I shared we have we actually budgeted for a district additional transfer of $2 million a year ago for the 2024 budget and we were able to eliminate that transfer due to additional budget balance carry forward and additional students we actually achieved more students than we projected so chances are possible that we will be able to eliminate that $2 million transfer as well as we go into our first budget revision uh probably in December of 2024 so that leaves us with an 8.63 million um of pluses against a negative 8.63 million which balances our budget so are there any questions on that okay great that's that is a lot of hard work and I will be honest I had to have her explain it to me earlier today because I had looked at it and just needed more information well there's so many ways to present it and so it's just trying to build it to make it understandable is the most difficult thing so it takes a while to understand it so the reason why we're presenting the classroom site fund to all of you as its own fund is because of its contribution to balancing our M budget and you can see that this was an opportunity because our classroom site fund has continued on a per student basis to increase so whereas um a year ago uh the the uh total budget for uh classroom site fund a year ago in the current year the total budget was 48.67 million and we are projecting to have about $57 million available going into 2025 so you can see that the allocation increase note the 29.41 which was our allocation new revenue from from the state of Arizona and our new Revenue um going in uh to the 2025 school year is just about $700,000 more um so you can see that with the 4.7 million we are drawing down some of that classroom site fund fund balance in order to achieve that um but we feel very positive about doing that and then the other thing is note the nearly $500,000 of Interest earnings in classroom site fund just due to the economic environment out there where the interest rates have continued to increase ponnie I I have a question about um the kind of the overall budget in and in terms of Food Services um I know that you know in in a previous life um a lot of we had a number of schools that were title one so as a result of that there was there was times when we could utilize some of the nutritional Food Service money for district things that were needed because they it was a shared and it was you know completely okay to do that is that something we can do here um and I'm just off the top of my head I'm going to use the example of May cafeteria tables that's a very small one but um I know that that you're able to do it unless they've changed some things so that ites does free up some of the of the money for the from the um overall budget so a couple of things strategically we've been doing so first of all um just due to the Advent of Esser and having all the federal funds we have been charging indirect to all of those Sr funds and nutrition services funding has been has benefited from that as well because of the universal free breakfast and lunch so we have taken the maximum indirect from the nutrition services fund since then that time so probably with cafeteria tables and stuff like that we would probably use indirect um but as an example we were able to um and we've also used indirect to actually make some improvements that are one time in nature so so we have been to sort of doing it indirectly by using indirect um more so that we want to make sure that nutrition services has enough money to be able to meet their Capital needs associated with oven Replacements and refrigerators and we've been very disciplined about making sure that they're paying for that which offsets underst restricted capital or Bond needs so that's how we've been managing that and plus they're going to pay for their own pay increases and their own benefit increases so that was reflected earlier as well I I do have a I just wanted to talk about classroom site fund because this was uh begun by prop 301 in I think 2000 or 2001 and it's the um increase in sales tax and previously it was we put it on in addition to the pay and now we can put it into pay and we can do more than just teachers correct so remember that we still cannot supplant so we can only use it to increase salaries for teachers and those that are eligible so we can't supplant we can't move anyone out of M and put them directly into classroom site fund um if they were funded by m in the prior year however we have been looking at if we're going to add particular positions that are new positions and they're eligible for classroom site fund we are considering having them fully funded by classroom site fund but to your point it was not that long ago that this value was only about $450 per student and we're up to nearly double at this point in time so that's the other scary thing about classroom site fund it fluctuates pretty significantly it hasn't in the last 3 years but it could again um which is the reason why we have such a a considerable beginning fund balance and why we're very careful about how much money we draw down in fund balance just like we do with M okay so the other question I have is previously before we moved it more into salary it has always it it has most often been into salaries but salary increases but they also got this performance pay and they still do and they okay that was my question they still will receive but it's like a certain amount $750 or something like that it's $750 and um we made that change it's three or four years ago two years ago I think it was two years ago um with the idea that let's go ahead and just put what we have to put into performance pay and put the rest onto your base that way it can grow with salary increases where the pay for performance your reement can grow on your Bas okay is that a 750 a one time or twice a year 750 one time it's okay paid out has it been paid out or it's going to be paid out the last pay in June or the first pay it's been paid okay good okay all right that I just wanted to clarify those pieces because it has changed over time it has definitely um but it is a a huge benefit to be able to I mean if we didn't have classrooms s fund our teachers would and our staff would be very underpaid this is that I think it's 1 cent I don't remember if it's 6 or 1 cent sales tax but it's very helpful to giving our staff a higher pay and there's a little bit of a a contribution from the state um the state land trust as well okay in there okay all right thank you okay any questions on any of that okay so the proposed underst capital budget capacity um I share that that does include a 2% to the district additional assistance could be at risk depending upon the situation with the legislature um but you can see on this grid you can see the $2 million coming out of the daa um to be placed into M the other thing I wanted to point out was remember that for the 2024 school year we receed that 8 nearly $8.8 million of onetime undried capital funding and we are not uh projecting to receive that uh for the 2025 proposed you can see the budget balance carry forward again we started a little bit more conservatism regarding our unrestricted Capital spend in the current year so we are projecting an increase in budget balance carry forward also contributed by the 8.76 million of one money onetime money um and then note the $1 million of Interest earnings in unrestricted Capital which has been really great so it's a nice it's really difficult that we that we've we've earned arguably um quite a bit of interest in M as well we're not allowed to increase our budget capacity in M um but in unrestricted Capital we are able to do that so you can see that $1 million contribution okay so other fund budgets so this is Community Schools we like to share our Enterprise funds what has happened you can see nutrition services and Community Schools you can see that the proposed budget is less than the revised number two um but note that we're very conservative in projecting their budget regarding what the budget balance carry forward will be as well as revenues and expend expenditures but we do have an accounting analyst who works closely with Lauren to project appropriately both of those funds Amanda is working on both of those funds coming up with the strategy to best project and trying to consider what kind of Revenue will they receive in the summer because as you know vik is very busy in the summer which is one of our community schools programs and then nutrition services does continue to serve meals during the summer so all of those revenues are reflected as well but we do expect those to change when we do the first budget Revision in December January time frame and then you can see the instructional Improvement funds we are anticipating to receive that late instructional Improvement fund again as we did um last year and then um the state and federal grants you can see the drop of $10 million there as well but our strategy has been over the last five six years to not anticipate carryover with our grant funds until it's approved so we match our budget on those Grant funds to to match the gme the grants management website so that we're all consistent across the State of Arizona and then um other cash funds you can see tax credit auxiliary donations and those are all very designated to to schools or particular needs okay and then average teacher salary as we shared this uh average teacher salary of 68390 reflects um the final average teacher salary that represents the October time frame that's when we establish an average teacher salary and then we keep it that way for the rest of the year otherwise as you can imagine as teachers come and go there is some fluctuation in that as well but at least we know that when the school district employee report is submitted it matches more clearly with our teachers and so we've we've put that into place and then um and then the that I'm sorry the 60 it's the 67,000 that's in the current year and then the 68,000 is just 2% higher because of the decision you all made and as you know because during the summer we lose teachers and we gain teachers so all the salaries are different by the time we get into October and so that's why we revise the average teacher salary so it will definitely change from that 2% going into next year so then what's expected on our estimated tax rates so you can see um from this that our tax rate is it it went down by nearly 12 cents going into the 2024 school year and this is a um pretty uh conservative projection in other words it's likely that our drop in the tax rate will be greater than the 24 cents reflected here um but the the contribution of this is you can see our all of it like in the primary you can see um from about 35 down to 33 so two cents contrib or yeah two cents contribution there three cents and then you can see the drop in the m&o override and then the drop in the class B bonds as well and those drops are largely associated with uh The Debt Service is declining a little bit our M override went down about $900,000 and then our SS value has continued to grow and so um we will realize a at least a 24 Cent uh tax rate decrease going into the 2025 school year okay risks and opportunities as I shared at the very beginning um a is still looming for fiscal year 2025 um right before the meeting Dr McCord shared that his information indicates the governor will sign the final budget with a wave of the aggregate expenditure limit for 2025 which is great news we don't have to play that game um in the spring of trying to figure out how we're going to come come up with $65 million um so uh the other thing is loss of more students in the 12200 we feel like that's a pretty good projection and it shouldn't be more than 1,200 could be we don't we don't know for sure until we see the whites of their eyes legislature decreases funding level below Governor's budget putting at risk over $4 million that 2% to the base level amount is worth about4 million and then students return but on the positive side we could receive more students to provide greater funding and then not likely the legislature approves greater funding than the base amount of 2% this budget choking you out yes I'm choking now yeah and that's the end of our presentation we're all here to answer any of your questions sorry that it shook you up so much I apologize you okay yes thank you we don't have to perform any CPR or anything no okay good all right um questions comments concerns I think it's important that we note that we are giving as much of a increase to our employees with the 2% let alone if the override passes when it passes that we will have that additional funds because that's again one of our top strategic priorities to have the best quality people um in front of our students with our students providing all the support every day that happens across the district and again when you talk about losses and different things we still are finding a way to prioritize that and I think that's important because that reflects how we feel about our employees so I appreciate that we do that and that we find ways to accomplish ways to um again contribute to our Student Success which is which is what we're all focused on so thank you um I just had a question um we can go ahead and pass our budget even if the legislature hasn't finalized their budget correct so the the biggest um risk is in in the uh the tax rate setting we can always adopt a budget and know that we have to come back in December or January to revise it down or to revise it up okay but if it we had that situation A couple of years ago where there was an infusion of a fair amount of dollars onto the base level amount requiring us to quickly turn around and do another adopted budget in early July if you remember that um so because the tax rate has to be set by July 18th and so when you have more funding it does impact your M override and and your transportation support level which will have an impact on your primary and your secondary tax rate so those are the big changes so but yes to answer your question yes um if if we find that something drastically changes regarding the tax rate then Dr McCord will contact you and we'll figure out what we have to do okay all right thank thank you there's been a lot of work put into this and I I really appreciate all the work that you've done you bet you know it's I mean we we have to do this we have to balance our budget and educate our kids to the best of our ability and so it takes a lot of it takes a lot of work to make sure that we do both of those well so thank you anything else thank you all three of you very much is always appreciate it you bet and so the last thing don't forget you have to sign the proposed budget and I think um Sheila you'll need to sign the Affidavit of the yeah summary okay provided we pass it yeah that's yes Excuse me yes yeah I thank you for that correction thank you thank you all very much thank you okay that's um an adjournment of work study does anybody need a three minute break or you okay to keep going okay all right um we'll move to uh 5.01 call to order in 5.02 roll call Mrs Wilson would you do that for us please miss Lorie wood here Miss Sheila ug jetti here Miss Rhonda pige here miss Jill humph here Mr Chad Thompson is not present Madame President you have a quorum thank you very much Mrs Wilson um we'll move to uh uh consent agenda items and Dr McCord if I remember correctly um we're going to take off 6.16 from the uh consent agenda agenda purchasing exceeding $100,000 for fiscal year 2024 because it didn't get put into the packet in 24 hours correct correct and we will bring it back at the end of this month okay good so um do I hear motion to approve the consent agenda items as um as prepared here with the except exception of 6.10 six I'm Sor I wrote it down 6.16 I'm so moved thank you very much M humy second second thank you very much Mrs wood it's been moved and seconded and all those in favor please signify by saying I I I I so on a 4 Z vote we have we've passed that the consent agenda we'll now move to 7.01 superintendent performance Performance Based pay for school year 2024 do I hear a motion I move that we approve the superintendent's Performance Based pay for um FY 2023 2024 thank you Mrs humre second second thank you Mrs wood it's been moved and seconded that we approved the superintendent's performance base pay uh for our fiscal year 2023 24 and we will have some discussion among the board members right now get um everybody would like to make a comment we'll start with you miss Mr um well I just um during this time we get to review the many things that have been accomplished during the year and um I just really appreciate all that's been done to make us more fiscally responsible more um responsible academically moving students forward and um taking care of student safety all of all of the different issues that we work on and I just want to express my appreciation to Dr mord for the hard work he's done with him and his team because it's not this isn't a one person show but um good leadership makes a difference so thank you thank you Mrs wood yep I would agree and just say thank you Dr mcord for your leadership and for all those initiatives that have been put forward and the way that you guys work together collaborate and make sure that our students are at the center of everything and our uh staff and employees as well um I think I think we did some great things this year and it was great to RW them and appreciate all that you do thank you Mrs Paige yes thank you for giving me this opportunity Dr mcord words there are not words enough to express my thanks for all the work and the diligence that you give to the school district day in and day out so much appreciated thank you thank you and and I i' like to just reiterate everything that everybody else has said to you Dr McCord and um one of the things that I feel very strongly about is your leadership is absolutely outstanding but you have surrounded yourself with people that are equally as good as you are and I know you said something about you uh always hire for your weaknesses I think that's what you said and and I'm glad that you got those weaknesses because you certainly have gotten some good people but I wouldn't say that they are weaknesses I think that that you have you're you can tell the kind of people we need and your leadership allows them to do their job the way that they need to do it without worrying about it and because of that they make you look good and then you make us look good so thank you thank you I just want to reiterate the things you guys said we have people sitting in the audience tonight that make this District Go Round And I get to sit up here and and uh reap the benefits from their hard work but I I truly am blessed and um this District was built on relationships and uh I shared an email with you today about uh a person at one of our schools who told me her story about people who rallied around her had nothing to do with me had everything to do with the people that um took care of her and her time of need and um we can say a lot of thing about school districts but you can never say Gilbert Public Schools isn't about the people here and uh it starts with you guys and letting us do what we need to do every single day and trusting us so for that I truly thank you guys appreciate it and we know you're totally embarrassed that we just did this well we we we were able to to get them on that one right um all those in favor of approving the superintendent's performance pay please signif signify by saying I I I so on a 40 vote and I think it would have been five but that's just a projection uh 7.02 advertisement for fiscal year 2025 proposed budget summary and public hearing notice Dr McCord thank you madam president gring board member this approval will allow the district to advertise the fiscal year 2025 proposed budget summary and schedule a public hearing on June 25th at which time Administration will make a presentation of the governing board in public the advertisement will appear on the Arizona Department of Education website and for next year the or for next meeting the call to the public will be held on June 25th 2024 the beginning of the meeting at 6: PM do I hear a motion I move that we approve the advertisement for FY 2025 proposed budget summary and public hearing notice thank you on I'll second that is there any discussion among board members about anything on that okay hearing none I'll call for the vote all those in favor of the um advertisement for our 2025 proposed budget summary and public hearing notice please signify by saying I I oppose so on a 40 vote we approved it so Bonnie you're out of the woods okay uh adjournment um do I hear a motion to adjourn I move to adjourn thank you Mrs humre I'll second it and it's been moved in seconded all those in favor please signify by saying I I I thank you so on a 4 Zer vote thank you very much we'll see you soon all right