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and there was a steady flow of families and community members the entire time we were present at both events we offered books and bookmarks to families and ENC encouraged students and families to discover a good book for the summer so it was both opportunities were great to meet some people people I I will say the skate park based on the weather was a much more enjoyable night I think for everybody superintendent thank you um I start off with the new superintendent induction program that I've been a part of under Mass um even though I've been in District for a while it is my first year as a superintendent and I have joined cohort 15 of new superintendents from across the the state it's a three-year leadership program where we get to collaborate with one another and engage in professional development and work Co closely with a personal coach who has superintendent experience um we had a summer meeting already and we've also had a follow-up PD and I've met with my coach numerous times and my coach Kenny Seline will be attending September's school committee meeting to introduce himself but also to discuss the niss program the first big step in project in this is to develop an entry plan and um for most new superintendant it's because they've really just joined a community that they haven't been a part of so mine's had a few tweaks because I've been in the community and been part of the district but I still think it's a very valuable process and I will be presenting that entry plan to all of you at the September meeting along with my coach so I look forward to you meeting him um as Stephen said we have been on tour lately it's it's been a lot of fun so I uh always love to share a few pictures one is of us at the skate park it was a beautiful night and we had a lot of families join us um and then Saturday I got to go to the Family Resource Center and do the backpack family bash um big shout out to Kia Burton King at the Family Resource Center for inviting me and uh it was really just a fabulous time and we were able to give away over 150 um we put together a pack of school supplies for kids and they came through from 10: to noon on Saturday and I got to meet a lot of families and their kids so it was a really great day um next up I just put in a plug because I will be at the Harvest supper so hopefully many of you will join me in volunteering and helping out at this great Community event um but I will be there on Saturday August 24th and I will be serving food from 4:00 to 5:30 I believe but I hope to see many folks there hope hope to meet many families in line and really uh take part in this great event I know they're still looking for volunteers if you're interested in joining me and then lastly um we are getting ready for the opening of school I can't believe it's two weeks away it just boggles my mind um when I looked at the calendar today but we are diligently and uh really just heavily looking for hiring uh for our vacant positions and every day I've been signing off on hiring forms so it's been good to see that we do have candidates we are moving forward um Stephen and I are going tomorrow to GCC they just graduated nine folks from their par educator pipeline program and we're going to interview them so hopefully we will hire a lot of IAS tomorrow to fill our uh few vacancies that we have left but I always want to put a plugin for substitutes and volunteers if you are interested in being either in our school community um we're always looking for folks to do that as well and those postings are on school spring as well thank you thank you let's have questions for the superintendent and assistant superintendent first and then we'll move on to the next item mayor I just wanted to say to both of you thank you for being so involved in all those community events that's is absolutely fabulous and I think they still need a hundred volunteers at the Harvest supper um I'll see you there there as well but I'm just going to tell you the numbers if anybody wants to sign up they can use people to do anything but I'm so proud of the work that you're doing thank you both and thanks Andy you're getting out of here good for you any other questions member ston yeah I I also wanted to second that I really appreciate both of you taking the time out of your Summers to like really make connections with families but I also um like is are you planning to continue that during the Academic Year that sounds like a lot I know at one point we had a position in the district that was like a community outreach person who sort of responsible or task for doing that does that position still exist one is it filled two um or are we looking for someone to sort of take that on and help be a support to you in that because like you're you're doing superintendent stuff and this is part of that but like you know I know you've got plenty of other responsibilities on your plate both of you just doing your like regular Duty so I'm just curious about that and then also yeah plug please volunteer I'll be there scooping ice cream so come see me after you finish your shift um the community outreach coordinator I forget the the acronym social justice slash whatever was uh eer two funded and we did not move it into the local budget last year so that position was vacant and we did not renew so um what we tried to do this year that I think um was pretty successful is we took the year at a glance we made our school calendar for the year we sat with all the admin and we tried to book events where they weren't conflicting with other school events so if the middle school was having something the high school couldn't have something that same time same night so that we're not overextended but we're also not missing opportunities to engage with our students and family um but I plan to continue and I really plan to plug the school events because often they're very unattended by our students and families so we really would love to see more families actually engage in those events where their students are either you know displaying artwork or performing in a band or you know doing um the drama club you know up and running again at the high school so I think we're going to try to do things in conjunction so that we're also in the community but we're also luring the community to support us as well other questions or comments mayor if if we can help in any way to publicize anything you're going to I'm happy to put it on the city website as well if it would reach somebody else that's fabulous that you're doing that but just if if that's another Avenue just thinking out loud thank you and we did just go social media for those of you that didn't know so please follow Greenfield Public Schools we have a Facebook and Instagram now so we're really trying to put the word out there more often in more uh avenues that people access so but happy to share all of that if the city can also uh publicize for us we would love to have more community members supporting our students any other questions or comments okay thank you superintendent now presentation of draft superintendent educator evaluation goals yes it is that time of year for Eddie Val um we're doing an administrative training of the edial process um and then we train our staff upon return when they come for convocation in their PD um but it really all starts with me and my goals and then having those goals filtered down to our administrative team those goals filter down to the building base level and what teachers are doing in the classroom um over the past few years desie has aligned Eddie Val's Focus indicators for the year so I I attached the hand um the handout in your materials um I think they may have oh they made their way into your packet so that's great um if you've ever looked at the desie rubric for Eddie as you know it has many subcategories and standards and indicators and what you ended up doing was trying to evaluate people on 60 Avenues and really got no positive feedback that provided any movement towards growth and opportunity so they have every year um put out focus indicators and what we have done with Educators is aligned those Focus indicators with the areas of which we are going to work on in the edal process and try to improve and grow so there are separate teacher ones but the ones in green that you have are for administrators so you'll see that there are six categories that will be the focus for 20 24 25 and then when we make uh our superintendent eval goals um we try to do uh a professional learning goal which is what teachers have to do as well and administrators then I took two District Improvement goals based upon a lot of the data that we're already working on from last year that's going to continue this year and then a student learning goal that really hones in on instructional leadership and how District leadership building based leadership and then classroom leadership can really be aligned because ultimately uh student growth and achievement is what our Focus needs to be so um I created four goals which are in draft form that we need to agree upon so that we can move forward but uh if we agree tonight and move forward and they're approved then we'll meet with admin team next Tuesday at our e team they'll draft goals based upon mine and then we will do the same with teachers so I I really like the pipeline effect instead of in years past everyone's just kind of been like oh well I want to do this and I want to do that and then ultimately we see the scattered outcomes across the district so for my purposes I uh was looking at year two of the Strategic plan we have a draft 2425 prioritization plan with the ssos team that we are in um turnaround with it hasn't been approved yet for this year but once it is I will share it with you we have a meeting with them I believe on Thursday we also have been under an elll tiered Focus monitoring we've also had a coordinated program review of all our sped programming so I have data reports from both of those and then we look at data from end of year mcass ewis which is the early warning indicator system so we get a lot of data that says if a student's X Y and Z they have early warning indicators that we should pay attention to because they may not make it to the graduation line so taking all of that into account I developed um the four goals that you see in front of us you'll note that they deal with the instruction strategies for instructional leadership this year's focus is really working on data data analysis constant evidence-based practices after reviewing that data and then teaching administrators and teachers what to do with that data that's going to directly impact student growth that was like the L the real big Missing Link last year so that is our Focus this year for Budget really taking those District resources and making sure that it's not only about academic and instruction but you also know we have a chronic absenteeism issue and in our endof year report that Christine and I did in June we have made great strides but we are still higher than the state average so part of this has to be we have to work on our absenteeism because if they're not in front of us they cannot learn so I really felt like that had to be a part of the goals that I was addressing as a district leader and it has to be a real Focus for our building based leaders and keeping track of students who aren't in school why they're not in school and what are we doing to get them back in school for family and Community engagement I think you know we were just talking about this it's the multiple formats that I feel like has been missing that um I've really started this summer and I want to continue because I feel like giving people people opportunities in different Avenues has led to some really great conversations that I don't think I would have ever had with parents if I wasn't standing at the library or sitting outside at a skate park so I really have enjoyed all of it but I really feel like it does need to continue because there's really been some valuable insight and feedback in those things so that really is my family and Community engagement focus is to continue that and to really have District leadership building leadership do the same um and then the last one is really that professional culture um with our coordinated program review our L tiered Focus monitoring um along with all of the data from our turnaround team we have three subgroups that are underperforming that we need to pay attention to and that really is fostering that support to use the data and not just think about how is my whole class doing but how is these three subgroups doing and then if they're not achieving what are we doing to address the needs of those three subgroups because that is where we're seeing the greatest underperformance so that is why I I actually identified our subgroups in that professional culture piece because we have to keep looking at those results and improving those results and anything we do I feel for any underperforming subgroup is ultimately going to help any child in that classroom so um I'm happy to read them to you I don't think you need me to read them to you but I I've really put a lot of thought into these goals because I want these goals to to mean more than something on a piece of paper they're working they're living and they're going to be part of the work I do every day and part of um the focus of every um action we take as a leadership team and in our buildings with staff so that we're constantly thinking about our student performance and improving the experiences that they're having at Greenfield Public Schools thank you um let's see I was thinking we might do a motion to approve the um superintendent edal goals has presented and then have our discussion as part of that motion but do people want to ask questions before we do that okay before okay great remember goodwi four is too many I think two if you were a teacher sitting in front of me I would say two as a first year teacher so a first year superintendent should be two because I know you're going to do all four but I want you to pick two because the process is so stupid so pick two we don't use the S word Miss Goodwin SOS you did s SOS other questions comments yes member Denise thank you so much for such wonderful goal setting work that you did um I'm of course going to be a yes on this um I want you to have all of the support and time that you need to implement these goals but I just also want to say that we're all finally working on some new things new protocols new ways of doing things which is so great like we're really making progress so next year we have to be in place as a school committee to have our goals ready before this time comes because we're part of the collaboration so what we want to bring forward for the district based on on how we interacting how we are interacting with our constituents and what we're hearing should be part of your goal setting as well so next year I hope that we can uh get that together sooner so that we can be an active partner as representatives of the community in order to give you our perspective and goals because we didn't set them at our working session um and that was really just us doing it for the first time and not having it together I understand so I just want to say that that's like that's a part of it and I know that when Liz comes next month she'll discuss that as well but um thank you so much for all of your incredible hard work and the goals look really great other questions before we make a motion member seon so I can I can do for myself mapping between what's here and what's in here but are there is there anything that's not in any of these bullet points that you would like us to help you judge your success that you know you're going to do something that's not here that you think counts a success that you want us to know about so that we can be like yeah you did that so once the goals are approved what I was going to do is um you will have to look at evidence that I provide to do formative and inative over the course of the year and what I would do is just make a Google drive with each of these categories and I'm going to continually share um what I am doing to support these goals in those Google Drives and then if they don't fall into the quote unquote Desy language of the indicator I can always do a narrative before the formative to at least explain how I see that fitting into that bucket other questions or comments before we have a motion I have a motion to approve the 20242 superintendent Ed eval goals as presented so moved motion by member Martini is there a second seconded second from Member seon discussion member Martini I just have a question um not about what's in here because I love what's in here and it looks great but I wanted to know um process-wise how much of this is prescribed from on high and how much of it do you have control over in terms of individualizing it great question I think the individualizing comes from just knowing the district and what we what we can adjust the proscribed piece from all of the desie data and the reports and oversight that we have I think though the majority of it has to be individualized because we see our kids every day we see the experiences that they're having so we look at what they give us and identify the areas that they say have to be our Focus but then we also see the systems in process in place that might need to be tweaked or we might need to adjust or we might need to adapt because what that reflects from on high isn't really what's going to work for Green Field and I think that's the part that we've had as an admin team conversation is that yes we know we have X Y and Z on our plates to think about with turnaround and uh a desie district review coming up so I think the the piece for us is not to get lost in the desie weeds but to keep the focus on the Green Field because that's what matters more to us and then we explain to them later so you know we can't it's like um when people say you teach to the mcast no we teach and we want to just be doing this this work for our kids because that's what's good for them and you know we'll deal with desie in the prescription of what they need us to do in a way that finesses the Lang enough so that we meet what they're asking but I think most of this work really is um individualistic to Greenfield if that helps just as a follow-up question is there any way in which you would have liked to tailor this more um that you were not able to yeah I think um the time commitment it's it takes for a lot of these goals um I would have loved to have put more time um in buildings we're doing six official walkthroughs as an admin team and you try to get in you know we alternate if I'm in elementaries one week he's in high school and middle and we vice versa so that one of us is constantly boots on the ground and seeing what's happening um but you know what happens and then you know know you get a call and desie is here and needs a two-hour meeting and all of a sudden your site visit so I feel good that we have like prescribed time and buildings that I've are my calendar is already booked I'm saying no to everything but I think that's really the piece that we need more of as District leaders is really being in those buildings really paying attention to what's happening in those classrooms member deneve and then member Goodwin sorry I forgot to ask you um when is the evaluation due what what time of the month are we going to be doing the evaluation I mean what what time of the year are we going to be doing the evaluation um your timeline your formative assessment you have to offer feedback on my evidence at the January meeting and then you have to write a summit of evaluation at the June meeting and I can re share the uh Eddie Val timeline if you would like me to post it with the materials or just send it to you in an email I I just want to put it on our calendar as part of just being aware of what the timeline is so we don't lose it purely in just a quick question sorry M Goodwin because the state hasn't like shown up and given you other things to do yet okay and I would just like to see clearly we're going to approve these tonight but that you have the opportunity prior to January to say I needed to put this off because this happened so we do that with teachers where this goal couldn't happen because this happened but I want you to have that flexibility because these are beautiful but it's a lot and you have all these other groups of people who are going to make demands on you that may create this whole new life for you so I would like to think that prior to January we're not sitting here looking at these goals I don't want these in cement is what I'm saying that you have some fluid to say I couldn't do this because this so that you're not sitting there evidence evidence evidence because this huge thing landed right so I just don't want this to be a concrete document I'd like it to be a fluid document that's always been the unfair part of this process it's too concrete and life happens in schools questions or comments I just like to say that um there's so many different layers of um forces pushing you and pushing our district hopefully in the right direction in terms of student outcomes including you know the Strategic plan that the school committee approved and all the other things you mentioned the turnaround plans and everything and I just want to acknowledge how how much it is and it's it's probably too much we probably don't need every single layer of this um because uh I feel a lot of confidence that you know what you're doing you know how to head The District in the right direction um so I appreciate your um you know the whole admin team's um management of all those different layers and um excited to see our continued progress and hope you see us as school committee members here to support you with these ambitious and good goals with that let's take a vote on um the motion is to approve the 20242 superintendent Ed eval goals as presented all those in favor say I I I I all those opposed say no uh and I abstain so it uh the motion passes thank you great and um our agenda says should the meeting extend beyond 8:00 pm a five minute break for members will be observed so let us begin our five minute break um it's 8:06 now so as the clock is turning from 80 8 8 uh 11 to 812 please be in your seats thank you [Music] a [Music] n [Music] he [Music] n [Music] n [Music] a [Music] n [Music] he [Music] a [Music] n [Music] he [Music] Vehicles Surplus okay well discuss that separately any other items that people would like to discuss separate from the consent agenda okay I'd like to hear a motion to approve the consent agenda with the exception of Item B vote to declare transportation department van Surplus so moved a motion from Member Den is there a second second second okay any discussion which one second just say that the um that Susan Farber um acknowledged that the date was wrong on one of the uh on the minutes and that has been U will be addressed but doesn't need a separate Vote or anything to fix clerical errors so all right um all those in favor of approving the consent agenda with the exception of Item B say I I I all those opposed say no I'll abstain the motion carries now we will move on to um the vote to declare transportation department fan Surplus I'd like to start with a a motion to um declare the transportation department vanza Surplus so moves a motion for member Martini is there a second a second all right uh discussion can I start with you mayor no I just um the the process for them being Surplus I guess just if there's any just I just want a little more clarity on that I and then I would vote the DPW tells us we can't keep them on the road okay that's all I needed to know because I know that they that's perfect thank you any other discussion okay all those in favor say I I I all those opposed say no and I will abstain the motion carries moving on to uh appointments update um I think it's probably useful to look at both items A and B together um the um our policy asks that subcommittee members be given a description of their functions and duties um that it's in your packet and then the assignments are um basically the same as what we had with the exception of um appointing member section as the uh union rep um I don't have it in my packet is this only digital um I sorry about that um so I guess well let's see um do people want to try to access it digitally or we can we uh the the superintendent has a hard copy we can actually pass around the assignments um for people to view that's really what's being voted on um and we can pull up I think the only change to the uh to the functions and duties was a um the description of the um the had hoc subcommittee for the redistricting and reorganizing so would anyone like to first of all would anyone like to see the subcommitte and representative assignment sheet yes I can't find it in our Google doc actually I'm sorry I'm looking at all of the materials for tonight and I do not see it it's not in here I'll pass it over to you while you're looking at that I'll pull up on my computer the the description I can just read that out loud folks I apologize for the error with the packets to enter my password and everything it's a little project I'm really cool um oh that's the one that yeah we have that that's the hard copy that I we people are looking at um the I'm pulling up the um the yeah the functions and duties which I can I have so shouldn't be too hard toine okay so the redistricting and reorganizing ad hoc committee is described as function recommend changes to redistricting policy to the full committee on an as as needed basis as the administration identifies unanticipated outcomes of the committee's redistricting and reorganizing policies convened to develop and endorse changes to the full committee meets by vote of the full committee or at the request of the superintendent when time frames don't allow the full committee to weigh in [Music] so um but the vote the only vote needed tonight is about the uh subcommittee and representative assignments I believe folks have now had a chance to review those uh is there a motion to approve the um subcommittee and representative assignments as presented member Den so you were saying that the only changes that you have added member sexon is the union route that's correct okay I'll make that motion okay is there a second second second for member Martini discussion hearing none all those in favor say I I I I so I think I heard three or did I I heard member Den member martini and myself did anyone else vote I they're all about us it's all of our names are all over this but uh I okay uh all those opposed say no no no two knows and um so the motion and I guess I voted I hopefully uh so the motion carries 4 to three um so thank you for that um um I believe that was 42 wasn't it I'm sorry there oh that's right there's all six of us not seven tonight yep motion carries okay uh any other discussion about the subcommittee functions and duties okay maybe when there might be when we've had a chance to read them yeah we can we can re we can review again um I will just right I mean the only well this these were distributed to you at past meetings the only change was the one that I just read out loud so um we can discuss again [Music] um okay great um where are we switching to the next page uh school committee reports report of the chair uh I'd like to just report on a um on a little project um I H had a meeting with Lauren in the superintendent office about the um school committee web page and the way that our um meetings are displayed um the two major concerns that I have are that the full school committee meetings are relatively easy to get to from the school committee page um but all of the subcommittee meetings get a little buried um layers and layers deep so we're looking at adding all the subcommittees to the committee meetings page so they're kind of all in one place the other piece is um this page is not particularly mobile friendly when you look at it online the um columns don't really align uh with your phone so um Lauren is going to work with the um web design people to try to address that issue if you look at the the homepage of the Greenfield Public Schools and you scroll all the way to the bottom you can see there that the website does have some functionality around events but it's not fully um I don't think it has the features we would necessarily want to have in terms of being able to give you links to um handouts and agendas and videos and things like that so the I don't think we'll we're planning to use that we did kind of explore that um a little bit so but if you do have um feedback or thoughts about improving the the website um I guess you could could you could let me know and I can work with Lauren on things like that I don't think that's a huge school committee deliberation thing that we have to worry about um but just wanted to meet your needs in terms of you being able to make adequate use of our web page as well um and let's see budget and finance subcommittee or let's see yeah bu and finance subcommittee do you have a report they have not met since the last school committee meeting but as you know the uh budget and finance is working on creating a draft budget development calendar the aim of which is to help people understand uh what I mentioned earlier during Andy's uh presentation was the most opaque part and also understand uh where opportunities lie uh for providing feedback and public input so uh I have shared a preliminary drafts with the superintendent and we will be meeting TBD soon uh to go forward with that great thank you um the policy and program subcommittee did meet it was a day after our last meeting so my memory is a little bit vague but I I know one project that we are working on is looking at our policies with regard to student Garb to um try to make sure that if there is traditional um clothing that folks want to wear the the specific example that was brought up related to U Native American attire at um graduation ceremonies so we're we're working on that um the the other item that's here on the agenda is the review of policy BB and [Music] bb- um so these we did vote on these in November 2023 this is our policy about um basically how to items get onto the school committee agenda that was raised by members last last month um for discussion I think that the practice that we've had conforms to the language of the policy but then we have um policy bb- is the exhibit and there are actually two exhibits of two different agendas um basically template agendas that um the school it seems to imply that the school committee would use so one of them probably the first one in the in the list um should probably have had striketh through to be cancelled and replaced by the new one which was recommended by mask um a question is for me is is the polic is our policy manual the place for an exhibit of a agenda um sample agenda to live or is that more of a school committee handbook item I guess in my mind it feels a little bit more policy but I guess my question is whether the committee would like to refer these um items back to the policy subcommittee to take a fresh look at our our policy about um building agendas and templates and where they live and all of that member Den I'd like to send it back to policy this is I vaguely remember voting on this in November but it's vague old memory and I'd like to look at it again we can take a fresh look and if people want it to also live in the handbook as a link to a draft agenda so people new members or whoever wants to refresh can get used to how it will look that it could live in both places yep we can have that discussion for sure um member Martini I'm not entirely sure why we have a policy um um about this and at first blush I don't think it's really necessary Second Glance the policy recommended by masc doesn't really line up with the way that we do things and several ways so I would agree with uh the secretary about sending this back to policy great do folks want to do that as a motion and a vote or do we want to just kind of by consensus say Okay policy please look at this any objection to us looking at it okay we will we will uh add that to our next agenda the executive subcommittee did not meet did redistricting and reorganizing meet did oh school committee handbook ad hoc committee big night it's our big night our first draft has been submitted um it is in the digital packet I want to preface the whole thing by saying that this is just a rough draft there are definite holes and some information there are things that are missing um but I would say that we're now at about 50 to 60% complete and we're going to meet again in September so we've really hit the point where it's time to bring it to all of you to look at it and tell us what you think and what you'd like to have added um and we can fill in holes both from policy and from what we know as a committee so when you look at it in the packet we've um completed a um a table of contents we have an introduction a statement of inclusion um we have no mission statement and that's something that I wanted to ask um the superintendent about um I've fleshed out a bit of a member code of conduct um we have the beginnings of a public calendar outline um we have a section for school committee goals uh we have a section for what we're calling an academic dashboard but is really um a compilation a section for the comp compilation of the data that was presented to us at the last um budget presentation by um Dr DeBarge um we also have a list of important Personnel for the school committee to know about list of subcommittees in general description of their function important links School Partnerships people that we partner with from the YMCA to music of Franklin um we have a collection of acronyms which is something that we found most school committee handbooks have and it's quite long um and we also have a how do I uh frequently ask questions for new members and then we'll be linking the masc new member materials as well so if anyone as they peruse this feels that there are sections that are missing sections they'd like to see um for example on my way over here I thought I need to write a section about how do school how do we as a school committee adopt res res Solutions where do they go where do we file them how do you write them that's something that I'll add there's a notes section at the bottom um where we've sort of started uh future notes and things still to do and that's where that information would go and then the subcommittee will work on it so I don't know how best to collect this information um so that we don't violate oml um maybe Clen you can advise how you would like the full committee to give us their input would you like it to be tonight or would you like people to have a chance to look at it and then send individual emails or how would you like that to go yeah um I wonder if we could definitely get whatever comments people have tonight uh understanding the short timeline that people received it but um but maybe there's just a very basic survey that could be sent to members so that like you can gather the feedback but in a way that isn't just random emails I guess like like is a housekeeping email sort of like a housekeeping survey yeah just a survey yeah would you like me to collect to create a poll or a yeah okay I think what other people think is that seem I mean it just seems like maybe a good way to kind of keep the information organized and kind of have it all in one place in case there ever was like a records request or something about you know you would be able to see individual members um submissions and what their responses were okay I'll create a poll with a section at the bottom for uh comments on sections or what they'd like to see yeah and it can be very broad I think right yeah just the questions you'd like us to answer okay I'll put that as my to-do list and I'll send that out shortly we'll be meeting again in the end of September September 23rd so um t uh place to be determined hopefully hopefully the ghs library just putting out there um so if you I'll get it out in the next week or so and then people will have enough time to get back to us and then we can work on it more fully yeah let us know when you would like us to respond by um okay and I guess one thing I want just one piece of feedback that I well why don't I hear other people other people have feedback tonight um I just have one thought my only thought is just that we once we have voted on a a handbook um we can always add new sections and improve it so maybe if there are pieces that people are asking for that would require a ton more work maybe they can just stay on your your list for a future version to be approved rather than putting off having a feedback having a handbook at all until some later date that's just my thought we could always create a time of the year where we could just revisit whatever is on the to-do list and make that happen and then bring it forward that might it might be a good time of the year to do that in summer when we're not quite as busy as a committee yeah you could even include in the handbook kind of like what the recommended frequency and process for um re revising and improving the handbook is other thoughts mayor I are the papers gone now who else is on it with you thank you for doing that actually than you think you're welcome it's Vice chair martini and member seon and we've been meeting in person in a working session format okay thank you so much other questions or comments yeah member seon just real quick about the nature of the feedback we're looking for now is not the time to play New York Times editor that's not the level that's not the level of feedback we're looking for it's really like broad brush Strokes you don't want to hear if comm's out of place that what you're saying no we don't want to hear about our grammar oh yeah all right I'll resist the urge okay not that there's a lot to I'm sure there's not a lot to complain about I just uh I worked for PBS learning media as a um the person putting this stuff on the website and I just they trained me so hard about every comma and the M dashes and everything so you can go through at the end and and and touch it with your know and fix all of that oh I would no one will mind you're describing it a dream half day for me thank you sounds [Laughter] great um any other questions or comments thank you so much for your work on this this is going to be a a very important long overdue document for us and I think it'll be a useful tool for especially for new members but for all of us um going forward so thank you so so much welcome all right uh CES representative nothing okay anything on City Planning and construction and's not here uh anything on uh mask and legislative representative member denev um yes so uh I'd like to sponsor the resolution that was given to by the member of the public so there are endorsement lines here if anybody else would like to endorse this resolution and I'll send it to you okay for the next meeting um but also uh hyanis is coming up in November if anybody wants to go you should be getting things in the mail about that and now is the time to book your hotel or it will be Mayhem so um there's that piece of it that's the annual mask uh three day long Wednesday to Friday thing if you want to go um you can build the district and there's information in the draft handbook about how to do that great so you could do it properly um and then in regards to the masc division 5 work um the plan in May had been between the um um the head of the District 5 the representative of District 5 which is Humera fudin from South Hadley we were to begin the work of starting to speak with legislators in the fall so now is the time I'm starting to get ready to communicate with her about creating some Zoom calls with various legislators so that we can be prepared to really make some impact in May uh because when we show up in May the budget is like being wheeled down the hallway as we're speaking about our issues so we want to be ahead of the game um and that's the plan so fairly soon I should have some Zoom meetings scheduled and I'll let you all know when that is if you'd like to participate so it will be time for us to talk about bills and what we might want to advocate for so I'll bring a list of what is going on at the next meeting thank you is mask doing anything around elections right now they have their delegates where they each school committee submits a delegate to go forward and vote upon resolutions for the uh the mask annual meeting yeah so School committees choose a delegate if they want to and then when they go to hyanis that delegate will go sit in a very very long meeting all night long and vote on resolutions okay and I don't want to do that least don't make me do that um but um yes they do collect their resolutions and then they do bring them forward in June so part of um my thought behind also sponsoring this resolution is to create a a folder for the resolutions that we do create and pass or not pass so that we have a database of that so we have a place for them and we know what the action items attached to them are and make sure that we do them and so we can look back and then send them at the end of the year to masc so they can see what we've participated in and what we are standing for or not standing for nice thank you you're welcome any other questions for our mask slash legislative anything on District Wellness okay and um any new business that members would like to propose M Goodwin I would just like to propose for the next agenda that we discuss music can you say more about what you want to discuss I think the concept of bringing band and music alive in our district and what are the resources we're going to need um budget wise to do [Music] that mayor I I'm kind of new to the new business item I know you mentioned that they do it on city council does the city council then vote on whether to take up certain items or how do how does that process work well it depends on what it is like what I'm going to say you may refer to committee um and or put it on top for the next agenda so you they don't have to vote to put it on the agenda would just say the chair can just say okay we'll add that to the agenda or right okay um so uh what I was just going to bring up that perhaps to go to um f well you would decide where that would go to but I was thinking Finance but something that Jesus is working on I think it would be good that we as a school committee you know advocated for change in the school funding formula that's just a thought that I had member geneve there's a petition about that that's being circulated that has almost enough signatures so um I did have a conversation with that U that member of the public that I would try to bring that forward as well once it reaches the number of signatures required thank you okay yes member seon um I would love to also discuss creating a regular Cadence for getting reports and updates from our public bodies like our CPAC and our lpac once it has populated with actual members um because that's actually required in part of what what is required in having those bodies is that they give us regular reports which hasn't been past practice and I would like it to be future practice okay are there new business business okay um well I'm sorry to say the only item left is adjournment so I'd like to take a motion to adjourn even though it's hard it is hard so motion from the mayor and a second from Member Martini is that right uh any discussion all those in favor say I I all those opposed and and I'll abstain so the motion carries I don't know how [Music]

last night with that being said the Parkson right before and after Care Program received numerous questions from Board of Finance members last night with the biggest and most repeated question being Staffing and how no one from the town could confirm whether any adults would be Staffing their program besides Nick who would be there sometimes because of his other commitments with his schedule we'd like to thank the school for being proactive in this process in our Town's time of Crisis and the intense concern for the safety of our children that our Administration is doing what they can to provide before and after care on such a short notice we hope that this program at the school one can be up and running on the first day of school two can be staffed and most importantly three that the staff members you hire are adults certified and trained and completely understand the immense and intense concern that the parents in this community have for all our [Music] children somebody else want to talk no one going once going twice sold am all right um K's going to or excuse me m bird will be preparing a uh discussion of what's going on and that's what this is going to be now [Music] pH all right so um thank you for your public comment address you but um we will be talking about the program um what I wanted to do tonight because I know that there's either misinformation or misunderstandings or lack of information that has gone out um especially with regard to what the school has done to support the community during time is essentially brought to our community none of us are okay we're all getting through so take away Tom on June 27th this is the action that the district took we um sent out a letter to all of our families informing them that we had been notified of Mr Master Angelo's arrest uh sorry um we let them know that it had been a criminal matter being handled by law enforcement there wasn't any part for the the school district to play in this and that that individual had been removed December 22nd 2022 and had not been back in the district any capacity since December 2022 on July 3rd we had worked together as a school Community to talk about what are the resources that we can push out to our students to our families to the community to offer them support during this difficult time we offered the resources of our community partner and our school social worker for any family any student any who needed the support um and we also had that accompanied with a guide on how families could talk to their students about uh the issues that were happening in the community on July 11th because we had been made aware thank you Mr Bradford we had been made aware that the town or people within the town um not the town itself but a group of folks in the town had put together another workshop for families and for the community um we wanted to support that effort by sending that information to our because we weren't sure how that information had been conveyed um in the town so we want to just try to support that effort and you guys know I talk fast you need to slow down absolutely well on July 24th we sent an additional Community letter um we had heard from families that that's great that you're doing the things that you're doing but we as families still need to know how do you talk to kids about this and what information and support can you offer to us um so that we know how to work with our students um um around this matter so we set up a parent Academy so next Tuesday and there will be um a registration going out for this uh hopefully by tomorrow um evening but there'll be a registration just so families can RSVP so we anticipate we're probably not going to be able to use a space it will be in the gym um but this will be an opportunity for families to talk with District staff our social worker Our Community Partners and hear what it is that we use as our resource to teach children about their own personal safety here at the school and this program has some nice resources that families will also be able to have so when we have these conversations and we do these workshops or classes with the students in the school then we'll let the parents know in advance that hey this is the week that we're doing this conversation in your child's class families do have the right to opt out of those situations it's one of the few things in education these days that you can actually opt out of um but will also be sending home those parent resources that go with the conversation that will have been had with your children's class August 14th today is the day uh that right um so today is the day that we're moving forward uh and presenting to you the program that uh the team and I have been working on for the last few weeks now um and this is in response to concerns and requests from parents um we started exploring this idea of a Baptist school program at BCS July 9th this she was like hey let's come back and Fourth of July and come up with this um so we recognize the importance of providing additional support for our students outside of the regular school hours um and to this end we did reach out to JCC the Jewish Community Center uh thank you Shannon Lan for making that connection they don't have the capacity to come back and offer an on-site program here in bethan um their wonderful Partners Mr Cohen has been lovely um has offered to do some other things with us in the future but they don't have the capacity to run a full JCC program here and they've not historically in the year had enough students willing to go to JCC on the bus that they were providing so they're planning to stop the bus unless we find out from families that there is a significant number of families who wish to go to JCC then Mr Cohen is willing to work with us to try and you know restart a bus if that's a a possibility so I wanted people to know that we did reach out to JCC and um this is kind of the response we got for them and while they don't have the capacity to run the program again I want to say it publicly our JCC Partners have been wonderful and wanting to support us so this is what we came up with um for our BCS kids we're teaching kids because you know we have to take everything cute here right uh we have our Bulldog and even though I know it makes John fall crazy uh we're talking about kids being kind imaginative Dynamic followers this is our program so and Tom and chill please this is this is a collective brain child of everyone well youve got clip I guess uh so this is our mission we want to give you a safe option for that's at the end of the day all we're trying to do right and of course because we're Educators we have to make sure that it's got all these high quality experiences we never miss out on opportunity to teach kids to do some reading or to you know enhance their science skills or maybe they want to work on Legos or whatever the things are we just want to put them in a safe space and give them high quality experiences where they're really going to start to thrive and and can nurture some of their interests that sometimes you don't get to do during the school day because there's simply not enough time so it would be a supervised program um I'm not going to read the whole slide to you and we will certainly share this information out um with you all and we have a draft that will go out to families soon um but we'll be in the gym the cafeteria we'll be in all of our spaces and if you're a parent here you know that all of our public spaces or our large group spaces are all monitored you have cameras everywhere I know people have asked well will you put cameras in the school has always have cameras right so all the spaces that we would be utilizing for program are the spaces like the one you're in right now that have all the cameras and the safety features um there the students would have access to the same resources that they have during the school day I miss anything or you want to time in I think uh one of the other things you know I I think we've been um so you know we've been talking about trying to have some of those standard ideas of having you know your your sort of after care activities of of things to keep going but also that Cheryl's been really looking at exploring um connections with outside Partners looking at ways to be able to either bring folks here to be able to enrich that or to be able to potentially have some things that we could do and offer offsite you know in in small spaces to be able to enrich kids in that program um of course we need to be able to build those Partnerships um with those Community Partners um but that's a big part of what we also want to do to be able to use that and leverage it um to be able to make those connections with our local farms our local um Community organizations and have that be a part of this as well um you know but that's going to take some time for us to be able to build that schedule and that connection but it's something that we're really trying to think about to be able to enhance the program and to try and picture it on a day-to-day basis picture centers so it might be K1 might be in this room and they're working on an arts and crafts projects um everyone would have time for homework and there would be available to help students with that in the in the gym there' be some more of a physical activity going on different age group and then they would be rotating between so um different to expose them to different things and as Tom said trying to get the community involvement as a piece of that as well and they'll be grouped by age so we're not going to have sixth grade students mixed in with kindergarten students unless it might be a special project where you know we say okay who are the students who are interested in making and you have sixth grade students you have kids across the G that would be the only time where students would be mixed by grade level so we're hoping that uh if all goes well this works um that the students would be grouped by yeah and also ensure that we have staff at least a 10 to one staff ratio and to ensure that we have at least two staff members in any area where there's going to be students to make sure that we've got that appropriate supervision right so in each area imagine it would be like I would be the learning com person Cheryl might be the gym person and Tom might be in um and so that would be that one stack individual in each of those spes and then the staff member would travel with their group to locations so to speak to something that may have been mentioned earlier when we built this program we built this program on the hopes of being able to fully staff it with our BCS staff and that was our Pie in the Sky dream was to staff it with teachers and parent professionals one because they know our students to because they're already vetted fingerprinted background check trained individuals um we have sent a survey out to staff um so to see how many staff would be interested in participating in the program um everyone has not responded and I remain hopeful that somebody will come back and say like hey we want to do this um but the reason that the costs and things that we sent out in the survey and the times that we have projected here in terms of the overall schedule are what they are right now is because that's assuming and hoping that it's teachers and parent professionals if we do not get and that that's because we wanted to be able to open first day of school if we do not get enough staff to properly staff the program we will not be able to start the first day of school because we we are not going to run a program where we can't properly staff it and to to your exact point properly Staffing it means hiring background check in training and then launching the program we're not just going to say hey Naomi you're great can you come work at the school that's not going to happen we like the people in the room but I'm sorry you have to go through the rules right so that is very true like that's the biggest con that we have and there's a chart that we'll we allude to that but right now we're looking at being able hoping to do a 7:30 to 8:30 morning program and then 3:5 to 6:00 if it is staffed and perfectly transparent if it is staffed solely with teachers and Pa of professionals we will not be able to run the program during those school vacation times right because I need my teachers to take R too okay but that's where our wonderful Partners at JCC have said if you let us know what the demand is we may be able to absorb them into our program during those vacation times okay so that's the wonderful way willing to park with those fees again that's why we put those projected costs out there to families we recognize it's not the same that parents pay now it's comparable to what other communities like the program of orange ches they're all comparable costs um here the costs will go down these are the costs on the high end if this program is fully stacked by teachers and care of professionals we by labor law we checked into it we have to pay them whatever contractual rates are right so a teacher's contractual rate is a Paris contractual rate is higher than what you might pay a high school or college student so if it's not fully staed by those teachers and those pair of professionals these costs will go down because we built our budget based on those FKS again pros and cons we hope that this is a program that parents would be interested in um and by the results of the survey we had over respondents within the first hour um I think we were up to 210 215 last I checked and we had over a hundred families say that they were interested in the program um thus far I do have to say that take that information with a cavea in that some parents responded twice so the mother and the father may have responded with different I mean sometimes it happens but they'll talk over dinner and it'll be fine um so again the pros are that we know the kids this is our space um it would be I don't want to call it an extension of the school day CU that'll get us in trouble with special it um but it's the people who know the children it's the people that they feel safe with and it's doing activities in a space that they're comfortable with so those are kind of all of our Pros it's also a pro that this is going to just be a self-funded program we're not looking to move money on the program and one of the other great things is Cheryl and I WR really great grants there are a lot of after school grants out there that are going to be the things that we use to you know offset cost for things like let's take a field trip to Club Getaway or wherever it might be so those are some of the things that we're that we're working on and again the cons are we recognize our staffing we don't know what the teachers are going to say or how the parents are going to feel about hey taking on this new thing because this was a change in our social story we were not expecting to have to do this when we left school in in June I think that if I had had some idea of this in June I could said to the staff hey crazy idea let's put together this program and who wants to help work it run it what have you this is literally in the 11th hour two weeks before school um many of them are just enjoying their last days of summer so I bet a lot of them haven't even seen the survey uh that we sent out to the staff last week and the start date we recognize that's a problem again high in the sky it's fully staffed by our people and they're ready willing and able to go first day that would be great it's not necessarily really realistic to think that and certainly not going to be a an August start date if I have to hire outside Personnel because again I'm not putting anyone in front of kids until I can make sure that they're for ours um the schedule again staff by only BCF staff limits our options for the BCS staff to be on hand for those vacation times because teachers need breaks too but if we partner with our fully vetted wonderful friends down at the JCC and I keep pointing to you so I'm sorry Dr langage because you you made the contact for me so I appreciate that um that would be uh potentially an option and again the cost we recognize that for some families it might have been a little bit of a s shop um because my understanding is it's not what parents currently pay or close to what they currently pay for the town parking program um but it is comparable with other after school programs run by similar school districts comments or questions no questions please that you can comment at the end of the meeting okay all right so that's been our response I just have one question the board has question not about the after school por but earlier you talked about you know there's a parent Academy on the 20th yes I've had a couple of parents ask um if there's going to be any sort of child care at the program because some people want to be here but have child care available sure so we're not able to provide child care for the program on the 20th but we're going to videotape the presentation and then we're going to send that out to families that can't be here because I also recognize that for some they're still on vacation so we don't want anyone to not get the information so we will um videotape our portion of the presentation but if in like if parents are asking questions we're not going to videotape parents but we'll videotape the presentation so people have information and then people know if they have have questions comments concerns they can always reach out to any of us okay okay thank you you're welcome could could I ask sure you know if um if there was like grandmothers and grandfathers who are interested in coming to that presentation you know how you said something about registration yes oh thank you I'll try to talk louder you said something about registration and I'm not sure that they would be how that would occur and or maybe they could just call the school or something you prefer that if it's a grandparent or an aunt or an uncle that maybe helps you with your children that you just include them on your registration when you um because the link will be sent out to families and certainly again anyone else in the community or wh whomever else might be interested in information will be able to watch it on video okay just helps us with numbers so we know how many people to expect for facilities and everything that way oh I I get it I'm just trying to the communication part you know how do you register if not so if there were a grandparent here that wanted to come they could certainly ask their son or daughter to include them on their registration and they'd be more than um more than welcome okay questions I have question sure um so you mentioned that you've gotten a lot of response to the survey do yes ma'am um do you have a sense at this point of how many I mean and obviously some people are going to say yes and then as a detail shake out they might say no but at this point do you have a ballpark of how many people are interested and what the capacity might be so yeah when we looked at this and again tried to make it fully self-funding based on teacher PA all that kind of stuff we looked at our minimum number of students to to effectively run the program was 40 and our Max was was 80 to 85 and again that was us thinking that you know maybe nobody would want to come um but what our our budget allows for is for every 10 students who registered it requires us we are going to be requiring ourselves to hire an additional staff person so right now as I said uh the 200 plus respondents that we've had thus far we've got over a hundred students Tom and I literally counted all of them and then we're like wait a minute I've seen this name two times Mom and Dad filled out the survey um so we have to just kind of shake that out but I'm I'm 75 solid okay and that would mean at this point how many staff to do if you if it stayed at 75 just just for the we'd be looking at 10 staff at 10 staff yeah um and I don't know if you mention specifically um you said that it wouldn't be available for vacation days but it would be would it would be available for early dismissal days okay um and I think um and I'm looking at Girl Scout Troop leaders as I say this obviously there are other activities that happen in the school after school it would not impact our current after school activi right so we know we have Girl Scouts we have PTO that likes to do events we know we have Unified sports and those kinds of things and so we have other ways to accommodate those programs because we don't want to take those away from our students either okay um and my last question and part I know part of the reason she kept uh pointing to me is I'm also on the JCC board I'm trying to keep these two roles separate so I have sorry I keep pointing no that's totally fine but so other than connecting us I haven't sort of taken up this conversation there um did were they able to give you a sense of how many students they would need from Bethany in order to run a bus they didn't give me the um definite number because we're still trying to work out the numbers we're really hopeful um and and this is not a promise by any by any stretch of the imagination but definitely something that Cheryl and I are working on we're trying to find a a community partner Grant where maybe we can fund the cost because you know it's like for and after school program you know maybe we can help fund or offset the cost for the bus um but in our last conversation he was looking to see what are the numbers that he has currently in his program for the upcoming school year and then how many slots he might be able to make available to us okay so we'll figure out how many slots he can make available to us and then we'll figure out what the cost would be to you know get those those kiddos down there and we'll see if it can if it buys okay and and I don't know if everybody knows that the the program at The JCC is running this fall it's just not running with transportation so they are set up to start care from the first day of school they're just not set up right now for transportation sorry any other questions do you know how many students were involved in the park and wreck program last year that might be switching over sure so we weren't able to get numbers um about what their enrollment currently is so we used um our own dismissal procedure documentations that says you know that's how we figured out okay we we get about 45 to 50 students that come over in the morning and then how many students do we have listed in our pickup Patrol program for dismissal to park and rep and that's how we were able to come up with a number I don't know how many of those students because we didn't you know dig deep into the information to say okay you know Mr capaso was he was on pickup Patrol to go to park and rec but he signed up on our survey and said he would like we haven't done that deep of a DI so just hav't had time and also just to be clear this isn't only for families that are using parking rack any any BCS family absolutely y we we aren't able to take preschool okay so kindergarten we're looking at kindergarten we didn't account for the little littles um but it doesn't mean that we won't reconsider that we looked at it because we don't have um a lot of those preschool students who are dismissed so in our original formulation of the program we looked Prim at k6 we didn't look at preschool but if there was a need and we had the space we would make it work and and you know I'm No Authority on this subject but I've heard uh that there there are sports um uh things that go on at Park and wreck that that perhaps the school is not going to be able to to replicate is that true so we I'm not sure what sports basketball pickle there there are things that happened through the Park and wreck department that are offered to the community that are not necessarily part of the before and after school program so we're only focused on the before and after school we are not trying to be parking rack we don't want to be parking wack we don't have the capacity for parking rack um so the only thing that we're focusing on are the things that directly impact our kids in ter of before and after school care okay so the those sport sport things weren't part of the before and after school thing okay thank you and those are those are not part of the those are an add-on for parks and rec family so those are separate from okay question I yes um so I know there was a lot of discussion at the board of Finance meeting last night but it seems uh you know from some of what I heard at the meeting and also from my own reading of the budgets in Bethany over the last several years the town effectively subsidizes parks and rack has there been any discussion of any sort of collaboration to have some of that funding available either to run the program or to help provide you know scholarships or support for families that might need it we haven't had those conversations with the town you know in great detail about the program the cost or any of those things I I will say and I failed to mention this before so I apologize in the presentation that because it's a school run program we would take those same things into consideration um when we talk about assessing fees for any of our free introduce lunch families and those kinds of things so we'll take all of those things into consideration um with our program but there have been no conversations at the time about okay but can so what what you mean by that is that there might be an opportunity if people look at the price and they just can't afford it there may be an opportunity for a discounted price yes that totally helpful thank [Music] you thank you I just can I add one thing I just wanted to say it's summer and there's a lot going on and however this shakes out thank you to you and your team for putting so much work into this in such a short amount of time I double that thank you and just as a is a matter I'm not speaking for the entire board because I haven't told anybody on this but I've been a little bit involved in this perly the amount of work that K Cheryl Tom Randy Donna and the other ladies uh put into this starting January or July 9th out of the SHO Sho this is a cold start no one knew this was coming it's been 5 weeks we're still not at the finish line but it's been five very very tough weeks for Kay and their staff um and I think I hope the BCS Community appreciates the amount of effort she's putting into this to make sure that our children are safe and have a program that functions for the community and I think her and her staff Tom Cheryl everybody deserve um a big ad boid because I just don't think that people realize how much effort went into this and it's not done yet still more do but we can do we can do our we can do our don't let it go to your hand no time for that i' I've set up programs from scratch in the past I've not ever done it in the short of a time period it it it's it's really impressive and yeah it is impressive and it's I I think the BCS community everybody here heartfelt thank you all right enough uh approval [Applause] minutes okay has everybody had a chance to take a look at June [Applause] 12 make a motion to approve second any additional discussion all in favor of uh checking the June 12th regular meeting minutes please signify by saying I I negatives I oh I'll obain okay that's fine committee reports um usually we don't have very many reports because we u in July and AUST so uh new business policy committee soon you're on we we uh we met June 11th which was a while ago so as a short refresher in the June meetings I had proposed going on a rotation of five years in reviewing the entire catalog of 250 policies which would make an agenda of 10 policies in each committee meeting uh there were no objections raised by either the policy commit or Board of web members so the policy committee will operate on that base going forward unless I hear some objections here okay um however the agenda tonight and in September for a second reading has 29 policies which basically Catches Us up on all revisions from the former committee agenda and all the revisions prepared by Sue Carpenter and any revisions needed from legislative changes in 2023 uh these policies include uh one that is mandated three that are recommended 10 that have technical Corrections and 15 with no changes uh the mandated policy is the result of 2023 legislation requiring exit surveys with specific criteria for teachers who leave employment voluntarily and a requirement that this data be reported annually to the State Department of Education the existing voluntary BCS policy was modified to reflect the mandated requirements and is broadened to include all employees uh I brought with me some legal opinions uh from the legislature's office of legislative research and shipment and Goodwin if anyone would like to explore this mandated policy in Greater detail anybody interested okay otherwise uh the three recommended changes are language clar clarifications to Aid in the General management of the school the 10 technical revisions are General language clarifications updates and Corrections and there are 15 policies included with no revision recommended so we they offered for first reading at this meeting [Music] [Applause] yeah okay it is recomend recommended motions mooving the accept the policy for mandated revision for the first reading move that the Board of Education recommend for U same thing move at the board of education at the PO for technical rision for first reading to move the Board of Education except the policies for no revision for first read so I need a motion to accept ABC and D Amy second second too slow a any uh any more discussion all in favor Sue thank you very much it's a it's a it's a tough job and you're doing a very very good job of it I think you be commend I thank you well that's very nice of you to say thank you okay um administrative reports superintendent that be me all right so typically um once we start the school year you'll start to see those charts again in your board packet with the um series of years in terms of where we were in 21 22 23 24 um I didn't provide that this evening because although we ended the school year on June 11th with 450 students as of August 14th um we're starting the school year according to the system with 412 students we are not down that number of students it's just um everyone hasn't completed all their registration paperwork and so until we have them complete their registration paperwork they don't show up in our system um we are fully anticipating being back around that same number that we ended the school year with anticipating starting around the same number it's just that it's still uh hating on families to complete their ucation so right now in the system is 412 but we know her fact will be we'll be hired than 412 uh come August 26th so again those charts will return at the September meeting Personnel it's been busy all right so um the following staff me Members submitted resignations after our June 11th meeting um our teacher Christina cada music teacher Katrina pots Spanish teacher luchana koku third grade teacher Jenna Pisano third grade teacher laen valair fifth grade teacher Alyssa Garo registered Behavior technician Jess Vasquez parent educator Lu Tio and office cler and for M um we also lost our Administrative Assistant uh in Cheryl's Department the amazing Liz harsh we've lost her to retirement uh we wish her all the very best we we truly miss her um but her replacement has been amazing and then we're losing our part-time custodian Nick richardi he's going to law school so we to let him go his last day will be quite a change yes we've been calling him our custodian at law all summer really embraced it and so Nick is going off to law school and we wish him the very best um the following people will be joining our Bethany Community School uh team at the start of the school year third grade teacher Peggy Raina fifth grade teacher Jaclyn reuer art teacher Julie Rogers music teacher Chad fortune and um all of our custodians myON McCoy Jay antinucci and Michael Masha um have signed on and then I have just so you're aware because you know you're probably doing the math we still have the third grade teacher the fifth grade science the Spanish teacher and Paris but I have Tom and Cheryl have been and the team have been really amazing interviews all day into the evening and we're getting those people in background check and I'm doing finalist interviews this week so 're we're in decent shape and should something not shake out we've got contingency plans upon contingency plans posy plans for what to do that first week so that concludes my questions any questions for will you start um sending us on Fridays your superintend my my updates officially will honor it again this week and just to to put you up the date uh I had a request by one of the board members and I talk to Don this morning from now on anything that goes out to anybody in the BCS family will go to the board also uh just to to make sure all bases are covered oh thank you so it's if anybody was offended please don't it wasn't an oversight um but from now on everything that goes out to the families goes out to the board members okay just a quick question about the departures have you sensed any Trends we seem to be heavy in specials and third grade that means all three third grade teachers are new this year on the exit interviews have there been any Trends and so they've actually been very kind um and said lots of wonderful things about their time in BCS but we're losing people to positions in their home districts we have a lot of people and I don't think know that everyone recognizes that so like one of our third grade teachers travels every day from the other side of Middletown right so finding something closer to home you know somebody who lives in Clinton and can find a job in Clinton you know that's what we we've lost them to is is positions in their closer to home um and it's hard I will say and didn't come out in the um exit interviews but I know I've heard it in the past sometimes it's hard being one of those specialists in a school like ourselves because they don't have a real team like they work really well together The Specialist Team and and they support one another but when you're the solitary music teacher you know we always try to you know connect them with our our neighbors to the South but it's really hard being the only um in a building so we lose people sometimes just because they're looking for those other opportunities to to have more of a community in their specialty that's what I can tell you very good can I just add I just wanted to add so uh Caroline and Sue and I were at the cave conference was that only last week last th um and we heard this from a lot of uh board members and other towns as well I mean I don't think obviously we need to keep figuring out what we can do to make BCS the best place for our teachers to work we heard a lot of people talking about like the same kind of turnover at their home [Music] schools could could I ask a sort of a a calendar for of meetings did do we have a new one we will okay for your September meeting okay we have to set all those and we're trying to um reduce the number of of meeting times and condense some things but that's still a work in progress we made the program development a bit of a priority so our calendar work uh will'll get it done next okay just don't want to miss something she's been occupied I understand she's been more than occupied I promise I've been working this summer as everyone else with me yeah it's it's been a interesting summer you're all heroes all right director of special services Cheryl your thank you so much um unbelievable next week the teachers will be coming back on Monday uh professional development will start for the teachers Monday through Thursday and the par Educators they now have a new term from the state they're called par Educators um they will be coming on Monday and Tuesday with us topics include math introduction to our new resource for the science of reading as well as um training on the new child protection unit that we'll be adding through second step in the area of curriculum um this summer we had a grant funded stem Camp um that was a great success Ronda fasio and Laura Stokes led the students in creating a miniature golf course um and they also the younger students designed a lemonade stand uh the feedback received was incredible and actually seeing the students so actively engaged talking about what they were doing their plan they seem to love it um coolj it um like fun they really they had a lot ofun and different flavors um the out and about about program which was also Grant funded was led by Jamie Bowen um and it was really well received as well uh students learned social skills while exploring in the community they went bowling to a farm to the Peabody Muse Museum as well as activities that they did with centers within the building all focused on social emotional skills and there was a uh survey sent to parents and the feedback was outstanding that the that they saw from this their students and in the area of special services extended school year our summer school program ran for 5 weeks for 3 days per week uh students received instruction a reading math or areas specific to their own goals and objectives and that went well as well and that was led um the coordinator was Andrea Huard so really busy summer and some really neat programs for students questions I just sounds like he did a terrific job thanks well it was a lot of great coordinators and opportunity for a lot of people to take some opportunities to have some leadership as well so we were fortunate to have grants to be able to provide those for the students and some of our staff to be able to have that opportunity too it wasn't just me it was a team to your team thanks anybody else have any questions all right Mr re you're on um so uh as youve heard we've been busy um and I think what gets what kind of gets lost in some of this is some of the the the everye hard work that happens just to make the school work and turn over and run and be ready um and so I just wanted to give a shout out to Kevin and his crew I know he's been trying to you know both make everything work find new folks fill that in fill in the gaps there as well they've gotten all the rooms ready um worked with the contract he's had electricians in here the folks working on the floors um you know and was really able to get the building to a spot where this week we've been officially like open for folks to um come in and work on their spaces if they so choose and want to get a head start um and so I just it's been a lot of work there um and I know he's been working tirelessly to get that with his crew um so I just wanted to honor all the hard work there um as you've heard we're we're interviewing for several positions um while stressed hopeful um met a lot of really good people and we've got some very good prospects for every um certified position so I'm very hopeful in terms of where we're going and who we've met um as I always share I wouldn't put somebody in a classroom that I wouldn't put either of my two children in that room um that is the bar and if it doesn't meet that bar then we go back to the table and we find a contingency um and each person that we've put in those positions meets at minimum that bar and exceeds so um we're we're hopeful there uh Jackie nathman is working speaking of new teachers is is working on our new teacher orientation this week uh so we sat down with several several of our new teachers um just kind of got them you know culter to how we do things um everything that way really just trying to get them through the nuts and bolts so that they can feel comfortable and ready to go uh for that first day of school um the master schedule is finalized with I'm sure a couple of typos because it's massive um but we really tried to listen to staff and things that were really important to them uh common planning time remains as a cow that does not go away in that master schedule um we also heard it's like my 9 years of doing landscaping we coming full circle on me right now um so the other thing that was really important in that [Music] um pause for station identification [Music] [Laughter] [Music] um he's almost got a good whistle and just for the record I never understood the argument but the last couple weeks I've had I've had uh pause to revisit my hords of leaf blowers the battery powered option seems to be the way to go I tell you not much beats a good Backpack Blower I will say I mean I am you know in in the Battle of leaf back Lea blowers I am I am a husar a guy I will I will stand heavy on that um all right the master the challenge with the master schedule is that it's an imperfect process for so many different people and so many different students in so many different parts of our school um but we really tried to listen to staff and so we've got um you know and to our families and so a huge part of that was also maintaining um The Summit rotations and ensuring that we had something that were there it's challenging because we had four and three seven is not a happy number to divide um but we have that rotation continuing for both fifth um and sixth um and we've been able to per request from classroom teachers we have that Weekly data team meeting for all of them where they're able to be able to take a look at their Benchmark data um any classroom data and really be able to analyze that for instructural purposes um and we've been able to extend that from 40 minutes a week to 50 minutes a week um so really trying some creative things there and making that work for everyone possible in the building um and then last uh because I know there are many parents here who do not have their letter sorry um Mr BR has been working working tirelessly getting power school up and running getting everyone changed over right so his challenge is to shut everything down revamp everything turn it back on and make sure that it all works so that every one of the teachers the kids the the staff the families go on and it's all correct um and so that was sort of the last bit of our work for um class placement letters um and so he's been working on that Denise has been working tirelessly in the office to get all that set um labeled and out um and they were out of our office at the end of of yesterday so they should be in the mail um so now we're relying on the USPS um and so they should be out hopefully to Folks by the end of this week um and so we'll be able to have that um and anyone can reach out to me if there's any questions or concerns so that's what we've been up to uh looking forward um as you heard we're planning our Parent Academy on the 20th we have our staff PD starting on the 19th our kindergarten orientation on the 22nd um and then we're looking forward to that first day of school on the 26th and then we just just hit the ground so yeah I know I which Speaking of the parent Academy would it maybe be possible if there's enough demand or enough people who like want to attend our out of town to maybe run it again during the school year when people are all the way back yeah yeah and I think you know the the big part of that is that we' really tried to be responsive to like what fam's needs so we're really trying to put those surveys out and get that sense of like what is it that would actually be beneficial we can present anything but if people aren't going to get a benefit from it then you know then it's sort of pointless for us to hold so I think anything that has interest we're willing to explore that and think and it might be something where you know we do that initial one and then think of maybe one that's a little maybe truncated and you know transition that in with something else so we can you know two birds one stone but more than happy or repeat part of it at the Friday morning yeah yep for sure yeah and that could be a thing I'll make a note of that I mean that's something that I could review at Coffee hour just because it's a different time too right so evenings work better for some folks mornings might work better for others and it's a chance just to be able to review that um and then we have it in different ways to go out and then you know we record that always and send it out in the Weekly Newsletter as well okay so if people have thoughts or suggestions or ideas is there a place in that survey to do it should they reach out to you what's the best way for people to do that I think the the survey is going to be designed really to get the sense of like numbers I think if somebody has has a question or concern if they can send that through to um Jackie and myself just include both of us on it we'll keep a running tally of that and we'll just try and make sure that we address any of those any of those questions or concerns there and just if that can come to us ahead of time it just helps us be best prepared for it you know we're happy to answer questions there but the more lead time we have the you know the the better answers we can have for folks there thank any we any questions from Tom more retroactive questions for K and Cher If not moving right along okay if you want to pick out the 11 by 17 sheets go over this I'm Sorry's not here so probably won't make a decision tonight but what you got in front of you is as you well know we're having problems with the stairs here in front and at the North End of the building and we want to try to clean this up and get fix uh becoming a safety hazard So to that end we've retained silver cure selling we've met with them and they now have come up with five or six Alternatives of what uh they think some ramping or some elimination stairs are and I'll go over very briefly the heavy black line is the front of the building so if you want to look at this just looking at this normally you're standing in the parking lot looking at the front on the building uh the first is a long ramp that runs from almost the corner on the other side of the uh of the canopy all the way across the front of the building and then switchbacks back and then goes up to the uh level at the northeast corner of the building and one of the reasons these are done this way is because if you look at the sections we're trying to eliminate the railings because you keep them shallow you don't need railings and the railings do kind of detract from the look of the building so that's why this is such a long ramp and then we also eliminate the stairs at the at the corner near the uh near the canopy and the piece in the middle can I ask can I ask is is this is this Under The Canopy what's that is this going to be under the I don't know where the canopy is C sections 1 2 and three this would be like the canopy see at the bottom oh okay it's you'll have walls on either side but there's no canopy over the top that that that that see the canopy is there but the stairs there's a ramp over here the ramp is not Under The Canopy so it's this side yeah closer this ramp here we'll talk about that one in a minute that's last okay sorry but no the idea is we're not going to build a canopy over the top of each that's not the attempt this is just access emergency access but the stairs are crumbling um and if we're going to do the work we might as well make it look a little attractive okay well this ramp would be exposed to the weather correct yes okay the same way they are now that's what I'm trying to get all the ramps are exposed to the weather whether or not okay the second one actually starts uh at the north end of the parking area sweeps back to the South uh and picks up a set of stairs which will be at the North End of the corner and then comes into the middle of the school that's another alternative and again if you look at the sections it's relatively shallow grading you would have stairs uh where there's stairs now they'd be a little bit different orientation but again we give to the stairs at the um at the southern portion of that way the third one you come in from the middle sweep to the left um and again it's a shallow grade so we don't need railings at the start you do need railings in the main part of the run because that steepens up and if you look at section two you'll see the railings shown and in section three so where at section one and section two did not need railings section three does because it's a shorter steeper ramp number four is a Switchback very similar to what we have here and what we have there now which to be perectly honest with you is what we're trying to get R it's not real attractive um and it's going to have issues number five is the same thing it's a we fix the stairs at the North end of the building and then we also have a switch back ramp and then the stair to the south end of the building stay number six is the area on the other side of the uh of the uh entrance over here and that's just repairing that putting a ramp there and then number seven is this stair here get rid of this whole complex here you come out and switch back down and it emps right the stairs over here and again this one you would not have railings you would only have the railings on the stairs so it gets rid of a lot of the stuff in front and it makes this a little bit you know a little bit more attractive it's not something we have to look at or decide upon today like I said facilities hasn't seen this yet so we still have to talk about it but if you want to talk about it some more we can talk about it some more but I think we're trying to uh to solve a problem come up with something that's really easily tracked last for the next 30 to 50 years and to be perfectly ofont with you I'm kind of personally Sean and I are kind of personally leaning towards um number two because it takes the majority of the concrete work and everything else off off the front of the school it gets rid of some of the stuff and it has a nice shallow um grade we don't require railings and we put this stares back but again this is not a you know this is not a hard and fast everybody's got their right ears you know take a look at it uh this is just the first time we we presented this to the board uh the facilities committee has to meet on it but what we'd like to do is is give the architect some some guidance he's still working on other aspects of the of the maintenance program doors uh sighting other things but we want to pick one or two and have them price them out and see what it looks like because these will probably out to be capital budget items we don't know that yet so why don't you like the Switchback so why don't you like the Switchback design what what do you see as a disadvantage the switchbacks look just like this and you need railings it's a big block of concrete right in front of a of a structure and what we're trying to do is soften the front of the school which is why number two it it kind of Blends in with the grading whereas number four if you were Charlie B who was a famous architect believe Massy item number four is is is a mass of concrete right in front of the school and the same thing with item five you know you have a fixed Switchback with railings right in the middle of the school and I just think that that that uh that brutalistic concrete look okay so it's it's appearances what's that it's app it's the appearance of the concrete yeah and plus to be honest with you it's not exactly the most um it's it's the most user friendly I mean those type of ramps are done that way for a reason they're there to satisfy a certain when you don't have room to spread them out that's what you get you get very compact steep ramps that have a lot of concrete and a lot of railing if you have room to spread it out it softens you know what we call softens the effect and it kind of Blends a little bit in with the front of the school and so if we're going to spend the money to fix a problem the least we can do is make it a trct I I don't object to that I'm just no trying understand I'm just explaining there are people that think that this kind of a of a system is the best solution don't get me wrong I just don't Happ be one of them well I don't know what the the the the cost and that question is cost we have to get but before you go there so the railings they the lower grade doesn't need a railing that's right and that's still ADA Compliant what's that that's still ADA Compliant yes that's the idea okay all these all of these really a compliant okay but uh so the objection to railings is cost or is it appearance or M cost appearance and functionality and maintenance railings are famous when you put railings in the concrete is too dissimilar materials and so what happens is they start to react eventually you start to get water in there they never sealed right and it starts to crack just when you leave tonight go take a look at the railings over here that's what happens over time okay so if you don't have railings you eliminate a potential future source of Maintenance mhm and it it it adds longevity to your structure okay I get like I said there there's you know it's whatever if everybody decides they like the ren I don't care but I'm just saying go through the effort I think the idea is to try to soften the effect on the school so if I understand correctly so this is this this is basically part of your Chairman's report just to give us information and then it's still going to go to facilities you still got to go to facilities but the idea is remember we talked about this scares in front are failing scares in the North End are failing um so we have to fix them sooner rather than later I mean by this year yeah so if we're going to do it let's do something that's why we hired silver Petra they did a nice job and you know we we have the U we now have something to look at before we didn't have anything to look at so now we do it yeah I I was just going to ask if maybe at some point either you know during during the facilities committee meeting or some other time I think it might be really helpful for like other I know you all have done a walk through it might be helpful to do like to have other board members be able to do a walk through and I also think it'd be really great to reach out to like sort of extend an invitation of the community to folks who use you know have Mobility AIDS or use wheelchairs to get some feedback from the folks who are going to use it um the the that a wheelchair ramp is a wheelchair ramp is a wheelchair ramp there's certain there are certain um constraints that are imposed by the Ada sure how you oppose those is anybody's guess you can go to 100 different places and you can see 100 different solutions to the same problem um personally I think people in with disabilities and militaries would rather see shallower um rather than cheeper MH yeah and I just think that's useful information to have as we make decisions but that's basic point I do this for a livit and and and we see that a lot where clients will say well can we make this a little bit more gradual rather than you know a one on 12 ramp because that's what Ada is and uh you know especially around schools around schools and right now I think we have four or five of them going the uh the intent is to try to flatten the ramps as much as possible so that they're not maxing uh allowable pitch they're they're really shallow and that's what the that's what the designers The Architects are going for they're trying to get away from them s back yeah just respond to that so just from our own experience with our students that's who we thought of I mean we didn't think about Greater Community but just well that I me yeah so so in working with like in seeing how much more difficult it is for some of our students with those mobility issues or that are in those wheelchairs getting up like the ramp that we have at the front of the school which is one of the other considerations is to make it wider make it less steep makes it easier for the for that adult that's assisting that individual to get that wheelchair up the ramp um or those that have the electronic wheelchairs or even when they have their walkers um it's better for them to have something a little longer that's not as steep to go up to help Foster that Independence too um than something that's zigzagging so we have consider that okay well and I just I you know so there's a saying in the disability rights uh movement right nothing about us without us and I think often folks with disabilities people talk for them instead of to them and so there are opportunities to sort of buck that Trend here at BCS I would love to do that that's case going through the school that's basically I'm sorry the insurance company look at this you know give you any the only thing that come also comes to mind is uh ice in the wintertime that uh you know if you don't have a railing there's nothing to grab on to if you if it's slippery I'll just mention it I don't know how it depends on on if the sun comes out or if it doesn't you know or what how thick the ice is all closer to a sidewalk than a ramp the reason you have railings on a ramp is because it is steep the raing you don't the reason you don't have railings on a sidewalk is because it's flat and that's the idea is you're trying to get away from that as as Shannon just say you're trying to get something that's more uh user friendly mhm and that's why I said there's a million ways to solve the problem but uh I'm not a fan of railings if you can avoid them slip and Falls is a classic lawsuit you know so I'm just suggesting understand mention it to the insurance agenty if they have any comment on liability purposes we'll have facilities run by the insurance company we'll cover all our I don't like lawsuits so I said I I'd like to avoid any of those kinds of lawsuits so we'll definitely R everything okay it's just you know you don't want it to impact your [Music] premium all [Music] [Applause] [Music] right thanks John Paul this was very informative I said thank you it was very informa we have more coming by the way because we got to do well we got to do the outside of the school yet and you 19 doors and all there there's Rim boards and all kinds of stuff you know 20 years of delayed maintenance is going to have to be fixed a lot of these doors are rotten and uh that's what started the whole thing we thought we were just doing a couple of ramps and then Sean walk around and said oh boy correspondence no correspondence all right we now come to the second um segment of our public comment policy again please limit yourself to few minutes um so's that oh okay somebody wants to come on down um Now's the Time [Music] um I'm Jen 134 nor Thomas Drive um I just want to start by thanking you for your thoughtful and thorough response to what has happened um we had resources within a week we are still waiting for resources from the town so I very much appreciate how much time and thought you've put into all of this because I know it is not a small undertaking um so just wanted that to be said on a completely different subject um I had a couple questions um and I know you guys can't respond but I'm just going to throw them out there um if we have a plan for the incoming sixth grade math um math was a bit of fifth grade math was a bit of a challenge last year um I'm sure you guys know and I know that there were a lot of students that were getting outside help because of the challenges and I don't know poor if poor Mrs wot's ready but you know we've got a plan for that to like look at these kids as they're coming in and making sure that they're ready and prepared and not feel really overwhelmed coming in already cuz they were pretty overwhelmed last year and so I don't want that to be a repeated um concept I know there was a lot of um lack of confidence and loss of confidence because of what was going on last year um the second thing sort of on the same note is a question about how much testing we do like standardized the ey ready the things like that the reason I'm asking is because last year specifically there was tests that were done like the midyear tests and even some of the end end of the year tests where kids were like and not just my kid other kids that I've talked to did worse and then when I was asked when I was like this this score looks worse oh no it doesn't really mean anything not from you guys from you know just from people that were T giving the tests which begs the question of if we are taking these tests and we are looking at data and that that looks worse why are we doing the test of it doesn't mean anything like it's a lot of time away from I mean we spend almost a month in testing in April it's a lot of time away from the classroom that if the tests don't actually mean anything I would much rather see kids do a unit test and I mean I've not seen a unit I mean I know at listen I'm old I get it but like I haven't seen a unit test or papers come home that are graded in a like in the especially in the older kids like the Team Summit kids and then they go to middle school and everything's graded you know what I mean and it's a very big transition to go from like yay you're fine or no you're not not to an a a b a c a d right like it's it's a big jump um so that was the and then the last thing and sort of along the same lines of Team Summit and the preparation for moving to Middle School um is if you guys have considered with the longer periods that we're doing in Team Summit and I don't know if that's still the case this year the 70-minute periods if there's any consideration and I know it may be like too little too late this year but I'm still going to throw it out there is rotating the schedule so one of the things that happens in middle school as they rotate the class and specifically because if a kid is not great at math and math is their last period for 70 minutes every single day it's hard to know if that kid would do better if a couple days a week they had that maybe earlier the day when they were a little fresher so if they're because the periods are so long and it takes such s sustained concentration it's just a conversation of whether that's ever been a consideration to actually rotate the periods thanks anybody [Music] else um thank you for the thorough indepth plan that you guys have put together I know as someone who's done one of these before it does not come easy and does is a long process so thank you for that I you can't answer questions but I have three um are the the teachers and the Paras that were asked since everyone was asked were they given the option of doing like Monday Wednesday Friday or Tuesday Thursday or was it like all out first question um and the program looks great and utilizing everything will there be any time for the kids to be kids and just run around free play and and all that um and has there been any thought to utilizing like a substitute teacher agency as potential for hiring people and I just want to remind people that are watching that yes this is going to cost more a little more it's comparable with everything else and you get what you pay for so thank you [Music] Valerie as a parent who has had children in this school since 2009 and has utilized the before and after CARE program and was run by JCC in this building I'm so extremely grateful for this proposed program that you're putting together um and of the maybe five children that were in BCS last year that went to JCC two of them were mine I was devastated learning from Kelly in in April that they were no longer going to offer Transportation so again so grateful that you have this option the proposed cost that you have I was paying $150 per week for five days here so that is comforable to what's out there um I I think it's great that you know you put it out to the the teachers and the Paris you know something that I've put out to to Kelly and so bre down at JCC is there ever if if that doesn't work out like a contingency is there ever an opportunity or you know any of the the the folks that are running The JCC program to do something like that here like it used to be kids club was the only option before care because that's how I got involved Parker R never had before care they went here preco you know the tornado happened my child was here until 9:00 because I couldn't get to them so I've always used JCC I love the idea of having it here just throwing it out there if there if things don't work out with the teachers and you're already collaborating with JCC is there the potential to possibly you know have those counselors here again like they used to so thank you hi 53 Lac road I don't come with a prepared comment so I apologize if in addition to my German accent there's also some incy with my thoughts but I just have a comment and um a more organizational question I think um first of all I would like to also thank the district for all the hard work that they evidently have put in over the summer and I can imagine it has been a huge challenge um I do appreciate the communication that we as a community have received from the school district since June um which is in craft contrast to the communication we have received from the town um so thank you for that and I think you have all done a wonderful job with the communication putting coming towards parents since June um what I am missing though um is a forum for parents who um might still have questions also for the school and I think for me personally I can say particularly I am interested in communication that might have occurred internally among staff and the uh the school district and the Board of Education um since um the school or the district learned about the investigational the the criminal investigation and removed the person from the school um which I understand that not all the information might have been available at that point but at least the information that a criminal investigation was ongoing must have been available so information must have been available that led to the removal of of the person okay then I would just like to understand as he hat shaking I would just like to understand what uh led to the removal of of the person from all School Services cuz that is not clear to me you can put that um right so um my comment is basically that um while we are not getting any answers from the town frankly but there has been a forum where parents and community members were able to ask questions and voice concerns and um I haven't seen that happen with the school yet um so I would appreciate if if such a opportunity would be given to us and um the other comment of much uh smaller significance this is more a organizational question um I'm trying to understand with the potential collaboration with the JCC after school program um you mentioned that um they're trying to gauge how much need there might be and I'm imagining the need from BCS students for after school care at JCC is much dependent on how soon you can start the program here right so I'm just trying to understand um should we signal to JCC we might have the need for the interim time um or and and in which way or who should we address there to to you know put that out there who might have the need so that information I think would be would be very helpful for parents that to consider this thank you [Music] still out of [Music] commission I think J said it [Music] was no there's no who took it K took that [Laughter] pen stealing that's a TI of string still um y Fernandez 108 gab mon Road um thank you for the after Care Program solution I'm one of those parents I'm looking for an after care right now my kid is going to soon to kindergarten and I understand you said that it's dependent on on the staff on the current staff at the same time we also need dates if you don't have a fully staff what is your expectation of date to have a fully program uh considering being uh not current staff from ECS uh we I'm one of the on that fill the survey yes I'm interested but at the same time like that interest depends on having something available uh I'm also reach out to to JCC but they don't offer Transportation if there's no solution from the town right now or a date I really like a lot of farms are really dependent on that after care that my solution might be go just to JCC and up the front of having to carry the kid from here to JCC so I dates are really important and I understand you're coming with a short time to put this program together uh but an estimation if any of the current staff says no why when you expect this program to be up and Runk [Music] anybody else going once going twice all right that closes down the public comment okay uh does anybody else on the board have anything else they would like to discuss any questions uh some of the comments raise any questions anybody wants to discuss motion joury so second second see I waited all right got all in favor we you people come back and sign it say

and uh there will be tours Hospitality we're working with PTO um principal's working with PTO to um you know figure all that those details out and then as you mentioned tonight welcome back uh emails from the principles are going have gone out or going out and is email will go out um with the priorities as uh teaching and learning School climate and sters and if I may I just want to uh thank Stephanie and Aaron and joy the the energy uh that's behind this is really palpable and I think it's it's hopeful we're going to really make the progress we've all wanted to to to make uh and hopefully remain focused on you know real good strong momentum and matriculation uh building that energy and also thank Casey for all of her work putting um I think I think in my link that I gave you I called it the organiz Matrix but I think we should call it policy Matrix I we should change that it's just everybody knows what they're looking at when they pull that up so thank you and Steph thanks for your leadership on this as well and uh again eron just getting on uh thank you and I know you enjoyed did as well off month on on all this stuff as well so thank you all it's uh it's a lot of work any other questions for Stephanie so let's move on to the consent agenda I move that the board approved the items on the consent agenda as recommended new hires transfers resignations and retirement I have a question on Mrs civa was leaving and is being replaced um on the agenda but it lists as WMS wasn't she a BHS where is we already had her resigned so where's um it's under the new it's under the I saw I can't find it yeah that should that should say BHS thank you for catching that okay and if there's nothing else I I wanted to congratulate Mr Gutierrez and Mr Tess otherwise known as cosme um everybody knows Miss cosme are retiring um cosme at the end of the month and Mr Gutierrez um these are one time custodians with us at the end of September so we're uh thrilled for them congratulations thank them for their service okay um so we have a a motion on the table um is there any further discussion so all in favor okay so the motion is unanimous on to new business um the honic resources recovery Authority presentation um this is just an action for the board um so I'd like to welcome up Jennifer heon Jones um the executive director for the honic resources recovery Authority um for a presentation on can we um Rose just a little background um at the in at the in during spring working with the parents from speaks uh we were talking about you know really enhancing what we do for recycling uh and waste management and one of the big pieces is bringing in HR to conduct an audit the cafeterias and you know the food waste that goes on in plastic and and everything else in recycling um and there's plenty of it and so Jen will show you that in a presentation today this is one a springboards forward after we get through the start of school to work with our principal and our custodial so both Dan colell is involved Cas is certainly involved and um really uh doing doing a much better job than we have in the past so we're really um looking forward to the work here so Jen the floor is yours good evening thank you for having me sorry you to have to spin around um so the HRA the lonic resources recovery Authority we are the regional governmental Solid Waste Authority for 14 municipalities in Western Connecticut which this one of our member towns and it's also our host communities it's where my my office is a the uh Old Town Hall so before we get into the waist audit in the town of Brookfield I thought I would give you an opportunity to say like why why are we doing this and why should you care as a board of education as administrative staff as parents um we are in a waste crisis in the state of Connecticut and I want you to think for a second about the fact that every single human being in this world including babies to those when we die when we start with a diaper and some of us end with a diaper we make garbage every single day and it doesn't go away and no matter who you are um where your economic background is what you believe in everything you're still going to make garbage and we are in a waste crisis and what does that mean we produce three and a half million tons of waste we generate waste a year three and a half million tons in Connecticut a year but we only have capacity for 2.7 million tons and that's because we've lost capacity over the years um there was a 50-year plan that brought us to these six waste energy plants and they have begun to age and age out to the point where now we are shipping almost 800,000 tons of garbage out of the state and we are riant on Ohio and Iowa and Pennsylvania and Upstate New York and we're buying for capacity with other North e States and there's only a few things we can do we can open up all the landfills that we closed for 40 50 years ago which is never going to happen we can build new waste to energy plants which is very difficult because many people say not in my backyard we can renovate and improve those waste of energy plants but we're relying on Private Industry to do that for us and or maybe we can just reduce our waste um it's really important to look at the waste stream um I'm highlighting food waste in this chart here this is a characterization study done by the Connecticut d um when you really deep deep dive deeper into this chart you realize 90% of our waste can be reused recycled repurposed or composted 90% yet we're in a waste crisis but I'm going to highlight the 32% because the largest piece of the pie is Organics I don't know why the I just noticed that that actually says 32% um food waste Organics and so it's made up of about 22 23% food waste and then another 10 or 11% is other Organics like maybe some flowers from your house or some yard debris that really actually shouldn't go in the household trash but 25% is paper so more than 50% can be compostable yet we're again we're in a waste crisis um so this is the why I'm we're reaching out to our schools and HRA has for our history and I've been with the H for 14 years we go to schools K through 12 we teach waste reduction recycling repurposing and composting um we focus on the state curriculum and how it aligns um but we're really on a path to try to reach the schools and I want to tell you that out of the 14 municipalities Mr barell is probably one of our exemplars of a superintendent to say I'm embracing this idea and concept of bringing this to our students and making them understand and H helping them understand that we as individuals have to responsibility and be stewards to this Earth so with the support of um your administrative staff uh the H facilitated a waist audit um my staff went and worked with other volunteers uh through in every one of your schools in June and so I'm going to go over the data here that was collected in the process and here the observation so um currently the waste in all of your schools is just put into one garbage can or several garbage cans because some of them like in your cafeteria four or seven cans in just one room um so during the audit process we didn't use one container we separated out the recycling the beverage containers cans cartons like milk cartons and paper bags because they're recyclable in any aluminum foil separated out of all the unopened food that was purchased from the cafeteria any liquids milk um whatnot that wasn't consumed any Trash the wrappers the napkins Etc and then the food scraps and then we stacked the trays um so that was the process of the audit and then each of those areas or those categories were weighed and they were rounded and recorded and what our staff observed was that as I mentioned before there are several containers throughout the cafeteria that the students use and those bags are actually changed before each lunch round they're not full completely there's a routine that the custodians just empty it out even if it's just half full and it's it's not separated um each kitchen is equipped with a dish machine which is really important to understand like not a lot of schools have that and that's a resource that you have that's not being utilized um and that some positive feedback that the custodians were really helpful the students were receptive and the lunch monitors were really supportive especially in those Elementary grades so here's some photographs of what our staff um observed from can from each of the schools and I'll go through them individually so here's Candlewood Lake um and this was what they were separating out and this one is the data from CLE Wood Lake and what you have here is the chart on the top is the material was separated I I'm so sorry that when we I guess when we converted the um file to this laptop the uh names didn't switch so I'll give you the I will PDF it and you'll have it I will try to remember what everything is the top one the green I know is trash I was looking at this earlier the Orange is liquid see if I can remember everything I think that 36 lbs was the food waste the um the other small dark blue I believe was your tray oh geez um nonetheless we will go over this later um when I send you the PDF you can look at it you'll understand and know that the top one was the source separation audit and the bottom is basically if you didn't have if you didn't do Source separation and you didn't take out the food waste in your cafeterias and separate the recy this is and actually you just threw away all the trash you separated recycling um and your Organics that's what you would get down at the bottom so you would still get have a n 197 pounds of trash versus above at 78 pounds of trash so you have significant reduction in trash if you were to remove and sore separate out your liquids your recyclables your Organics Etc um um this is the projection for the year I'm sorry that I don't memor I can't memorize all those categories uh here's the whiskin Middle School audit and you're going to obviously probably see the same here so you're going to see the audit at the top how everything is Source separated and then if you didn't do anything it would be 117 pounds of trash in one day out of whis skiner middle school and then for the projected year uh looks like she projected just a little over 11 th000 pounds for the year of trash out of whis Ander and then here's the high school audit um again we separated at the top the bottom left so you would have 75 pounds for the day um for the high school and then out of the year I'm going to assume that the 6 6,480 is your Organics because that would be the orange and the waste would be the 5 5,580 PB Jen I do have the oh look it's on the right yeah the Orange is trash okay and the green is I'm actually seeing on the chart she had it right there so here you are um thanks see so yes your trash would be 6,480 and the 5,580 would be your food scraps for the year so here are some suggestions um this is provided by my staff many who are um have extensive experience in zero schools and implementing them from Wilton to Richfield Etc um and their suggestions were to move the utensil and napkin dispenser move to a a dispenser for students um instead of apparently they are given these packets and they don't use the entire packet so there's a lot of waste in those packets so instead if you move to a dispenser if they need a for they take a fork they don't need a fork a spoon and a knife um that at canwood Lake don't place the utensils in the cold lunch bag again they just get thrown away they can just go to the dispenser and then instead of giving out single user single packets of condiments you would have a dispenser um in the high school to re-evaluate the different tray needs and to consider out apparently a lot of blastic black plastic plates are are um handed out is just Wass you can't recycle black plastic at this time the W stream is always changing recycling technology is always moving someday we will be able to recycle that but right now you can't um and used five compartment trays bowls black plastic plates and paper boats apparently is what's being used to move away from that um so some other suggestion to set up a liquid Recycling and trash station and I have some examples of that on the next slide um decide on accepting all possible recycling or to determine you know do you want to just do one kind of recycling um just for like beverage containers and just paper bags you can start slow that liquids can be poured down a mop syn and that is a personal preference in uh the janitorial staff every school's different every school has a different um water system or septic system um but Mo many schools do use a mop syn for liquids that tray stacking is another way way of it necessarily mean you're throwing away less trays but it takes up less space if you stack them rather than throwing them multiple bags um that you should have some signage for the students to follow you can either be digitally made or it can be sort of actual like uh milk carton stuck to a board and they see it three-dimensionally and then to explore how to manage the unopened Food donation program they feel that you could Target that through K through because that's typically where the food donations would come from and it would only be the items that are purchased it wouldn't be something a child would brought from home and donated but it would be items that they may have purchased but then didn't consume and to contact some of our our partners in the state like food rescue um that they would actually come to the school and pick it up so it wouldn't require volunteers within the community that you would need Refrigeration um either donated or purchased and we do have more resources on our website on wasted food so here's some sorting station examples um from various schools and so it's a it's a real preference on you know some like a very consistent professional refined look and some don't mind maybe the students help to provide the signage and there by doing that it's part of the education of them learning about waste reduction um so some additional suggestions exploring adding food scrap collection to the schools through either a phase in or Allin process and there are companies that conservice schools that all they focus on is Organics they're not a full service Waste Management Company um they are all um licensed and registered with the HRA and incorporating reusable items within your cafeterias to move away from single use um material we as h we are here to assist you we are here to help you we will be your power on your education and help with your volunteers you will need volunteers you'll need your PTO engaged but most importantly we need your support we need to know that it's from the top saying yes we support this we believe this is should be incorporated in our students everyday activity they learn at school every day they'll take it home and hopefully educate their families on the importance of our our own resp respons responsibilities as individuals um so we can help you with all of the things that we just suggested with the signage or Resources with Partners like food rescue Etc and also we love writing grants we really don't but um we write over a lot of Grants and uh the US day is often very generous and when it comes to food waste management and so we are actually in the process of writing and applying for an additional Grant from the USDA um that could incorporate this program if you're interested the um the deadline for that is early September and so here's our contact information um education at H is actually Tammy's uh email we all get it but really Tammy Thorton who is our public education coordinator who did the she facilitated the audit um if anyone is interested in asking questions regarding the data that was on these slides they can reach out to Tammy um or jennif raom who's our regional recycling coordinator um but I'm happy to question questions in regards to this process and why we're doing what we're doing Jen thank you and and for the the board and the communities you know this is a it will ultimately be a whole Community effort as you're talking about Jen and Tammy the education coordinator has already been in touch with h Deb FAS or director of instruction to look at how could this realistically fit uh into an integrate I should say not fit integrate into what we uh are doing with uh our different studies or in Cula so it's it's really good stuff I don't know the board might have some questions um probably more for but um are there plans to start incorporating even on a slow small scale any of these ideas in any of the schools yes and actually I'll turn it over to Casey because she's taking the lead on that in coordination with principles okay got M um great question and the answer is absolutely yes um I think you know we really wanted to get this Wast a and in right before the you know the school year ended so that we could see um get get some ideas make these Rel and get this Buy in at least from you know the level over here um so that we can start transitioning this into the district it's not going to be one fou swoop that you know day one of school opens and we've got all these new stations because think it's more important than doing it fast and quickly is just doing it right and get the proper Buy in and do it the right way um so I will as you know we do have a new um Food Service management company um starting U they've already started and already them I shared this presentation with them actually um and they they you know they were very intrigued by it um I shared with them that it is our goal to move to these um you know the dispensers for the utensils and the condiments um and things like that so they're already looking at um ways to to do that and cut down on some of those Plastics black plastic that Jen had mentioned um so they know that that is our priority um as as Jen mentioned you know volunteers is a big part of this um um particularly with uh using either the composting or the um the unopened items for a you know either the food pantry or social services we have to coordinate you know pickups of at the different school buildings each week to bring to make sure that those can be um you know brought to the proper locations um so there's there's some Logistics till to to work out but absolutely um we want to we want to start implementing this throughout the district and all three schools for sure right and and and I will also add I didn't realize even J that 50% of the waste is paper 25% is 25 over 50% is compostable right so that's right exactly 25% is the compostable so the paper is another you know that's another part we're going to expand it Beyond just the cafeteria because we're a school we go through a lot of paper um I want to make sure that that is all getting to the proper um place as well uh so it's it's multifaceted for sure and we're excited to get to work great um you mentioned a grant um a USDA grant that was probably due um in a few weeks but um what sorts of projects would that support it specifically supports food waste reduction so it's a food waste reduction Grant um most of the focus on the grant that I'm writing is for municipal transport station drop off to some of our transfer stations to be most more self- sustainable but certainly I envisioned that we could incorporate um a a portion of that money for public education changing to dispensers um the unopened food supporting food Rescue all of that component we could put money in and then later figure out how to use that money how the best way to use the funds um to support the program I just wanted to say I was there the day got it and the willingness of the kids the enthusiasm that they have for like there was no question they didn't argue I was a CS so I was with the little kids but um I think incorporating it as part of like an education series and help like they were all in and some of them stood up there and were directing their friends and some of them like came back and was like I licked this clean can it be recycled now because we were telling them if it wasn't clean it couldn't go so it was great to have Jen and you guys there because they were so like instructive and efficient which allowed us to sort of like play with the enthusiasm of the kids and like Eric conin had like four little helpers is he was like putting all the cheese sticks in a pile to like rescue and eat later and so it was like great but it's not just that we're like instating this new system the kids really are like when you give them sort of the instruction and help them understand they're all in so I think this is going to be a really good move and easier than we think it's going to be to like get them to pay attention to that I love that thank you for sharing that I think it's also really important that we find ways to incorporate it in that regular curriculum of like where does paper come from it comes from it's all about the science and then the tonage and math and incorporate for them to actually understand like oh these are resources and we're wasting these resources that are coming from the earth and our environment and we can repurpose them and or somebody else can eat today that might be hungry such great everyday lessons that I I see it's interesting how trash and recycling can be incorporated into here every day Jen thank you so much apprciate I'm give Bron up next all right so we'll move on to the Brookfield cares presentation and Mr jaffy can come up first I want to give special thanks to everybody who helped on this project uh to help update the guide and improve its contents including School administration and staff uh the town Health Department the police Department uh the Western Connecticut Coalition and certainly members of Brookfield cares this new edition is the third version of a parent guide to helping your child succeed it includes the most recent results of the student attitudes and behavior survey which was given in 2022 we again thank the schools for supporting this important effort and look forward to discussions on when we should work to give the survey again significant updates have been made to most sections of the guide including drug safety and Disposal mental health OCD eating eating disorders and more we've added sections on new challenges and changing schools the guide now has a vaping identification chart and the drug identification section has been completely updated and expanded it even includes information on oral nicotine pouches such as Zin this guide is paid for completely by Brookfield cares and we are happy to do this and part of the funding from this comes from Grants uh we are mailing the guide to the homes of students one per household using the address to parents and guardians of Brookfield public school students the file provided had addresses not student names and our plan is to mail the guide the last week in August so they'll get it right before school starts we'll also make available copies to staff and schools town offices and more and they'll also be available at any uh any events that Brookfield cares attends including back to school event back to school events and the new guide is now available on Brookfield Care's website as a downloadable PDF so it's there on the homeage and resources if you go to resources it's got its own page so I'm here tonight to present you with copies of the new guide to thank you for your continued and ongoing support and to answer any questions you may have so thank you very much thank you don't questions but I will say I always love this because the information in it is never stale or recycled it is um informed by what's actually happening in our community so this is an excellent resource for families thank you it's interesting the uh you know the printer that we use um we keep going back because this is a it's a technical printing job um uh but the comments that we get back the printer are why aren't other towns doing it this is such an important thing and you know the uh the uh the feedback that we get from the community is is pretty strong on this so we are glad to do it uh we're happy that we're able to update it and we look forward to uh continuing to work together so thank you very much thank you Ron thank you and just so everybody knows the the um I don't know if it transferred yet to the new website but we have this we available as well on our website under the parent section um and I I can't say even for me at the superintendent level but it's certainly with counselors and teachers in our building Administration um we reference this as a reference guide by our phone so we're having a conversation with a parent they're having a difficult time and we can help direct them you know to to resources as well so it's just fantastic and so Ron uh to field cares thank you for the continued partnership we look forward to making sure this is available than much and any anybody needs more copies just getting compa thank you all right let's move on to the approval of the nur's contract I knew that the approved the successor contract between the Brookfield Board of Education and the Brookfield nurses Union we'll give this a second to Ain you guys said it exactly the same time um the motion has been made and seconded um is there any discussion did everybody get a chance to take a look at that um this was a very simple um you know negotiations really that just updated yeah really f on on compensation for the nurses you'll see this in the secretaries as well they have the same uh kind of parent uh Statewide Union that supports them um and uh they want they asked the board for a truncated negotiations process so was very very straightforward this year I'd also like to thank attorney Murphy this was his last large assignment for us he started this in the spring and worked it through the summer so i' like to thank Dan long time legal council person as well any other questions all in favor I that motion pass unanimously we'll move on to the approval of the secretary's contract I move that the board approved the successor contract between the Brookfield Board of Education and the Brookfield secretary's Union Aon second that motion um any discussion here similar that passes unly all right so uh we do not have any old business tonight um so up next would be public comment um we didn't again have anybody signed up earlier tonight um is there anybody here who would like to speak okay all right so then we will move on to our three main points what do you have so I had number one as the HH presentation the recycl um number two as an update on foral Care's uh guide and where that's available and how that can help and um number three the policy update policy committee update that seem to be the only other major piece of information today yeah I think prob all right any upcoming events start school yeah start of school Tuesday the 3 and the um ribbon cutting for is Thursday September more information we've sent invitations out and the dates out there but you know the U you work with Dr pep sasi and the PTO on the agenda what that's going to look like music selection you know real celebratory uh event would be nice so we'll need board members there toward the building if you're not too familiar with the building it's okay it all circles back so you'll be fine oh and I should say I don't have them written down but I have gotten a few questions the back to school nights are on the calar um and they different I think principles have communicated those as correct y those have gone out um and I believe they're before or at the same time as our next meeting I was looking at that and I should have about those tonight but I wanted to make sure people knew those are the first like third week of school the because the 18th is a Bo correct and they're like that same then and I think there's one after as I always say the dance card gets filled quite quickly just not enough you all right so uh then without objection meeting ised good night everyone

uh Miss mied can you please take roll call please today's a special board meeting of August 14 2024 at 6:30 pm members of the board and attendance president Linda Chavez present vice president Andres Kinto clerk mfam present member cordin ala present member Andrea Flores Shelton here and members of administ interim superintendent Manny Barbara um can you all please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance pled ALG to the FL United States of America to the rep for it stands Nation God indivisible and justice for all okay going on to the superintendent business discussion under action the board may take action on any item in this section unless it is designated for information only so on 2011 um approve recommendation for school consolidation process move to approve I have a motion by uh truste Gina erera do I have a second second I have a uh first and a second uh is there any public comment okay so seeing that there's a lot of you that want to speak so there is a two-minute limit on each one so everybody who wants to speak please um stand up on the side of so it can move so you guys could get a little bit more people that want to speak and so can you um please put the timer on okay thank you my name is Rihanna de los Santos I have four students two have graduated graduated utante 1 and I have two students currently attending otol lante 1 I'm in support of The Proposal of a committee of school closures that contains parents at utante 1 the parents care deeply about the education of their children and the atmosphere they learn in thank you my name is Ronan de losantos and I am in sixth grade at adante 1 thank you for listening to the parents about school closures because I would like to keep going to school with my second grade brother and let the record reflect that um vice president Kino came in at 6:32 thank you hello um my name is Gustavo Flores I'm an Adelante par I'm here to kind of congratulate you to or encourage you to to accept the uh the uh recommendations from the um intern uh um here because I'm a I've been here I've been living here for for quite a while uh and my kids go to adante I have three kids and I really really uh love the education uh they're learning I I see how they they're really learning and I wanted you to consider the uh recommendations um and uh listen and work together let it's kind of um listen to the community's concerns and we could work together to figure out a better outcome uh to that's going to impact our our community um so I just wanted to kind of thank you for uh listening uh and hopefully uh we can work together and and find the best outcome uh for our students and for our community thank Youk hi good evening my name is Christine viel um I'm also a parent from adalante um I'm actually wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all um I want want to be the first to recognize that uh we kind of probably started off a little bumpy in this process and I'm hoping that there can be a little bit of restarting and renewed um energy towards working together um I make that commitment on behalf of myself I know the U many parents that are in this room also have that same Spirit um the first meeting that that we kind of got a off on the wrong foot um I think took us by surprise although there had been things leading up to it so I just want to recognize that and say to you that we appreciate where we are in creating the committee we're here to support the proposal uh with with the committee that is representative that has the timeline that was presented at the last meeting um and really to genuinely work together I also just want to note for the record that there was another NBC article that came out yesterday we did not know that was coming out I think they recycled old news that said that there was an Battle of parents that were upset and it actually upset us because we felt like we had gotten to a place where we were trying to uh you know work together collaboratively and figure out how to do it together and we didn't want that to send the wrong message to you all uh and that that uh there was a quick phone call to NBC saying that's really not accurate anymore uh we're able to come to a place where hopefully there is a committee that's going to represent so wanted to thank you let you know that we're here I know we have a lot of work ahead of us in the next couple months but we're here to make Solutions and to come up and help with ideas thank you good evening my name is Gonzalez I am a proud parent of two students in um umra school district and also Community member organizer um first of all I just want to say I wasn't able to come to our last meeting but I want to say that when I saw that we stand at the Timeline I really appreciate that I really appreciate F Listen to Understanding that now we can hopefully have a true parent engagement and Community engagement within all this process especially now that that the students are back in school and parents are here um I also want to acknowledge and and ask that as we think about this committee we also think about the partners that we're working with right we have Family Resource Centers that are key players in uh informing community in keeping engaged Community especially our parents and our students so how can we be part of that as well and solutions real tangible Solutions because consolidation is just part of it but how can we also um as we creating this committee as we bringing Partners as we bringing um parents and a staff how we also think about bringing more Revenue how we think about increasing our student attendance and bringing more students into our Al School District they shouldn't only be a a committee to say this is how we're going to consolidate schools or close schools or move schools but this should be also about finding real permanent Solutions es that will bring more students and more income and more Revenue to our to our district thank you good afternoon my name is Claudia quo I am a parent of a special uh ed student uh with autism um alark has an amazing autism program it is something we should all be proud of and when we when we speak about partners and and whom it is that is part of these committees you know I would definitely um want for all of you guys to keep in mind that we do have our special ed Department very present not only like the department itself but the parents um especially when we're thinking about um consolidating or whether we say consolidating or closures whichever it is you know it will deeply affect our department especially knowing you know how our summer school program runs it's very specific it's structured and you know all those little details within our students do matter um even Dee rooted right like there is like a higher consequence of change like that with our going to advocate for them today e we are going to Champions whether it be in the classroom on the field of play uh if it's in the community we need to have that that mentality and that is what the community wants us to do we want our kids success I've heard that out of uh out of the president before let's get it let's become those Champion Builders of these kids for the whole community so that they can go out and help all the rest of the community thank you very much and uh got go to High thank [Music] you you know person personally I've been involved with the school for 15 years Frisco proud of a daughter who's attending a University at San Francisco school I have another daughter who's attending the last year of high school and a child another child who's attending sixth grade as a Latino it's very important for me to it's important to find the reason why our children are leaving the schools it's it's important to create a relationship in order for the children to motivate the children to stay we need to find the reason of what's going on the things going on because can find a solution currently but we need to find the reason why motivate children so they can stay in the district I think I believe that together we can do this personally 15 years that my children have been in the elro school district and I would be very saddened to see the closure of many schools I believe we can do something to save many schools we can do it together thank you good afternoon uh when Sanchez I'm gonna speak a little bit English a little bit Spanish um I'm a product of the alrock school district it's unfortunate that some people have made decisions for our district that has caused hardship to our children in our education it's important for all the parents to be involved you guys are seeing that it it's important to them and their kids education so um on be you know I I have two kids that go Delante I wasn't very happy when I heard about the merger of the schools and closing certain uh grades to different you know to different schools we can come to an agreement if the community is involved thank you your two minutes is up next person to speak please hi good afternoon my is Victoria partia I am a parent at avalant 2 and I'm just here to support the super the interim superintendent's proposal I think if you are looking to engage parents I think this is a really good way for you to do what we voted you to vote to do for us um and I think it it seeing here all the parents that are here present I think it is something that we definitely want to be involved so I strongly ask you to support the superintendent's um propal thank you hi my name isia I am a parent here at alumrock um I'm also here to in support of the superintendent's proposal um it's actually something that's being copied in various uh was copied at Evergreen o grve and um you know I just want to reiterate to everyone also that you know this is not just an alen Rock be many districts are closing schools you know across across the County it's not just alen Rock's going to hit us hard right because that's is what our district it's finally coming to us and we do need to close and merge schools it's not just an Eastside thing it's going across the county so yes you can see we want to be part of it we want to be part of the conversation we want to be part of you know whoever gets chosen on the committee and we want it done in a timely fashion open to everyone you know to to attend these meetings have it be an open Forum not um you know structured as far as such as uh the board meetings and also we have a facil facilitator who is um open who is not tied to any organization or any committee or anybody really an outside facilitator who has no objective and is very uh neutral so that way they don't guide the committee one way or the other we need a very neutral facilitator uh for this committee thank you yeah forgive me my name is Steve Navaro I'm a parent of a child at ente 1 but I'm also here as a member representative of community leadership so I'm actually a member of the D7 leadership group that's for district 7 which the alar Union School District is a part of um what I wanted mention to the to the executive board um is that it isn't um it's important and a priority that our voices as parents and the children are are um you know are part of this you know for whatever it is that you're looking to do but it's also the larger Community we're paying attention we are impacted by what happens to the school district and by by the children that you guys educate and everything that happens um and we also have resources to help or support what you do you know we're keenly interested in participating and supporting um hopefully the you know a good transparent process and engaged process that helps you know serve the best interests of our of our children in the education their education I just wanted to my my name is maida I'm a parent proud parent of AD 2 uh first I wanted to say thank you to miss Corina uh for recognizing Nixon from Atlanta too um and I also want to say that uh I'm here to say that a supp the recommendation uh for the school's consolidation and I really hope we can work together along with parents and students um that speak from the record pram of how important and how well and how much they succeed in a k38 school thank you good evening I'ma Menda I'm a teacher at adante um I also want to um thank you for um the superintendent for uh recommending this committee I think it's going to be good it's going to offer a transparency and it's going to be a good way for us to for us teachers uh parents to be involved in the process and just be part of the part of the big process that's going to happen thank you we will be taking one more speaker this is the last one hi my name is Andre Fierro I'm a member of the community a product of e San Jose of our city of San Jose schooled in Los Altos and the grass is greener here I get to see my sons grow up in a beautifully culturally Rich place and thank you for taking this big step to work with our community and make our future great thank you um vice president kto you if you're accepting motion would like to make a motion we got a motion and we got a second already can I go ahead and ask for an amendment sure uh the last meeting I mentioned that on page seven where it says School consolidation committee um that where it says parent from each school that that should be a resident of Al Bron fact of the matter is that these decisions that are going to be made will impact the people who live here we have guests in alen rock uh but uh the people who are residents of alen rock will live with the consequences of this decision for generations to come and so it's for that reason and that I'm asking that I asked at the last meeting and I'm asking again that that be included in the uh School consolidation committee uh under the suggested composition for the parents uh to ensure that those folks are parents but they are also residents of alrock okay the maker of the motion are you willing to amend sure just making sure that it's on the application so that um it parent that that's not yeah so let me let me just get a little context for people who might not have heard the entire presentation so um the committee that's being suggested and um as I mentioned the last last meeting same process I Ed when I had to close schools 20 years ago and it's um it's going to be a large committee because of the number of people involved as I went through this in terms of just the initial draft we're looking at about 31 people which is huge and it's going to be very complicated uh process a representative from each school and then some neighborhood representation um from the community I know somebody had mentioned that that make sure that we have that in place um I have no problem if it's someone that's has to be there at the school the main component for me my main interest it has to be someone that a can attend all the meetings and um we're looking at as many potentially as8 to nine meetings and two is um it's going to be a hard process it has to be someone that has to be willing to um hear all the information and has to be willing to when the time comes can't back off and say well I'm stepping out um because it at the end the recommendation has to be representative of the committee and someone that ought to have been involved in the school so my main interest would be that someone that would perhaps been involved in some kind of Suite Council PTA some active involvement not just someone that comes off the street so that would be the main interest that I would have the the point that I want to get at is is that if those who are not employees that those folks be residents of alen Rock School District that they live with emplo yeah the man there would be management team obviously just in case people don't know this the management team would be representing all the associations would be represented and the um um executive team will be resources not voting members so but I just want to make sure that we're clear that the parents what you're saying yeah and that they will be they live within the boundaries of rock okay so the only thing I want to make sure is that we don't end up without a parent somewhere because that was the only applicant and then they don't live there they will be a parent from every school I think I think if we don't have a parent from every school we're GNA have to persuade yeah someone to be part of the committee because it's too at the end of look this is going to be really difficult right as I mentioned last time um this has never even been attempted with this many schools but it is an opportunity and this I want to say the gentleman who mentioned if I may comment the gentleman who mentioned about giving the students a reason to stay and I think this is a real opportunity for the district to reimagine our district to reimagine itself again um it' be as I mentioned last it' be a leaner district with an opportunity to provide more resources to do exactly what that gentleman was saying as we are right now our programs are in Jeopardy and I want to emphasize again this is not a matter of saying don't close schools no one wants none of you want to close schools I don't want to close schools no one here wants to close schools but the alternative is um not only being taken over but the ISE a worst alternative that I didn't mention last I'm going to mention it this evening and that is for elmrock to cease to exist because it is entirely possible that if a u a district fails to meet these obligations that the recommendation may be that the district be absorbed by another District this is very serious and people need to understand that so um but this is also an opportunity to do exactly what that gentleman mentioned to reimagine the district to come out of it with a vision of what this District can be with resources that can be applied to for the benefit of the students so I just want to emphasize that thank you um do you also second the motion she already amended her motion are you willing to still second yes I support um that our our goal is to have each parent be residents of alrock okay thank you so we have a first and a second um any trustee comment kinaa first of all I want to thank um everybody that came out today um and you know since when we first started hearing about this you know the voice of our parents our community our teachers our staff um as a trustee for me it's important to represent not just my own beliefs and the things that I think should be happening but also taking the time to listen to our community so thank you you know I think of the times we were here early on the Saturday morning and you know just um all of that will take a lot of coordinating and a lot to be here I was once you know a parent sitting there and so thank you um and I just also want to say welcome back you know although it's um it's an interesting year this year right so many changes and the tone um I just want to welcome all the students back and I want to thank um our interim superintendent and our staff for uh doing a great job in opening our schools you know it's always good to see and hear our um you know parents um happy happy to see our superintendent our staff to return I love seeing all the pictures first day back um so I have hope you know for this process as I mentioned last time you know it's an answer to a prayer something that I've been trying to say but I'm glad you know you were able to bring a plan in place that uh we'll be able to follow and um that I think we all feel good about and um you know it would have been a couple of months I would have thought it would be unbelievable but I think I feel like a unanimous vote coming to think thank you any other trusty comment uh trusty Shelton thank you president um thank you uh Dr Barbara again um for bringing this forward um I am very supportive of this holistic approach the timeline um I just have a couple questions because it does say suggested composition and you just said 31 so um I so 21 from each school that includes um Caesar Chavez Early Learning includes all the schools if they have a 19p yeah I was there yesterday is if shavas is a school it's a school okay just checking um and then the four is it four employee associations because I also I have three and then the management three okay so management team means um what we would call a the administrators this administr right so that's one okay well but not one that would include um an elementary principal and a middle school principal and a district office so that's three I'm sorry elementary middle and district office okay district office okay that's not a member of the cabinet okay so because I see executive cabinet superintend not voting so three for management team and so three six 27 so then we're looking at about four Community groups is that I'm sorry if I'm doing the math four Community organizations right four okay I come out with 31 okay it's a lot all right and those are going to be at the discretion of the like where do those Community well I have um some recommendations that I will run run by board president okay all right thank you um I would suggest that when it comes down to time to facilitate that there are parameters to your point about attendance and for people who essential are meet like have not met or have you know if you're getting to the ninth meeting and somebody hasn't been there for three or four meetings then they forfeit their voting rights so something I don't want I don't want to be premature but if should you approve I want to move right away so what I'm looking at is the committee um if you approve the committee will be established by the end of the month we'll send out the application to the community um and then we'll um um what I'm looking at is the first meeting potential being September 18th and then with um decision coming to the board for you to make the decision in December so I will lay out those dates um and um as part of the application process so people will know those are dates that again what I was speaking to was the suggest question that you know people understand up front that if you're absent at a certain point in time then they lose their it's really important you're right it's just a suggestion for how it moves forward but thank you um any other trusty comment trusty minf fam you know this may be an answer to our prayers for the moment and so I'm hopeful that this this process will uh provide the necessary space for us to conduct an an orderly consolidation uh you know the only thing I would like to ask you know the interim superintendent you know is that uh hearing from the audience I I I you know strong would strongly hope that we have a an objective facilitator I think that uh this this process is definitely going to be contentious and who you know uh whoever has uh has the stamina to facilitate you know may may be asked to be kind of like a referee in you know in this uh you know what what you know vigorous vigorous uh debate process so you know I I I hope that uh you know Mr barbar you would be you know able to you know when when the time comes recommend an objective facilitator to uh for the board's uh consideration uh vice president K I want to thank the uh superintendent barbero uh thank you for the uh for the plan that was developed birth pressure to be able to see uh an issue and that you were able to immediately step in and uh uh work to address it come up with a solution that is a win-win for everyone um I U appreciative of everybody who came out and spoke uh both now and the past I think I mentioned it before even somebody mentioned it was contentious I think that's it's part of the process it's part of democracy um and uh it's a good thing to have folks to be out and engaged it's sad when nobody comes to the meetings and nobody participates um and so I know it's a difficult topic that we're dealing with uh I joined this board and I pledged that I would not shut down any schools I attempted to hold off as much as I could but the reality has it it's it it has to sink in that um we cannot sustain the number of sites that we have with the number of students that we have um and so it's for that reason that I ultimately came on board and uh chose to support this um this decision um I earlier today the news uh the news um was mentioned and aside from the Recycled stuff I was very pleased to hear the comments and the trust that the parents have in Alam Rock uh we even had a parent State publicly that they had gone to two private schools and they were leaving those private schools because they wanted to come back to alrock I think that Alam Rock's best days are ahead of us these are very tough times and very very difficult decisions that we have to face but uh even in this crisis there's opportunity to go ahead rise the district and uh dedicate those resources to our kids and so um yeah it's it's a it's a difficult time but I'm going to be supportive of this along with the the amendment that was made I think it's a um a good plan and I'm appreciate it thank you superintendent um thank you everybody for being here and for your comments and um from the get-go when I got on the board uh five and a half years ago I I seen that we to close school so to me this is a great opportunity to reset alrock if we don't do it the state will come in and take it and do it for us so um I'm sure nobody wants that and at the same time um you have to remember if it's not sustainable then we going to have to start cutting out Key Programs and we don't want that we want the best education for the kids for all the kids in every single school if that means I just want to say one thing you guys are all the schools whether it's in these four walls and another four walls you guys make up this school and hopefully you're willing to um work with everybody and and listen and you'll be provided the opportunity to uh make your comments and just remember that we all have your children's education in mind and we're all trying to do the best we can under the C cumstances that we have do they fund education the way they should no but we still have to work with what we have and we have to work with what we don't have so this is why we are here now and um thank you for all your patience um through all of this and believe it or not I strongly believe that Alan mock is going to be able to offer better quality programs um during school and after school there's a lot of things that we could be doing to make the education better we'll be able to do that with more money and I know nobody wants to hear about money but it's the lack of that has gotten us to this point but we'll be in a better position thank you all for your understanding um so now I'm going to take the vote um all in favor raise your hand so it's a 5 marivel uh unanimous vote uh to approve moving on to contracts over 100,000 board discussion Andor action the board may take action on any items in this section unless it is designated for information only 301 motion to approve uh the city year in contract for 2024 2025 this contract will provide teams of amera Corps members to deliver research-based student intervention and support model Alan Marin school districts submitted by state and federal for $250,000 do I have a second second by uh trustee Flor Shelton and um do I have any public comment on item 301 seeing no public comment uh is there any trustee comment seeing no trustee comment we move for the vote uh all in favor of item 301 raise your hand it's a 5 unan vote motion passes moving on to 401 approve memorandum of understanding under the consent calendar do I have a motion motion to approve do I have a second second okay there was a motion by trustee minan and a second by uh Corina loera do we have any public comment on item 401 seeing none uh we move on to the trustees comments any comments seeing none we move on to the vote all in favor of item 41 raise your hand the item passes 5 Z vote uh motion approved the president adjourns the meeting at 708 right quick to Mr many couple couple of announcements uh first I do want to mention I did get a chance to visit adante and aptitude schools and um both schools went really well we had a we had a meeting it was great to see kids hugging each other are glad to be at school they were middle school kids so they're still young but it was still nice to see that happen uh there's a lot of excitement and I want to thank the uh principes and staff and all the District staff for the effort that goes into oh it doesn't happen by Magic a lot of work goes into it I also went by the early childhood umam what a terrific resarch for this District I mean this should be announced it's fantastic what's being offered for the community um so that was really U um a really great uh opportunity for me to visit I do have some bad news so um I do want to announce that uh K Chang who has been with this district for about eight years grown up in this District went to the schools is going to be um leaving us to go to another District uh I remember been here that long but I've been here long enough to know there's going to be a big loss this is a good good person and uh you will be missed I don't know if you want to say anything go I don't cut you by [Laughter] surprise just thank you for those kind those kind comments and word um you know it's been a it's been a privilege and an honor to serve um this district and this community so um I want to thank um the board um all my colleagues um who have supported me um but I will miss this place dearly thank you we wish you the best I guess we could say where you're going to right sure you want tell us where you're going yes I will be joining the Morgan Hill Unified School District school district thank you okay so it is now 1118 meeting adjourn [Music]

thank you for being here and have a great first day tomorrow everyone [Laughter] getting better

e e e 2024 meeting of the Anar renters renters commission the purpose of the renters commission is to advise the city council and the city administrator in manner matters affecting renters in the city the Anarbor renters commission is made up of voting members who are appointed by the mayor and approved by city council two non-voting city council Liaisons two nonvoting members is representing different landlord perspectives and a non- voting representative to the University of Michigan Student Legal Services to speak during any of the public comment opportunities you'll be able to speak through the webinar by um oh wait I think this is your part Sarah oh yeah that is my part um to speak during any of the public comment opportunities you will be able to speak through the webinar link or by phone depending on your method of access to this meeting for phone access please call 877 85352 47 and enter meeting ID 935 941 to be called on to speak callers must press star9 if listening by phone or use the raise a hand feature viewing through the web link you will then be called upon by a city staff person or by or by using the last three digits of their phone number Sarah you're muted oh City staff will indicate when callers have 30 seconds left of their 3 minute comment period after 3 minutes they will be placed on mute so we can proceed to the next speaker we will be moving on to roll call okay commissioner L's is absent commissioner Els is absent commissioner drwan present in an arbor thank you commissioner Ratcliffe I'm here in an arbor commissioner Chen is not here yet um s council member Rina here in an arbor and council member Harrison sent a message earlier saying that she had a family matter to attend to tonight and couldn't make it uh commissioner good not here commissioner pitz here Ann Arbor commissioner Le here in albian Michigan okay commissioner wood here Ann aror welcome thank you and commissioner is it Larson please tell me your last name I don't want to get it wrong it's Larsen okay commissioner Larsen I'm present in pawpaw Michigan welcome and commissioner Rosen hi I'm here in Ann Arbor thank you okay because we have two commi two new Commissioners um we're gonna go around and intoduce ourselves and share our perspectives of what we bring to the renters commission and why we decided to serve I'll go first um I've been AR renter in many cities um I was a heavy mover shall we say and coming back to an arbor and renting in an arbor I saw that there could be some improvements and I just want renters to to have what they what they need um commissioner wood thank you um after looking at um actually watching the last meeting held I realized oh gee I better prepare something so I'm G to read to you um first of all thank you for this opportunity to serve on the renders commission I first came to Anar aror in the late 70s as an MSU student for a summer job I liked it so much that I just kept coming back three times over the years until settling here with my daughter in 1995 I've been a runner of an arbor apartments in four different complexes two houses one condo one duplex and a senior high-rise squeezed in there years ago I also had a brief stint as an assistant manager of an apartment complex in the Detroit metro area as well as acquiring a completely unused realtor license however that summer of study at the real estate company was very educational my career was in nonprofit public health and safety and I emphasize nonprofit with an unplanned early retirement so I sit before you representing the lowincome senior population who needs affordable housing not the U ofm alumni retiree rolling rolling it in returning to their alma mater with the cash to get into bidding wars and jack up the price of real estate here that I witnessed over and over in the condo complex I rented in for seven years during that same time the seniors I knew of living in the apartment complex across the road were having to move out due to the skyrocketing rent when the condo I was renting sold I still had family here and wasn't ready to leave an arbor the Lesser apartment I moved to was now costing $500 more a month fortunately I live with someone who can pay most of that exorbitant rent which Rises annually so I bring you that perspective and the knowledge that public health and safety are going to be growing issues for renters especially for seniors and others with health issues increasing power outages and Rising summer temperatures do not go well together thank you thank you and welcome again thanks and we um you know we look forward to hearing more from you and your perspective thank you commissioner Lea yes hi um I am a seconde student at the University of Michigan and I live in dorms my first year but now like two-thirds of students I am moving off campus and I am renting a house with three other people and so I'm here to mostly provide the student perspective since Ann Arbor wouldn't be an arbor without University of Michigan and University of Michigan students and since that's such a part such a big part of the renting Community here in in Arbor and I'm also actually fairly new this is only my second meeting so you two aren't the only ones who are still figuring out the ropes thank you and it I think it's my SEC second third meeting is chair so we're all figuring out the ropes okay commissioner Larsen hi I uh I attended University of Michigan from 2011 to 2015 lived in three different apartments then I moved to Kazoo was also a renter there and I moved back to in Arbor in 2021 to operate my family's business downtown and in the fall of 2022 my apartment was deemed uninhabitable due to a water leak that was ignored and we had a pretty severe mold problem um so that was really my motivation for applying for the runners commission to try to prevent a situation like that from happening to other renters um yeah you know I mean my I think sixth unit in ant Arbor so I've seen a bit of variety in the rental housing so welcome and we look forward to your perspective and your input um I'll say the same thing that I said to commissioner Le in her first meeting which is feel free to Jump Right In you're you're here because your input is is welcomed and we need to hear what it is that you have to say okay thank you commissioner Rosen hi my name is Gail Rosen I have been living in Ann Arbor for 30 some years now I am have been for the last 15 years um the housing attorney at Student Legal Service and so I serve on the renters commission as a liaison between U ofm and the renters commission and like we shall bring the students P or at least hope to bring the students perspective thank you um Sarah who is substituting for Kristen tonight hi there um my name is Sarah lenise I am the deputy clerk um at for the city clerk's office um specifically elections and Outreach um I do I'm like the I like to call myself like the mega staff liaison I um help all of the staff Liaisons across all of our 64 boards um like with anything that they possibly need so today one of my staff leaon needed me so I'm here and we're appreciate you being here so we could hold the meeting tonight commissioner droman hi good evening yeah uh so I am one of two uh landlord Representatives on the uh on the on the commission here um but I started out as a renter uh when I was attending uh University of Michigan probably like most everyone else who attends the U um later I uh liked it well enough that we uh stayed around and along the way managed to uh acquire a couple of houses downtown uh one of which we rent and the other that we live in so uh very small landlord but uh uh have some uh some experience in that in that area and do represent uh all the the the folks who have maybe one house maybe two houses that they're uh trying to keep uh keep going so thank you all thank you commissioner pittz hi uh my name's Kimberly pit I live here in an arbor about 20 years and I do represent the perspective from the lowincome housing and I just wanted to be a part of the community and kind of help and understand you know about the renters and and the prices that kind of keep increasing and why people are moving um and just just different things that I can help with the community so I am happy to meet all you new people thank you for joining us thank you attorney Riser sorry hello my name is John Riser I'm an assistant City attorney um and I work with the renters commission I also work with the building department and Rental housing department um on rental housing complaints early leasing complaints um short-term rental complaints so I work with those folks as well welcome new members thank you and council member Rina yeah hi I am uh Travis Rina I am the council member from ward 3 here in an arbor um I have been one of the councila on Sur renters commission uh since it was created and uh in large part I think because I helped to spearhead creating it um recognizing that the majority of our residents here in an arbor are renters and needed more of a voice in our city government and so um I've been excited about some of the work that we've been able to do and are continuing to do together and just appreciate all of you for your service so thank you for continuing to serve thank you and normally at this time we would go over the approval of the agenda and the minutes but because we don't have Quorum we're just going to move on to the first public comment um Sarah uh yes I will read um this is an opportunity for members of the public to speak up for three minutes for phone access please call 877 853 5247 and enter meeting ID 935 941 if you would like to address the renders commission press star n if listening by phone or use the raiseed hand feature if viewing through the web link I will select callers that have raised their hand during using the last three digits of your phone number or by name if available for those accessing through the web link you will hear automated announcement that the host is allowing you to speak when speaking please move to a quiet area mute any television or background sh so that we we we may hear you clearly you can say something like uh oh I'm sorry please say your name at the beginning of the comment if you feel comfortable doing so I see no one online so seeing no additional speakers I will close this section of public comment okay then we're GNA move on to um item number 7A which is the update on the junk fee ordinance um council member Rina or can you give us an update on that please or attorney Riser either way if you want me to start Travis I can or if you want to start whatever you want to do yeah I'm happy to take the lead John if you want me to and then feel free to jump in uh since you guys are working on drafting also but um yeah so this has been um something that we've been talking about for a while here I think started initially as a um conversation about how to address some of the non-refundable weight list fees that we're seeing throughout the community um and really through our conversations with attorney Riser um and his colleagues this has expanded a bit more into how we address um really all junk fees in renting um and so we were in the process of working on this um one of the things that uh we got an initial draft back from the attorney's office um council member Harrison and I have been reviewing it um I provided some additional feedback and I know that they're working to continue to incorporate that um some of the things that we are trying to address um are really uh so as I as I shared with chair Ratcliffe earlier today I think you know I I am somebody who believes in trying to achieve rent transparency as much as possible in our law um and so um you know acknowledging that the reality is that we don't control rent we don't have the ability to control rent and so landlords are ultimately going to charge what they're going to charge for occupying a residence or an apartment um but one of the things that I would like for us to get Terrain in are all of these kind of hidden fees or extra fees that really make it nearly impossible for renters to be shopping Apples to Apples in the marketplace um because you know if I'm making a calculation about how much I can afford to pay in rent and over here I'm looking at $1,000 a month and over here I'm looking at $1,200 a month and I say oh I'm going to go with $1,000 a month and then I get in and find out that they're actually like $350 a month in extra fees um it didn't end up being the right Financial Choice for me um so one I think we want to work on uh simply outright banning all pre-tenancy fees so um these fees that are essentially charging you for the right to look for an apartment um these these non-refundable weight list fees um we have been in conversations I I've shared um uh with a few folks um there's kind of been some back and forth on an application fee at all um I think we've kind of landed in a compromise Place acknowledging that there is a cost to an application of um of saying like if if someone charges an application fee that the city should maybe look at capping what that fee can be so that it's not a profit-making Endeavor but actually covering the administrative CL cost of applying um I have asked the attorneys to also look at making that refundable for folks that don't get an apartment um and my reasoning for that is because what I also think is a challenge and what I've heard cases of is particularly with some of these non-refundable fees where we have some predatory landlords who are choosing to take tons and tons and tons of applications when they know they don't have enough units to cover all of those applications um so trying to cut down on some of that unnecessary um fee Gathering uh as an addition source of profit um and then I am also trying to work with our attorneys to to crack down a little bit more on the actual tency fees themselves um themselves and so I think where we still have to have some conversation um is really around some of those you know if there if there is a cost of living in an apartment why isn't that just part of rent and baked into rent so again tenants can make that Apples to Apples comparison about what their cost will be but I think we have had some conversation about what about those things that are optional add-ons that aren't for every unit so um is a pet fee acceptable is a parking fee acceptable if you're reserving a parking space where not everyone it's not something that's made available to everyone those I think are still some of the conversations around kind of those optional add-ons um and where we need to figure out where we land on some of that um I would love feedback if people have it um but those are kind of some of the pieces we're still trying to work out so that we can get to a final draft here hopefully um in the next meeting or two of council uh commissioner Rosen did you guys talk at all about late fees as well we have spoken about late fees um I am um kind of in the camp of the federal legislation that we're trying to model this after which is um that a late fee is a junk fee and that um it should be if there is a late fee the I think the federal legislation requires that it be essentially a down payment towards the next month's rent um rather than uh a legitimate fee um I'm kind of of the Viewpoint that if somebody is not paying their rent on time regularly and it's um that becomes one of the reasons for non-renewal or something like that I I that's the way to address that I don't think you should be profiteering off of somebody who's struggling to pay rent um and so uh we have talked about it I I don't I would like to see junk fees or that labeled as one of the junk fees yeah okay yeah I mean I have to say from you know representing students I see stuff all over the map I mean generally the courts have found or seemed to find around $75 $100 is reasonable but you know I have tenants who are have tenants who you know their rent there might be like eight of them and their rent is $6,000 they're paying 5% late fee every time they're late I have another tenant who's um the landlords imposed a daily fee for you know it's $5 more every day she's late so at the very least some some sort of really low consistent figure but I you know if there's some cost associated with it but they are really the ones I'm seeing are really outrageous in terms of what landlords are requiring of people just made two sense yeah I I appreciate that and you know this is where I point back to both the the federal legislation we're looking at um that's addressing rental junk fees and also I believe what the White House the Biden White House has endorsed is considering late fees a junk fee that should be outlawed um yeah and that is the the position that I take as well and and I've got to say we're seeing and maybe you know Michelle you know as well from your experience but I mean I'm seeing a lot of additional fees now join the teny tenants are now being automatically enrolled in um oh what's it called it's some sort of credit rent credit thing where oh will automatically send your um your your payment record to credit reporting agencies but they have to pay in we've got students who have to pay valet TR service where they leave their trash outside and somebody comes into I mean there's just so many different fees added on that they can't opt out of um or even know I mean I realize I'm preaching to the choir here but you know or they're paying for insurance that they don't really even know what the it's not really clear what the insurance covers so it really has I mean I've watched it in the last you know I've been at Student Legal Services for 15 years I've just watched these fees pile on and there's more and more and it's frustrating to see how um how these impact students ability not just students but that's my you know that's my the people that I work with but students ability to Ford um housing in an arbor Micha sorry commissioner Le yeah I just want to add on to what Gail is talking about um personally I have like a $360 late fee if I have like 5 days late and then it just adds on after that and another I also get a $50 late no a $50 fee if I like provide a check that can't be cashed or it bounces or something like that which is another thing that I want to add on to be considered besides from just the late fee yeah thank you for that and I think um part of our conversation you know I I think originally there was some discussion trying to to list out fees and I think you know for me that becomes a little unwieldy and unrealistic I think because ultimately they'll change the name of it um and suddenly it's legal um or they'll modify it slightly and then suddenly it's not banned um and so yeah I I think that frankly I I am supportive of of getting rid of tency fees altogether and so um that's the conversation we're still having and I'm waiting to get back a new draft and um I think one of the things that uh I've tasked our attorneys with that are attorneys are just tasked with by the nature of their job is making sure that everything that we're doing we think will pass kind of the the smell test if this gets challenged in court and so I think that they're making sure that we're doing that in the best way that we can um so that so that whatever we pass ends up holding and actually providing protection commissioner dran yeah so I'm I just pulled up the uh what I think is the an an arbor standard lease and I think section four includes a section on late VES so if we think we're going to get rid of them uh we should probably remove that from the an arbor standard lease um just pointing that out um it's not it's not something I have a strong opinion on don't charge them but uh but I I do note that I think it's in the standard lease and I have a question too before I call on you um attorney Riser with the insurance um I don't know if you were talking about like just renters insurance because I do remember when we first moved back to Ann Arbor that my in my insurance broker had said that um they they had talked to students who had been basically just put onto uh renters insurance plans through their apartment complexes and they didn't know what it was what it meant um just that they were required to have it is that what you were talking about um commissioner Rosen yes because I don't I think or at least some of the students that I've talk to think that they're getting renters insurance through the landlord but really they're it's some sort of liability for insurance to cover the landlord and so there's been seems to be some confusion about what they're paying for because you when I've seen students who think they have the renters insurance and then when they need the renters insurance find out that's not what their coverage is for so I mean it varies obviously um by landlord and these tend to be more of the highrises the new high-rises in Ann Arbor that have these but you know we would I need to find out sort of what each different uh landlord or company what their process is okay and you muted yeah I yeah the note came up uh to piggy back off of that attorney Riser um what's the difference in terms of you know renters insurance and landlord Insurance like does landlord insurance cover anything within the unit that belongs to the renter is or how I guess I don't I don't know I have to see the document I I I'm familiar with renders insurance with a private company but is is like landlord Insurance something like an appliance company charges you uh a little bit more if something goes wrong I I I don't know yeah in in my experience oh sorry it looks like yeah commissioner Rosen may know a little bit more yeah go ahead I I was just going to say in my experience back when I was renting my understanding was kind of the the landlord's insurance policy would be covering their property um so the the structures themselves anything if they have if they provide appliances all those types of things they would be covered under the landlord's policy and then it would be your obligation to get renters insurance to cover your personal property within a unit um and so that's kind of what your insurance is meant to cover um it's a little surprising to me that there are landlords opting people into renters insurance policies because if I remember correctly when I was renting um and went with a private policy there was some level of kind of discussing what was in my apartment that I owned and kind of enumerating some of my property within it um and so um that's surprising to me but I guess I don't know how every policy is written so yeah I I've had I mean students or at least the students I've seen can opt into some of these policies but I think you're right they're like liability coverage for the landlord so that if the student does something that damages I don't know maybe there's a leak and it damages the property of the landlord then they're covered for that but they're not covered for their own you know if there was a leak or something and all their own P property personal property was damaged they wouldn't be covered but you know I that was that was one one situation that I saw I I I really could look into what each sort of different um apartment complex or the larger apartment complexes are offering you know because we want to try to make it less confusing for the students and so they know what they're signing up for yeah and that that also maybe strikes me as a separate thing for us to dig into because my guess is that that likely also wouldn't be covered as a fee if you're opting into an insurance policy um I don't like it may be charged the same way but my guess would be that it's maybe not the same uh but it's particularly odd to me also I mean like if that's the case commissioner Rosen like I it is concerning that especially if they don't have the option to opt out that tenants are essentially now paying for insurance for the landlord's property damages potentially so it seems but let me let me do a little bit of kind of looking into it before we come back again and I'll see what I can what I can find and report back on I would agree that that's probably I mean I think some landlords require some insurance and then say but we have this one and I just think you know we I just think it can be confusing so but let me try to get some information and I'll I'll report back next month or the month after we'll see thank you and I'm sorry it took so long attorney Riser was I know you had your hand up earlier no I was um just going to ask uh uh Mr drop when you say the standard anabor lease so and I I Googled that and I I see uh online leases for University Towers for Oxford for CMB for pmsi and they appear to be they don't appear to be that standard to me and I'm wondering is there some docu is that something the washon area Apartment Association puts out or what document are you referring to possibly I think there's a model lease uh for the University of Michigan as well as for the city of an arbor and I think that's what we use the city of an Arbor's version is what I'm I think I'm specifically referring to I can I can look into that and see if I can provide a link yeah could you provide that to Kristen vanderock or uh sure who'll get it to me yep let me let me have a look see if I can do that thanks okay does anyone else have any comments all right then we're going to move on to the next item on the agenda which is 7B the update on the appointments um I think as you can see right here we have commissioner wood and commissioner Larsen and so I believe this means that we have all of the voting members who are renters account um filled and we still have the Health and Human Services Advisory Board um not is it non- voting member available and the attorney um seat available is that is that correct or full otherwise I would have to check I thought we had one more voting seat available um let me double check on that really quick okay I always I think you have um one more voting seat available um my computer is going a Teensy bit slow two seconds and then I can tell you I think is that Robert's seat yes let's see yeah I think you have two available on my records I show that you have two voting seats available a non- voting hhsa rep and attorney renters Advocate available so you're showing that we have two renter seats available plus the HHS HH ASB Sab Sab and the attorney seat yes [Music] okay I know from a couple of meetings ago um people had wanted to have a discussion on just what the openings were and how soon we would get them filled um we were very lucky to be able to to get commissioner would Commissioners would and larities um in with a special vote of just one voted city council as opposed to the normal two votes because of how many members we were missing and the lack of Quorum that we were having Travis yeah I was just going to add to a little bit to that as well and to the the extent that folks here have people in their networks that they think might be good um for this body um please encourage them to apply we actually this is Citywide we need more people to apply for boards and commissions um we are really looking back as uh chair ratliffe can share like as we're looking back to fill some of these seats we're looking at applications that are sometimes months if not a year old because we hadn't had vacancies and now that we do we haven't had recent applicants um and so particularly for the attorney seat I don't believe that we've had a qualified attorney uh attendance Advocate position um and a new application since the commission was founded and we had two at the time obviously we filled that with former commissioner Ral for those of you who served with him um and since he has left um the the additional person that applied looks like a great candidate we've tried to reach out we have not heard back from her to see if she's still in interested um and so we're looking for an additional person in that capacity we haven't gotten an application um and we are looking back I think we' reached out um for one of the remaining seats we'd reached out to someone that I think we're waiting to hear back from and if we don't hear back I believe we did have a backup person that was a more recent applicant that we're going to move to um but again this is we'll continue to do Outreach um I know we the Council aison on all of these commissions are often trying to look for folks so that we provide kind of diverse perspectives on our bodies um I think we've got a pretty diverse group of perspectives here at this at this um commission but to the extent that folks have others in their networks that might be good please encourage them to apply thank you uh council member Rina um does anyone have any comments questions no then we're going to move on um next on the agenda is an update on the short-term rentals um earlier this summer the commission was interested in knowing how many licensed short-term rentals there are in the city and um attached to the agenda was an a spreadsheet of the short-term rentals did anyone have a chance to look at at that um or Sarah I don't know can you pull it up to the screen thanks um one thing that I noticed when I was looking at that is that some of the rent some of the short-term rentals that say that they've been renewed are the expert Iration there's an expiration date on the license um like the license has expired and so I'm not quite sure what that means um also we have I mean we have I think like under 500 there I think there's been under 500 I'd like to say short-term rental um rentals between ones that were um denied issued a rent into issued a license a license that was renewed or someone who let their license expire um some of some of them appear to be you know individuals who have maybe one or two short-term rentals others are some of the apartment complexes um that were believe approved by Council to have some of the units short-term rental as well um one of the um things that we were wanting to talk about was actually with rental Inspection Services because we had a question as to with the new software contract um kind of how enforcement was going to go if it was going to change I believe [Music] um I admit that I do not know much about the the process for the short-term rental license um John can you explain that a little bit more for our new members um yeah you there's a we have I'm pulling up the uh Municipal ordinance right now that talks about the application process so uh hang on a minute so as you can see there's about 14 pages right now uh C remember Rina yeah thanks um so I also wanted to just kind of add a little bit of additional background because this is something short-term rental uh enforcement is something that um came up on Council shortly after I joined um Council had taken before I joined Council Council had taken some action to regulate um and prohibit really short-term rentals in areas that are zoned residential um and so um I believe uh that we we had to go back and tweak the ordinance in large part because the city was going to get sued by existing short-term rentals for being an existing non-conforming use um the city had been issuing licenses to them as uh rental properties and as a result they' essentially been granted permission by the city to operate in those areas and so existing short-term rentals in residential areas were allowed to continue operating um as we adjusted the ordinance um new short-term rentals should not be getting approved to my knowledge in residentially zoned areas of the city um there are some as uh chair rlif noted uh there are a couple of uh exceptions to that as as we have approved some um new housing complexes where we're ultimately going to get a and I remember one specifically so um uh the um I'm going to blank on the name of it now but essentially the new um proposed development that's U planned to go in over by venue by the golf course area um as part of the um rezoning request there was a a request that some of the units in that be reserved for short-term rental use um and Council ultimately kind of weighed that and agreed to accept it because at the end of the day the net gain of housing was considerable considerably more than what was currently there and so um there seemed to be some demonstrated need for some short-term rentals in the area and because we were going to get more housing that was approved but in in a normal circumstance someone could not like turn a a current house into a short-term rental that would be against local ordinance um and John maybe you can add I know to your original question about like what expired means on here my understanding was if I'm remembering correctly from our conversations at the time was of those um uh short-term rentals that were kind of uh allowed to continue operating as non-conforming uses within the current Zone they would be able to continue doing that until they let their licenses expire um which point they may no longer be allowed to continue operating as a short-term rental in that residential zoned area and so that may be what that's showing here but I'm not 100% sure if that's what that is or not I'm just trying to look at the uh we have a a really good uh website the in there's a short-term rental guide that talks about it um so rosanita I don't know if you have a kind of a general question um have you been to the short-term rental um page I have UMD I was just trying to remember some of the questions that people had had before um but I think two of the people who had more of the questions about the short-term rentals aren't here tonight um gosh I'm trying to think I mean as of right now for me I think my the questions that I have I think are more probably for building for like rental Inspection Services but um if say I own a property that's currently a short-term rental um here in a residential area and then I sell that property does the license then go to the new owner that that's generally how zoning works is that it runs with the land yeah yeah and and yes yes that is correct it was it was a big part of our discussion um but ultimately because of the way because this is written into zoning we couldn't modif it cuz one one of the challenges was um essentially by you know allowing those existing rent short-term rentals to continue operating in perpetuity really um you were almost creating kind of a monopoly in those zones um I think both the tradeoff of the potential we would likely have lost a lawsuit had they challenged us but also because um other short so an owner occupied location can do short-term rentals um so you know I could have a short-term rental here in my house because it's owner occupied because I'm ultimately the the family living here um but also because short-term rentals could hypothetically pop up in other zoned areas of the city um that it wasn't necessarily a true Monopoly in that sense and for the tc1 zoning will short-term rentals be allowed within that new zoning because it's technically not residential I I would have to get back to you on that I'll have to check okay thank you commissioner wood um as I was uh reviewing the video from the last meeting um it was mentioned that CHR mentioned that there was a new um guided to short-term rental something or other sounded like it was um you know a booklet or a PDF or something that um you know we could read and better understand from she said she would send it out so has anybody seen that do do you know what I'm referring to yes I'm looking at it right now it's called the guide to short-term rentals and it is a PDF file on the city's website and you can Google and Arbor short-term rental guide to short-term rentals and it talks about what a short-term rental is what types are permitted uh whether nonprincipal residents or principal residents and there's two kinds of principal residents a homay um where it's kind of like a bed and breakfast where somebody stays in your basement and you're there as well and there's also a whole house where you have a house and you move out for up to 30 days um and then somebody comes in um those can be a problem for Neighbors because there are people who own houses and they just kind of move out and let these short-term rental tenants kind of come in and then it can create you know issues with the trash and noise and things like that um then there's sometimes one of the issues that comes up is whether someone really resides there or not you'll have someone who owns a few houses and they'll have one that's their principal residents but they don't spend much time there and their and the tenants do um that's often the most expensive house that's their principal residence and um they'll stay somewhere else and another one of the issues with uh that we see with short-term rentals is um how many people are allowed to how many guests are allowed to stay and they kind of pack them in um so there's you know in addition to the um policy question of whether short-term rentals take off housing that would otherwise be available for long-term tenants there's the um nuisance is the right word but the there are the issues that come up when you have a essentially a hotel with 20 people staying there most weekends in a residential neighborhood um my understanding from the meeting was that the that this guide also has attached to it the applic and there was a discussion about how um how that was going to be communicated to the public so that people have a better idea of what's going on here you know in an arbor that there is this um special ordinance for this particular situation in the hopes that wasn't there some discussion about um in the the hopes that um people would decide to not try to pursue that and become more long-term rentals and I I think that partly had to do with enforcement um is to you know if they're operating when illegally to try to get to talk to them about the merits of being having a long-term rental versus the short-term rental um and the like app the application or front-facing information part of that um I think we're talking about maybe like a complaint process or something and part of that has to do with talking with um the rental Inspection Services um and or Building Services Department where we're trying to get them to come to our um meeting I think in October September octob I think October um just to SEC though uh Sarah uh commissioner Chen is here as one of the as the attendee if you can let her in um sorry about that she's been waiting in in there so I think is that what you were talking about commissioner wood well I just I remember there was quite a bit of discussion about this and uh and several people seemed to feel that there was a a need to better educate the public and wasn't that like tabled to a education committee or something the tenant education committee um where we didn't we couldn't find a time for everyone to meet so later on today's schedule I was just going to make another announcement that I would send I'm going to send out another is it when to when to meet um trying to get it so that we can have another tenant education committee meeting because those those aren't a set day in time it's more when necessary and when people can give up like in the extra hour of their time I understand thank you so just to to follow up with that then uh so you're still thinking about being proactive with this with providing okay if if you need any help let me know well you'll you'll uh get the email with the when to meet um okay availability time and hopefully because I try our best to get the time where like everyone has said that they can meet right I know it's hurting cats yeah okay thank you you're welcome council member Rina thanks yeah so I guess I just had a question more for the body and I think I may have missed the last meeting when some of these questions might have initially gotten asked um is there I guess what is the um the where where is the interest in short-term rental coming from in that is there something that you're hoping to potentially recommend from a policy perspective are you hoping to just be better educated on existing policy um I ask these questions because I wonder if maybe they're other than attorney Riser if there's maybe somebody from planning who could come and provide and update or answer questions who might be better in terms of Staff expertise and I know that I could also refresh my myself because it's been several years now since we worked on this at the council table um and it's not something that I work with daytoday because it's just not something that comes up normally and so I guess I'm wondering from from the renters commission perspective um what are some of the goals in having these conversations is it is it just to educate the public more um I guess yeah it's multiple goals one is to educate ourselves um as well as the public public um because there does seem to be a lot of confusion about the short-term rentals the you know are they allowed are are new ones allowed are new ones not allowed what's the application process like how if you do find one that's running illegally and in your neighborhood then or next door then how do you report that one right um and then also it was like was it several months ago the council had approved in the budget paying for um a program that was supposed to I guess estimate um or better estimate how many short-term rentals were operating in the area including ones that are not licensed and so since we were curious so we were also kind of curious about how that was going to work um which is why Kristen was in was in contact with building um and Rental Inspection Services to um have them give kind of a presentation to us in a few months we knew that there was a lot going on within the department right now and so I I really want to say that we were looking at October um partly because of the green rental ordinance also so we were thinking having Building Inspection Services come after that okay that that's helpful thanks and uh yeah I think getting Gathering some questions ahead of time that they can come prepared to address as part of their presentation could be really helpful as well to make sure that they're covering the topics you want them to cover um and I will follow up with Kristen also um to make sure that just someone from rental Inspection Services is the best person because from a kind of like where are these allowed are we allowing them in the future perspective it might be important to have somebody from kind of the planning department there as well okay thank you um see John I I saw your hand earlier you know my question is like educating the public from what perspective how to open your own uh short-term rental you know what happens if there's a problem problematic one next door to you how do they work generally what's allowed in a residential district so like a series of questions could really help uh formulate a PowerPoint presentation that probably Pete uh provided uh you know he gets the green light from Alicia and everyone and I could help them put a PowerPoint together on how they work there really are three good documents on the short-term rental um there there's the guide to short-term rental there's the Complaint Form which is there are boxes on that Complaint Form that are kind of summarizes where you can go Ry on these and and there's also the sworn statement of principal residency which has been changed and tightened up which kind of spells out some of the criteria on what you can do and what you pledge to follow um by way of the maximum occupancy the there's no magic number on how how many people can be in these because it's one or more persons related by blood marriage or adoption so you could have a ginormous family in a residential uh and then uh after they're gone you know over the weekend and the complaint comes in we have to prove that the people were that were there were or weren't uh related or you could have four persons plus their offic spring their descendants and their children so you could have a family reunion in a principal residence um old house where the owner moves out and this family reunion comes in um and and then you've got a whole bunch of folks there so questions sent to uh Kristen Vander that would help form I think a a presentation that's just my thoughts on that thank you and that was you know again one of the reasons why we wanted to have the tenant education committee meeting was to be able to come up with some of those questions um council member Rina yes just circling back to answer the question that was asked earlier um short-term rentals will not be allowed in tc1 zones um I did not think they would be but I wanted to confirm that before giving the answer and they are not permitted in that zoning use okay thank thank you um is there anything else on discussion about the short-term rentals okay then we'll close that out and um is it now that we have commissioner Chen can we go back up to approving the agenda and the minutes sure of would love to yeah I I think uh we'll have to Grant ourselves a little leniency here in terms of following the because we didn't have Quorum I think we can go back to the top of the agenda and just kind of uh start up there with Quorum now officially calling the meeting to order sorry I do have a lot of things to take care of this days but almost done I'm very happy very happy and thanks for everybody and everything thank you okay well then we're going to take a brief moment and go back to the item number four which is the approval of the agenda is there a motion to approve the agenda as presented I'll make the motion I'll be second I'll be second okay so the motion was made by commissioner wood and seconded by uh commissioner Chen sorry sorry I thought I had to yawn um the agenda is now open to either be approved as presented or open to be amended a motion okay well all those in favor of the agenda as presented please unmute yourself and say I I I all those opposed say nay okay great the agenda is now approved although we're almost through and um next is the approval of the minutes from our June 20th meeting um do we have a motion to approve the minutes a motion uh motion by commissioner Chen is there a second I don't think I can technically second so commissioner quiet okay commissioner pittz can you second please second thank you all those in favor of approving the minutes from the June 20th 2024 meeting please say I I I I all those opposed say nay all right the minutes are approved and we're going to move ourselves back down the agenda um for new business we were going to have a discussion with council member gazi Edwin on about an affordable rental housing site but that had to be postponed um and so next on the agenda is a discussion about tabling at the green Fair um believe the green fair is September is it September 20th Sarah do you okay it is oops and is it 5 to 8 it is okay September 20th 5 to8 um normally the renters commission has a table at the green fair with information about the renters commission um I think we also give even though it's the green Fair like give out the booklet or have the website that has the um tenant and landlord uh booklet that you're supposed to get um and we need I think at least two people to table that e [Music] um are there any volunteers I really will love to go but I will not be back until 6:30 to michion so um I'm sorry okay and the green fair is downtown near the campus area if that helps anyone I think I'll be a a I should be free too okay great um then can we put you both down thank you and commissioner pits yeah did you say the 20th yes September 20th uh Friday yeah I can help out as well okay great um wait a minute September 20th right right September 20th from 5 to yeah I'll be there I could be there too I could be there too if if if anybody if nobody's there I could be there if anybody could go uh then then if you need anybody at that time let me know I I would love to I'm sorry sorry I made a mistake okay well we'll give the for your the four names to Kristen um for when she's back and coordinate from there it might be where you don't have to be the whole the whole time since there's four of you could like you know maybe doing shifts or something because the green Fair itself is pretty fun and interesting to attend so if you did want to be able to get up it'd be something that maybe we could arrange but thank you all for for volunteering um next sorry Rosita I will also say that um both Kristen and I will be in attendance and so you won't be alone and we will help bring any supplies that you may need um and yeah you can come into shifts or whatever it's a pretty good time it's a really really great time to talk to folks and to have that one-on-one conversation with a lot of people I highly recommend it thank you Sarah okay and moving on is the planning for the next tenant Education meeting um like I said I'll be sending out a wi to meet about that so we can come up with some of the questions if you can't make the meeting um then you know emailing questions I to talk about I don't think would uh be in violation of the open meetings act because we won't be discussing those questions until the actual tenant Education meeting was and then next is the plan for the September 19th renters Commission meeting um I believe next month we we think we had an invitation out to um OSI and Dr or Dr stz um about the green rental ordinance that they're um that's I think completed or almost complete that he wanted to do a presentation to the renters commission for that and um so that was the the big thing for that meeting um it may also be where um council member gazi Edwin is ready to present about the um affordable rental housing website as well Council M Rina thanks I do want to caution unless it's possible that she'll have somebody from her office do this um I believe that our next renters commission meeting will be during um the delegation visit from our sister city tuban and I know that Dr staltz is leading that uh visit and so she may not be available during our our next renters commission meeting it may be someone from her office okay okay um because I I don't think it I don't think it was her specifically because and and that make that makes total sense I just wanted to to warn that she may not she will be uh playing playing host to all of our wonderful guests from our sister city all right thank you council member oops um is there anything else that people like to see on the agenda for September I also think at that time we may have an update another update on the the junk fees because that is something that we continue to ask every meeting um as well okay if you oh council member Rina sorry I'm talking a lot during this meeting um yes I think we will absolutely be able to give an another update um it is my hope that the update will be that it has been introduced at Council and so although I recognize that that is putting a lot of work on uh our incredible attorney down in the corner on my screen and so um so but he uh I know that they are they're working diligently to get us to the finish line um the other thing I was going to save this for my Council update but it may be something to discuss at the next meeting I just don't have enough details yet um we once again had someone actually come to our last council meeting and caught uh council member Briggs at the end of the meeting um I have not gotten an update from her yet uh other than it was another one of the residents of Courthouse Square um which continues to be a really problematic apartment complex a very predatory apartment complex and frankly just not in condition that should be um so we are discussing um I'm I'm going to be talking to council member Briggs about what the content of that was I know that we have tried to uh address issues with Courthouse Square before um it may be an Enforcement issue for the city it may not be something worth discussing at this table because it may not be like a policy item or anything that needs to be addressed um but it may be something that I could even provide an update on once I just have more information I just want you guys to be aware that cour Courthouse Square uh unfortunately continues to be um enough of a problem that residents are coming to our Council meetings just asking for help um and so um I know that it's been a topic for this body before so I just wanted to keep you informed if you're not aware Courthouse Square is senior apartments and is it it's lowincome senior apartments right that um is it section is it somehow I don't know if the is license the right term through um the ahc like is there a relationship between the two I know that we don't that the city doesn't run it um I do not believe so because I don't believe it would continue to be I would have to check on that that there's no relationship um but I know that it is privately oper owned and operated so um because that that's one of the challenges is the um the owner is not local um and I believe they hire a local property manager um from a city within 50 miles which is what the law requires um but they're not local local either um and so um but I I don't believe that there's a formal relationship no okay I I think they're on like the second manager from since when I started the on the renters commission and we've we've received a lot of complaints from different residents about the the living conditions and the safety of living within um that particular complex um unfortunately as the renters commission it's not really written into our bylaws that we have any sort of enforcement um capabilities and we tend to just do a lot of information and referral services because of that um but I do Wonder at in this become part part becomes part of the enforcement question that commissioner good has uh brought up at several meetings is which is at what point does the ability to like to operate an apartment complex within the city actually get taken away council member Regina yeah I think that's a valid question and one that we're probably not going to be able to answer on here unless I think that that's a conversation we'll have to continue having with how we're currently enforcing and maybe if we need to make changes to that um I did just look up and I know that one of the issues we've dealt with last time um was um rent some pretty substantial surprise rent increases and what was meant to be affordable um and the reference then is that Misha is responsible for making sure that they're compliant with their affordable housing component um and so um I believe they're the ones that are actually ensuring that they remain affordable rather than the Housing Commission locally okay um not necessarily with Courthouse Square but just in general if it's if it's something that is the responsib ility of mishta uh to enforce then when we do get a complaint is that something that Kristen should be telling them that you need to contact Misha here's their contact information um it likely depends on the nature of the complaint my guess is that the city would probably still be best to communicate that if we feel so I I would still suggest that folks file formal complaints with the city it's always better for the city to be aware of what's going on within the city and then if they need to get State authorities involved um or or if officials within the city advise that the individual contact but my guess is that we would get Misha involved if that became the case um but again I don't know if the newest complaint is related to the affordability or if it's related to conditions or if it's related to I know I've heard before about kind of extreme heat in some of the apartments um that c air circulation is happening things like it is it's not a great property from the tenants perspective and so there are a number of problems there right commissioner wood uh that was the um senior highrise that I mentioned I lived in and it was in bad shape 10 years ago but at that and at that time um there's a there's a committee it's like I forget the name of the committee but it's um a Committee of city council just for the downtown region and they were very at that time they were very interested in hearing from me what was going on at at courthouse so if there's anything that um the city can do maybe the two committees could talk about how that problem because it's a big problem there's a lot of drug use there it's you know it's not a good place to live was that the DDA yes thank you I don't think that we actually I don't know if we've referred anyone to the DVA about that I know that John Riser has gone and check things out before with some of the complaints as well um council member Rina is is the DDA another Avenue I would be surprised by that okay yeah that that's not generally within the scope of what the DDA is managing um although I mean it it could have simply been at the time that it it was such a problem that they were hearing about it as well that they got involved um but but yeah that's not generally something that the DDA would manage okay and what about the Human Rights Commission um the the Human Rights Commission or the Human Rights Commission is largely charged with um kind of enforcement and oversight of our non-discrimination ordinance and so again depending on the nature of the complaint um recommending a followup with with filing a complaint with them um uh that is not something that I that's not an angle that I have heard yet from any of the tenants um they've more been kind of living conditions and price problems um but I will dig in with council member Briggs on what the the newest issue is we'll also probably pull in I think it may be in W one and so um council member Harrison and council member dish actually represent the area and I know that they got involved last time and so um so I'll make sure that that they're looped in as well okay thank you is there anyone else who has a comment on the topic if not we'll go on to the next item on the agenda okay next on the agenda is the report from city council I think you guys have all heard from me enough tonight right I I don't know that I have anything new to add unless there are any questions about um ongoing things at city council um but I I think I've kind of given you the the big update of the thing we're working towards that's specifically related um which is kind of this junk fee ordinance um and hoping that we'll be able to get something to the table here relatively soon um the benefit of it taking us a little bit longer to review and and get the drafts to to where we want them to be is that um hypothetically students will be back when this is getting passed and so hopefully that increases the awareness um if if It ultimately does get passed by Council because I think um a lot of the activism we've seen particularly around the wait list fees have come from students because they're the ones who have been targeted so we want to make sure that there is widespread awareness so that if if this passes I'm hopeful that it will um that uh that they'll be able to be aware that it happened and start filing complaints when it's in effect when's the next city council meeting the next city council meeting is Monday but um the one after that then the first and third Monday in September okay thanks okay um next is the report from hhsb um our commissioner who normally attends that meeting isn't there I feel like they're off for the summer um and so we'll move on to next on the agenda which is the report from the staff liaison um Sarah did Kristen leave anything to report on she didn't she just is sad she's not here she deserves a vacation especially after the El getting everything doing everything for the primaries for sure um okay we're on to the second general public comment okay um this is the second opportunity for members of the public to speak for up to 3 minutes if you would like to address the renters commission press star n if listening by phone or use the raised hand feature if viewing through the web link I will select callers that have raised their hand using the last three digits of your phone number or by the name uh available you will hear automated announcement that the host is allowing you to speak when speaking please move to a quiet area mute any television or background sound so that we may that way we may hear you clearly the meeting ID is 8194 1 I don't see anybody waiting in the wings so I will close this section of public comment okay the last item on the agenda before adjournment is the communications that we've received we received is it one two three communications um can you show the the communications please Sarah [Music] thank you the the first one um was about Courthouse Square Apartments and the rent increase um which part of it is that we just um talked about um I don't know if there's been anything else since then but I know that Kristen's really good about attaching whatever is new to the agenda there's been nothing I um have been watching all day okay all right and the next one um had to do with Lockwood Apartments um which is I believe they were were referred to the is it anabor Housing Commission or somewhere else I believe it was the Housing Commission that they were referred to right okay and then the last one um was was a a senior um whose neighbor makes thumping noises at night um the office manager says that there's nothing that they can do the person's family um I think says that he should be an assistant living but it's living is extremely expensive um and a lot of people can't afford that we did recommend um a couple of nonprofits in the area when I first heard it I didn't rec I didn't um it didn't click that the person had dementia and so we first um recommended what was it the disability network of Washam Monroe and Linway County I I hope I got that right um and then right before Kristen went on vacation um when I reread the letter I suggested um as a resource possibly Jewish Family Services the agways which is forly the Area Agency on Aging um because both of them do provide some sort of respit hours but they also have like kind of almost Case Management Services which may be helpful to the family of the neighbor um does anyone have any questions or comments about the communications see oh council member Rina this is adjacent to the Lockwood uh email we got um for those who aren't aware um Lockwood is uh senior housing that will have a considerable number of units of affordable senior housing within it um it's opening here in my Ward ward 3 um officially next month and I will make sure to share around with Kristen um because I believe it's public it's advertised on the chambers website um but they are having a uh public ribbon cutting and open house and so if anyone is interested in actually attending and seeing the the new Lockwood senior apartments being opened up um I'll make sure to share that out but um I think that's why we're starting to hear from this hopefully it sounds like some folks were able to secure some affordable senior housing there and um and we'll be moving in very soon that's good to know is that the one that they're building around the Bryant area over off of like it off of ellworth elworth yep oh that's that's great because it means that some people able to move from Courthouse over there yeah yeah it's uh I think it's uh 65 of the the units in are designated to be affordable for at least the next 99 years or something so um so yeah it's uh we're very excited to see that finally get open oh good okay well if there aren't any more questions or comments then we'll move to adjournment and we need someone to move to adjourn I mean we can stay here all night but I'm sure somebody has something better to do commissioner can I can I just speak up y I move to adjourn thank you commissioner wood is moved to adjourn is there anyone who's going to second that than commissioner Chen has seconded the motion to adjourn all those in favor please unmute and say I I hi hi all those opposed say nay the meeting's officially adjourned before you go I just want to say welcome again to our newest Commissioners and if you have any questions or concerns please

e e e call to order the regular bilding board appeals meeting for Thursday August 15 2024 can we have a roll call please Paul darling here Robert Hart here Kevin Cox here David arnsdorf here Hugh Flack is absent for City staff Mike Lemieux here Michael Redmond here John Riser present myself Deborah Williams and Juliet Harvey here we have a quorum all right thank you next item on the agenda is public commentary seeing no one in person is no one virtually for public commentary either okay we'll close the public commentary portion next item is approval the agenda can we have a motion to approve that with the request we had I move to approve the agenda second with uh flipping with the cave flipping okay yes those in favor I I I passes next item of the agenda is the approval of the minutes from the looks like the March 21st meeting is there any comments on those minutes comments your adjustments are correct s can we have a motion to approve those motion to approve second those in favor I those are [Applause] approved the next item in the agenda is appeals actions and show cost hearings the first one we're going to address is BBA 24005 appeal 2227 Medford drive and Arbor and uh do we have an applicant on virtually for that yes I'm here my name is Elizabeth Campbell I'm the homeowner okay thank you so um the process is typically we have you present your or we we have the staff present their report on the on the uh on the varians and then we'll have you present your um request for appeal the board will um review the appeal and ask you questions and then um the staff may counter those discussions or questions about the presentation and then we'll make a motion so uh the first part will be uh staff making their um request or report so the property at 227 Medford is a single family um house it was built in 1957 uh building permit was issued 52824 for work described as basement framing at plan review it was noted on the approved site copy of the plan that the applicant stated ceiling projection to be greater than 6 ft for finish to finish and all proposed doors would be 80 in in height on five uh that was confirmed by Rick Foley uh city of Van Arbor plan reviewer um if it had been indicated that the ceiling would finish below 6' 4 in Allowed by appendix J of the 2015 Michigan residential code this permit would not have been approved or issued uh the plan reviewer uh was given inaccurate information and upon rough inspection it was noted that the existing duct work is below the required ceiling height staff recommends this application be denied as it doesn't meet the standards for approval the code is has not been misinterpreted the provisions of the code do apply and the existing condition is less safe than the minimum requirement of the 2015 Michigan residential code section AJ 61.4 uh ceiling Heights uh uh essentially what that section says is that um in an existing basement that's being converted to habitable space you need a minimum of 6' 8 in from the floor to the ceiling except that you can uh reduce that to 6'4 in under obstructions um the basis for this appeal is that the provisions of the code do not apply section G24 um that's not the [Applause] proper so that's where that ends that the appeal if you that number up um so this appeal doesn't meet the standards of approval the violations uh documented do not meet the requirements of the 2015 Michigan residential code and has not been misinterpreted the provisions of the 2015 code do apply and the reduction in ceiling height is less safe than the requirements of the code all right thank you so the can I will say the last sheet on the packet um is the the uh approved plan okay uh with the notes made by the plan reviewer okay and do we know what the height below the duct work is uh I believe it was stated that it's 6'2 in all right okay so we can have the applicant make their presentation now um I would like to point out that the three ways that we can grant a variances that the code doesn't apply that the code has been misinterpreted or you're providing an alter fer construction so if you could state in your presentation of which one of those three that you're seeking a variance on that would be helpful yes I'd be happy too uh my name is Elizabeth Campbell I'm the home owner home owner uh so we're doing it on uh basis number three improved construction so uh we I believe my contractor was simply unaware of the six4 requirement uh and when the um as soon as the inspector informed us of it we immediately called two different HVAC providers to come out and quot us to make it compliant with 6' 4 in the issue is is that the overall volume of the duct work would need to be changed and it would require a full basically we would have to reduct the entire home uh to get the proper volume by removing the two inches that we have on the um depth uh to the width and both HVAC providers explained to us that they would have to have specially cut laser cut duct work in order to make it a 6 inch or 2in uh reduced depth for the duct work and that the cost of that alone would be $12,500 that doesn't account for um the additional cost to then add vents for the basement as we were trying to do it um and it's two it's 2 in away from the 6'4 in uh requirement we have been living like this with this duct work without an issue for the last since we bought the house it's been this way um and we simply can't complete the basement with the additional cost of a minimum of $122,500 so the basement will sit half completed half framed half drywalled um because we at this point and and we wouldn't be able to finish it I I noted in the housing code I realize this is building code but in the housing code it specifically says they won't Grant variances under six feet um so there seems to be some understanding that in some instances habitable basement space may have a clearance between 6 feet and 6'4 in I realize that's not the building code it's a different code but I did note that uh so as it stands we're just going to be stuck with a partially finished basement um until I don't know when because of the unexpected $12,500 cost for duct work that we have been living with like this for the last 11 years uh my husband is also here Mr Bas I don't know if he wants to add anything to my statement yes thank you Miss Campbell um you know I would just say I you know we're not building new space here uh we're just finishing the basement that we've been living with for more than a decade um this this duct work hasn't been a danger I you know I haven't hit my head on it uh and I understand the intention of the code is to uh increase safety but we haven't had a safety issue at all in the in the decade that we've had to uh live with that duct so uh it it just seems like this is a situation where uh a fairly reasonable accommodation could be reached to allow us to finish this project uh especially since we're not building anything new we're just finishing existing space okay okay thank you for your presentation any kind of rebor for that yeah I just want to say that um appendix J of the residential code is specifically written for existing basements that's taken into consideration and it's a reduced height from what uh the 2015 Michigan um building code other sections would require um so the code in the code they've already given a reduction for an understanding that sometimes uh basements won't meet the requirements of new construction um so the allowances were made down to 6' 4 in okay thank you any questions from the app from the board to the applicant yeah I have one um are you going to was your intent to create framing around the existing duct work no we're not uh we're not going to lower the height at all okay no so there's no we're essentially just going to leave the duck work exposed as it is right now okay and I see there was an erress when but I don't see in the plan where that is as far as the head room it's there okay and where's the stairway here and the duct work is here so you window is on the other side of the basement so that it's far away from the e window it's it's on the South Wall uh and that's already been inspected and improved so it looks like the walk underneath the duck work the only space you're going to is an unfinished storage room and whatever the whatever is to the east of that that space what is that use to that space um that's just storage um it's not livable you know the this the space where people are going to be is the the main area you see out uh uh that where the stairs lead to that's going to be the kids play area that's Al to code the the uh bathroom that's being put in that's Al to code and uh uh office/bedroom uh that's ala code so the only time this would be an issue is when you know we're you know walking to use the um the storage area and there's a smoke detection on both sides of that Dr work as far as part of the reason for headro is partially vol for smoke to develop in the fire and stuff for you to get out safely so with that being lower smoke would kind of collect on each side of that I assume there detector inside there but I don't know you know what that configuration is is that's looking at additional detectors potentially to help offsite that difference in Headroom that's no problem we'd be happy to put up as many smoke detectors as you want I have a question this this was like this when you guys purchased the house yes so it was an existing condition from the original building yes um and you guys are just trying to remodel it and this was an existing thing yes correct and we're not we're not talking about modifying it at all I mean again we tried to modify it to meet the standard but the cost is the cost so all we're doing is literally leaving it the exact same way that it has been for the last years but we are finishing the rest of the basement but the duct work is not going to be there's going to be no additional framing or uh nothing added to the duck you're not adding volume you're not putting registers in you're not tapping to it and we'll be adding vents through the bedroom area um but that duck work actually meet co uh the the the sections that are I think my lovely wife is losing her reception here there's no there's gonna be no changes to the duck workor in question okay okay we got so the the other duct work that's needed for the basement and the bedroom Taps into the line at a different point uh so the HVAC specialist stole is that wouldn't uh affect the overall volume mhm and are all these walls down here new or some of these things existing in some new there an unfinished Bas basically now and you're adding all the walls and the bathroom or what's what's what is the scope the wall um that separates the bathroom and the storage area is existing um and then the the wall that comes that runs east to west um there was a wall there uh that zigzagged a little bit uh so we've replaced that with a straight wall across and then the bathroom wall is new does the duct that's closest to the structural post does that run into the bathroom at that height um below the wall maybe it I I don't know if you guys can hear me it does go into the bathroom above where the vanity will be placed and how about over the water closet uh no it uh it jogs so it it does a dog leg left uh and uh goes back into the utility room you wor about hideing over the fixtures mhm is that an issue M um I don't know where the locations of the measurement are just that it's below the minimum of the code so this is 62 the beam might be 64 possible that could be 2 in but hard to say no no the duck going over the beam is 64 the bottom of the beam is 64 no no the the duck if it extends into the bathroom over the lavatory at 62 is that an issue that I I I don't probably the whole basement probably the 62 is for the whole okay yeah the yeah the inspector noted that it didn't meet the minimum requirement more than one spot it's probably the whole whole one that yeah it's just there are two lines uh the one is the kind of Main North South I don't know if this is the right word I'm a grant writer not a HV guy but the main trunk uh that runs north south and then there's a return uh that next to it that is also below but most of the duct work work uh in the basement other than that is um up within the uh joas yeah okay yeah so so the the square footage in the basement that's actually underneath the sort of offending dock work is only 203 square feet it's just these two sort of lines uh and then as I indicated it does extend it that that work does extend into the bathroom over the vanity only so the vanity is below that um duct work but it's not over the um toilet okay okay the only reason I asked is because if a motion is made to approve your variance I want to make sure that it there isn't another hidden problem that's going to come back I I deeply understand totally agree yeah I I want to make sure that we cover our bases so if there's an objection to fixtures I you know we would have motion for a variance for that as [Music] well any other questions by the board to the applicant and they don't need to have an eess window right out of the bedroom or or a separate ESS window erress needs to be at the bedroom this is the bedroom here or this is the bed it's laund room okay all right so it's good for that okay and the headro has to be in all habitable spaces is that correct it is yes or all spaces so is the volume habitable well that um it's occup it's habit it's it's the 6' 8 and the 6'4 is for habitable space yeah that would would need to be in the in the lawn in the mechanical room or potentially the laundry room right right so the real meain focus is between the stairway and the bathroom the bathroom bedroom those two spaces would so um looks like we're working on a mo potential motion here it looks like yes okay oh picked up the wrong onean copy no [Applause] B appealed or denied which one I had to do a cut okay all right I mve that in the case of BBA 24-5 the appeal of the building official's decision that the locate oops oop I'm sorry the same one sorry sorry sorry one moment this on the back yeah is there a motion in that one yeah thank you starting over I moved it in the case of BBA 24-5 the appeal of the building officials decision that the ceiling height must be a minimum 6'4 Ines under obstructions at 2227 Medford is approved I'm sorry I I got to start one more time all right here we go I move that in the case of uh BBA 24-5 the appeal of the building official's decision that's a gas not correct there's a yeah it's the right address but it's the wrong yeah so that's WR um it's the ceiling height uh yeah the code sections are correct it's just the yeah ceiling height requirement yeah it seem like the the denied one is correct terminology over here the denied one might be the right write up but it's the you know right page 21 little challenging here maybe the way to do it is do this I think I've got it I think page 21 get you there but changing the word denied to granted if that's the yeah maybe the good starting point yeah use page 21 but you deny or Grant as you will M okay let's try this fourth time fourth time here we go wor Time Lucky um okay um one more little [Applause] okay I moveed that in case BBA 24-5 the appeal of the building official's decision that the ceiling height must be at a minimum 6'4 in under obstruction at 2227 Medford is granted relief from the 2015 Michigan residential code and the building board of appeals reverses the building officials decisions for the following reason that the applicant number three the applicant will not increase the existing non-compliant condition stipulations include that there be smoke detection systems on both sides of the duct work that the underside of the ducts ducts will not be f finished um that there will not be uh that the ceiling the duct height will not be considered an impediment over the bathroom laboratory and water closet and with a further recommendation that a protective cushioned Corner Edge to the ducts be provided is that a stipulation or a recommendation that's a recommendation Mike is that something you can do I mean I can't enforce it it's we can't enforce recommendations okay you make a requirement what the protective Edge would be but that reduces the height of it potentially wouldn't it it would but I'm just worried about somebody walking into that corner of the doct work yeah and it would seem that to have an extra little half inch intrusion into the ceiling height wouldn't be um what about safety tape visual safety tape it would be no thickness and you see it more I don't know just something second before we discuss this sure is there is there a second to a motion is there any more second the motion and just could you read it back so that je Williams can get it down and maybe the applicants been writing this down too okay what are the stipulate the stipulations include smoke detections system on both sides of the duct Bank MH that the duct the two ducts will not be finished on their undersides that the height of the existing ducts will not be considered an impediment over the bathroom laboratory and water closet and that there be a protective cushioned Corner Edge to the duct to both ducts is that number four that's number four not an overing fix you have that was there a finding with respect to one two or three I think he said um was it three or is it misinterpreted eally form of construction it sounds like three it's it's three but it's not it's not a better or equal form of construction it's an acknowledgement that it's an existing condition an existing non-compliant condition that isn't going to be made worse in a way it's kind of a modification of pendex J I guess you're saying huh it's technical pH infity of of you know okay do we have a second on the motion we had that okay discussion discussion you want to those in favor I I those against no against so passes uh 4 to zero so you have a granted variance with the condition stipulated so you should be getting a notification from the building department with this uh variance approval very good what thank you all very much for your consideration we really appreciate the the variance it's uh uh very uh generous of of you all to uh do this for our family and to uh uh use your time for the city so thank you very much thank you Paul I'll send you an updated um motion for you to sign okay can I ask you a quick question if you said are you uh when Deborah when you send that that motion do I see it yeah can I what latitude do I have to make Corrections none none it on that that's why we got to get it right these should be almost in writing and she's not going to leave until she gets whatever was put on this record we can't change it what happen we it's a open meetings act there's just no authority to change anything we can't make scribers erors uh we don't have that okay it's clear okay we have an applicant for the second appeal now de okay which one the one I didn't rip apart okay so um the next item of the agenda is appeal BBA 24002 at uh 1435 Catalina Drive an arbor and uh the first item on the agenda or the first item to talk about is the staff report there for that variance request so the property at 1435 Catalina it's a single family property that was built in 1958 uh upon a mechanical inspection um under permit Mech 23-26 654 it was noted that the gas line exits the house below grade and enters the garage below grade uh building permit was issued for 7 on 721 uh for work described as installing footing garage floor wct twostory garage structure doors windows siding Roofing gutters sewer water electric the building permit was finaled 629 of 23 uh plumbing permit plr 22- 3190 for described as installing rough plumbing system to garage structure trench for drainage water gas line for future installation the permit was issued 923 of 22 and no final inspection was performed on that permit and it is currently expired no mechanical permit was pulled for the gas line to the garage which is required per section g241 15.6 of the 2015 Michigan residential code the gas line exiting and entering the building below grade is a violation of the code staff recommends the application is denied as it doesn't meet the standards for the code the code has not been misinterpreted and the provisions of the code do apply the existing condition is less safe than the minimum minimum requirement of the 2015 Michigan residential code section g241 5.6 that states the underground penetration is prohibited gas piping shall not penetrate building Foundation walls at any point below grade gas piping shall enter and exit a a building at a point above grade and the annular space between the pipe and the wall shall be sealed um contractor responsibility is another section that I wanted to reference during this um uh in with regards to the contractor who installed the gas line uh it shall be the duty of every person who performs work for the installation or repair of building structure electrical gas mechanical and Plumbing Systems for which this code is applicable to comply to the code um the gas line is mentioned in plumbing permit 23 or 22 3190 but no mechanical permit was issued for the gas line um the inspector on the final inspection of the mechanical 23 2654 uh stated in his inspection that the gas uh pressure test was approved but the con contractor that installed the gas line to the garage uh was installed with no permit no inspection the gas line is installed below grade inhouse and below grade slab in garage it needs to be corrected before generator final is approved um and then he makes a note to the con the current contractor who pulled the permit for the generator installation uh that there's no action on their part um needed at this time and that he could be contacted with questions um the basis of the appeal is the provisions of the code do not apply section G4 2415 point sorry section g 241 15.6 was the adopted code at the time of installation and clearly states that underground penetrations are prohibited um with that this appeal doesn't meet the standards of approval okay thank you so now we're going to have the applicant U present their request for our variance and um if you could state which standard for approval you're looking for variance for if the inten of the code doesn't apply if you're um providing something equally or good or better than the code or if the code has been misinterpreted so hi my name is Steve Fri um I'm the homeowner U I apologize I am not a contractor so I I might not be using all the correct terms I hope you'll bear with me for a moment um so the the reason that we asked for the variance was that we all of everything that we did for this generator and and what is being held up now is this generator um only about I don't know six or eight feet of pipe was installed and then the generator was installed so basically everything for this uh generator that is being looked at um meets the code so what doesn't meet the code was previous work that again had been I thought all finalized and all good so we were we were actually very surprised to find that there was an issue with anything um so our like I said the the basis for the appeal was was was basically that we were kind of grandfathered in on the old stuff and then the new stuff all met okay when when was can I I ask a question yeah go ahead uh when was the old stuff put in uh construction started in 2022 and finished in 2023 I I don't know the exact months I apologize this was your contractor that installed it correct yeah the underground pipe yes I mean he so we went through sort of a general contractor right and he had some stuff that was sort of subcontracted um I guess as far as like who's licensed for what I can't say exactly who did what um but I have contact information for my general contractor I have a question about the general run of the gas line so okay the original House dates from 1958 correct the gas comes into a meter that is correct and then it is there a basement to the house yes okay so from meter across to where the new garage Edition is does that run across the ceiling to the basement yes okay it then goes through the foundation wall of the house and turns up into the new garage it's attached garage or detach garage it is a detach garage so there's um I don't know 20 ft or so that it runs underground uh and we ran it at the same time we ran plumbing and water out there detached garage so what what is the photograph on page 17 illustrating is it illustrating where the gas pipe is running from the house underground and then it turns up in the garage and then it goes back outside of the garage to the generator I apologize I'm not looking at it right this second but I can I can kind of describe it so it goes through the foundation wall of the house it runs underground it does run underneath the it runs through the foundation wall and then comes up through the garage floor I think I had one picture of it coming through the garage floor uh which was again old work then it runs it runs up the wall and along the ceiling of the garage and then down the wall and through the wall above grade to where the generator was installed and that that above grade point where it goes through the wall into the generator is is what's on this permit I think to be code compliant it would have to come up through the wall like this go back down below ground back up around through the like it should have went up to like this instead of right through the wall and then up above greater for the fitting so so on page 17 that stub up through the floor if you if you flip to the other side of that concrete block you would be outside that is correct so it seems I mean am I misunderstanding this if they tap the gas line on the outside of the garage bring it up a and then connect back into the garage they'd be all right that would be C compliant at the house both sides house and 100% with it it would need to do something similar at the house come out above grade and the contractor looked at stubbing it up outside versus you know what what attempts have been made right now uh I guess no attempts have been made the the complaint that we had was that it it's entirely in in one I mean it was I wouldn't even call it a pipe for me it's like a that yellow you know like what you attach a hose to hard pipe to like your stove or dryer except it's like 2-in pipe but it's it's only one piece from where it leaves the house to where it is is just below the the grade so it seemed very silly to go cut into that and add more joints uh when the issue is a I assume the issue with this uh code and why the code was updated was for leaks so it it seemed silly to put more joints in as potential leak points uh when we already passed the pressure test you passed the pressure test for your new stuff not for the old stuff we passed the pressure test for the old stuff as well everything everything was pressure tested when it was installed so when the garage was installed we did that and we ran a bunch of pipe in preparation for this uh generator installed and then the generator generator install they they did pressure testing too and again it it passed but the issue isn't the pressure test the issue is the fact that you've got a pipe a gas pipe coming in under the garage slab and then turning up in the garage if it turned outside the garage and then came into the garage above the slab it'd be fine I mean it's seems like a relatively simple fix to comply with the code yeah the only issue is that it's a brand new concrete outside that we would have to dig up and then dig up the uh sections of yard between it to to make all these connections because it is like I said it got it got installed with the uh the waste line the water line and um yeah same s those two so it's it's relatively deep and under new concrete is that quick but was there ever a was was there ever a a final inspection or rough inspection I mean as a contractor you have you have multiple phases of construction so you have your rough that would turn it up into it and at that point the plumbing inspector should have said stop no this is not approved and then to me it looks like I do we have a history on these inspections was it ever approved so for the gas line on the initial bu that was associated with the initial garage permit or with yeah with the original garage there was no mechanical permit pulled for the gas line so somebody just came in and put it in without an inspection without no permit so there wasn't a permit so it wasn't inspected yeah that's where my problem the plumbing struct would have been out there he didn't fly he didn't notice of the fact it's a gas line in the same trench and I don't I can't speak to what they but yeah that that would have been an opportunity potentially to flag it but uh yeah possibly yeah I don't I don't want to point fingers at anybody but I mean we had we had inspectors out I swear it was like 25 times uh for for different things and I know that we asked about this and it was it was like Hey that that's not what I do we didn't it seemed like it kind of fell into a gray area and I apologize if it sounds like I'm making excuses but we we weren't putting anything mechanical in we were only putting the gas line in for future work and so it seemed like it's seemed like everybody was kind of saying uh no that's not what I do uh you know you're not doing any mechanical stuff because like I said there there was no heater there was no generator there was nothing out there for the natural gas to go to um but it was it was definitely seen many many times it was one of the first things that happened I mean it came through the concrete so that was done before a stick of wood was put up and this that's the reason that I included the contractor's responsibility section r 105.8 yeah and are you still have a relationship with the general contractor that built the garage you'd be able to fix this stuff or I mean it he didn't close a per guess there wasn't there wasn't a mechanical permit for the gas line so it's it's nowhere I mean the general contractor bottom line did the work he had somebody come in it didn't just yeah yeah pop up right he didn't show up one day with it yeah yeah and so the yeah the general contractor should take this as his responsibility to make it right even if there concrete being import even if there's concrete that needs to be cut anything like that yeah general contractor it falls back on them to make it right make it right mhm um but yeah my issue is just that there was never permit pull so at one point someone had to say this is not approved because of this yeah yeah yeah observe it and realize it and then think yeah yeah and that concrete was ped should have been ped just an unrelated question but when all the utilities for the garage when that trench was dug is that are all the pipes in the same trench yes they're at they're at different levels they're slightly offset um because the trying to remember I think the waistline had to be a different depth than the feed line for the water um but yes they are it was it was about three feet wide and I don't know 5 feet or so deep but but they're they're near each other yeah yeah I mean you can't I'm I'm I'm I'm more than possible have to confirm this you can't go in the same trench electrical and gas uh not not electrical sorry only only uh water out waste back because the waste ties into our house um and the gas there's no electrical in the same trench I apologize if I said that okay the worst case they r a different whole new gas land but for got to bring it BR down and tie back into that thing it seems like they got to cut a hole on each end well the the thing is that you have to have a solid P it has to have a solid run from A to B joint that right now that is what he has he's got that Sol P the problem is that there ever anything happened to that the explosion of that line would blow up that foundation and take house with it instead of staying outside and burn up the side of the house where fire ratings are put place for that reason and because you went through a foundation that's the problem and if they don't have the proper like you can't see right now you know they have they don't have um the concrete is flat around that pipe and there's no protection around that pipe you can't put concrete up against this because lime will deteriorate that line and that's why they put cushion around those lines so whoever did this did it for a hey let's just throw a gas sign in here just for the future but they just didn't do it right and that's your conduit your gas line will deteriorate over time it's a great gas line but the concrete itself will deteriorate that gas [Applause] line and that contractor should come back rip this up pay for the foundation pay pay for the every bit of turn this up outside and put it right and that's what should happen so is there a way that even have to remove this line because even if they have B in this line it still connects you know I guess if you don't gas connection either end of it I guess well very very well he they could chip up the concrete that's right there they to chip up the concrete that's on the outside and then can pull it dig it down pull it out bend it back up on the outside of the house put it on your your connections yeah uhhuh and like that's that's what you would try to do and if the gas line and with that you're going to be cutting off the part that is bent and is corroded and under pressure and you're not you're not compromising the single line that comes from the house to the outside mhm it's just lazy construction that's all this is there is there is something I don't know if it's obvious but they they said it was specifically made to go through concrete and again I'm I'm far from an expert so I apologize if that doesn't even make sense but that was what they told us is that this stuff was made to come through concrete and that's what how it works um well again I'll yield to your judgment on that the problem is we don't have any cut shoots we don't have any specifications we don't have anything that has that if it does you know there's some kind of numbers on the side of it but you can't read any of that stuff um your your better bet in my opinion would' be getting on the phone with the contractor getting this explanation directly from him before we make a decision and have him come and defend what he did and if he does have evidence that shows that it can do that it can do these things then that's what it is but right now what you're looking at just having that concrete tight around your gas line it's not it's not okay you can't you can't do that um and you you shouldn't have it go through your house because you don't if he took enough in my opinion if he took enough risk just to throw that in there for you who knows what it looks like going through your foundation what what looks is underneath there and how much water is coming through the line if you didn't seal that line coming through your foundation wall what kind of cracks you're going to have what kind of shifts movements all that stuff if this line ever blows up you lose your entire corner of your house and it's a twostory garage correct I just wouldn't take I wouldn't take that risk in my own house having my kids there you know if something ever happened just because of a lazy contractor okay the other the other issue with concrete around the pipe like that it prevents any movement and pipes want to move they'll they warm they expand and we actually design pipe connections to allow little flex and if you grab something and hold it tight like that what you're likely to get is Cracks around that location as the pipe shifts over time temperature changes will cause cracks cuz you holding it really tight in one spot yeah that's the other reason why you put a collar around it right yeah a let it Flex cuz it's it's pretty much a clamped system that it it will it'll allow movement and flex in your line and so right now with that with that with it unable to move like this it's just going to hold like this and that's just going to break open if the heat and you know um the temperature on the outside of the house to the inside the house that's why houses moveed and that it will break and it just wouldn't be a good thing feel like I kind of took advantage of you right here any further discussion from the board or the staff um I would I would think about before we make a motion on if so once we make the motion it's that's that's what you have to do um if you want to table it to come back for next month and talk to your contractor about coming in here and see what other options you might have um and what he might have if he comes up with anything um because if if if we end up approving or denying it there's no overturning that decision okay and I can reach out to him uh I I know that he he mentioned several times that it was like this is the way that you do things I know that at least when it goes through the foundation it is sleeved um that's not the the biggest thing going on here but that's not the point that's not the point the point is that the current configuration doesn't meet code the only way around it is to get it out of the picture that's on page 17 and have the gas line come up outside the house or outside the garage structure and then back in right now it's underneath the the garage slab and you can't do that that's the issue and I mean all the other things that were said about the pipe movement and concrete up against the PIP is true but the basic issue as I understand it yeah is that it's coming in underneath the garage the garage slab and that's a no no and there's no there's no way to finesse that so that's true that's true so it's not it's not whether or not that doesn't belong there we came up with additional reasons one that's right place yeah true can I say that if if it were a separate appeal that it should be an appeal not brought for like I feel like we should separate the two if if you think the contractor should be the person who's making an appeal um I I think that it's a separate appeal from what the homeowner's doing but that's just my I personally agree with the fact is I brought up a separate issue right like my separate issue is that the pipe is not shouldn't be in that Concrete in the first place that's not what the question the question right now is that it's coming in through the side of the house into the garage and it can't do that that is what is that question here not the other thing is the contractor still liable for this yes he did something it wasn't approved it wasn't anything absolutely um if he wants to make the contract or fa here but yeah that's not I would think that the strength of your argument with your contractor is that you tried to get a variance for his work and it didn't pass mustard yes okay okay yeah what he did is legal and he gave you false information that you can do it and it'll be okay but it's not and you can't do it so what what your contract with him is to do stuff per code per building per everything and he didn't do it especially trying to hide a gas line a gas line you don't mess with that's a very big Plumbing thing that will make or break a house so I would I'd go right back to him and put this all on his lap okay have a motion I moved it in the case of make sure I get the right one I moved that in the case of BBA 24-2 the appe of the building officials decision that the gas line installed at 1435 Catalina Drive is denied and the board of appeals the building board of appeals affirms the building officials decision for following reasons one that the true intent of the 2015 Michigan residential code in section g241 15.6 for the gas line installed at 1435 Cataline Drive have been correctly interpreted by the building official two that the provision of the 2015 Mees Michigan residential code section g241 15.6 does apply to the construction of 1435 Catalina Drive and three the applicant has not proposed an equal or better form of construction thank you you have a second second that all right those in favor I I the ran is uh denied okay thank you gentlemen thank you time all right that closes the appeals action and show Clause hearing portion of the agenda old business anything nothing new business nothing a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn second those in favor I I passes 228

something every [Music] ver oh yeah that's a good burger right there is it um we're getting there we only have five tonight so we need everybody show up look [Music] he [Music] down [Music] one more last our last piece of the puzzle did you drive all the way up again from okay I mean your joke but I don't have anything like that near not yeah yeah we have so many people all the places they're stopping on their way yeah [Music] I'd like to call this meeting of the eam Township Board of Education to order pursuant to the public open public meetings act advoc a public notice has been given by the secretary of the eam Township Board of Education in the following manner posting written notice on the official bullton board at the Board of Education Office emailing written notice to the Burley County Times The Courier Post and fing written notice with the municipal clerk of eim Township can I have a roll call please roll call Mr Bach here Mr Brown was a notified absence Mr demarcy was a notified absence Miss Fox was a notified absence Mrs null Miss Lee here Mr Thompson here Mr fisicaro here and Mr Compton was a notified absence we do have a quarum thank you now I need a resolution to go in executive session whereas an njsa 104-112 allows for a public body to go into Clos session during a public meeting and whereas the Board of Education of esam Township has deemed it necessary to go into Clos session to discuss certain matters which are Exempted from the public and whereas the regular meeting of the Board of Education will reconvene following the end of the close session at approximately 7:30 p.m.

e um we are in attendance wend Miss V mwood and Miss HRI okay okay um it looks like everyone is ready uh if you want to begin president Mia um I'm ready as well okay we'll go ahead and call to order the special uh barbecue School District governing board meeting today's state is August 14 sorry August 16 2024 roll call uh president Mia hi to um Miss Vance Miss gwood Miss stens and hi too um we do have a quum pres thank you we do have a quorum we continue with this afternoon's um meeting and agenda letter B is a routine business approval of the August 16 2024 special board meeting agenda without objection a motion to approve is there a second second second Miss Kathleen Vance all all Pap please say i h president Mia mwood Miss HRI we have four [Music] year good um next on item on our agenda is the information items which is RC I'm sorry um Mark Marcos for Special Olympics head of Delegation for BD and Kenneth Wilson for Special Olympics assistant coach again uh board that's just information um for record no questions letter D is a consent agenda without objection a motion to approve second by U I think I heard Miss Vance first yes all those in favor please Vance gwood Miss hendri I have four yes that our consent agenda is approved um motion to Mo H Miss Kathleen Vance all those in favor uh say I it is 1204m we're adjourned thank you all take care have a good for

okay I'm going to call this regular board meeting for Thursday August 15 2024 uh to order and we will first start with Mr Kelly is going to introduce Mason garst for our Pledge of Allegiance yes hey thank you um I'm TR Kelly I'm the principal at pleas Grove Elementary Mason if you want to come on up here uh we're going to ask you guys to stand and join us in saying the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge of allegiance 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 Mason can I have you step up front here too thank you thank you okay next I have the adoption of the agenda do I have a motion Madam president I move that we adop the agenda thank you Mr Daniels do I have a second second thank you thank you Mr Alexander all right all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed okay motion passes 4 Z currently um and we have we are going to do the execution of the qualifying oath of office for our newly appointed board members so Jane join me out front un the [Applause] all right up next we have Mr Kelly to come up and talk about Pleasant Grove Elementary School first of all I'd like to say thank you for this opportunity um at pleas Grove we take pride in our our climate and culture and we have we have great people that do a great service and we have amazing students uh first I'd like to invite up uh is Dana Thompson Dana if you could come up so Dana is our enl teacher at Pleasant Grove our enl population has just um gone through the roof we three years ago or this is our third year so it had been two years ago I hired her uh she she lived nearby her kids went to my school uh just an amazing teacher uh she has our our population has grown to around 60 kids uh initially around 28 and and we're still growing so that's great job security um she has 27 years of experience I found out this evening uh she's here with her family her mom her dad and her husband her kids uh mom was a teacher and guided her into a great profession so Dana is the she's the total package as an enl teacher she goes above and beyond for her students delivering highquality instruction making sure each student feels loved and supported and she gets results our school rate of students graduating from the enl program is out of this world it's all because of her hard work you could tell that she takes pride in her work and we take pride knowing that she's on our team Dana Thompson [Applause] next I'd like to invite up Miss Amanda Peterson um yeah very welld deserved right so Amanda right now she is our lead essential skills teacher she's um been an assistant in the essential skills room for the last two years and this year she's taking over the lead um she's going going to she's actually teaching in the classroom she's going to school to finish up her degree as well as being a mom helping with homework at night she's probably exhausted but you can't tell she brings positive energy every single day uh this is Amanda's thirdd year at pleas grow she has served as an essential skills assistant for the first two and is currently the Lead Teacher while she was in the process of getting her license she embodies our school mission which is safe and loved she is a natural in the classroom and is best known for her humor her grace her love and the compassion she CH she shares with the kids and her staff daily join me in recognizing Amanda Peterson thank you that was and last but not least you guys met Mar Mason Mason come on up here [Applause] bud uh you're lucky that they said three or four sentences only because I could write a book on this guy uh I knew I was going to recognize Mason when he was in second grade I knew when it was his fifth grade year it was going to be him uh I I've never met a Kinder individual he makes me want to be kinder um and and I I tell you he personifies kindness he models positive character traits and reaches for personal Excellence every single day he gives his best and his classmates will tell you that I experienced that last year in fourth grade I went to his class didn't I and they weren't doing too well and I said can you think of anybody that would make the right choice all the time and everyone said Mason the best way to describe Mason is he's an old soul he's self he's got a selfless personality he's the kind of kid that would give the shirt off his back to help someone else he is kind he is considerate he's compassionate and his heart is absolutely beautiful join me in recognizing Mason [Applause] gar come on up Madam president if I may I I would just like to recognize we have some situations here where parents were involved and that is is one of the backbones of our community uh these kids don't get to be the way they are on their own the parents are a big reason why they are the way they are so kudos to you and kudos to back there leave before all okay up next we have the safety and discipline report and I think Dr long and chief Jackson are going to help us out Chief Jackson's going to start start it we're going to add Mr Bron and then I'll bring up the end okay sounds great it's a tough act to follow right there um thanks for having me tonight and I'm going to go over a few of these uh kind of boring stats but uh they're very interesting for last year um so we talk about runs and arrests so I'll just give you a definition of what a run is that's a call that we either generate or um Johnson County generates and so with some of the new technology that we have um last year with cix um cix is the reason why these numbers are a little bit higher than they have been in the past and so 707 calls um just to take that into consideration when I first started about 14 years ago we averaged probably about 250 calls and so that was with um a department of two and so now that we have uh seven foreign officers um more technology which gives the teachers uh more capabilities of of alerting us when when there's a situation so not to say that every situation deems an arrest um but it it allows our our guys to get there um in a in an orderly fashion so the 707 number is is relatively high but it's a good thing um because it gives our teachers the um the assurance and and to know that if they push that button we're there and so um with that being said 72 um arrest and so not every single one of these 72 are U is going to jail so we have two separate type so we have a we have one that we can forward to the prosecutor and then we have an outright arrest where depending on um the next page that I show you guys depending on the the actual crime dictates whether or not they go to jail or not so we try not to um take kids to jail um sometimes it's out of our hands based off of their actions but um 72 um obviously it's a whole lot higher than um than in the past um 84 from from last year but um there's a lot of other data that can explain that so um see here's some of these the Rest by types I won't mention them all you guys can kind of see them on the graph but you can see that a majority of our arrests uh are batteries so a battery could be a fight um an argument a push um anything uh verbal um and so majority of the time it's it's student on student but you can see that in some cases we've had students that's lashed out on to um parents us as a as a staff as police officers um some of the um teachers and and admin uh theft strangulation sounds uh a little crazy but that's just um more so of just uh victim stating X Y and Z so um we have a batter uh battery with bodily injury uh typically those are the ones that are deem us to take those kids in and outright them right then and there so anytime that there's there's a a you know a black eye um blood anything like that that's that's when we're we're taking those kids to jail so some of the other numbers that are relatively high is our possession of marijuana um those numbers can fluctuate a little bit just for the simple fact of all of the devices that they have now to smoke marijuana or to carry marijuana so you have the Vape pins um sometimes uh a THC sometimes they have small fractions of it um sometimes they're they're not in our possession so we we really do a good job of explaining to the of students that before they search a bag to make sure they were present so that it's it's in our presence so that we can then take it to the next level so if they search that bag without us there that just goes as a as an infraction for us and then we're we're sending those that information to the parents and up to the prosecutor so that's why those numbers um can go up or down based off of of how we see and what's in our presence so um we've uh we've had three K9s we've retired we've retired two um we're we're down to one I don't know if uh if I want to have any more because they're a lot of work but they do a great job and so Aussie has had um 12 deployments last year now deployments are are anything that we need him out so if we if if we see um uh if we're doing Locker searches uh searches in the High School uh for the cars that that would be a deployment that doesn't mean that he was only out in the schools 12 times and so he's he's out and about in the schools all the time the kids really love him um we didn't generate any arrests from from his deployments or searches which is always a good thing um he's done nine school presentations in 72 hours of training um and he has a double blind certification completed this year for Narcotics and Firearms which just means that he's a little bit better than he was last year and um and hopefully we we keep continuing use him um we keep those numbers of arrests at zero but um he's he's doing his job and um the kids love them and our Handler does an exceptional job of taking care of them as well it's a full-time job uh sorry to interrupt but we are able to borrow Sheriff's dogs if we need to right yes sir so when we do large searches which we usually do at least once a year at the high school um we'll borrow other dogs from Clark Pleasant from yes yep and we'll usually shut the school not shut the school down but we'll go on a soft lockdown we'll go into multiple classrooms and so we usually don't give the kids or the the staff ah heads up so they don't really know what's going and and we kind of get in so we don't we don't take away from um from their learning so here are some of the uh citations you're going to see the the 436 which is crazy because this is the first year that we've done this and so we met with the high school last year and we were noticing we had a significant amount of um parking issues and so kids that were uh falsifying documents saying that they had a parking pass um parking in spots they weren't supposed to park in parking in places where the fire trucks are supposed to be or the police officers and so we they really wanted to crack down on that so we developed a software that allowed our officers the ability to write citations based off of um our admin and mostly our Deans and so the Deans would go out with us we would walk the the parking lot um and whoever was parked in spots they weren't supposed to got a citation so those numbers were were relatively High um and that money it's the I think the citation is somewhere like around $5 or something like that it's not very very expensive for the most part I think everyone paid it um there's a few seniors that waited till the last second and then when they were told they weren't they weren't going to walk for graduation all of a sudden their pocketbooks came out and the five bucks came out they might have went up to 10 but um and so it it generates a little bit of extra cash flow for the for the high school and for our Police Department so with the high school with the money that they they made I think they bought two brand new cameras this year and so usually that's out of our budget or the corporation's budget so that came out of their safety safety plan um so saved us a little bit of money and got two really nice cameras that they really really needed and so um the citations uh we write those are all within the school district and so a long time ago when I first started we had some officers that were writing tickets on 135 on 69 and it's not a good look um and we we kind of got reprimanded um at that time and so our guys know that if they're going to write citations it's all within the the you know their their daily activities and so if they're going from the high school to North Grove or or to Maple Grove wherever they're at and they see something that happens in front of them they obviously have to to act but um we'll do traffic um and speed speed details in the neighborhoods surrounding our schools um and or in the areas out front of of our elementary schools and so um and you can see out of the 87 33 were warnings and so warnings are always good everyone has an excuse why they're speeding um so kind of show them a little bit of Grace that goes a long way so all right so training um we are um mandated to have at least 24 hours of training so that that is with if you can see in this small writing some of them are our state mandates and so our state mandates will have some of our mental health um it has our Firearms it has our Evo which is our driving and then um it also has uh little things like domestic violence and autism awareness but we always like to go above and beyond Dr Long asked me every single year to make sure that our guys are some of the highly trained officers in in the county and we we usually are and so this year kind of shows just based off of our hours um Cooper obviously has 123 hours but um I sent him to a lot of conferences um and within those conferences are some of these so Alzheimer's the second uh two big words that pretty much is Just Naran training um and then um autism is is huge because we have a a pretty big population of that and we deal with kids uh on a daily basis and then all of our our officers have gone to basic SRO training um bias-based um policing the big one this year three of us went to the seped so seped is just um a way for us to come back and do assessments of our buildings and so we did um Dr long how long was that ago about five six years ago when we called Safe Haven in and um we paid a pretty penny for that um which is what we needed at the time to get grants and stuff that we've been continuing to get but um we're now trained um and able to do those those um that that training and those assessments on our own so our goal this year is to have each building um assessed and so with that being said that would be uh probably a 133-page document um a video pictures um that shows some of the things that we need to do to be better um and some of the things that we do well so we're going to take that uh upon ourselves to meet with each um building administrator and go over that and so some of it are things that they can fix some of it is things that we can fix but um and then it just puts us up to par on all the things that we need to do in order to get some of the grants that we continue to get um and going through that some of the things that I I think are the most important is is the mental health piece every every conference that we go to um they have great speakers and so we're in there 40 hours out of those 40 hours we're probably getting 16 hours of extra um training in in those categories and so um use of force obviously we don't have any of that so that that that as well so we're obviously with the the way the charts set up we're above the hours that we're supposed to be at um and that's something that we'll continue to do in in the future um assistant police chief um Cooper he just got promoted um he's done his 32 hours of of supervisor and management which is what the the nasro class puts on so all of our our officers have the basic 40 hours and then every single one of them has an additional 40 hours with an advanced and now we have a supervisor which Cooper and I both have and then seped is through nasro as well and so Cooper just submitted his um his documents um to be a it just slipped my mind I I had it last year but it's just an accolate that I've already forgot um thank you put the pressure on you so it's just pretty much just saying that over the course of of of his career that he's he's gotten over 200 or so hours that are all documented that give us another um uh High uh certification so I'll get that here and I'll share that with you guys too so Cooper and myself will be the two officers Dr Long asked that all of our officers eventually have that so with that being said it takes time you know I I've got 23 24 years of experience Cooper's almost at 15 we've have another officer that's at 10 or 12 he'll be the next one so it takes around five to eight five to eight years to accumulate those hours in order to to reach that certification so hopefully by the end of this year we'll have um we'll have another our contacts so contacts meaning um what we usually do on a on a normal basis and so this shows that wow you know sro's are doing traffic more than they're doing anything that that's not true um but it is a big piece of of what we do so in the morning you guys obviously know that logistically speaking this is an absolute nightmare uh from 7 to 7:30 with uh three schools merging and starting school so we're out there with the help of the the new light um hopefully that in itself will take care of it take care of itself and will allow the officer that usually sits there to be inside the school so that's my goal of hopefully getting more people in the schools from 700 to 7:30 where we have thousands of students in limited um um supervision so um those are the hours that that we that we go per month in um in traffic control um this also is football games basketball games anything else that that we have going on at the high school and in the summertime when we have all kinds of uh large events um at the bottom um the guest speaking uh guest speaking is always a little bit higher in the beginning of the year just that's when teachers are are more apt to ask us to come in and talk to their classes and for whatever reason we send out every single year to all the teachers hey please use us if there's a topic you want us to come in and talk about um and we only get we probably get three to four responses um and I don't know I don't know why but we offer it every single year our guys do a good job of when they're in the building going in the classrooms talking to to kids and so some of these hours aren't fully documented but um our our guys do a really good job of of of talking to kids we're in there talking to separate different teams um and so that's pretty much based off of whether or not a teacher is willing to reach out and ask for help um or ask for our assistance and so um student uh student mentoring um I don't think you can put an hour these are um all documented so if we have a student that comes in um and requests to talk to a police officer or an SRO that's what those excuse me that's what those numbers are that doesn't mean every time that we stop and talk to a kid in the hallway or we ask a kid how their day is or if they're crying and they want to talk because they don't feel comfortable talking to their um to their counselor or to their teacher or any other adult for that matter um we we have uh multiple hours in a day that we're we're constantly talking to kids playing um kickball dodgeball whatever the case may be and it just builds that that Rapport and bridges that Gap um but un un fortunately those are statistics that are are tough to put a number on and so I don't want you guys to think like oh man that's that's that's pretty small especially in the month of April and March but those are always tough because it's it's spring break and kids are a little bit Rowdy and they're ready to go home um rather than talk to the police yes sir it's National Practitioner National that's it right there um and so I'll get you guys the definition of what that entitles and what those hours are so you kind of see like what what it is that I was talking about but it's kind of a big deal in the nasro world um and um hopefully we'll have at least three of our seven officers that have that um the the information is based off right here just traffic control takes up a majority of that hopefully this year we can go ahead and start um kind of diving into that and lowering that number so we can get our officers in the building uh more so uh before and after school and next on the agenda one question yes sir didn't you guys have some kind of training in this past year at one of our elementaries yes thank you for bringing that up so that is goes back to our our slide of um of active shooter and so uh our active shooter training we have uh um a class that we take there is an online class that we take so it's about 16 hours and then this year U myself and U and chief price from Clark Pleasant decided to get together and um we've been doing it for the last this is our third year where we kind of collaborated together and this year we brought it to Center Grove and so we had it um in early June and we used uh Maple Grove and so we had the whole building and we brought in fire um several different agencies um from Greenwood to Johnson County to Bargersville um you name it everyone in Johnson County was there and we also had several other school districts um that are within our you know 30 mile radius and so it was a a very big training it was three Mike three days or it was three days it was one day of inclass training two of of training and then third day was scenario based and so we were able ble to run that scenario base with all the police officers and with fire so um very successful um and what I'm learning is the more that we do this the more that um we're a lot different than other other places because a um and Mike can contested this fire and police don't usually get together um and with and and not only that they don't communicate very well so when all when they get on the scene fire does one thing police does the other then all of a sudden we're sitting talking Monday Morning Quarterback and wondering how we can do things better well we've already eliminated all that my relationship with with Mike with Chief pel and and uh Chief Funkhouser um we go above and beyond we meet several times a year um our training is with police and fire and so we knock this one out of the park and next year uh other people are starting to get on board and wanting it at their school so I think next year it's going to be at Franklin selfishly we want it at our school again because it's it's good publicity but um we actually enjoy like um working with with our fire and other police departments and so it's not like that in other parts of the country so thanks for bringing that up but that that was a huge piece that took probably six months to to coordinate and yeah I'm forced to work with this guy though but he's you know he's not bad yeah and you see it on in football games and and everything everything that we do it's always police and fire and so that's one thing that Chief pel and I really wanted to work on when we first met and so um we have the same vision and with him being a reserved police officer he sees our lens um and we see theirs as well they just get to kind of hang out on a lazy boy chair a little bit more than we do but I had to throw that in mic so that relationship you were building yeah yeah it's just right here I we we excuse me we yeah yeah we share we share a building right so uh they're great they're great cooks and um so yeah it's it's fun we we all get along very well so we kind of throw a couple Jabs here and there oh from yeah that that will continue so um with our partnership with with Motorola and ERS um Motorola brings in um a lot of different clientele which is good for us but we've got I think another one coming with the f FBI we have a few downtown um in Indie um impd is coming and um I think Purdue is coming back as well so um go bers is that 247 yet no sir it's it's still what's the fire department's 247 yes but but police we we shut down around 10 is when our last uh Sr or SSO leaves and he's only there for pretty much monitoring the buildings in taking phone calls in case of um burglary alarms or or fire alarms so uh yeah lind's usually in the building around 6:45 so we'll have to give you a tour as well if you haven't been oh there you go then it well come on K your husband's been there yes that is there might be a game or two Sor Oh no you're good any other questions so Joe and I um had the opportunity to um go to a uh a Safety and Security um Forum um in Texas um ncs4 and so uh pretty much what they are I and I actually went to the conference uh this this summer in Phoenix and there was about a thousand people at this conference is one of the largest Safety and Security conferences and I got to meet a lot of people that are way above my pay grade and the things that they do so for instance I met with at my table um I had a um chief of police for Michigan State I had um director of Safety and Security for for Wisconsin and I had a gentleman that was from um from Europe and he was from Denmark and he was in charge of all of the the soccer Fifa uh games and so I didn't realize how crazy that was but to coordinate security and safety for all of the the venues that they have for FIFA and I don't know if you've ever been over in Europe and been to uh a game in Europe it's absolutely chaos like the things that they're allowed to bring into the stadium the noise that they're allowed to make um and the things that they say and do um is absolutely crazy and so to have the the security background that he had the stories that he was sharing with us was unbelievable so we we made friends and and exchanged information just so we can do a better job at what we do but um in a nutshell just um the it's the best practice is what what we're at right now just trying to figure out what other universities are doing what other school districts are doing um and what what other large venues are doing like the Pacers and the Colts and so um again it takes takes away people's freedom um it's a little bit inconvenient but it also allows the safety of of the players the coaches um and then the people that are in the building watching the game and paying the the top dollar that they're paying to to watch a game without having some crazy person threatening them with a knife or a gun or anything like that so um and and so we both had a opportunity to go to the one earlier in the year in Texas and Joe and I kind of um just came back and figured out what can we do bring away from that that would help us um do a better job at what we do and make it a safer environment for for our football games and our basketball games so we're going to start a little slow and then eventually start building up in and adding them to other other events but I'll let Joe kind of take over from here thanks yeah no problem so some of the things that we talked about when we were at The Forum which not only did best practice for other districts in in the United States but also they did improvements and we were part of that process of giving our giving our improvements of what they want to do as best practice so on that you know we looked at what's our biggest concern our biggest event time up yeah I think the HDMI y so I guess evacuation play right now on us a we just wanted you to get up see if you still have it so uh some of the things we talked about at the safety Forum was if we had an emergency whether that be weather related or weapon related we got to evacuate quickly so our biggest event that we have right now is football so that's kind of been more of an emphasis especially with us walking in football season at home next week so if we had to evacuate the field with something and it could be something like a extreme storm what do what what's the safest way to do that without getting chaos more than what's already happening and um so one of the things we look at are where's everybody sitting where's the mapping of this where's our restrictions where's the lack of restrictions and so we we have a later slide revamping that uh large bags coming in what's coming in those large bags what's going out in those large bags what are the people bringing that was a huge emphasis amongst many districts in the United States and you know when we go to other places there are bag restrictions when we go to state championships there are bag restrictions so what are do they have what do we have and we want to try and make it um reasonable based on what we see and some of the some of the information we have We Gather from other districts we go to on a regular basis as well and then uh there's a lack of supervision not necessarily by our staff members or our workers but if you've been to some of our events there there can be a chaotic number of young people running around not just having fun but just everywhere and horse playing that can cause possible issues as well I remember last year we had a pretty hot game week two and we had multiple security runs while some of those kids were getting in the way of our medical personnel trying to treat people that have collapsed or whatever may have happened due to these heat concerns so one of the things we we upgraded the map a little bit and we wanted to put a focus on where are people coming in because if someone sees an open gate they like to just come in no matter if there's a ticket taker there or not if there's security there or not and they try to walk through so when we send out this information to our opponents we're going to reemphasize where our parking is our general parking which is still in the north lot as well as the East lot for our general population but one thing that was uh really happening a lot more was down that Southeast corner by the tennis courts people would park there or by the baseball diamonds and fans would walk in while when fans walk in that way they get into the track and field area because there's no entrance to the visor bleachers there and to get to our home bleachers you have to walk through the field to get to the home bleachers so we want to really make that a lot more secure and really emphasize don't don't come into that area we have uh attendants at everywhere on the North side on the northeast Northwest we also have them on the southwest corner so pushing out that information through multiple sources which we'll talk about in a little bit too will help them know where to go in and eliminate that Southeast fan access so another thing we have when we talk about the inside of the football inside the fence and we have an evacuation route so let's say um we have a storm or we have a gunman or we have a weapon or or emergency in evacuation piece well we want to make sure that our participants our coaches and our staff members are getting to the appropriate area and their appropriate area for safety is the locker room so the way it was and if you've been to our field you've seen some of the movement already occurring the way it was you would have to go through a South set of bleachers which um can cause people to have to detour or other people are in that area so this year we're going to seclude those South set of bleachers we pulled one outside of the fence the other one stayed inside and we're going to continue to allow our ninth grade football team who's part of the event to be inside there and then a lot of the people that were staff members and coaches families that were in that South area were going to reserve the north side for them so they still have a great view of the field like they were they'll still be in the same location and they'll actually be next to the band supporting some of our other student athlete or students that are part of our event um if there's an overflow issue there's a bleacher section by the Duke Pavilion um but what that does it allows all those other people that are were inside of our parameters of the field to now have Evac evacuation routes through the Northeast Northwest and through the southwest corners to get them safely out so when we're trying to run those players down the Southside we're not also trying to Coral other people that who we don't know we separating kids from parents and so forth also we'll have uh if you see on there we have a home home visitor passes areas designated we're going to do more of a pass safety which I believe happened a lot more during covid or obviously in state tournaments when we go to Lucas Oil we can't have everybody that was on the sideline so we're going to mimic a lot of that which is very common a lot of our opponents do already it's not something new it's just a little bit more inconvenient for us to tidy that up these are some of the policies that we've already had in place and we're going to continue to display those and continue to promote you know no tobacco no alcohol outside food or drink uh the pets and then also out outdoor sports equipment was something new for us last year I don't know how many times anyone that has been a fan that was either in the bleachers or standing by a fence watching a game and you almost get hit by that random football or that random baseball or whatever it may tennis ball that is that the kids are playing with I don't want to discourage kids from being active in playing but I also want a safe atmosphere for our fans we don't want someone randomly getting hit in the head with a ball then we have to go um treat them in the middle of something else going on so last year we had that up we had signage up we had information out and it it reduced very quickly there's not a lot of complaints people understand we want a safe environment and and the kids still have places to move around and do things at the game before just without that I assume we put this out that this also holds true for parking lots we uh this is inside the Gate of what we have so the parking lots we've have gone out to if there's an issue with something if someone reports we had some issue haven't we uh I Mee as far as fights or liquor um that's a good question I I we haven't had any arrest um I think we've had some some people that have been unruly that we've asked to go away but we um yeah we we haven't had any like alcohol bottles left or anything like that from the tailgating and so they do they usually do a fairly good job of that but um to be honest most of our guys not most but all of our guys are already inside the venue so it's the the parking lot is more of a reactionary thing just because we're usually um we have probably five or six officers that are working and because of the amount of people that are coming in focus our focus is inside I guess my question then re asking is are we sending this out to the community that that's not acceptable yeah I I would assume that this information is going out on social media parent squ can answer or not you're ahead of our slides yeah yeah can I ask a clarifying question is this appable to Outdoor sporting events Talking Football the well these are what we try to enforce at all over outdoor events I know that some of them are not restricted by the gates that people are exposed a little bit differently but yeah if we see at a tennis match kids are over there throwing a ball around guilty of bringing my dog to the ten matches so I want to be and that's that's a little bit diff that's a little bit different though you know because you're still technically like that's like walking your dog along the the path right so I mean and I I see people doing that in the evenings right so if you just happen to be walking your dog and you're watching the tennis game from outside that's that's a little bit different inside correct yeah more like service yeah service pet yeah yeah you have to have your item identification and um your certification too the next slide is something that's a little bit newer well is newer to us at home not new to us on the road is clear bags so this is where uh examples were given from multiple venues we go to and then also discussed when we went to our Forum with the clear bag procedures 12 in x 12 in by 6 inches deep is what is very very common we do have the small clutches which are not clear those are I don't know if anyone here has one today but it's yep right there so small clutches those are acceptable those are allowed it's more the big cluttery giant bags that people bring in um and then there's also plastic storage bags many of the places yeah like that many of the places we have even put on there like plastic Ziploc bags because they're clear bags and they still fit what the people need in there so this will be something that's new that you know the officers are already well versed at the gates to help educate the people as they come in we are sending out information which we'll cover in a slide here in a moment of how to get this information to everyone as well as sending it out to our opponents when they come with their fans I don't know if there's you so it would be a few upset people at first of either a they didn't see the email or any of the um the information that went out which we've been putting that out so um and we'll just ask them to go back to their car and place their their bag and come in so it's a game you know for the first three home games it's going to be warm and then the last three will be cold so you're going to have someone bringing in water uh in the first part and then bringing in the blanket in the second part so if it's in your your bag and we're not going to go and search through every single bag but if it looks suspicious or if it looks like there's a little bit too much stuff we'll ask them to to empty the contents and so we don't want to hold up the line um but we just want to make sure that people understand that hey safety is is a is a big issue um and there's certain things you shouldn't be bringing into a football game so that's our main goal so how are we getting this communication out so I have an athletic newsletter that goes out every Monday for the last two weeks weeks the clear bag I know has been in it and last week had the other reminder slides with everything else not to bring to an event or prohibited we also I sent out a staff email to the high school staff on Tuesday of this week letting them know some of the new things going on so they're aware and they can prepare for it also letting them know about the seating areas if they wanted to attend the first football game just so that they can plan ahead on on where to come in what what the policy is making sure that they have their tags or their staff back badges that's how they're going to be able to get access and then Mrs Conrad has gone through with the district employee newsletter and she's sending out the information as well to all the District employees but we have districtwide flyers and then I will be posting continually on social media and adding that as we get closer to our game you know when we do those game day announcements or weekly reminders of games that's a good time to start putting that because people are looking like oh who's playing on this day well then after that I can throw on that other slide and do reminders all the way through the week you know the biggest the big one and I I don't want to single out football as an only sport it's just our biggest event so football is something that is going to be a little bit more popular people watching next week so next week will be very impactful on adding more and more communication out to this the first time ever I don't have kid schools okay so all of a sudden allun proba lot of people hopefully they're following my social media and they'll see my Graphics that's a way to reach some of the others that don't because there's a lot of people come to our games that don't have kids in our schools and I want more of them to come but um we I just don't know another way of reaching it other than the newsletters and the social media posts and this sitting out told the athletic boosters to buy some CG bredle bags sell it may have been mentioned at some point but I don't think that's I heard I heard that tennis may need a fundraiser I think it might beis while you two are standing there I would like to give kudos to both of you you know I've been here long enough uh to see how the police department has grown from where we started with one officer to where you have taken it now uh and children feeling safer and the community feeling safer heaven forbid anything ever happens and Joe uh boy what you've done for the athletic department with the challenges you've had has been pretty fantastic the the sports app makes it so much easier especially loading when the games are onto our calendar uh now that it's working um but the communication that you have and I'm hearing good things from parents in the different sports areas and so forth so kudos to both of you yes and Katie and Janie they without them we would be where we are get I know got to give them their their pce too is there any other questions you guys have thank you comments keep it up guys thanks all right appreciate it thank you Mr Russell I thought you were gonna say it's the first time we've had our athletic director and our chief of police work on Game Day safety and I think that's something that's really important too to show that you know this isn't just one person's idea this is a an effort and we intentionally sent them to a really an extracurricular activity safety because feel like we do a pretty good job during the school day inside the school and one of the areas that we wanted to improve on was the um was the extracurricular after school stuff and they came back and I told them when if I if we send you you got to come back and make a presentation make a recommendation so they did that it's starting to recognize what department you probably ought to have working together sure instead of as indivual departments doing their reports they ought to be getting together because they do have conjoined situations so or we just real quick too um before it was just football games where we had security right and then it kind of leaked over to basketball and we would have one officer and those were and those were just having to be two boy sports right so when Joe came over we we were trying to work and figure out how we could get more security at other events right like baseball girls soccer softball and I think this this past year we've had a security officer not at every single game but at a majority of of the games um prior to them going into sectionals and so our guys have done a really good job of of um just there's a list and they'll work a few games here or there um and we saved money uh the a money for the way that Dr long has allowed us to do it so um so I think parents are starting to see that presence bad thing is is now it's expected right so those are things that we have to continue to work on um and make sure that it's it's it's always there that there is a presence because people do feel safe that way but that that's that's all on this guy right here so we U oh yeah yeah parents are crazy thank you thank you all right I have the next part um we'll go through some of the discipline reports that that uh that we make uh go ahead so you'll see the incidents by type and level and if you'll notice again our Deans and and Lind dver did a great job to make sure that we don't have um everybody's favorite other uh as a as a yeah so um we've taken care of that I went through Lynn tallied all this I went through just so you have an idea of what went up or what what's gone down from last year uh so that's what the arrows are um I think one one of the notes that I'd like to make is we've seen an increase in aggressive behavior at the high school disruptive behavior and inappropriate acts uh those have have increased by by quite a few at the middle school we've seen an increase in fighting and verbal aggression profanity Defiance and in the elementary um uh in in really just Defiance and if you look at the elementary numbers the the the discipline has gone down in almost every other category than than the three that have the red arrows and I think I we can attribute that to our uh assistant principles and our counselors and our social workers that have worked really hard uh with our kids we we talk about restorative practices and um and our teachers and administrators have bought into that in the elementary and I think it's really showing off uh showing u based on the information that we have here so was really pleased with that our attendance numbers if you notice that were were down at every level both I mean at the elementary middle and high school so we're really proud of that and again that's due to the hard work of the APS uh at the elementaries and our Deans and at the middle school and high school they do a nice job um I think we still have some ways to go we're we're going to talk a little bit about um our climate you know we heard when we were interviewing uh board candidates and most of the people talked about one of the things they'd like to see us improve was the climate in the buildings and we've made that a point with our principles and uh we'll continue to work on that and see if we can't get better uh there go ahead so our in school suspensions um those really stayed roughly the same uh not a big increase for any of those areas um we did increase in ISS a little bit um uh in OSS we increased just a little bit in high school and middle school and decreased in uh the elementary schools we've tried really hard to find alternatives to an out of school suspension we know that kids don't learn when they're not in school and so uh again the the work that the counselors and social workers are doing with restorative practices and trying to find a way to keep our kids in school and hopefully we'll continue to see these numbers go down but um sometimes you just have you know we have to suspend a student but you know our our first objective is to try to keep them in school this just breaks it out in a different chart I I won't go through all those you you saw that earlier it's just a different way to look at that go ahead there's Middle School go ahead Elementary is again um you know Defiance is is is big and you know we're we really need to continue to work on that and I think this is good data uh Christy Berger and I talked today this is great data to take to our counselors and data to take to our uh APS and Deans and say here are our numbers what what do you think are the reasons why we're doing this and we have several years uh worth of numbers and it'll give them data to to chew on and then to come up with a plan to to try to help eliminate these or at least reduce them we're not going to eliminate them but go ahead so expulsions um we've done a nice job I think of trying to keep kids in again you know if you look you can see the first column on for each level is where we were last year um we did 29 expulsions last year at the High school and we were 26 uh this year and you can see the the big number of increase in alternatives to expulsion uh and I think that's a a credit to again to the Deans who have tried to figure out ways to keep kids in a lot of times the expulsions out of the 26 that you see um are sometimes kids that we put back in as an alternative to expulsion under a behavior contract and they violate that and so um you know we understand sometime we at least have given the the kids and the parents an opportunity to to come back to school and try to follow the rules and do what we expect them to do and and sometimes they they just can't do that and we end up expelling them but our elementary numbers are good you know our our goal is to never suspend I mean expel an elementary student sometimes that's hard also depending on what they've done but um you can see we we've reduced that go ahead so you know we have the anonymous reporting uh it's funny these numbers almost stayed identical um we had a few more in safety than we've had in the past but most of them are are General tips I think that that means we're getting the word out uh we we've gotten some really good valuable information from the information that has been submitted anonymously and um our principls do a good job you know they get the re they get the the notification that a report's been made if they don't respond within so much time I get that that notification too and I think chrisy does now but if they don't respond in so much time they get a reminder notification that you got an anonymous report you need to take action on it and then once they take action on it I get another notification and chrisy gets one that says they've taken action and we can see what that action is so this has been really good for us and I think you know we'll continue to see that grow I think that was it for me that's any questions I like that you're getting notices there's a time frame that they need to report back sure and I you know sometimes it just it comes through on their email and they may not not be checking it and what I'll do and I know chrisy does too is like hey you might want to check your email you got a got an alert and and then they get right on it and so they' they've done a pretty good job how the communication right and Christie will be giv this report next year I'm [Laughter] just okay thank you okay we have student performance data and I believe Dr simmers is going to talk to us about that yes so can you hear me I think I had this on correctly right okay so Madame President and members of the board I appreciate um being given the opportunity to kind of give you a highlevel overview of the District student performance data for 2024 so um this evening I really want to uh talk with you about this several things on the slides here I want to talk to you about academic goals that we have for Center Grove uh give you a little bit of an update of what testing is going to look like in our schools over the next couple of years look at some comparative data um including I read I learn and SAT scores I also threw in some graduation rates for you to take a look at and then um follow up or uh finalize with some peer School data um in Johnson County and then um looking at some comparative data of districts that would be similar to our demographics and size so obviously our goal here in Center Grove is to focus on supporting and enhancing an effective system for learning to meet all students academic needs I don't think any of us would argue that that that's the overarching PRI priority that we have for our students um when we think about offering them excellent um educational experiences when we think about how are we going to measure that we talk a lot about success criteria or key performance indicators so what is the data that we're going to track over time to ensure that we are actually making progress towards that goal so some of the things we look at are I learn passing percentages obviously we're taking a look at our I three data we're looking at our graduation rates our SAT scores um something that we're really taking a look at are those essential learning Mastery percentages so we've identified standards or essential learning um skills at every grade level and we have Assessments in place to measure progress and Mastery of those skills so it's important for us to take a look at those as well um and obviously we're also looking at achievement Gap data so when we think about the overall uh performance of our students how our subgroups of students performing and are there gaps in areas we really need to hone in and focus on those gaps include special education our high ability students we need to make sure that we're growing all Learners um our English language Learners that's a population of students that has grown dramatically in the district over the last few years and then we're taking a look at our students who are economically disadvantaged so those students um with high poverty rates we have three schools that we've identified as tital one schools for this year so just to give you a brief overview of Some Testing changes in Indiana that will impact our students moving forward uh with I learn in grades three through eight we do have new academic standards that were revised in 2020 um and then there was the legislative reduction of those Indiana academic standards in 2023 where um we were given information um from the Department of Education about those essential skills that would be um found on I learn and that we would want to ensure that our students were mastering those essential learnings or those essential skills within those grade levels content areas um we are expected to be um implementing those standards as part of our curriculum so when we bring our curriculum collaborators together and we take a look at what our curriculum looks like that scope and sequence as students transition from one grade level to the next we're using these standards in that blueprint to really map out our curriculum and ensure that our resources are aligned to that in 2024 uh we have the I learn summi of is going to reflect those um Indiana academic standards um we will be here in Center Grove piloting what is referred to as the checkpoints in grades four six seven and eight so that is something that um Shannon is um spearheading for the district as we prepare to um have our students take those checkpoints this year then in 2025 we'll have the redesign of the through through the year format where all students in grades 3 through eight we will be participating in those three checkpoints plus the summative at the end run the spring in grades 3 through eight so that's just a little bit of what to expect we will be communicating with families of students in grades four and at the middle school that your students will be participating in the checkpoint pilot with I three the district did opt in 23 and 24 to have second grade students um participate in I3 um testing so we have some of that data just know moving forward in 2025 it is an exp expectation that all students across the state in second grade will be taking um the I read so just a little bit of what to expect when we think about those State tests again just to share with you here's some comparative data I'm going to share with you um these are the areas that I'm going to focus in on here on the next few slides so taking a look at our IE data lots of celebrations here I want to make sure that taking a look at my notes and I'm trying to hit the highlights here um obviously overall we did see an increase in the percentage of students um successfully passing I from 23 to 24 uh we did have two schools that reached our goal of 95% um we also had five of the six elementary schools achieve passing percentages that were at or above 90% so those are some things to celebrate um you can see that and looking at our second grade scores we aren't satisfied with that dip from 66 to 58 we'll need to take to dive in and really take a look at that data to have a better picture of why we think that might have occurred um when we compare that data to the state data obviously we're um satisfied that we're performing above those State averages however it will be interesting to see what this data looks like a year from now knowing that all students in the state will be taking I at the second grade um what I would share with you and looking at this data having been here for about 45 days is that um we know that there's still work to be done to improve um The Learning experiences and opportunities of our students um so we are really honing in on taking a look at um who these students are those subgroups of students looking at remediation looking at interventions making sure that we have solid interv research-based interventions in place and that we're progress monitoring to move those students along Based on data um some other things that we are do yeah thir sure when I look at at the second grade 2023 we had 66% pass correct and then they third graders 2024 it's 92.5 the 66 doesn't take it again right that's correct the 66 who pass do not have to take it in third grade so when we look at the number of students that were uh ad we administered the test to in 2024 we were looking at that 34% getting them over the bar25 yeah for those that most most the goal would be all correct but we're going to keep working at it that's correct you are correct so when we look at that 58% those 58 that 50% 58% will not take the test in third grade correct correct no worries St hasain there is legislation that is specific to that that is correct it h it has passed it did pass so we've had some long strong talks with the state superintend sure told you can't do that to us without giv us money in Heth starting in preschool at least kindergarten first grade I think you're hitting you're hitting the target early intervention versus waiting until third grade to say oh we've got a we've got some challenges here missed all those have done correct so we're fting we'll see where it in looking at this data also to answer some of your questions about how are we addressing some of those learning challenges um for the past couple of years we have implemented the University of Florida literacy initiative which is a research evidence-based program to address phonics instruction it's very explicit um and systemic and when we look at that transition to the science of reading we need to ensure that we are instructing in the five components of reading in a very structured explicit manner so those will be areas that our principles and our instructional coaches and our teachers will be focusing on at the elementary level um some other things will be targeting that instruction for those third grade students who didn't pass the second graders again making sure that they're receiving intentional instruction um in those five components and I would also um Advocate that utilizing our PLC model and ensuring that we are having high quality conversations of uh with the use of data about student learning will help us Target and be purposeful and intentional about that instruction so moving on to some I learn data what you're taking a look at here are the passing percentages of students at that grade level this includes both English language arts and math so um as I review this data or we start to dive in and dig dig into this data I think a word that comes to mind is in it's inconsistent so if we look at The District's performance and I learn it's just inconsistent over time so while there are pockets of successes um we also recognize that there's room for improvement um um highlights include that the district does consistently perform above or well above the state average and and all grade levels um we see growth in passing percentages at some grade levels while we also see others drop over time um I'm going to show you in the next slide um I'll go ahead and let you cross over a good um measure of looking at data is looking at cohort data so I wanted to highlight that when when we're looking at iearn data what we would hope to see is that cohorts of students um increase or grow from year to year and so when I go back to that word of inconsistent you can see that our third grade students in 2021 had a passing percentage of 51.8 those same students in fourth grade were at 57.4 so we celebrate that but look what happens in fifth grade now we're at 51.5 and in sixth grade we recover a little bit at 52.5 so looking at cohort data uh or groups of students is also extremely important and and while this is English language arts combined um I would also Advocate that we need to be looking at cohort data by um specific content Area English language arts and math and we also need to be looking at that cohort data specific to those subgroups of students so this is a high level overview just giving you that 20,000 foot view knowing that our work is really in digging and and diving into the data so that we can take a look at where we're needing to improve instruction to help our students be successful um any questions about that I appreciate the fact that you're looking at that data based on cohorts on a year-over-year basis that is I think key to maybe unlocking some of the issues that that we see back in the back in the third grade and again utilizing our PLC process will be critical because this is where our teachers and our administrators and we as Leaders need to be diving into the data um and looking at the story that it's telling us so that we can improve teaching and learning and ensure that there's effective teaching happening in every classroom we have some sat data here um again you can see that the district's passing percentages are well above the state's average however you can see also see that we fell a few percentage points in math so again trying to dig into that data to determine what happened there from 23 to 24 will be important um also know that the SAT is only one option of meeting graduation require graduation requirements as they currently stand obviously we will be getting further guidance um from the Department of Education reflective of the new GPS diploma and what that means for our students moving forward so again just giving you a 20,000 foot view here of our SAT data when do we expect guidance on on the new diploma I saw a clip on the news yesterday where it sounds like they're sending it back to a study group so the second draft was released yesterday um from the State Board of Education uh the communication that Dr long and I have received unless you've received anything differently is that there will be public input and comment again um before they finalize it does look like they landed on one diploma track is that what they were one Bas one base diploma and then there will be diploma seals not exactly sure what that looks and sounds like for us just yet do do we understand I I don't know this maybe this is a question for everybody at the table do we understand the problem they were trying to solve Workforce Workforce Workforce so yes correct chrh sorry well thank you I should told me that before she has a voice I know I am kind of loud but um so cicp is tied in with a lot of that through Ascend and through bio Crossroads and so we've been looking that there is a big Workforce shortage coming in all different areas and one of the ways they want to try to address that is have people at a younger age that are Workforce ready so one of the things that they're looking at across all these different groups and Richard and Fairbanks Foundation has put a lot of money behind it is to think about how there could be work-based learning and how students could get credit like high school credit for those work-based experiences versus Maybe taking like I don't know European art history or something like that so that's what they're trying to solve as as I understand it that's what I've been told you are correct yeah it's yeah it is kind of companies wishing a lot of things were taught at school high school level so they're not having to do it at at the companies I mean that's that's kind of the bottom line thing there we're still getting lot one side we're still getting a lot of feedback about the soft skills that students are lacking so that is intended to address some of those pieces and components too when you think about the portrait of a graduate I just had a a presidents meeting with isba presidents and uh board presidents uh a lot of them we all kind of came to conclusion one of the things I think we're seeing is you're not having as many students working like used to now what the data is I can't recite that but we know in our own Community you don't have as many students working because we have young adults needing those jobs now and doing those so they are you got kids that get all the way through high school all the way through college with hardly a work experience and then they go to this important interview yeah so that's one side of why they're kind of pushing for some of this you know start happening sooner uh it's kind of going back to what we used to do so to speak it's just got to be worked out on how because we are a community where we could do a lot of those paths those work you know we could find if you know somebody who wants to be a dancer we'll be able to find their pathway for in the Center Grove Community one of the presidents I talked with the other day his entire school is 1,113 Ka through 12 they are not going to have the availability of Pathways in that type of area so it that's what's battling right now is how are we gonna you know how's it going to be Equitable across the state I'll move on to some graduation data so just to share with you um again over a period of about five years you can see that um Center Grove High School has worked diligently to um increase their graduation rate so that's something to celebrate and we'll continue to keep our eye on that um data point as well and then just to share with you some comparative data of Johnson County you can see here uh in comparison 23 to 24 how Center Grove is performing relative to other districts in the county and then the last bit of comparative data I wanted to share with you is our peer ranking so there's really a couple of things on the slide here on the right hand side you will see the percentage of proficiency for like districts so when I talk about like districts talking about districts where whose demographics and size would be similar to ours um that's their percentage of ela and math in grades three through eight so it's a combined percentage so you can see that we are performing extremely well in comparison again still room for improvement I think we would all argue there's room for improvement um that percentage or that data and information then is used to rank schools so when I look at the left hand side what you're seeing there are those comparative school districts relative to their ranking we are the dotted red line so when I look at this graph what stands out to me well I see that blue line at the top that goes clear across at the top at number one so that's Brownsburg and we can see their their data and they're passing percentage um I can see a green line there that shows they've moved from what appears to be down in the 75th let me pull up some data here I don't have this committed to memory I see a green line that's moved from about 76 and then has jumped in about five years to eight if you can see that green line that I'm referring to I'm interested to know what's taking place there right they've moved from 75th to 8th that's dunland I was going to ask you that question so yeah that's dunland I can't speak to what's happening there but then I also noticed the B the one at the bottom that looks like it's at about 105 which is actually a 102 dips down even further and then is all the way back up to 35 I can speak to that District because that's a district that I worked in for 10 years so I know the work that happened from 21 to 24 and that's the work that I hope to bring here to Center Grove as we look to improve improve the teaching and learning opportunities that we've have for students we have our ranking has been 19 for the last three years I'm sorry 19 for the last three years other questions for me I I think I don't know so much as a question as it is I think it's the same comment I make about this slide every year um that I see it while we are doing well and those are those are things to celebrate we we don't seem to be moving that red dotted line from comparative to the schools that have been consistently above us so I think we need to begin to move that needle however however that looks or however that is but we need to begin to move that needle we've been pretty stagnant for several years compared to the other schools so that's your challenge perfect no surprises ex I agree with you the lines that jump up is because of the work that gets done it is I'm just going to say it out loud I'm suspect to Brownsburg straight line I'm just suspect to that fair enough I think you throw I think you throw that outlier out because I think we all know yeah how that's how that's achieved I think we've all agreed that that's not the necessarily the route for us but but we can improve our line with the right work being done schools that are showing growth those are the schools that we need to find a way to show growth because we've not we right like we said we've been really Flatline but not like straight yeah we are we are about the entire student whether it's work the consistency is also important given the shift in demographics so we are we are remaining consistent as subgroups of students have increased over time but to your point then how do we grow them more so that we have greater numbers of students passing I can tell you with our I data just real quickly that our English as a lang second language students or elll learn Learners are doing well we're not seeing that same growth in IE data with our special education subgroup so I know that those are conversations that we're having right now and then I'm not discounting scores absolutely because we have to have some absolutely accountability but we have to also remember that we're more some kids that are never going to do that but we still have to figure out a way to get those kids ready to leave here have successful lives of whatever they do I had one of those terrible test taker yep went to college for two years wasn't bad just wasn't for him and is succeeding in life I wish that there you know maybe was something else for him I do think as we look at success criteria it will be important to not only look at these standardized measures of scores but what are some other key performance indicators when we talk about the whole experience of an education here in Center Grove how else can we track that that gives some sort of dat data over time that speaks to to the experiences of our students as well yeah I have one of those students as well y challeng absolutely totally understood challenge is still there I understood it for what it was thank you thank you you can't go as far up to Southwest that's right we'll be very work on it okay up next we have public comment we do have one charity Flores and we just ask that you state your name and your address group affiliation if any and limit your comments to three minutes please um I'm Dr Charity Flores and my address you need okay 2927 Coventry Lane in Greenwood good evening board I'm Dr Charity Flores parent of two Center growth Sons an educator and researcher I have commments about two topics this evening student performance and the employability skills survey in regards to iearn data as you were all just speaking about I am concerned that specific student populations are unfortunately slipping through the cracks and not receiving the targeted conversations about support that are needed for example when looking at Center Grove's recent 2024 data that's publicly available only 23% of special education students are proficient in math for ELA this is even more dire only 17.6% of students are passing let me say again 17.6% of special education students are passing compared with 66% % of their general education peers this should be an alarm and a call to action a time to reflect and ask what we can do better to support our students and educator serving them we cannot be silent and accept that this is okay I've also heard antidotal stories from community members about the lack of supports and challenges with due process for some of this some of the student population these students are part of our Center grow family and I feel that they cannot be left behind secondly as a researcher it is not clear the purpose and use of the employability skills survey student surveys have been a volatile Topic in our community where several families opt out and some go so far as to remove their children from Center Grove based on some stories that I've received in recent conversations employability skills and secl are sometimes used interchangeably butal is a small portion of the grand scheme of those employability standards parents should clearly understand how student data will be used and protected from these surveys the key principle in research is ultimately to do no harm I welcome the board to thoughtfully consider the breadth of all of the employability standards and the protocol for research and next steps prior to approval previous information from the Attorney General's office cited discrepancies about prior survey use and some students being singled out also remember if fewer students participate then reliability of that data is also impacted and if the content doesn't reflect all of the standards then validity of that measurement tool is also impacted any activity for a student should be a valuable use of their time thank you thank you okay um up next we have consent items does anybody have any comment or discussion with any of the consent items on the agenda no do I have a motion Madam president I move that we approve the consent agenda as presented thank you Mr Alexander do I have a second I'll second thank you Mr Russell all those in favor signify by saying I I I any opposed motion passes 5 z um next up I believe is it chrisy burer is going to talk about the employability survey all right good evening we've been together a long time so I am here today to ask for a oh what I know nothing is what you're saying I know nothing of your past experience when I was last oh okay appreciate that it's been a busy day yeah I I like it yeah I appreciate it well I'm here today to request the approval of the employability skills assessment surveys for all of our students in grades K through 12 we did this last school year um we had shift previously we used Panorama which was a company that was some concerns with our um community so we switched to keep that internally we use a Google Document um for our students in grades 3 through 12 and in K2 our teachers do that assessment but we use this for a variety of things and I think um some of the information that was shared tonight is a perfect example why Dr Long talking about our discipline and our attendance data that is one data point that our team uses um when looking at the supports that we're providing for our students Dr simmer sharing about the soft skills the employability skills that are lacking um that our work force and business partners are asking us for in addition to um the GPS dashboard and knowing that um on that there are several um employability skills that we are to teach but within um the GPS specifically communication collaboration and work ethic and those are all a part of the questions that um we ask our students this is one opportunity that our students in grades three through 12 have student voice so we can guess how they're feeling we can guess if they're M mastering these skills or not um but we don't know until we ask them so this is one of those data points that we do have we do allow an opt out so um looking future istically we will send a message to all of our families in August at the end of August saying there's an opportunity to opt out here are the questions that we'll show in a second um and if you would like to opt your child out please let us know when we used Panorama that was around 400 to 500 students and that has dropped to under 100 since we've used our internal document so I think families felt a little bit more safe with that data so you can see here uh Tracy will pull up the different questions that are asked so again K2 um this is the teachers will assess on these three questions and so this really ties into um what we were talking about aggressive behavior that Defiance really being able to support so where is your student in the fall what are the supports that the counseling team our teachers our assistant principles our Deans can provide to support we know that our students need to be able to regulate their motions before they can learn and develop those employability skills the only change to this was uh teacher feedback last year we had the rating scale that 80% of the time 50% of the time and 20% of the time and they wanted us to add 60 and 40 they felt like 50 to 80 was a big jump and so they really wanted to make sure that they were um looking at that appropriately in grades three through five they do that during theal special rotation so it's during that time with their counselor we asked the questions below uh that really focus in on regulation and peer connection middle schools is a bit lengthier we do this during home room or connect and that's because it ties specifically to our um employability skills curriculum that we use called rville that was approved a couple years ago and we have crosswalked all of these questions to the employability skills that it supports so that's an internal document that our team uses to make sure when we're looking at this data if we're slow or if we're low in the area of seventh grade and collaboration what lessons can our counselors come in and provide to all students to support that and then High school isn't as lengthy um but is a little bit longer obviously than Elementary and they answer those questions as well again we allow that opportunity um for opt out for families who do not want to participate and the ways that we use this data um we use it as a tier one kind of uh what I'm trying to say schoolwide supports and so some data from last year that I can give you some examples was um for students in grades three through five one of the questions is I can use strategies to calm down when I'm upset which ties into um a lot of the things that Dr long was sharing 34% of our students said no that they can't do that and so we looked at that data as a counseling team we were intentional which grade levels was it third grade was it fifth grade we went in presented some additional lessons and when we did that again in the spring we saw that that dropped to 32% so 2% doesn't sound like a huge jump but that's about 50 kids so that is Improvement for our counseling team um middle school with using the rville curriculum in the fall they were asked I know how to regulate my emotions and 61% said that they could in the fall in the spring 63% said that they could so that's great 14% in the fall said they could not and in the spring 12% said that they could not so again we saw some improvement um but one of the things that I think is our highlights is when um for high school when you get upset do you use a healthy coping strategy so we know that we have seen an increase in substance use we've seen an increase in aggression and um violence towards other and we at the beginning of the year 23% of our students did not know healthy cop coping strategy so then our counseling team through star provides some opportunities to learn different coping strategies and we saw that drop to 20% um so that's kind of our tier one that's how we use that information we'll also use that information whatever the diplomas show how we need to show those specific skills um but deeper than that just like academics for our students who are not on track the counseling team the principal and parents if we see any kids that are not on track we look to see what kind of interventions they might need from our counseling team we get parent permission to do that so that might be one-on-one that might be small groups that might be some reteaching um but that really helps us to provide our instruction to them around data so that's all I have any questions for the surveys I just this may seem like a simplistic thing and you did uh mentioned it two or three times but we did have an issue with parents who opted out but yet students still got surveys how are we suring that the teachers will know who not to pass out so that was the fall of my first year three years are these surveys online or is it a piece of paper sure so that happened the fall of my first year back three years ago we've not had that incident since um but we for the elementary um the lists are given to the teachers now that give the survey to students students so they know which students not to take they have a posted on their Chromebook that says play a game or do something else so that they're not isolated for not doing we my next to is how do we not shun the students not taking it and it's the same at middle and high school and then for our K2 students um those teachers fill that out on what are called our PLC sheets and I go in and remove those kids' names from that list so they don't even have that kid to give um those questions for thanks for asking I'm sorry right so that is held through our Google um and the people that have access to that is your principal assistant principal and counselors and then obviously the K2 teachers they fill that out on their PLC sheet so that's secured for them um we have had several parents that have said hey I'd love to know what my kid responses were or how can I support them um so then obviously we we have shared that anytime they reach out we can provide that for them in addition yeah of course in addition if we're going to provide some additional support like a tier two or tier three support we're calling home to say hey this is what showed up these are the options we have would you like a small group would you like oneon-one or would you not like your child to participate and so we share that information at that time so good questions my observation on this is not great correct thank you okay any other comments thank thank you I know all right any other discussion no all right do I have a motion Madam president I move that we approve the employability skills survey as pres thank you Mr Alexander do I have a second thank you uh okay all those in favor signify by saying I I um any opposed motion passes 5- z um the announcements we have uh Labor Day no school September 2nd um our next executive session board meeting and good for the Grove is September 19th so we have to encourage some folks to come and talk to us on uh September 19th um other than that Jack do you have any um ending comments uh just want remind everybody remind everybody of the isba Fall conference uh September 23rd and 24th if at all you could attend it would be greatly appreciated uh it is the 75th year for isba but I don't know what it is for conference U and we have a big name what it's called Uh but they're always good to go to and as I've said before you get more out of talking to other board members in the hallway sometimes than you do the semin ours uh which which is a good thing you know so if you could make it at all that would be appreciated uh alumni friends uh packed up yearbooks yesterday from I was told 1980 through 2020

job all right than all right so then the first item is the pledge of allegiance to the flag pledge of 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 all right first item of business is to approve the previous meeting minuts any additions or corrections I move to approve second all in favor hi I okay old business there're being no old business we'll move on to new business first item is consider rision to board meeting locations this is U dates and locations that we came up with during our board retreat so I recommend the board approve the board meeting location there are two files on the drive is there a difference between them one says 20 24 25 the says 242 includes the Carnegie and one does not uh I think we deci we decided against it the board of the retreat decided against the carnegy so it's going to be 530 that's linked I think is the correct one that's Linked In the agenda one says 202 and 5:30 not 7 that was the the board decided they did not want to meet it that LE you a motion to approve that do I'll that second all in favor okay next item is to consider contract for business manager I worked with Steve and to Andrew on this and I recommend the board approve the employment agreement for Andrew Nicodemus as business manager so any discussion I entertain a motion I move approval second all in favor I thank you next item is to consider not for profit lease agreement uh this lease agreement is with uh the Crawford Redevelopment commission provides our Cooperative West Central CTE program use of approximately 50% of the building commonly known as the ivtech building um great opportunity so our CTE staff um the administrative staff has moved out to that building um we do have a couple courses out there and potential to grow this is shared between North Montgomery South Montgomery Western Bo and Crawford so would recomend men the board approved the not for-profit lease agreement so the relocate from the daily Cent well they have no they have been at Crawfordville High School okay so our West Central the special ed cooperatives at the daily Cent all right any discussion is there C that's what I was looking for there is not a Cause right now the mayor and the Crawford Jill RDC allowing us to um CTE program to use that it it it aligns very well with a lot of what the RDC and the mayor are trying to do to show that kind of we have a Career Academy and is Ivy teex footprint um shrinks it allows us this opportunity and if you haven't been out there it's a really nice campus I would make a motion to approve second all in favor all right next item is consider a CTE joint Services agreement this agreement provides access to programs and services for children no not right there so this is for our Career Tech um this allows us to provide excellent career opportunities for our students um this is with this is our agreement with North mcgomery South mcgomery Western Moon and Crawford Hill that we will have a Cooperative CTE program so I recommend the board approve this agreement any discussion hearing none I would entertain a motion I move approval second all in favor I so Tina in my notes where have students with disabilities that would be our West Central so okay all right moving on to uh budget uh yes so every year we do ask you guys permission to advertise um we do not have budget numbers yet we have our meeting tomorrow tomorrow with our consultant to go through those um so as those become available we will provide them to you uh we do have a deadline of September second to advertise um to be able to hit 10 days prior to the next board meeting so we do have that planned already on the calendar and we would just recommend that you approve us to the permission to advertise those budget numbers okay that's Pro Cut ride any discussion discuss motion to approve second all in favor I all right moving on consider Public Works project first [Music] item see I took my glasses off and how about a corporation B yes so including your board items are the quotes that we did receive for the purchase of a corporation Transit B uh this will be in use for our Technology Group um the selection did come down to desired specifications of what the different dealers could provide for us um um and we did make the the decision to ask for your approval to award the this purchase to dpatrick for does this replace a vehicle or this just uh this is kind of a swap deal to replace our current Tech vehicle with this Transit van and then the tech vehicle will go to transportation for the maintenance department all right any other discussion we p it's the new it's the old Eder it's now deep Patrick um we will be using the Lebanon location though they are the fleet dealer for the region sove second all in favor all right now Public Works project yeah so the first uh Public Works project we have for your approval is the Hoover entrance the Limestone entrance for the school um we did include those quotes that we received we um received two quotes or actually only one quote of the three that we requested uh blackly Corporation is the only one that came back to us with an actual quote so we do recommend that you approve this and award that contract to the black L Corporation what all needs to be done um they I didn't see it was underneath first if yeah if you go by hose or the or hose Hoover um the entry on the South Side um where students actually arrive so right in there you might see um some crumbling and some cracking um going on so we've bandid it so to speak uh currently but uh this would be to to take care of that repair so and with that we will also be doing all of the alternates as well because providing those alternates and doing that work provides the warrant for the whole area so that'll all be sealed then cuz I know the salt will be back up well in the I mean primary piece is actually above um the doors there too but um you drive by there's like a black dirt mesh or on there to kind of so you can kind of see where it goes necessary maintenance all right and there's not all lot that work with the the limestone repair so all right any further discussion make motion second all in [Music] favor Wilson playground fencing uh yes so this one is not included in your packs because we have not received all the quotes back from the vendors that we have asked for we did give them a pretty short turnaround so we are going to ask for a recommendation uh for the board to approve the management to award a contract to the lowest quote that comes in um up to a value of 15,000 so there is existing fencing around this is for the to the new toddler playround that does not have fencing and it has to be a special to f c yeah got you all right any other discussion a permission to go at the lowest bid up to 15K yes okay make a motion to approve second all favor I baseball BR ter M uh yes so include the last pack included with your board items are the quotes that we did receive to do the baseball drainage repair and maintenance for that field um it is much needed we had quite a few games that had to be rescheduled or moved to other locations due to rain um on that field so we would recommend that the board approve to award this contract to j& Turf big uh big spread between [Music] big the other bid was between 320 and 350,000 that's they're not really I make a motion to approve I second all in favor I okay I ensure your baseball parents will still continue to ask for a turf field yeah what moving on to Personnel [Music] resignations I yes I recommend the board approve the three resignations [Music] listed I move approval second all in favor have some recommendations hiring yeah um we're hiring Jennifer Shadow uh Nicholson second grade teacher position Jennifer sailor Ho's first grade teacher Kylie meford is a Nicholson Media Center assistant and Molly Barnes is a Hoover essential skills just so you know um essential skills is what we used to call life skills so it's kind of had a name change in that transition and trying to make sure that I do it myself um recommend Lisa fiser a former employee of ours retired coming back to be ho receptionist um recommend Brett abami is that how get that out as CTE constructions trade Sarah Nicodemus has had to do a lot of work to find to fill this position um recommend Ashley fiser CHS special education assistant and recommend Renee ber and CMS essential skills assistant any questions here I approval of these hes second all in favor I and change of position is just for boards um information no action is needed so our Ava numbers are um above we had set that at 100 students that we would move Sarah and Newton to a full-time school counselor for ABA and as of today we're sitting about 119 enrolled um with that actually Mary shidler had been talking to me about a way to maybe work four days or she needed a to make some adjustment CU a caring for a parent and so that uh gave a perfect opportunity for her to move to the high school um it'll be less days than what Sarah Newton had but I think right now that will cover and Mary had secondary background so it's been great which then opened up position at Nicholson we had sharid and P who is a licensed school counselor who was kind of waiting for whenever Mary would retire or step away so it was a nice Shuffle which then also is what we had to hire re and Jennifer Shadel for the Nicholson second grade so it was I still remember didn't share it in her spelling test having a hard time with this she is one of the most one of the most positive Souls question um so like Sarah's going to be the for the ABA are is there a facility there being housed are they all working from home as far as no currently so as CTE Administration moved to ivytech then they have moved over there which is the old English Department workroom so um yeah at um at the high school so you can there's a room when they built the high school they kind of put Department work rooms off of in each department um so they're in there so um is that on the second floor first floor and you kind of if you walk in there's a small office that was kind of a student work space that Laura Harris was in for a while that's where Mark is actually at and that attaches to an area where um Sarah Newton is at um and they have the book room attached to them as well so the old book room and so we obviously as this building opens up there's some there will be some moves around so and you I enjoy just listening to the gossip of where everybody's going yeah yeah we'll see with that but yes they are still in Crawfordsville High School school but they have moved out of the high school office area you have a special lease between the seriously I think no since they are one of our they are one of our district schools that is okay um and we are okay to have the same address for the high school and Ava so yeah there some of those questions that have come along ABA is definitely making me realize that the school law that you got for your principal's license and your superintendent's license doesn't cover everything um and it's been quite a while so we we're having conversations we have we've had communication with organization with students outside of the state so we're look at out of state enrollment and some of those things that happen um so we just Mark and Sarah's Outreach has been outstanding um but it brings a lot of pay how does this work and this work so well I'd like to S A appreciation from the board to Administration uh in particular for uh seeing this need because obviously there is a need and another channel to uh an education so thank [Music] you anything else on Personnel exchange moving on to business manager and again uh yeah so just to give a little bit of Praise um to the business office we did have the first payroll for the school year contracts this time this it's coming tomorrow um but we did go through in process and estimated 25 new employees for the school year and um did look at all of our payroll coding so 320 some employees we've worked over the last two to three weeks to get everyone where they should be according to how the state wants us to have um so just a lot of time and effort and want to thank the business office staff for that um they did a lot of work in for that uh billing for the Community Preschool and the after school care programs has started uh we do have statements out payments have been coming in right now it seems to be running fairly smoothly and we hope it continues that way and then uh just to add with that um our appreciation for the Preschool Academy staff going through and doing all of the leg work to get that going for us um took a lot of work and then with that the voucher program is running and we do have voucher approval for both locations now um those will start coming in this month and we're hoping to see a decent amount coming out of that to help fund that preschool so that we can provide it for those families that are not able to pay for it themselves um we did also receive approval for the sdaa loan that took technology loan that we looked at last month at the board meeting and so we'll start working with the tech department to get purchasing of hardware and software for student instruction so that's all I have a lot behind the scenes work appreciate thank you very much assistant superintendent Dr Boart yeah so uh beginning of the school year here has gone pretty smooth really for uh the most part uh from an operation standpoint so so uh including busing um just over 1,700 students um that's up isn't it it was around the same last year okay so um out of a total how many what was 244 so if you once you add in the preschool which we provide you're looking about 2500 kids yeah another yeah yeah um and so yeah definitely appreciation to to Betsy and her team and um his Transportation over pretty smooth too so and if you'd like to be a subb dri we'd love to have we're even a substitute teacher right here and all the above uh we did have uh high school we had one of our two main um Motors go down we did um deal with that um quick and and efficiently with um maintenance and and Steve Campbell and and he did a great job coordinating that so um basically there's two large Motors that run the air in the academic Wing upstairs and downstairs and um one of the original Motors went and so they were getting 50% of of the air so um so it it's about like an 800 lb motor and so hey Bush um came and they brought Five Guys and um got it out safely and got over to Danville Illinois took a look at it it did any completely rebuild actually had another one there that was um already ready to go that was a rebuild so we were actually able to get it up and going a day sooner than um we actually expected but so that was installed today and so they are up and running um again so but um yeah that was a new one was some appreciation on some of that work with that size of a motor and they were able to do it safely and efficiently so that was good um admin building progress um so uh currently working on as much as they can uh while we wait on trusses to to get here which are supposed to get here um tomorrow um so they've been working on electrical if you've gone by or taken a look you can see the wiring um is in there the boxes are in there um they're working on some Plumbing um putting a wall BLX in in as many places as they can and uh the reinforcements and in the walls that um along the exterior there as well so um fingers crossed trusses get here tomorrow and they'll keep moving from there so uh preschool been working through through that um with the the expansion and the after school and child care so um playground was mentioned so that is complete we just need to get the fence um going so we need to get that in then we able to take a look at the fence so once those those Quotes come in we'll be able to move forward and they'll be able to get um outside and and use them that and then after they finished that they came next door over here and they're working on the preschool playground um over there so they came on site Tuesday and excavated that and about a day maybe a little bit Wednesday morning too but um and now they've got the equipment out and um about two weeks is their estimated time uh for that one to to be up and going so what what it add equipment's going to be in the new spot so there will be like a like one of those units that'll have kind of the stairs and some manipulatives and um a double slide um and some swings and then a couple of the the same things that get your hand many those that's in um so it it will be it will be good so um had to do a I will say Sinclair turned around a very quick drawing um to reroute um when the the contractor came out to did a site walk it was getting closer to that tree that's over there than they expected and it was going to run right up to it so to not go through the roots of that tree um yeah they flipped it and turned that around in less than a day the the new drawing for the specs for that so um and then working through uh traffic um over at Wilson so just um working that piece obviously the additional students and um so I've been working with CPD and they've been helping a lot so appreciation for chief M and his team and Officer Taylor and so is there a solution or is it just so part of the solution was getting better at what was happening um so but we are looking at um sending out some communication that basically we'll have all traffic coming from Wallace um and then turn right onto Wabash to keep Wabash as open as possible and then we will flip the flow in the parking lot so then they'll turn right keep going around and then turn right as they leave so just kind of flow in flow out and off you go so I think barrels would really Sol barrels I know we can find barel could have had the Wallace blocked that first day of school full disclosure I just bought in interest in a barrel machine company that's a good move on you and it has been getting better uh but uh certainly with um with cpds help too with um helping direct traffic is is a big piece of that too so um and Amber um has been stepping into that role with over there with Wilson and the after school care and has done a great job and Heidi and and and her team the teachers and support staff over there um learning the new ways of you know the buildings a little Fuller and that brings along some other things that um are just are just a little bit new and and we're working through so um but kids are smiling and walking in the building and they're learning and having fun uh curriculum instruction assessment so we did have a uh PD today where we hosted Chris in pooke with Marzano kind of kicked off our level two certification with high reliability schools um and focused on the new Art and Science of teaching today so that that was really good and um if you drive around the uh elementaries you will see those level one Banners are up um so you can find a certification of um the three elementaries uh the middle school and the high school so just kind of bringing back the um you know the congratulations to the the the buildings and the teachers and the teams there because that is a a very big achievement with uh you know level one in Indiana we are five of 29 schools that are certified in level one um and then as we look to to get certified in level two there are currently only nine schools um in Indiana certified in level two so it's really really good work and um the instructional piece is is really really good so it's exciting to see where where that will go and that is your assistant superintendent thank you Dr fart superintendent report Dr yeah um I want to start with an opportunity so next on Tuesday August 20th um at 12:45 p.m.

now therefore be it resolved that the Board of Education will go into Clos session for the following reasons as outlined in njsa 104-1 12 items 2.2 through 2.4 uh do I have a motion motion by Miss Lee do I have a second by Mr Bach any questions or comments seeing none go to a roll call roll call in executive session Mr Bach yes Mrs N Miss Lee yes Mr Thompson yes Mr pisaro yes executive session at 6:35 p.m thank you uh we will reconvene at approximately 7:30 [Music] for [Music] e [Music] hey heyy hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey [Music] e [Music] e [Music] e [Music] e [Music] la w B [Music] n [Music] e what [Music] y [Music] okay [Music] e [Music] d [Music] e [Music] we're going to reconvene this meeting of the epam Township Board of Education if you could all please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America to the stands indivisible thank you everyone at this point Miss Lee is going to read our eam Township mission statement the mission of the eam Township School District is to promote excellence in an environment that engages students in meaningful learning experiences in partnership with students dedicated to staff families and Community the district provides a strong Educational Foundation that will Empower students to achieve their unique potential Embrace self-directed lifelong learning develop the skills necessary for appropriate risk-taking and responsible decision making respect themselves and others problem solve individually and collaboratively and become contributing members of a diverse Global Society thank you missley at this point we're going to be moving the presentations item 4.2 the annual School self assessment presentation uh Dr Smith I'll give you the floor thank you Mr physico and I'm gonna pass that floor over to miss mulik he's gonna be okay um so this is the time of year it's either in um August or September depending on when we have all the information from the state that we give a report to the board on the self assessment that all schools do per requirements at the end of the school year so I just like to start out there you go uh talking a little bit about school climate why it matters so that whole idea we're looking for more satisfied students parents and staff improved academic outcomes better attendance uh lower suspension discipline referrals reduced violence and aggression lower reports of drug use and reduced harassment intimidation and bullying behaviors which is what we're talking about tonight um so that's just some different research in terms of why it matters ahead Frei um so on the left side we just list some different things in terms of schoolwide prevention because we always want to be as proactive as we can so that we don't have to be as reactive when things happen so some of the prevention measures uh that whole idea of promoting positive respectful and inclusive School environments focusing on diversity equity and inclusion uh we use responsive classroom as the district uh so reinforcing those tenants as well as cares which stands for cooperation assertion it turns to advocacy in Middle School responsibility empathy and self-control uh in terms of schoolwide campaigns we always have one as a district for this coming school year its responsibility starts with me sometimes its kindness matters last year it was cooperation is key um and we also have a middle school a campaign for no place for hate and then the last one is is having different supervision during unstructured time so we might have teachers who have duties at Middle School might be in the hallway uh lunch assistants or lunch teachers who are out um to help with recess and things like that on the right side classroom prevention so the idea of um again positive respectful inclusive classrooms we have morning meetings at elementary school we have advisory meetings at Middle School uh we have in all of our social studies documents rule creation where we create that together together uh interactive modeling so everything that we expect kids to do we model for them first we talk about what it looks like what it sounds like we have kids practice and then they begin implementing it we give acadm a choice wherever we can uh again when I talked a little bit about cares uh closing Circle to end of the day so some reflection good in terms of districtwide programs I just listed a few different ones that we use that we've talked about in the past so responsive classroom again cares we also have academic competencies which is traits of growth so that focus on things like perseverance flexibility optimism uh we also have a Character Matters unit that Focus specifically on anti-bullying that happens during the week of respect in our social studies units we have different things connected to community and Service Learning uh in Comprehensive Health and PE uh there's different connections to climate wellness and Technology we have different things connected to digital citizenship and cyber bullying our school counseling program is always focusing on this and I mentioned no place for hate uh next this just talks a little bit about some of the trainings so these are annual districtwide trainings but then obviously we want the schools and they do specific ones at their buildings as well so all schools we have them do a Hib refresher training that we develop um responsive classroom so we do different sessions whenever there's a need uh so it might be something on teacher language it might be something on logical consequences the next one talks about challenging behaviors we also do several book clubs with our teacher leaders in each of the buildings uh so last year as an example we did restorative practices with both our elementary school PLC facilitators and our counselors um the next one Middle School PLC we did teaching students to drive their learning and again the goal of turn King at the building level uh the next one talks a little bit about responsive classroom we use Quick coaching guides that they can then turn key at facility me at faculty meetings and then new staff get more extensive training so instead of a hi refresher they get the anti-bullying Bill of Rights uh training which is like two hours um okay good in terms of the self assessment itself here's just the process so it starts in May or June with the schools each school has a school safety team they self assess themselves in the areas that I'll talk about on the next Slide the state then opens up the reporting system the schools report it it gets submitted to me I review it um once we go through everything we present it to at a public board meeting certainly answer any questions then the required submissions actually have to go through the state and then later typically in the spring they'll actually release the grades based on what we self assessed and then within those uh once it's released we have 10 days we post it and then usually we'll have um it reported whether the grades matched what we did in the self assessment so this is the eight areas which we are scoring ourselves on and you can see there's different numbers so there's five indicators in number one but there might only be two in number eight so for each you will have from anywhere from two to five indicators and this is the scoring that you use so zero is you don't meet the requirements one is you partially meet two is you meet and then obviously three is you exceed so just wrote a little calculation at the bottom that um basically each School gets a grade and then the district is considered an average of all the schools go ahead so I know that's small but basically if you look to the right column because you have each of the elements and then it lists what the scores are but the the most important thing is on the right in terms of the total score there's a possibility of 78 points and you'll see a range anywhere from a school the lowest is 74 the highest is 76 so very close the bottom just shows you possible points for each element but overall in terms of summary every school in every area is either meeting or exceeding we have zero zero places where we're not meeting or partially meeting okay last two things so um for this one it's just really what what do we do with that once we have that information so we look at it in terms of we look at the data with our anti-bullying Specialists so those are our counselors in every school coordinator which is me and then the School principles we look at and come up with recommendations so we'll develop and share those and then we turn key that to the school safety teams at each school they set goals for the year and then look to implement it and then last here are some of the recommendations that we'll be kind of talking about with everybody as we move into the new school year so obviously implementing that uh responsibility starts with me that I talked about emphasizing that social emotional competence so cares both at elementary and at middle week of respect I mentioned Character Matters this year we're doing a little bit more with no place for hate as well as some zones of Regulation and then uh spring possible survey and then some of the things the school safety teams will focus on in terms of assessing themselves as well that's it thank you Mr I hope the large crowd didn't scare you off there um anybody on the board have any questions U gear towards Mr mul in our presentation all right seeing none again thank you very much M mulik right at this point uh we will then move to public comment for agenda items only if I can have the lights please I am scared of the dark this meeting will now be open to the public referencing agenda items only however if your questions or comments pertain to litigation student or personal items or negotiations we'd ask to see the superintendent after the meeting since we do not discuss these matters in public please limit your comments to three minutes per person would you like to speak okay all right that being said we're going to close that portion all right and we are going to move to item six approval of the minutes I need a motion approve items 61 and 62 do I have a motion motion by Miss Lee second it by Mr Bach thank you any questions or comments pertaining to approval of the minutes being none let's go to a roll call please sure just make a note that on the minutes Mr uh Brown was marked as present absolutely and we're going to have that corrected thank you I appreciate that all right motion to the approval of minutes and it will be corrected Mr boach Mrs N yes Miss Lee yes Mr Thompson yes and Mr ficaro yes the motion carries excellent at this point we're gonna move to item seven superintendent report administrative items I need a motion to approve items 7.1 through 7.6 do I have a motion motion by Miss null do I have a second second by Miss Lee guys are going to be getting a lot of heavy working here today just be ready right uh before we do questions and comments I'm going to give the floor to Dr Smith uh for his superintendent report thank you Mr pisero so we are less than three weeks from today heading towards the first day of school for the 2425 school year very excited for that first day having all our students back our staff districtwide have been working hard to get the schools ready and prepared as reflected uh for example in the appointments and reassignments in Personnel approvals tonight a few highlights from Summer I'd like to thank all the staff who made our summer programming so successful over 700 students participated in our summer programs many staff contribute to making those programs a success I'd like to thank each and every staff member who gave their time during their hard-earned summer to help in this way um including perhaps in particular our administrators who supervise and set up the programs from our curriculum Department through our special services department with extended school year to our principles as the programs are spread and housed throughout our buildings further summer highlight is the work of our Personnel department and other staff maintenance in grounds Transportation everybody pitching in to get ready for uh the start of the Year and that work continues daily our parent portal opened yesterday thank you to our parents for their work too in completing all of the Genesis Back to School Forums if you haven't heard IAM Township's fourth annual backpack Drive is going on now to support our students with supplies for the upcoming year it ends this coming Thursday backbacks can be dropped off at the township building or at our district office on 25 South Maple just backpacks and monetary donations are being collected this year the supplies themselves are being donated by local businesses ilam marble and granite and lascalas fire thank you thank to both those local companies for helping out and many thanks also to everyone who's donating into the township of eam and H uniting generations for organizing this effort and support we are all looking forward to a wonderful school year thank you Mr piso thank you Dr Smith does anyone have any questions for items 71 through 76 being none let's go to a roll call please roll call on administrative items Mr boach yes Mrs null yes Miss Lee yes Mr Thompson yes Mr fisicaro yes yes motion carries sorry lost it there for a second all right moving to number eight curriculum and instruction I need a motion to approve 81 through 810 do I have a motion by Mr Thompson Thank You seconded by Miss null any questions or comments pertaining to curriculum and instruction seeing none let's go to a roll call for curriculum and instruction roll call on curriculum and instruction Mr Bach yes Mrs null yes Miss Lee yes Mr Thompson yes Mr ficaro yes the motion carries fantastic all right moving number nine finance and operations I need a motion to approve items 91 through 915 do I have a motion motion Mr Thompson do I have a second second by Mr Bach get him in there a little bit any questions or comments comments to finance and operations seeing none let's go to a roll call roll call on finance and operations Mr Bach yes Mrs null yes Miss Lee yes Mr Thompson yes Mr fisicaro yes that motion carries thank you moving to item 10 Personnel I need a motion to approve 10.1 through 10.11 do I have a motion by Mr Thompson seconded I'm this Le like staring you down any questions or comments pertaining to Personnel okay um I will uh say one thing real quick one second make sure actually flag that I'm not going to say anything all right uh go to roll call please roll call on Personnel items Mr Bach yes Mr n yes Miss Lee yes Mr Thompson yes Mr ficaro yes the motion carries thank you all right uh moving to uh number 11 policy I need a motion to approve 111 through 114 really 111 uh is there a motion Mr Thompson second by Miss Lee any questions or comments pertaining to policy seeing none let's go to roll call please on policy roll call Mr Bach yes Mrs N yes Miss Lee yes Mr Thompson yes Mr furo yes motion carries thank you all right moving to item 12 committee reports is there any committee that wishes to share their reports seeing none I will close that portion of the floor moveing number 13 old business do I have any old well we have no old business uh 14 uh new business we have no new business unless anyone here's going to surprise me with something nothing all right all right so that takes us to number 15 which is open public comment for any item of Interest this meeting will now be open to the public referencing any items of Interest however if your questions or comments pertain to litigation student or Personnel items or negotiations we ask that you see the superintendent after the meeting since we do not discuss these matters in public please limit your comments to 3 minutes per person Mr pman Mr peelman if you can state your name and address his mic on e for thank you Mr pman Right seeing no one else out there I will close the open public comment uh we will now move to board member announcements are there any announcements by any board members um I will just say this um listen the uh it's a new school year coming up and I always you know taught now for myself for over 20 years I believe that education sometimes is like the Phoenix you know and when the Phoenix Rises at the beginning of the year it's New Hope you know it's new you know New Life New Beginnings right and new adventures and I wish every teacher student parent board member uh Community member out there members of Staff Administration uh their best in in this school year and to treat this uh like every year like a new beginning the one thing I've always loved about education so one thing I've always loved about education is the every year is different whether it could be good or bad it's definitely different and it always keeps you on your toes and it's something that I've I've enjoyed throughout my career and I hope that for everyone this is a a great year and I wish you all the best all right uh we will not be going into a second executive session um so at this point I need a motion to adjourn motion by Mr boach seconded by Miss Lee all in favor I I have a wonderful rest of your summer everyone thank you [Music]

at Hoover we'll have the Hoover Veterans Memorial dedication you can see the the memorial that was put in place out there so working with our um local American Legion and um groups so I mean just Hoover has done excellent with the being a purple star school um it's a beautiful Memorial and so we'll have that dedication I'd like to invite all board members that can attend please come he didn't email me and unfortunately we out okay so all right someone else can make it and represent the board but um in the world of educational leadership we hosted a PD session for all of our building level leadership teams and kind of discussed the keys to Leading healthy organizations um so Brent Jay and Marcy and I did that um training so it was kind of work going through the level one certification and a lot of things that we've done over the last decade I think you just can truly see that our our teams are really starting to work our collaborative teams um today when I was watching the principles with you know one of their leaders it there's just this natural kind of connection and flow um and it I think it is making things a lot healthier and smarter um just as we continue to get better at using teams um Dr Bart has done a great job of getting our training set up and leading that initiative so grateful for him um I did include in your electronic version the updated draft of the new Indiana diploma um so the current model that came out it it is better um so now it is there's a a diploma kind of like your your 4 40 diploma that comes along and then now they have seals so you can get a seal for enrollment which is kind of your College Bound seal you can have one for workplace and then for enlistment is that the third one thank you I didn't B my computer went dead I had but I read it yesterday and I think that still my concern is that the honor seal requires you to have at least four credits of AP which our kids can do you have to pass so youd have to pass at least two AP courses which out of our group last year I think it was 11 or so that would meet that um where you have to have a sat um which is is a very healthy SAT score um um or you have to have six college credits coming out of high school so I think we had like 66 kids or 33 some I apologize meet that requirement so it's about 10 or 11 both on the SAT and that so I do think that my fear is is what there's just so much that if I can't get this honor seal I'm going to feel like I shouldn't go to college and it's going to force more people over where there are plenty of people who do not have a 1250 SAT score that are going to do very well in college um now I think due to our 16 AP classes we're offering this year and we have many kids taking four or more that we will be we will be able to help our kids have these opportunities but it's still just my concern as someone who truly believes in Workforce and career and not everybody should go to college I do my fear is is that they're funneling too many kids away um so your counselor's Focus right is to help them hear that message that you're saying that you know maybe you've got an 1170 you're still going to be great going College yes yeah correct so for the six college credits I know I assume some of our math classes say were dual credit like I think trigonometry was one of a few of them that were they're not the pure honors or AP but there were other options as well did those count towards those six yes so we have some dual credit so like that we do through IC so Maggie Bryant teaches there um we have a handful but it and then I have to figure out because if you yeah and then also through CTE they have some dual credit opportunities and dual enrollment so they can get their college credits there and I'm assuming like an English class would be three credits or something so maybe that's just two two of those dual cred classes May clarification question out there is it is it a credit hour yes or six classes right is that six courses because that's a big difference between two classes that give you through six credits versus yeah you know I think a lot of people think about Career Tech just as Preparing People you know just to go to Industry and those things but there is a lot of Career Tech that is preparing kids for kind of that four-year career area like our our nursing students that are going to go out they're being prepared to go get their Bachelors um and you know there's a couple of those CTE courses that are for College Bound they're not direct to the workforce so um but that's good so I think there's some improvements here I did see the IU and Purdue came out and kind of approved this one um and in all honesty the if you are trying to get into the top tier programs at Purdue you're going to have to have that honor seal and probably the honor seal plus um so I do think that's there I just yeah and I do think that there's Plus what's the plus the plus then you have to have it was I associate degree technical certificate um Indiana college Corps apiece collar the distinction um um or here's the workforce but again the work 100 hours of work based learning um is is actually in h plus it looked like it was pretty challenging I mean thinking that seemed like it would be fairly rare to get that I think that but we would have had five kids last year qualify because of the AP scholar distinction okay and but you think about it is I I don't know that North and South have enough this is not against anything they have their amazing program enough AP courses for them to even have the opportunity to get the AP with distinction um and it you know you have to pass all of your what at least three or five and have a 3.5 average on your AP courses um but again we had five kids hit it last year and um and how many did you say would have hit the just the regular h seal sorry that's right just curious I can pull the email up on they call it en sounds like you went to school and every day yeah yeah well it's just that you're going to enroll [Music] College we had we had 11 seniors who passed two or more AP tests last year okay we had 10 seniors at 1250 or higher we had 66 seniors that had six college credits that's a lot yeah and there's probably some overlap there and Hest say a lot of those kids are probably CTE kids we say it does open up the availability for a tech kid to get an honor seal because of having that Workforce so we are providing the opportunity mhm and that is good concern when the state down the path that the universities would accept yeah that was conc con an organizational Management Area um our enrollment is very stable um so I think that as of today we will be up a handful of students six students from where we were in the spring and that is not not including any Ava students um our our transfer numbers are up again for this is like the 13th year in a row and so I think that is those are all good things we were preparing oursel for up to a 2 and a half% decrease um and so we're held strong and I believe our peers to the North and the South are doing well as well so there must be more kids coming into the county so it is good it is very good when you can all share good news so um and it keeps you just working together celebrations mcgomery County United band speaking of working with our peers uh Place 7th the Indiana State Fair so um that group works very hard they put in a lot of hours and they're having some great success I start a school and I think Andrew and brt kind of hit what it takes to get school going but there's a lot of people all of our directors um that don't get a lot you know L of people recognize me from Tech to transportation to Food Service takes a lot there some extra kudos to Stephanie she ensured that we had food trucks at an opening day so um that probably is the favorite thing at opening day so she takes care of those things she also went out and got some donations so we could give some teacher Awards um and rewards during opening day our United Way campaign so you know we're one of the organizations that starts out early before the campaign um and we're off and so with a few weeks ago we've already raised more funds this year than any year in the past um so we've kind of crushed our initial goal of a 20% increase and past the 40% increase goal um so we're still a little short on our participation goal but I'm confident we'll get there um so obviously since our participation is hasn't fully reached the top our giving is significantly higher for person um I think that once our staff sees what the United Way the old Muffy does I mean they provide for Cara they provide for Wilson um they provide several things for us so um it is great but you know most people who go into education have a heart and so they have shown that and been very caring and giving um announcements fall conference September 23rd 24th Stephanie do you have everyone registered is anybody I had one response will so we are public we are publicly um shaming you have down okay there we go um again the Hoover Veterans Memorial dedication please look over the furniture options share any thoughts and I'm Rex rker and I'm an athian thank you Dr rker any of the business or of anything board member Communications P comments thank you for KY you want to drive a bus I'm not joking the right now but no driving a bus a great fulltime bus driver I would entertain motion to a so all favor all right thank you everybody Sund you're a race car driver you can drive a school bus yeah do that wonder how fast you can get our Courier there you go looking for substitutes for that yeah can you lift a paper box you remember when there was a guy that had a modified in the school bus with the Jet and went out

[Music] hi and welcome to another edition of all politics is local I'm your host John feon and on tonight's program we're joined by a candidate running for United States Senate uh potentially against Elizabeth Warren John Deon John Deon is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and an outsider is born into a generational poverty in Detroit Michigan as the only member of his family to graduate from high school John Deon has worked his way through college overcome cancer and eventually got a law degree from New England school of law for the last 20 years John Deon has fought and successfully represented cancer victims against Fortune 500 companies so with that John Deon welcome to allall politics is local thanks for taking a couple minutes to join us well thank you for having me it's an absolute honor to be here well thank you thank you for stepping up you know anybody who runs for office Republican Democrat independent I you know we have the utmost respect for anybody here on all politics is local because as the as the name of the program is all politics is local and what happens in a local election on the state level is much more uh important in this program's opinion than what happens in the federal level but a lot of the stuff that you can make a difference on up in Washington flows back down to the uh to the local level from the federal level so let's talk a little bit about what your your campaign is all about and what you're hoping to accomplish for sure and and first let me just say my eventual opponent Elizabeth Warren should learn the lesson that you just talked about because I think if she paid more attention to local politics and what's happening in the Commonwealth maybe uh we see a lot better results than we're seeing from the federal government but uh listen my campaign uh we I got in this race John because I felt compelled when you learn my story I really do represent and embody the American dream and everything that's possible in a great free country and I don't recognize that country and I fear that the dream that I represents Dy and I I do question could a kid from Springfield or Brockton or Roxberry could they do what I did you know 35 40 years ago uh because when you look at what's going on we have multiple crises illegal immigration out of control in the state we have an inflation and cost of living problem housing crisis we have opioid addictions we have a debt crisis and we have Foreign Wars you know and the world slipping in chaos but the greatest crisis of all John is a crisis of leadership in Washington DC the career Elites like Elizabeth waren sit back they fuel division amongst us so that they can stay in power and when you look at the in it you don't see someone like me who's overcome poverty who struggled to pay his bills in his early 40s uh was doing everything right but still feeling that that Sensation that you're drowning in debt and you can't seem to get ahead I understand those struggles because I've lived through them and I think we need someone like that in the Senate let's take a minute and break down because you said a lot there and uh a lot of it sounds really good if you're a young I have you know I have two uh young adult children book 25 and 26 and I look at their lives at 25 and 26 and compare it to mine and the American dream was always to have the Next Generation have a better life than what the current generation has I don't see that going forward with uh with like my kids and and maybe other people's kids and I have to say to myself is that the doing of the government yeah listen I think that the difference between one of the many difference between me and Elizabeth Warr is she sees the government as a solution I see the government as a problem but I have a 24 year old daughter a 22y old daughter and a 5-year-old daughter and part of that compulsion to run was the fear of that American Dream dying as you said the American dream was about your children being able to have an opportunity to do better than you could and what we're seeing is what I call the reverse of the American dream kids now today for example we talked about housing briefly you know now kids can't afford you know 25 30 year old can't afford a home and you have the parents taking out mortgages to give down payments for their kids so that they can have a home and that's the reverse and that's just one small example I mean when a 25y old kid who's making $25 an hour sounds like oh you're doing okay you're doing but then you know you're paying $2,500 a month for your rent you're going to the grocery store and you're filling up at the gas tank there's nothing left at the end of the day to save for that future home that you know that you want everybody to have so I mean what part does Elizabeth Warren and the rest of the federal government play in all that well listen it's F first of all when you print 80% of all US dollars in the last three and a half years you know to put this in perspective January 2020 there were 4 trillion US dollar in circulation now four years later there's 20 trillion in circulation when you debase your currency to that extent you're going to experience inflation and when you experience inflation you experience permanent price increases so even if inflation comes down the prices don't and it starts pricing regular people out of the economy we have a $35 trillion debt personal credit card debts at 1.2 trillion with delinquencies at an all-time high 40 to 50% of Americans don't have $500 set aside in case of emergency I mean we're we're going off a cliff if we don't get good leadership and it's because of people like Elizabeth Warren who just keep kicking that can she thinks that we can just print our way out of it or her onetick answer to every problem we face is tax the rich and the wealthy there's just not enough you can't tax your way out of this problem and you can't cut spending enough out of this problem you know this is what a lot of people don't understand and and even some conservatives even if you cut all discretionary spending in our country we will still be at a deficit because when you count mandatory spending is social security military benefits Medicare defense you're out of deficit already before you get into any other type of social programs or anything like that so you can't cut enough you can't tax enough you have to grow the economy and so we need uh elected leaders who understand that concept and are going to you know not hurt American jobs and American innovation and I think Elizabeth Warren is she's the epitome of kind of strangle technology and innovation in this country so you know The Debt Service in the United States is going to become the biggest line item in our budget and I don't think the common folk understands that but more importantly I don't think Republicans and Democrats even in the Senate and the house understand that how can you change that mentality when you get into the Senate well first lead by example and and another thing is one of the first bills I'm going to support are term limits you know we because what happens is the they get in the Washington DC and everything becomes about staying in power and if you have term limits then you you got 12 years as United State Senator to get in there try to do the best job you can and then get out and when you you don't have to worry about another election and maintaining uh the agenda that is being set by your party leaders you don't have to be loyal to that you just loyal to America in Massachusetts I think it's going to be one of the first steps necessary but I think when I don't know how many elected leaders know that we spend more to service our national debt than we do on National Defense that is a shocking number when you count all the military spending and all the payrolls for our service members and all the weaponry and you count all that it doesn't even come close to how much we pay on interest scary isn't it it's shocking Massachusetts is the only state in the entire country that has the right to shelter law in Massachusetts and I will tell you when that law was first uh drafted you know by uh Governor dakus back then it was a good thing help a pregnant woman who was homeless who unfortunately had a you know maybe a husband or a boyfriend who was abusive and you know gave a a mother a safe place to you know have a baby and everything it was made with good intentions our current governor more Healey my words has misre misinterpreted the law and now has turned them into what you know was commonly referred to now as the Healey hotels with the immigration problem do you have any thoughts on the immigration crisis here in Massachusetts and how it affects the Commonwealth oh my goodness now there's a lot to talk about I I I feel so strongly about it uh I went to the border to to investigate it myself and talk to border security but before that let me first agree with you when you think about the right to shelter law conceptually and you think about a situation where let's say a there's a car accident that kills the the father and the husband and you have a mom of three or four children who now can't afford the mortgage and get kicked out it is a noble thought for your local government to support one of their own in a temporary catastrophic situation I don't believe the state legislature when that bill was enacted envisioned a completely open Southern border where everyone would pour here so I agree with you it's a noble act but um listen I went to the Border when they took the rec center because my first year of law school I lived in rockberry I'm from the inner city of Detroit and when they took the rec center from the poor kids it kind of hit home in me because I know uh the real danger for those kids in in their city is idleness you take away their Sports and their structure and those types of things good coaches who are coaching them and keeping them off the street you know they they make bad decisions because that's the way life is and so I said to the campaign let's go to the Border went the Border John I can't tell you how bad it is um they have bus stops de facto bus stops along the border the migrants do not run they wait to be get picked up they have no identification you don't know if their name is correct if there's they're claiming they from is correct and within 24 hours they are released and John they're given a court date eight years from now 2032 when I was there in May uh 2033 they wouldn't likely show up eight weeks later later long8 years later and then they're released and it's about math John you know I learned that the actual number is about 12 million when you count getaways 12 million people have crossed undoc unknown individuals even if you and I assume which I think we probably do that the vast majority in fact let's take 99% 99% are good people who want a good life even if only one out of a hundred is a potential bad guy that's 120,000 bad guys now God forbid if my assumption is wrong and it's 95% are good people with a good intentions and 5% are bad you're at 600,000 bad guys that walk through the door back door we know what 14 terrorists did to America in 911 and I learned that out of the 117 countries represented in the Yuma Crossing alone it includes 15 countries that sponsor terrorism that want to kill America to hurt America to destroy America so we have people coming across the border that might be in one of those hotels you're talking about being fed by the American taxpayer while they're planning our demise if that doesn't anger you as an American I don't know what could and frighten you not just anger you well you know another thing that you can't put a price tag on what's the price of a good teacher who leaves the system because she is a teacher in a uh right to- shelter community and she's stressed out for a job because she just had 30 new students placed in to her classroom that don't speak the language that she teaches or what's the price of a of a cop who says you know what I don't need this anymore I can retire and you lose that senior leadership in your local police department and everything so it it has a lot of Downstream effects that I don't even think people and you can't put a price but people aren't even thinking about those consequences as well too so I mean though and it goes back to all politics is local it is it affects your school system it protects your Public Safety officials and God forbid like you said something goes wrong well I'm glad you brought that up because a lot of times people just look at the bottom line which is pretty hefty you know they're talking between1 and two billion dollars uh in hard dollars but you're bringing up an excellent point which is the you're stressing out the infrastructure of our society you know Fall River uh police department's had a 700% increase in cause the Urgent Care rooms are overpacked and a lot of people know about the right to shelter law but coupled with the right to shelter law is a right to educate and what you said you have students now who are in classrooms that don't understand English that are holding back you know the class and stressing out the teachers and and and the communities so it is a absolute disaster that we're facing right now and we have poor leadership and Elizabeth Warren you know the federal government has to be involved and Elizabeth Warren not only objected to the bipar an immigration bill which wasn't good enough but it stopped some bleeding she even objected to President Biden's 2500 per day cap on illegal migrants so her silence or and the only time she's spoken up John is to object to any type of cap on these migrants coming p through the Border I think says a lot about how she's not in tune with everything politics is local so what is uh Senator Warren doing I mean the projections are a billion dollars a year I will tell you that it's much more than that and kind of the you know down the down the stream things that we talk so what is Elizabeth Warren doing to try to offset that cost for Massachusetts I'm not seeing anything you are pay more attention to what she does so no no listen what she's doing is uh being a national uh celebrity a national personality she's out there you know helping the the vice president campaign she's out there giving speeches uh listen we learned when in I think it was 2019 is uh it could have been 8 2018 is that um the Army Corps of Engineers declared the two Cape Cod Bridges as functional obsolete Governor Baker a republican was trying to get money for it these are federally owned Bridges she wouldn't help she wouldn't help because he's a republican you can't give a Republican any type of Victory um then the infrastructure bill was passed $110 billion in that bill went to Bridges Across America Massachusetts didn't get $1 for that those bridges you know and and so that's another example of how she's really doing nothing for Massachusetts and I think the voters are craving for somebody who is uh is going to realize what your whole program is is that all politics is local and you got to pay attention to what's happening in the local communities that impact the citizens who are voting for you and I think the the only good news is that Elizabeth Warren has been so bad she's only passed one bill as primary sponsor in 12 years uh you or I get fired if we have that like lack of productivity at work and I'm hoping the voters agree with me that she deserves to be fired one of the reasons why you raise your family and put up with the high cost of living in the Northeast in massachus in Massachusetts is because we've always had great education and we've had great health care but now we have hospitals going out of business in Massachusetts somebody running for US Senate what are your thoughts on that well it's another example listen uh Elizabeth Warren has been vocal now after the bankruptcies and that's what she always does it's all about reacting but um you know what we need to do is you know her solution of course is to well you can't have any private Equity involved in hospitals and let the government take over and of course that's not a solution but what we need to do is have a an oversight and and guard rails in place and the government can check in to see if there's transparency being met if certain guard rails are being and thresholds are being met before we get to this place and so the problem is we have elected leaders who have never run a business whether it's a small business or a large business and don't have enough Real World experience all they know how is to spend money of the taxpayer in useless ways and I think Elizabeth Warren is the queen of that so you are running on the Republican side you're running for and the primary is coming up on September 3rd and we always say here on all politics is local if you don't vote you don't get a chance to complain uh you do have other opponents in the primary uh uh let's talk a little bit about your race for the primary and then more importantly uh you know after the primary what what the goal will be to get to the Finish Line in November sure well listen uh I'm uh I'm confident I'm not taking anything for granted but I'm confident that I'll be the Republican nominee um we had a uh first debate was sponsored by the Nori County GOP uh it was a after the debate there was a straw po of over 200 voters Republican and un Road um I'm proud to say I got 79% of the vote uh quite humbling uh two nights later on August 8th we had a debate hosted by iHeart Studios and Jeff cooner the poll afterwards showed that me at 83% so I think that the I'm I'm very positive that the Republicans are coming together they see that I have a shot right that there's a chance she has a 41 when I say she Elizabeth Warren has a 41 1% approval rating she's passed one bill in 12 years um she finished third when she ran for president in the Democratic primary she's not that very popular uh a poll showed that Governor Baker if he were to run would crush her by 15 points and there's a lot of people getting excited John about this Cy in fact I went to get my mail on um Friday and there was a flyer that said meet John Deon candid John Deon and I had nothing to do with it so there's an outside entity that got inspired by my candidacy uh that's out there supporting me and I think that she is beatable and I think we're going to prove it so I'm looking forward to it so September 4th when you know you're the candidate to run officially against Elizabeth Warren is she gonna debate you well listen she debated uh Jeff deal twice she debated Scott Brown twice uh I think two debates are baked in but I'm going to challenge her to at least a debate I I want I want to do five I'm going to do five or six in the primary uh with the two other candidates I'm hoping that she'll agree to five but I'm going to really push for at least a third debate because uh and she's already talking a lot about me John she's sending emails about me she made a joke about me on St Patrick's Day uh she tweeted about me on the day that I announced because Senator Warren's never faced someone you know to give you an example I've for 22 years in the Commonwealth I've represented asbest victims that get cancer and lung cancer you know from New Bedford Fall River and the cape all the way to Pittsfield all every place in between against major corporations in fact I fought travelers insurance for 22 years Elizabeth Warren tried to help asess his victims by representing travelers insurance so it just gives you an idea who really represents the little guy me or her you know she wants to talk about income inequality it's not a political slogan for me it lives inside my heart something I'm very passionate about is uplifting poor people like I was in this country and my Approach is certainly different than hers and I think that people are going to I think they're ready for an approach that uplifts people like uplift the the poor and expand the middle class that doesn't mean you have to tear down other people to do it just to put in a Shameless plug is the newspaper industry slowly unfortunately is dying in Massachusetts and all around the country in the rest of the world a lot of people get their uh news from Community media so if Elizabeth Warren takes you up on the offer for more debates Community media would love to host the debate because I think it's a good way to reach voters and you know an active voting base so we'll put in a Shameless plug for that listen and I I'll agree and even if she doesn't uh after the primary and even after uh I win you can bet I'll be back on your show great thank you let's talk about your military background and your passion for that and what you'll bring to the senate for that yeah you know uh it's it's my path is pretty interesting when I was my brother uh dropped out of high school um and worked three years when he was 17 my mother signed he joined the Air Force uh I was forced to drop out of high school uh after the first day I had a gun shoved in my mouth so like everyone else um I was a high school drop up my family but uh finally I found a tiny high school and I worked my way through a private school and then college and law school and when I was in law school knowing a school of law uh I became overcome with pride I realized I'm going to be a licensed attorney I knew I was going to make money eventually and uh I just realized I'm the American dream so I joined the Marine Corps and uh it was pretty competitive because 1992 the movie Few Good Men came out with Tom Cruz and Jack Nicholson Demi Moore and all the uh Kevin Bacon and everyone wanted to get in the Jag Corp you know Judge Advocate General and so I let everyone know I couldn't afford Harvard law but I beat out Harvard bcbu suffk and the Marine Court chose me to represent the Commonwealth for the 1994 Judge Advocate law contract spent seven years of active duty I was a Special Assistant United States Attorney Federal prosecutor there's a picture of Me John on on active duty in my camouflage un uniform and there's a whole bunch of drugs on the table because I was in charge of uh busting uh Marines were being used by the cartel to smuggle drugs across the southern border at Yuma and so I was involved in operations where we would stop that and so uh it's ironic that all these years later when I went to the board I went back to Yuma and it's so much worse and so I was award at the Meritor service medal by the president of the United States while uh I was on active duty I'm very proud of proud of that service uh I may have stayed in but uh during the training exercise I got injured had a couple spinal surgeries and the Marine Corps my days have packing a 80 pound backpack with a and humping 20 miles were over and the Marine Corps retired me well it sounds like you certainly served with honor and you know an American hero so thank you for that uh real quick I mean how how does one Mis misrepresent their War record when they're running for a vice president you know listen uh if you ever look at my interviews and people bring up my service uh and sometimes I say I got injured I always say I got injured not in combat like I always qualify that and I'll be honest with you John my campaign one time said why do you keep saying that like you know you got injured John you're an active dudo because I I never want to uh my injury to be compared to someone who was in a war combat zone with bullets were going down range I never want to be equated to someone whose injury came from that it's just a matter of fundamental pride and honor and respect and so uh there's certain things you just don't do and you know if I were out here walking around pretending that I got hurt in combat and that's why I got retired I would be a disgrace but I don't do that you know John Deon we never have enough time here on all politics is local time goes fast so give the voters take a minute and tell the voters of Massachusetts why they should vote for you coming up on September 3rd to run for United States Senate they should vote for me because I'm a nonpartisan person who has one test is it good for Massachusetts in America if it is I'll be all for it if it's not good for this state if it's not good for America I won't support it and when you get with me you get loyalty to Country first and foremost and I won't be compromised by a party or an agenda a person or anyone it'll be that loyalty to uh voters and the voters who actually elected me and sent me to the US Senate and I hope they consider me because it would be uh a great honor to represent them John how do people learn more about your campaign go to John Deon for senate.com it's j nde a t nfor senate.com they can volunteer they can donate uh they want to get signs we get them signs uh anything they want to do uh I'd love to have them join because this we're really building a lot of momentum we really are and I think that's why the 79% voters uh in the first straw poll and the 83% after that I think people are getting excited we can retire Elizabeth Warren and you can find John Deon on Facebook Twitter yeah uh on Twitter on X it's John E deon1 John E Deon one that's Pro that's primarily my social media outlet but I'm also on on Facebook uh not so much on Instagram but Facebook John Eon one is on X well John Deon it's been a pleasure thank you for your time and joining us here on all politics is local the primary is September 3D it's you can vote for you know Republican and Democrat but if you don't vote you don't get an opportunity to complain John's stepping up and is running for office go out and support him learn more about his campaign I'm John featherston you've been watching all Politics as local we'll talk again real soon [Music]

[Music] hi and welcome to another edition of all politics is local I'm your host John featherson joined by longtime former host of all politicses local my friend Peter Chisum Peter welcome to all politicses local thank you John it's good to be here it's great to see you again how's your summer been going pretty good thanks yep busy but uh going well we were just talking uh Peter works Framingham State students are eventually coming back so we wanted to do a quick all politics is local because Summer unfortunately is winding down we wanted to kind of talk about Peter recently went on a cruise and wanted to talk a little bit about the cruise ship business and so maybe educate some people that are looking to get away and you know an early fall trip and uh for uh you know for a cruise yeah sure thanks John I actually um am a representative for uh Expedia Travel cruises we're headquarted in wber I'll give my phone number at the end of the show sure but an email but they um in J in January uh my wife and I went on a cruise online called MSC it's a new line uh to the United States it's just been here the last few years it's primarily was a European uh freight line they have any number of freight Freighters that go around the world and they started in the United States slowly and they uh last year they opened up started selling out of Brooklyn to the Caribbean and we were able to U we went down the second week in January after new years's on a ship called the meraviglia the meraviglia was built around 2017 it's pretty new ship and it's um little over th000 feet long it holds up to 5,000 people wow but plus crew but um on I guess the New Year's week we before on we went on it had just about the 5,000 but when we went on there only around 2500 and it was a lot easier to move around it wasn't crowded and it was a beautiful ship I had a lot of you know mon conveniences uh on the um one of the decks where most of the stores are located they had the ceiling if you looked up two or three decks it changed colors it be uh you know was about 300 feet long and it would just be one color and it would change to a different design and you know people would love watching that they had um a lot of entertainment on the ship all kinds of entertainment uh shows in the nightclub they had they had a theater that would that seated probably a thousand people and they had cut two they on cruise ships they do two shows a night one around 7:30 one at 9:30 so people are able if you have any early dinner the late dinner you can you go um and see the uh the show and uh so that works out well for people and uh and the entertainment is very good the uh performers rehearsal lot and they broad their Broadway Type shows um they family shows too um and they also have when night they don't have shows they have uh we saw a couple comedians we saw a couple singers um very very entertaining and um we sailed out of Brooklyn uh you know it was kind of a rough passage uh going down to um South you know you drove to Brooklyn flew yeah we had taken a train down Amtrak the day before and we stayed overnight at a hotel in Brooklyn nice yeah and uh it was amazing really funny story there was a restaurant next door we got that we had an Ethan my wife said there was an aali restaurant next to a hotel uh CU they had been in that area before for a conference and we went in it turned out it was an Asian restaurant and we got it we went took the elev like 30 stories to the top was a rooftop restaurant and they um they call it what they call it um when you smoke from a pipe you know not a pipe oh like a vaping yeah vaping yeah you know with a container oh right okay I forget what the term was I know what you're talking about but I'm telling you I thought when I said I said what's this place what is this but the people sat there and they had the hook yeah that's H I start looking when I first went there hook what is this place but uh then I figured what it was but they had the uh this the vases with the pipes you know coming out of them and the uh people were lighting up and smoking and um they uh and then they there was a party near us they were celebrated a birthday about 8 10 people they actually got it at one time near when we were getting ready to leave 10 bottles of champagne wow yeah we brought out one good night a good night for everyone I knew someone was going to have some serious angle was but um but it was just in the food was very good you know and uh and it was like I said next to the hotel so it was easy to get back well let's talk a little bit about about the cruise because a couple years ago I got told by my boss at home that I was going on a cruise and I was like I don't want to go on a cruise uh because I had a misconception that it was ridiculously expensive and it wasn't going to be a lot of fun and one dollar for dollar is probably the best way to do any vacation oh today um the specials out there are tremendous you can get a cruise today um depending if you want an interior cabin Ocean View balcony from two people like $1,500 a couple up to about 3,000 a couple more if you want for a week yeah for a week you can't go to Framingham for that kind of money for a week exactly tell people all the time I said if you pay $1,500 one per first person pay ,500 that's a seven nights hotel right right it's it's like $200 a night which is compared to what hotday it's a deal then you're spending $1,00 for All You Can Eat Your Entertainment it's amazing yeah I mean you you put pencil to paper there like I said let's just say a hotel is $200 a night like you said you know times s that's 1,400 right there exactly and you haven't eaten you haven't had any entertainment you haven't had any fun or anything like that so yeah so dollar for dollar it's a very good value tremendous deal and when you go to a port somewhere you don't have to go sightseeing you could just go and walk yourself and spend no money you know just walking around locally um you you want to take a a tour CU you can you can uh do that as well um and of course on the ship the entertainment's free you know the night club shows the comedians all that the uh only entertainment on the ship that cost a gambling the casino and uh and here's the tip don't ever play slot machines on ships you never win but the tables are fair and um you know you can gamble if you want and the casino at the uh on the maraviglia that we were on was a you know was a good siiz casino and it was very entertaining need a passport for the ship yeah you do you need a passport um are there any ships out of Boston or New York that don't require a passport uh only they're going to say United States Sports okay yeah g I'm not sure about Bermuda but if you go to Canada by ship you have to have a passport okay you if you fly to can interesting enough you have a passport God but um but if you're going to go by a ship you have to have a passport it's always good just to have a passport sure it's amazing the last couple weeks I've got calls I got a call from a family there sailing to Alaska for Vancouver and they were told you need a passport the son only had a passport card he found out that day the day that they were going to fly out to Vancouver and the woman called me and I made a couple calls and then we found out she could go to Portsmouth New Hampshire from Baba main he drive down to Portsmouth New Hampshire with the kid they brought the card and his father he was going with his father they got the passport a couple hours later they made reservations to fly out of Boston she drove them to Boston dropped them Logan air and they were flying in Vancouver that night to catch so Portsmith New Hampshire has a exped big a passport center there yeah oh okay I didn't I did not know that I learned something new that yeah and I'm also working with the family now uh the fellow called me and they want to go on the Canada New England in September and uh and then he called me said geez he said one of the guys doesn't have a passport it expired and what he said he he's he's applied for expedited passport takes three four week we or whatever I said look here's another thing you have him go to his Congress person's uh office Monday morning 9:00 can they help hey let me tell you something about government you know they can help they can help yeah where there's a will there's a way yeah so he uh he I've been contacting he was away last week but we communicated my email and he's just waiting for everyone to get the passport squared away for the life of me I don't if you have a passport check 6 months before it expires apply for a new passport I don't know what people late wait so long or they forget about it you might know somebody that happened to You' got cuz I let mine expire dur well it was during Co yeah oh yeah and I just kind of let it expire and then I went and renewed it and it was I had to spend money I shouldn't have had to spend because I needed to get it renewed yeah so yeah people don't do it but um but that's one big thing you know but um out of Boston there are several lines now that war it's becoming larger U it mostly uh in the summer you've got a couple lines to go to Bermuda ncl's the big one they out of Boston yeah they they're going to have a a a ship here dock next year too the noan where do they dock next to the World Trade in the World Trade Center and at the Flyn Cru port and um and then there's a um Can people park there or or yeah there's a parking garage across the street probably better to Uber or take a taxi there though yeah you can take the train in the sou station take a cab down yeah you know and um I actually sailed out of there 25 years ago the first cruise I ever went on um it was a a rush bucket but it was a weekend getaway you know Cruis in nowhere and um and I bought tickets Barber and I and then that was the weekend the USS Jonah Kennedy was coming to Boston oh nice yeah so she and her cameraman Paul were invited to go down to sail up on the Kennedy so I went on the cruise by myself and just to see I want to see I could do a cruise and for two nights you know it was a good way to try and I met people on Bo had nice time so you went on a cruise by yourself for two days yeah oh wow and uh talk about the ultimate Hall Pass yeah there were a bunch of nurses on about eight or 10 nurses they kind of adopted me and uh we a lot of fun you know just all right we won't tell your wife no no I'm just sitting there having drinks you know sitting by the pool or whatever yeah and uh and you know not to be rude but I mean what was how much did that cost two night gotot money in those days probably $3 the whole thing so you can't beat it you can't beat it and um but now it's it's it's really really booming um there's a ship coming in in fact now in the fall they have uh cruises from Boston up to Canada New England some go up to Quebec and drop you off and come back others round trip uh to Boston and NCL does them rural Caribbean does it h American has how many days cruise is that like it's like or Eight Days Seven Nights oh eight oh is that long okay yeah they'll go up to four or five ports okay and you know a couple in Maine couple in Canada New Finland um and uh some other places and come back and and pretty reasonably priced and um they uh and they're very popular I've this fellow I told you over the past with that wants to go September there I mean people call me sometimes so late they try to get on a cruise and uh you know I've got a battle you know try to find a cabin they um they don't realize how popular cruising is let's talk a little bit about if somebody is watching this program and says you know what hey honey let's let's let's go on a cruise what what like what type of time frame when should you start looking before you want to go and if they want to go their price drops and there's times of the year when it's better more reasonable they like in February their prices are good but right now they're not going to be much cheaper February than they are now okay in January and February they are and right now if you want to take a cruise in January or Holiday Cruise you want to book now because the it gives you time it gives the travel consultant time to look through different Cruise Lines find the best deal for you um you know if if you I mean if you want to go in November there's still time but the look for this September it's get it's awfully tight and um you recommend them going through a travel expert versus like like when I go to BJs I see that BJ sells Yeah by all means and I'll tell you why I wouldn't buy a cruise from BJ yeah if you have if you run into an issue and you call the cruise line you're calling hey this is Jimmy Smith you know nice you know take a little note but if you calling behalf of um you know Expedia the company's going to listen and um in fact I had that's all they're going to do is listen well they'll they act to I had a okay I had a i three people take a river cruise this past spring oh really yeah one of the woman got sick um the last couple days the ship itself wasn't very helpful uh in helping her um get medical assistance they say well there's a doctor down the street she walked down there you know her friends said go s see and I'll catch up the doctor's office closed 6 months earlier they she stopped their drug St they told her that back to the ship some you know wrote a me put over the account of medications she felt lousy but she made it home okay she told me about it I wrote uh the cruise line it was a river cruise and the guy called me up the next day said they you know I mentioned you know some the roommate the two of them I he said I'll give you each of them $200 Credit in next GRS just like that you know they uh they're always trying to be accommodating but because we're calling with the speed and the guy knows that if you know we could you know see people through other the cruise lines and um they uh so in that sense um you know the company slipped up I know they're going to make a ROV they said that some people going to be checking and see what the hell went wrong you know they they were very pleased good you're watching all politics is local we're taking a break tonight not talking about politics we're talking about something more important a mental health break a vacation a well-deserved we've got Cruise expert Peter Chisum here tonight talking about cruises and what we should do so Peter tell people you know like you're thinking about a cruise what's the first step what do they do go online no call me call call Peter to my phone number is 508 294 0421 you can reach me via email P Chism c i h l m at Expedia cruises.com and I'll be glad to help you tell me what you want I got a call today or sometimes when people call Expedia the the way Electronics Works they bounce the call to a local office if no picks it up there then it goes through the employees whoever picks it up and then it comes they um came to me I picked up this lady uh wants to go de sum 5th uh five days four nights uh from Florida on the uh Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas and um and I'm putting it together for her and her husband's in the military so she gets a military discount nice they have discounts for senior citizens but military Public Safety PR pass Crews passengers a variety of discounts that are teach teachers no teachers yeah but um they uh in most cruises the cabins will hold up to four people so sometimes people you know children come mother father and two kids um some a few you can find five but most of them they limited to four are you're going to have more than that the last you get two cabins as an expert in the cruise ship business and somebody's watching this program what what do you recommend let's give me a recommendation of a of a three-day cruise and a and a 10day cruise give me some recommendations think stimulate some people thinking out there um a shot crw you know I take if you want to just go out a Boston I say a week you go to Bermuda and back you know Eight Days Seven Nights um some of us work so we can't get away they really aren't any like three-day crew no there's not okay no um those like getaway cruises you might find some down south out of Florida okay them all the time but they're not big around here so you got to travel to Florida you might find a couple going out of Liberty New Jersey B on New Jersey okay or New York City I'd have to you know check there but um so basically you need a you need a week week days okay and uh but for 10day cruise you know you can get some good crues out of Boston particularly um if you get on a repositioning Cruise that's when the ship the season's over and the ship leaves and they'll stop a different down south going down south want the they'll stop at various Islands then they'll talk maybe Florida new home Bo he could fly home from the and those are very cheap because it's um so you take the cruise down to Florida you just fly home yeah okay and those are that's an idea I have never thought of yeah you can always get bargin there okay because um and even coming back from Europe you know a lot of cruise ships go over Europe in the summit of the mediteranian come back in the winter and if you on the last Cruise sailing the Atlantic South Atlantic you get some very good deals and you get off and just fly home of course you got to fly over there too the begin with but right you save a ton of money you can save a lot money that way um but um you know and then if or if you take a cruise out of Florida you want 10day Cruise um or best for 10 days you can leave from New York uh they have the Queen Mary too sails out of New York two or three times in Winter and November December and then it's a tremendous it's an ocean line it's not a cruise ship it's an ocean lineer Canad and it sails down to the Caribbean stops at about six or seven islands it sails bad and it's a beautiful beautiful ship um we've been on it twice the white Club service that they talk about um the first time I was on it I was doing a story about it which the Metro was Daily News published and um we got to sit at the Captain's Table we were invited up to the the deck the um what do you call Jesus prominade deck no with with the steering wheel the pilot right up there for tea with the uh Commodore and his wife and they they showed us little could the Titan whe on an ocean line it's like this big about 2 in in diameter and the guy said you the r see that over there that says this is the name of the ship this is what it's carrying this is where it's going nice they watch everything and they had this little table set up and there were two or three English people there Al we sat down and come's wife said to me Peter you don't want any tea I said I don't drink it what do you drink diet coke she didn't even say anything she looked at somebody and the guy's back with the case of diet C 15 seconds like and Peter was in heaven after that yeah this is St this a service it's a beautiful ship tremendous ship we always run out of time faster on all politics local look into the camera tell people how they can learn more about the cruise industry and how they can get in touch with it sure please um if you're interested you can email me at P Chism CH i h LM at Expedia cruises.com or you can call me 508 294 0421 or you can text me at 508 294 0421 and I guarantee if you book a cruise you're going to enjoy it yeah so you know surprise your loved one book a cruise call Peter he'll get you a good deal don't forget to vote in the primary on September 3rd and then take your cruise in between and come back and vote in the November election you've been watching all politics is local he's Peter Chism I'm John featherson we'll talk again real soon thanks for watching thank you [Music]

e e e this is the board meeting all right call to order Julie would you mind calling the RO please Cara Caston here Ken Dawson here cherro Fuller here Jenny hagstrom here Terry pavich no Terry pavage yes hi hi thank you sorry I'm sorry I was distracted I'm sorry down Runner here thank you and Jason Trio Al 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 looks like we're start out with approval of minutes item number three can I get a motion from the Board of Education to approve the minutes of the July 15th 2024 business meeting the August 5th 2024 Workshop meeting with action items and the August 5th 2024 closed meeting so moved second moves 10 seconds thank you Trey pavich regular meeting Terry pavage yes sorry distracted again sorry Ken Dawson yes here cherl Fuller here is that a yes yes thank you still summer still summer yes thank you cast yes and Dan rener yes motion carries thank you item number four Julie do we have any slips no sir we do not okay thank you item number five Hank I'll turn it over to you so uh welcome to Jason rahan to our our board as student Representatives uh they've gone through exactly two days of school um so uh we'll invite them each to just offer their perspectives on the start of a new school year who wants to go first you can go I can go first all right go ahead Jason all right so um starting off nothing but positives this year uh I want to start off with the welcome back uh committee for the Freshman we have this event called Mad Dash at our school and we basically get around around the uh beginning of August and all the upper class when come to welcome the freshman and there's this really cool thing at Mad Dash It's called The Welcome tunnel where we all Hur around the gym entrance where they're going to be located and everyone's just uh like screaming and uh singing along and it's really funny to think about because back as a freshman I just thought what is this walking in but looking back it really made me feel a little more comfortable going into high school and I think that it did serve the same purpose this year um overall big success and the groups that they were in for Mad Dash was pretty unique because they got to spend a little bit of time the first day of school back with them and with a couple of seniors um or blue crew members getting like an intro some tips lockers like what you should do and that was pretty good uh moving on we just got a new football field so that was pretty nice I'm super excited for Friday Night Lights and and I'm proud to say that the scoreboard is prettyy Big um lastly I just want to say uh the past few years they haven't been bad but there has been a lot of changes and it's kind of nice to just get a break from adapting uh going into a sophomore year we had the hybrid block schedule then next year we just fixed all the nooks and crannies this year of course there were some changes as every year comes but it was just a little break and overall it's been super nice toar good um so I just want to start start off by saying you know all the students had a pretty smooth first two days everyone from what I've observed you know everyone's excited to get back in the swing of things you know both for their classes and to see their peers in general um fall Sports have begun and you can see athletes roing around their halls with the two bags it'll be a tough couple buns for them to juggle everyone's schedule right of course with the new track and the new jron in North it makes uh the experience a lot better for all the athletes um and then as for the freshman orientation went very well according to my sister so I have a freshman sister going into um freshman year and she said you know as well as like similar to what South does they welcome all the kids at the front uh kind of area dgn kind of you know chanting and whatnot so she thought it was amazing and she thought it was um very fun kind of got her used to the whole setting of a high school thing um and it helps them transition to the big building and you know even then they still have their anxiety what not going into the big school but yeah hopefully that'll be over within the next week or so so s very good any questions for board members for Honor Jason all right welcome all right uh my reports uh you know before we get into the formal reports informally also you know just reflecting as the superintendent on the start of the school year uh staff came back uh last Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday for inservice days uh we had a keynote speaker the first day that focused on grading and Grading procedures and that W uh the cost of that presenter was offset in some ways by the Education Foundation but uh really one of uh Joe Feldman is one of the most premier thinkers in the area of of grading uh in today's uh educational environment uh and then we after that had some sessions really focused on grading and professional development uh the next day was uh really building focused uh and logistic and reinforcing the Strategic plan and indicators and measures uh and then the third day uh we had a presenter uh the dean of admissions from the University of Chicago and the response on his presentation has been incredible like uh I've never seen such a positive response from our staff about a single presenter U many people have commented that it was the best presenter they heard on an opening day ever which hurt a little bit cuz sometimes I'm the presenter on it um but yeah really good information um uh Peter Wilson from University of Chicago dean of admissions he's also agreed to do a a podcast should we choose to do so for our families and students so we're working on maybe pulling that together uh and then we did uh a few a professional development rotation on a few other topics after that um real positive energy from our staff as Jason said you know we've gone through a lot of changes and tweaks and and those kinds of things over the last several years and with the undercurrents of covid and you know some of the culture wars and those kinds of things it was really nice to get back to a normal start to the school year everybody had really the First full summer in a while to fully recharge and and you know build up the energy that it takes to start and carry themselves through school year and our our staff is ready to go and then when students came back I on Friday and again today uh a lot we freed everybody up from meetings and spent a lot of time in the buildings getting to visit staff and students and it it's really an exciting start with a lot of energy and positivity so excited to get into the school year very well having having been there just Ken was there with me um that morning it you could just feel the enthusiasm and excitement um it was just I think I said to you is palpable it really was um and uh I I too heard a lot of great comments and feedback about the uh presenter from the University of Chicago uh one of the teachers I spoke with said um you know kids don't always have the opportunity to go and talk with their counselors about questions they have about getting into college and and pursuing post-secondary opportunities and often times teachers will be asked questions and you know teachers don't always have the time to stay up to speed on current College admission processes and procedures so to have that presentation there just gives them the confidence to speak you know on an educated basis and to help kids and that's that's another way that we can help kids so I thought it was powerful and uh very well received so thank you I think your team did a really nice job our College and Career counselors followed up after uh the presenter from University of Chicago and then provided contacts around the variety of different Pathways that our students pursue and college page and and what colleges Across the Nation are looking for and you know five of those top factors tie back to grades which reinforces why we started out talking about grades at the beginning of the week so uh it was a really good thread that pulled through the week and a really exciting start all right so under my formal reports uh the first uh couple are procedural that happen every year at this time the first is an action item that comes up this evening which is the approval of a concussion oversight team you can see who that list is you know with athletic uh the associate principles are of Athletics or athletic directors uh associate principles nurses our athletic trainers and uh doctor Consultants that make up that overall concussion oversight team uh Scott really helps head up that team as well uh in his role uh and we're asking for the board to approve this team this evening any questions for scotter ey on this do we pay the F physician Consultants like some kind of retainer to be on call or do they just volunteer their time for this no they're just they're for this they're truly volunteer okay so they're just a good guy so it's and they've been with the district for a while so it's been nice that is great thank you good partnership uh the next one is another similar team or similar process to approve a team this crisis deescalation physical management team uh you can see what they do it's around alternative inter escalation strategies you can see the team there Scott also heads up this team uh and the board approves this team on a yearly basis as well Scott can answer any questions that anybody has on this team if not if there are none we'll just this will be an approval item this evening all right hearing none uh Grant allocations this is also an action item this evening Gina brings these to you every year at this time and I will turn it over to her to discuss uh Grant allocations so as you can see we get most of these grants every year the one grant that is um not necessarily predictable is the ISP Grant which is title three multilingual so it's for El students uh that can fluctuate from year to year and we typically don't find out until uh November December sometimes even January um so I'm not sure if we will receive that Grant again the other grants have remained pretty constant I would like to point out that ctii and Perkins are dedicated specifically to CTE so Career and Technical education and are programming in those areas and you can see uh that at least the funds for CTI have gone up consistently uh the last couple of years and that has proven to be very helpful as we have been adopting new courses require new materials um and that was approved in the state budget as you may have heard um before for the state so that's pretty exciting the others we sometimes get additional allocations as they come in but the 2425 allocations are the allocations as they are right now any questions for Gina all right uh next one is an updated Career and Technical education textbook for this school year I'll turn this one over to Travis just uh real quick we we went to order some replacement textbooks for this and and realized that they were no longer uh available so we needed to look at a newer source for that so uh this is the 2023 copyright of this we're looking for two classroom sets uh that are going to go into the into the classrooms the same book just uh newer addition update yeah any other questions for Travis all right this is also an action item this evening uh asbo international certificate of excellence and financial reporting this is the uh School business official Association for I think they're International not just the United States right um there's a wonderful picture of jeree putting up the 25th consecutive year of of recognition for our excellence and financial reporting uh Jeri continues this tradition joined with Tammy uh in the past year and we have a pretty good thing going and uh good recognition for our team and how they pull all those reports together and publish them with Fidelity on a yearly basis so congrat ulations to dree Tammy and the finance team for their [Applause] work all right and with that speaking of financial reporting I will turn it over to jury to uh give you the overview of where we ended uh up for the last fiscal year that ended on June 30th of this year okay we're taking a look at just an overview of the revenues for the year pretty much the revenues came in as expected as you can see um except for a couple of the line items um on replacement taxes um the state did lower the amount that they distributed during during the fiscal year um and they do anticipate I'll be talking about it in the budget uh for next year they anticipate another reduction in the replacement taxes however as you can see in the interest line item that well exceeded what we had budgeted um we're very fortunate we work with PMA uh they give us some advice on investments and so that did help offset some of the areas that came in a little bit less than what we had anticipated we did received some additional federal aid last year with the cares actone Mone um that has ended um as of June uh but it did help offset some of our additional expenses in special education any questions on the revenues then on the expenditures they also came in pretty much as expected um the one area that was we were a little over on well two areas one was in our salaries we had uh a little additional expenses uh for salaries this year um mainly due to sub costs um for the number of medical leaves that we had last year um and then we also had some additional special education Staffing that we had to fill after we had set the budget the other area that is a little bit higher is purchase services um we did talk about that earlier in the year probably back in January where we had seen our transportation costs we running quite a bit higher than what we had anticipated um and then that's right the the other area is on the utility cost in the supply line item and that's related to the delivery charges for electricity any questions on on the expenses so overall when you look at the total revenues and total expenses we came in pretty much on target we just had some fluctuations with some of the accounts and you see with some of the funds we were a little bit over and some a little bit under than what we had anticipated but overall we ended with 10.6% % of of fund balance so that's a strong ending and I think it's important to point out that that's you know a $2,395 deficit that includes the purchases of the buses correct oh yes correct so the board authorized a an additional $250,000 purchase of activity buses which are will give the district long-term savings and transportation costs um but that that that's reflected in this budget that wasn't in the original budget that was brought to the board so you know in A2 $115 million budget you'll see for this year 112 last year $223 although it's in the red is pretty close to a balanced budget and uh it's good work by all of our teams with these unexpected costs that showed up of managing costs in other areas um especially operations and maintenance you can see that Surplus there knowing that we were facing pressures elsewhere well and and with the buses we purchased used ones so that it was not as expensive as it could have been so we we really saved money there in the long run really yeah so it just was outside of the buet just wanted to make sure people knew we weren't just correct no we we had a a really good opportunity to that purchase Tove US money down the road but you know when you look at when budgets budgets are plans right and that original plan did not have that included it also didn't have the things included that jury talked about but in the end uh you know you're you're very close to a balanced budget uh you know in the end yeah J the 5.5 million of working cash receipts can you explain that please those were the the bonds that we ISS is it's okay for the athletic projects okay mhm all right any other questions on last year I should say 5 million was the bonds and almost 500,000 was interest okay and then there are no expenditures from that fund until when this year this year we'll be bringing a resolution to the board probably in a couple of months as soon as we're finished with the paying for the projects for this year okay and then we'll transfer the money okay and then we have Debt Service on those bonds to pay the interest on them is that we yes we years we had interest earnings from other Bond proceeds that are in that fund and they're paying that that interest earnings is paying for the first two years worth of Debt Service payments okay and then we'll have other debt roll off and those payments will flow into that so there will not be an impact on taxpayers it'll just fill back into what's there there won't be an increase in taxes to to offset those bonds thank you all right good work everybody on last year and now for next year this year that we're entering into and uh this is up as an action item to uh start the bud process that gets approved then next next month all right okay so we're going to start here with revenues um as you can see as i' mentioned that the state informed us um that we would receive another reduction in our replacement taxes uh for this coming year so we have decreased that amount we were well over we were 2.2 million or so um over a couple of years ago but it has dropped now to about 1.8 million um the next line is just the bond proceeds just showing that we received Bond proceeds last year but this year we don't have any plans to issue any bonds we have we are showing a reduction in interest earnings um with the way interest rates are going going we're projecting that we're not going to have the same amount of Interest earnings this year as we did last year Tammy and I also talked to PMA and asked for their advice and they said that we were spoton and what our projection is for this next coming year um you'll see then in the federal aid line item it's a pretty big reduction in federal aid and that's as I'd mentioned earlier that's because we no longer will receive any cares act allocations for this year any questions on what we project for the revenues for this year there's a couple of comments I'd like to make related to the federal aid piece uh for the last several years that federal aid coming in has helped support some of the programs we have in place like the Student Success coordinators uh the path coordinators which are interventions that have been put in place over the kind of covid years that use those federal funds those have been very successful programs for us we've maintained those so that those resources need to shift over from those funds to local funds so in a second I'm I'm setting up like you're going to see some expenditures increasing in the Ed fund but it's those kinds of decisions bringing on those extra folks bringing on additional social workers bringing and these are all kind of higher paid uh teachers right these are teachers with master's degrees and lots of experience and and expertise uh that are going to you're going to see our Ed fund growing because of that we're absorbing those costs the federal government's no longer picking them up but they've become valuable for the programming that we offer okay and here's our projected expenditures by category for the year when it comes to the salary and benefits line items there um those both of those are staying within our Revenue ring um it it is you know a pretty large increase we're looking at over $4 million increase in those two areas but they do stay within our Revenue stream for purchase Services it appears like there's a small increase in purchase Services however in the Ed fund our purchase Services um expenses are going to go they're going to be a little bit less than what they were last year last year we had a number of um positions that were filled with a staffing agency um we don't we we plan just to have one position filled with the staff in Agency for this year um so that will be a reduction in our expenses however in the transportation fund we do show a pretty big increase in purchase Services which is the busting cost for our students um when we look at the supply line item we're showing a reduction um from last year and that's really just related to the number of textbooks that we're purchasing this year it's sign significantly less than what was last year for Capital outlay the number of projects that we pay out of operating funds which is different than the athletic projects um is is quite a bit smaller this year we don't anticipate any technology projects capital projects this year and then just the general repairs and maintenance projects are are less than what they have been in the past other than that um you can see just overall it's a 2.9% increase over last year's actuals we have some areas up higher and some that are lower your comment on the capital outlays for the Athletics is because that's coming from the working Cash correct it's a completely different fund and this is strictly just the general operation mhm so this this slide shows us our operating fund balances what we're beginning with which was at $22,000 small deficit and then what we project our ending total fund balances to be next year so we we do project that we're going to spend a little bit more on our expenses and what our revenues are for the year at this time um [Music] we we know that we have some areas that that we might be able to find some Savings in and so we've we've got teams working on that um and you know hopefully we'll be able to have a a balanced budget at the end of the year but right now this is our projection it's a conservative projection um and we actually have a meeting scheduled next week with all administrators to start identifying some areas where possibly we could have savings overall though we we're showing we're going to in the a fund balance with a 6.2% portion of our of our revenues and that's that's really pretty strong board policy says we have to have at least 3% um Hank and I believe anything over 5% is right where we want to be any questions nice job as always yes it's a team thank you uh one other thing that you'll see later in the year you can see um the bottom line is that key one right right we're show projecting a a slight deficit 294,000 I know in our household budgets 294,000 sounds like a lot of money and it is but in a $5 million budget it's not you know um just some slight changes in electrical use and transportation and you know not Outsourcing positions can make that up very quickly and just like going the other way could make that go the wrong way quickly right so that's why we're having this meeting to keep a close eye on it but JY and I have also started talking about how we Levy Within These funds so that you don't see as big of surpluses and deficits in each of the individual funds and that comes back to the board in the budget process in January so you'll see these kinds of fund adjustments as the year goes on as well anything I miss there jury no all right so there is an action item tonight to start the budget process and then that comes back next month for final approval Freedom of Information requests uh we have received them we have filled them and they can be found uh listed on our website okay item number seven consent agenda before the board votes on the consent agenda is there any agenda item a board member would like to pull out of the consent agenda for further discussion no hearing none can I get a motion for the Board of Education to approve the consent agenda as presented which includes a Personnel report appointment certified contract adjustment certified leave of absence classified appointment classified B Personnel report resignation certified resignation classified C June Treasures report and July Financial Pages d 2024 2025 concussion oversight team and E 2024 2025 crisis deescalation and physical management oversight team so moved second Terry moves 10 seconds thank you Terry P hi Ken dawon hi cherl Fuller hi Jenny hagstrom I car Casten I and Don rener I motion carries item number eight recommendations for Action uh item a can I get a motion for the Board of Education to approve the 2024 2025 Grant allocations as presented so moved second Terry moved Cara yes she's closer so C here quicker Terry Fage hi Cara Caston hi Ken Dawson hi Sherl Fuller hi Jenny hagstrom hi and Don rener hi motion carries B can I get a motion for the Board of Education to approve the updated CTE textbook for the 2024 2025 school year so moved second Cara moved Jenny seconds thank you cara Caston hi Jenny hagstrom hi Terry pavich hi Ken Dawson hi charer Fuller hi and Don rener hi motion carries item C can I get a motion for the Board of Education to accept the tentative budget for the 202 4 2025 fiscal year and established 6:30 p.m.

for August 19th 2024 can I have a roll call please mrone here Mr gate M Johnson Dr Mario here Mr pres M pres president please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all that one okay since there's no public comment we will move on to 5.1 superintendent report Dr katti please good evening board uh welcome back to the 2425 school year um it's been wonderful to be out in our schools with members of our leadership team U members of our Board of Education as well as um all of our District staff and just really I can tell you the excitement is palatable in our schools great seeing students reunited with their friends um meeting their new teachers and getting back in the group of learning together our youngest Learners in early childhood started today and so all schools are officially in session all right as with most learning opportunities um there have been a few challenges and we know that Transportation routes are not running all the time as we have expected or expect and we definitely do not feel this is in any way acceptable um it is our mission in a few minutes I'll invite Mr OB to speak to that briefly on some of the things we to diagnose it um I want to thank our families for their understanding but also your communication it really makes a difference and sometimes you feel like you're not being heard but we want you to know we are hearing every single person who calls and reaches out to us we are reaching back and we're making our efforts and if we're not getting to you yet we will get to you to address the issues um I want to assure you that our team work has been working seven days a week um to improve this today today we began a web page because on Friday we saw there were challenges with the communication systems went down so today we went to the backup plan and we started uh loading our our routes to the transportation web page on our website um we event that and this way there's a late route possibly it shows up there automatically based on working with our dispatch I want to thank our dispatch team and our teams at the at the transportation department for really working since is almost 247 after the last four or five days to get the call with here comes the bus with the versitron routing system with power school I think uh part of it is the fact that a lot of schools are going back at the same time so the the technology firm that's supports uh Transportation they having problem too which is impacting us but I is no excuse we have to do better and we're working very hard to do better and we promise you that we'll be available to take your call to answer your question we are making sure that we get it right and we're working hard to do that thank you thank you Mr Bei um with that we've been working very hard in our human resources department to ensure that every position was staffed um whether it was a full-time educator or Personnel or was somebody who we had to bring in as a temporary person to make sure that every student was welcomed by a welcoming face Dr zmy do you want to add anything to this sure good evening Dr katti and Board of Education um much like um uh transportation we we are making a lot of of progress we're not exactly where we want to be yet uh we still have some open positions uh within our district um our team is working 7 days a week week as well um doing paperwork sessions uh tonight um we're bringing to the board uh a number of recommendations 37 recommendations for support staff um eight recommendations for some new teachers uh we continue to um work to uh recruit uh new staff in in our district um all open vacancies are supplemented in a variety of different ways for our system um in some cases it's a daily sub in some cases a dedicated building sub which is a part of our system where the same teacher um stays in the classroom every day sometimes we contract that service for example a psychologist or teacher's assistant those positions are worked through our we have a process that begins within our special education department that goes through human resources and runs through Finance um we have currently working through a non-compete Clause um where we are looking at a variety of ways to bring on uh very good former contract employees for us um we prefer um in all cases to have our own sd308 uh Personnel uh our contract people while um they are performing a task uh our our preference is an sd308 employee that is supported by our four uh local great unions um the other thing that we have to be careful of is uh with Illinois school code um a substitute teacher may only serf for uh 90 school days for any single position in a school year before they're teacher record so we need to be cognizant of that as well but rest assured there is an adult in every class every day with every child okay um we are allocating resources appropriately um we will continue to build not only for this year um more uh in our Reserve but our teacher Residency program that um is being launched this year and led by anamarie candelario and Reagan srth um are hopeful that those 20 residents will be teachers in our system next year and uh that will help us um be aggressive against the teacher shortage Nationwide thank you thank you very much and just to bring just one more um quick comment just want to acknowledge again all the people behind the scenes who really make our first uh start our first start so successful um our operations teams are custodial Transportation crossing guards office staff teaching assistant and many more other really important roles student registration to really get that start of the Year running um and really led by our school leaders our principles who really invested time in preparing to welcome our Educators and staff back um to make this the best place for our students to grow and learn um on a more uh board related I just want to thank uh we had our back to school bash we had some lemonade stand volunteers I think uh ltin you were out there volunteering that day Mary Joe um Ursula back there thank you Ursula um I Heard lots of we we served over a thousand lemonades I think it was that day um just to welcome folks back and I know many people were passionate about doing that um and I want to thank uh everybody for really coming out to celebrate this important day of coming back together um as a reminder this is really this we could have wish for a better start and I want to thank everybody for their efforts and with that I'll open up to any additional comments on behalf of our entire District we thank the 30 area businesses and organizations who participated and our back to school bash speaking of back to school bash uh event for staff and their families uh this great level of community involvement showcase the importance of our schools and our staff in the community where they live and work we look forward to even more Partnerships forming in the future could you let say that I'm sorry uh another announcement on Friday September 6th our satellite food pantry distribution will resume at the old tber building on Franklin this is open to anyone who needs additional food resources uh please combine between 6 and 7:30 we thank the Kendall County Community Food Pantry for their continued partnership in this effort to support our community excuse me as a matter of process Ursula if there needs to be a movement to public comment at the end that's fine too we can make that motion yeah I can yeah let folks know if they if they would like or or if they want to address it she wants to address it with Heather that's fine too all right um have you checked out the first day videos and pictures on our Facebook page yet if you want a guaranteed smile check it out it's easy to see and feel the excitement in our students and staff on that exciting day I did check that out yeah and it did give me a smile so um the blue and silver bash was a huge success last week pantherfest takes place at OS this Friday these two community events hosted by our high schools are among the many ways they seek to connect their Community with our schools we hope many families future wolves and Panthers and alumni can enjoy the festivities and to go off of superintendent comments that were earlier um do you enjoy working with kids and making a difference in the lives of our future Generations well have we got the job for you we encourage you to consider a career with sd308 we are hiring for bus monitors and drivers teaching assistants custodians and other essential roles that don't require previous experience you'll receive the training and guidance you need to succeed in one of these important crucial roles check out our openings on our district website okay all right and with that I pass it back to you Madame President thank you Dr katti for 5.2 board member comments are there any board member comments can start over here um sure um I will defer to somebody else talking to to speak to all the school visits that took place um but there are two things that I did want to bring up um first of all because I didn't see it anywhere I wanted to share that um Garrett forward has an open house this weekend 24th Garrett Garett forward oh geared forward uhu um and it is from 1 until 3 if anyone wants to go um 1 to three it's at 71 Stonehill it's at their it's at their headquarters um there will be hot dogs I'm told um good when they grill out it's it's really you know if if you have a student that's even remotely interested in robotics I suggest you bring them out to kind of check things out it's it's very the open house at least is very laid-back um and and there's a lot of there's a lot of cool things that these kids do it's actually pretty amazing what these kids do so if you get the opportunity stop by that's this Saturday um the only other comment I want to make is I've gotten um a couple I've gotten a couple comments from parents about clubs that are parent-based um kind like pto's and and that type of thing with a lack of leadership and I just wanted to say that I I mean you know as as a board there's not a whole lot we can do because it's it's goes back to parental involvement but if you have any opportunity to get more involved in your school in your in your student school um please please step up and do so um I know people say that they're busy um we're all busy um that that's unfortun Ely not an excuse anymore but but if you do have the opportunity and you have the inclination I would strongly encourage you to step up and participate that's all for me big impact too yeah just wanted to comment that many of the board members have been out in schools visiting schools on the first week uh with Dr katti um those are going to continue next week I I know tomorrow or this week last week and this week um I know tomorrow I'll be at Fox Chase Elementary in the morning U I was with Mr Gatewood earlier um uh or last week um and I know um latata and Mary Joe Jared have been to some other schools as well so we really enjoy seeing all the excitement around the first day of school uh and have enjoyed those visits and look forward to other visits in the future just just real quick because I have to sorry I'll make it I'll make it real quick I I I appreciate the um update on transportation and I agree like we're not trying to make an excuse but I do think it's important to inject into the conversation that we're not alone when it comes to some of the issues that we're experiencing and I mean I could speak to a couple districts I know um that like they have some stories also and the labor market has not like all of a sudden just loosen up and here we go you know it is still a very tight market and and a lot of these districts are trying to compete for a finite amount of workers and so I'm not trying to say that that's the only thing that's going on but nonetheless I do think we need to be cognizant be able to compartmentalize what is labor market issues and what are things that we can fix good point um I will I will speak to the um steam program that Mrs W wouth and I went to attend um at El uh Wolf's Crossing and B narc so um you know steam is mathematics and science and engineering and all of those um disciplines and there were 850 students over the the course of I think a couple of weeks um who signed up to participate in this program and it was a waiting list for other students to get into it it's like the summer a summer program for students um we partnered with a an organization that provided uh these students with um computer aided design and coding and all sorts of of um disci the disciplines around Steam and they were able to take their projects home with them so they were learning in the in the moment like how to um how to code for this machine that they built and they could see it in real time like if they were supposed to go left and it didn't go left they could come back and recode it I mean and then I from what I understand it's $250 per student and this organization was taking care of that um and for them to be able to take their Projects Home was like the the light in the eyes of those students to that they were working on something that they could physically and tangibly have to take home was just amazing so we're hoping to get more involved with that organization and do more things but um yeah the students you can see it in their eyes it was it was absolutely yeah it's really good awesome I think I think that's it that's okay moving on to 6.1 oh yes um oh the call where the money came from yes yes yes sorry please clarify in terms of the camp that you were just talking about which was very exciting we've seen um videos and pictures we were able to um provide those opportunities to our elementary and junior high students with our summer enrichments yes so yes so um we were able to do maker spaces and drop activities as well as those camps so our um steam uh section of our learning invitation have been very busy the summer trying to make sure that we have a good pathway up to high school and provide additional steam opportunities at our elementary thank thank you Dr love that that's a good use of our money all right 6 point one consent agenda can I have a motion to approve the consent agenda please make a motion to approve all items under consent including 6.1 minutes from the Board of Education meeting on August 5th 2024 open and close session and 6.2 to approve the field trips for overnight and or over 200 miles second are there any questions on the consent agenda Dr Maria hi Mr hi Miss s i Mr i m i motion passes 5 action item 7.1 approval of the Personnel report can I have a motion please make a motion to approve the Personnel report as discussed and presented second Mr hi I Mr hi m s i Dr Mario I motion passes 5 Z action item 7.2 approval of banking services can I have a motion please I'll make a motion to approve the election of serve Bank as our official banking services provider based on the outcomes of the RFP process second Dr Maria hi Mr hi Miss hi Mr I I motion passes 5 Z action item 7.3 approval of jedar purchase can I have a motion please make a motion to approve the Jetter purchase from Alan J Coleman in the ount of $ 24,79330 I just uh want to make sure the community knows that that's all so all right okay so can I have a motion to we already made a motion oh no I'm sorry wrong thing go on MAR hi Mr hi Mr hi motion passes 5 Z now can I have so can I have a motion to return to public comment and move it to right now we making it 8.1 is that what we're doing 4.1 we're moving to now what are we moving it to I think I would just I make it 8.1 okay make a motion to move we have 8.1 as a German so okay make a motion to add 81 as comment thank you make a motion to add 8.1 as public comment second Miss hi Mr hi Miss hi Dr hi Mr hi motion passes 5 so on behalf of the Board of Education I would like to thank the public for attending tonight's meeting we value the feedback we receive from our members of the public and encourage everyone to take an active interest in their Public School System residents interested in speaking to the board this evening are asked to have completed a comment card and presented it to the secretary to the board when the secretary calls your name I ask that you come to the microphone state your name for the public record and provide your feedback please note that comments are limited to five minutes per person and that no discussion of personnel matters stating staff names or responses to your questions are permitted the board does not participate in discussions during public comment followup to your questions or comments or concerns will be addressed by Administration through the contact information providing on the comment card thank you Michelle thank you board I was trying to help a firsttime dad to the district who was lost and looking for an early childhood education meeting so thank you and thank you for helping me figure that out and I think I got him pointed in at least the right direction um so I appreciate this thank you uh Michelle Trager um I have four kids in the district still um I want to say hello I want to acknowledge the commendations that Dr katti received last week and the recognition of progress made I want to thank Dr katti and the board members who welcom students at the doors to their schools in the rain last Thursday and then traveled around the district uh I want to share the reminder that next month is fetal alcohol Spectrum Disorder awareness month and that September 9th is fasd awareness day I hope that our district will continue to raise awareness and share information about this brain-based disability that occurs at least at a prevalence of 1 in 20 more than twice the rate of autism and in our district again that amounts to at least 850 students who are likely impacted most of whom are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed um so what I want to do is encourage the district to explore training in neurobehavioral approaches and I know we don't have anyone here from diverse Learners tonight uh make myself available whatever I can do to provide resources to them the word neurodiversity is used a lot now uh but it's not just a new way or a nicer way of saying that a brain is functioning differently than expected similarly when we say we strive to be trauma informed it means more than trying to create safe spaces and felt safety it means believing that trauma may have changed the way the brain developed it requires actual training in how we work with individuals recognizing in that the standard ways we have been taught social learning cognitive behavioral Star Charts sticker charts Point systems and I was taught that way a long time ago too as a school social worker uh and a mental health worker those are not effective for all types of students particularly when we suspect a brain that functions differently it's not enough to have the heads of our programs learn a little about fasd this takes real commitment to examine our values so I wanted to share a couple little examples from last year that I know of that sort of illustrate this this necessary value shift in one Elementary School a volunteer was asked by an aid if he would mind talking to a young student for a few minutes about the students's favorite cartoon characters very soon the teacher came out and stated that the students behavior did not Merit him getting that attention and that time to talk about his interest and she took him back to the room I know in at least two elementary schools and I'm sure there are others where young students were not allowed to attend their classroom parties not because they were unsafe during the actual parties but as a consequence for behavior in the days leading up to the party I know that makes sense to us with our valued systems but let me ask you and it's not rhetorical do you think that consequence changed those students behaviors that they remembered the next time they were disregulated that they were able to connect cause and effect that they were able to regulate and behave as expected if they just tried harder the answer for some of these students is no and what do you think happened when the students realized they had missed their class parties the feelings of rejection grow and build on each other and perhaps the behavior escalated again because of it I haven't usually shared my personal experience with these situations but when my son was in second grade he missed the Valentine's party he had been warned it had been explained if you don't earn this many points or if you have a tantrum then you won't be allowed to attend he was asked did he understand yep he ended up missing the party which to him didn't make sense because the day of the party he had been earning all of his points I had signed up to work that party which I did while he sat off in some other room that was 10 years ago still sticks with me and that was when I didn't know better so I went along with it that's what I mean about a value shift if we're using these systems and these consequences that don't result in improved outcomes why don't we try something new instead we say the student is defiant resistant we say they should be able to meet these expectations B based on their age or their verbal abilities but we're missing that parts of their brains did not evolve as expected maybe the working memory retrieving information Making Connections processing understanding cause and effect or sensory stimuli and it is different for each student and it is a scatter Ed profile meaning they perform close to expectations in some areas but not in others it also means inconsistent performance from day today some days they may be able to perform a task and the next day not be able to do that exact same thing are they lazy are they oppositional this does not mean we don't ask for accountability we still do but we do it while accommodating for an environment that is a poor fit for the brain-based disability and shifting our think and values from behaviors to symptoms of that disability please consider that and again anything I can do to help our new diverse Learners team pursue that neurobehavioral approach let me know thank Youk you thank you all right 9.1 can I have a motion to adjourn make a motion to adjourn second all in favor I

e e e I like to call tonight some eating order Mandy can you take a roll call aif here ful presid Hil here no here pepis here FY here Gman here I need a motion in second to approve the agenda so second jeez audio aif yes Fulk yes Hil yes Nolan yes papis yes FY yes Gorman yes motion is carried business manager flug is here and she's going to go over any changes to the proposed Northern cane budget so typically there is no new changes to the budget usually the state gives us our number before when I'm presenting the Tena to budget um there is one change that on the revenue side um revenue and expenditure side that you'll see in a second um but tonight I'm just asking you to formally approve the fy2 budget um it's been posted for its 30 30 days and um and then I will after if it's approved then I will deliver it to everywhere so in the slide the only slide that changed we did create a budget revision here so you can see that we um shifted a little bit of some benefits um because we had some better estimates come in and then the um for the CTE Grant we got 714 197,000 or $197 extra um each School District that belongs to the northern cane is getting a 100,000 for each school and then there's 308 just sitting there for um other projects that any of these districts could get depending on um their plans and what they can actually come to fruition so that's the only change on the budget and then then if I jump ahead um to this Slide the new dollar amount for the CTE Grant is just over two million so 2 um 34 million um so the ending beginning balance was $445,000 and it's still ending with that because we just increased the expenditures anticipating that they would spend that money and then here's a new breakdown of the grant allotment um and you can just see that it's literally 100,000 added to each one of those schools from the tenative budget and that's the only revision to the budget there was nothing else made to the Perkins Grant um and you can see it's reflected here again on this slide any other questions thanks public comment oh it's just information sorry yeah no public comment for this meeting I have any motion second to adjourn so move second uh Hulk yes pil yes Nolan yes papis yes FY yes a yes Gorman yes motion is carried we got like six minutes before we start the next meeting so you can Mingle great e e e Manny can you take roll call a here Fulk pres pil here Nolan here papis here BBY here Gorman here a motion in second to approve tonight's agenda till moved second aif yes Fulk yes Hil yes Nolan yes papis yes FY yes Gorman yes the motion is carried please join us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance Al the United States of America and to the for it stands Nation indivisible with liy and justice for all thanks to everybody who came out tonight and thanks to those watching at home Dr B yeah thank you for everybody who was watching as well as those out there I also wanted to give a special thank you to is Dan pawe here uh to Dan pawe and his his crew uh they done a lot of work in getting the buildings ready he was instrumental in helping us with our kickoff today uh but they buildings grounds M his cre has been very very hard at work trying to get uh classrooms ready builds with buildings ready stuff on the out exteror we did a lot of stuff with playground so thank you Dan and make sure your team knows how much we appreciate it thank you um also want to thank the administration team um obviously the summer has been full of a lot of work trying to get ready uh for the year and so I appreciate the work that all the administrative group did uh my cabinet team really did a lot uh today to try to get the kickoff uh we're dressed like this not usually normal attire for us uh but we did have our school kickoff um today for all districtwide so a lot of things were happening as our teachers came back so um we're thankful to having me back and and ready to go so um thank you all for coming out tonight Dan's team won the contest the costume contest to with all bright orange shirts today for all of his facilities and grounds buildings and grounds it you guys looked very good I liked it we're gonna move on to public comment I believe the first person up was Michelle Shuda all right good evening everybody good luck this week going back to school very exting a30 million ref on ballot in November after a95 million referendum was Solly defeated in March I have a hard time weing that the proponents of this new referendum will change the minds that Ved what will be theils I like when the referend failed inch there was no or consideration or backup as what do we next so if this ref is going to be put on a ballot which I know you're going to be voting on tonight I'd like to know what your backup plan is I think that's important what would be the board's willingness to consider a less cly new construction solution to the overcrowding at the elementary level I think as a citizen in this District I just want to share with you why I would vote Yes I would vote yes if you would be building a new elementary school because I feel as though that's where our issue is now I would if this Elementary School would be put where the population is in our district over towards elent I've lived here for 22 years I live across the street from Central High School everybody said oh in 20 years the that's where the grow is I was disappointed when the land was purchased to the current high school and middle school because we spend an awful lot of money on busing there is land available or miles closer to Elgen here in of our school district I get it we're Central those buildings are in the central geographical location of our district but all the people and the children are over there Bu The New School along 47 if it's a Middle School a high school or an elementary school we're going to just be busing more kids out here when alreadying kids to hbt and they live away I live where I live because I said be a great place for children to grow up and school the schools are right AC the street and yes one year my child had to take a 45 minute bus ride to go to PK but I was theol were close to my house that's the decision that I as and there so many people in this school district that would say yes I want my child to go to a school that is next to our house so keep the schools over that's what I would vote Yes for but right now a30 million high school here 47 I'm still a thank you all right thanks next up is Jee Meyer hang on hang on thank you well how did that happen that it was not on for her okay thank you though Jean Meyer resident Christian representatives of we the people you board members are supposed to be transparent bringing issues to the people so we can give an educated opinion so that you can represent us I was unable to attend the special meeting last week and was disappointed not to be able to see rsps analysis of our facilities and enrollment prior knowing that attendees would be in the dark and unable to make informed public comment before the meeting comments I heard from two attendees I felt like they were going to do what they were going to do and disregard public input they spoke as if they were the only ones in the room end quote second comment I felt exactly the same way and quote surely I thought the board will make sure to give the public time to review and comment but was told the decision was made at the special meeting to go back to referendum for a new high school looking at the agenda today I see the referendum can now be for a price tag of 224 million and we still have the those two field houses and that's expensive and redundant and this question begs to be asked why are we proposing a huge school to replace the 15-year-old Prairie NS middle school or the 30-year-old Central High School when RP's data shows we only possibly are going to see 742 new students in the next decade with 60% of that completely dependent on the pingry creek subdivision moving ahead quickly we don't know if it will in the next 5 to 10 years I've spoken here in the past on why we have elected officials representative government in our marvelous constitutional republic with so much Bounty and so much Freedom major and costly decisions should be made by this board and require public input and major discussion and are not to be made by unelected officials we hold the board accountable by voting them out if we need to um I recall coming to the board meeting after the last referendum failed to find a new addition to the high school had commenced with no chance for the new board discussion or public input this is not how representative government is supposed to work the school district belongs to the taxpayers in our district and to no one else finally new topic from an ex transgender breaking news the US Supreme Court has blocked by five to four vote the Biden Harris Title Nine rewrite which would affect it which affect all schools getting public money um this would have allowed men into women's sports bathrooms locker rooms dorms and compelled speech uh with pronouns you each know the agenda is wrong and sinful and yet we never hear a word opposed to it you you will soon be standing on the losing side as more transgendered students who have detransitioned with irreversible physical and mental damage um God knows your heart and do what's right for our students and start speaking up thank you thanks J all right move on to action reports any motion second to discuss and approve the consent agenda some second so included in your board packet are your revenue and expenditure reports revenues are currently at 3% 3.09% compared to 3.84 a year ago um expenditures are at 9.41% compared to 7.57 a year ago uh we received impact fees for 164,00 for 13 new home starts um no transition fees came in since the last board meeting uh bills payable report for both Northern cane and Central are typical for the month of August um in included in Central's report is um shes mcnut construction for 1.7 million both of our audits have started for Central 301 and Northern cane um they're moving really fast um I think the fastest I've ever seen them move um so we're cranking through stuff and I'm still anticipating some clean audits for both any questions for Dan on that right Fulk yes mempo yes Nolan yes papis yes vuli yes a yes goret yes motion is carried next we need a motion second to to excuse me to discuss and approve the northern King County Regional locational system budget for the 2024 to 2025 school year I'll moved second so right before this meeting we had the um the public hearing to talk about one change that there was for this the revenue um there was no public comments and we're just asking for formal approval here Hil yes Nolan yes papis yes FY yes aif yes Fulk yes Gorman yes motion is carried next the motion in second required to discuss and approve the tenative budget for Central 301 for the 2024 to 2025 school year so moov second let sorry get while this is pulling up tonight I'm presenting um the tenative budget for fy2 um for Central 301 asking you to formally approve it um it was put on display on Friday and it's been out on the front um front office for other people to to view it was posted in the newspaper um let me get this okay um it'll be on display for 30 days um sorry and then uh public hearing will be held before September 23rd's meeting just after a 30-day so just a recap a quick summary of 23 24 um revenues exceeded expenditures and all the funds except for the education and on andm funds um this was mainly due to the Central High School classroom addition which we knew we were going to be dipping into our own fund balances for that that fund um we're starting out this FY 25's budget with positive fund balances um and then with the reserves that are there these are the reserves that we built up over the years to help us with capital projects and any other future ones that we we have coming up um some major capital projects that we completed last year or they're almost to be completed so a big chunk of the money was spent in 24 even though there's some residual in 25 um the high school classroom Edition most of the exterior is all done um we know the things that are still outstanding and then the generators were completed there's a little tiny bit of money that fell into this fiscal year but those are um completely done and then a lot of the stuff that we plan for fy2 we try to purchase a year in 20 in May and June to try to get most of that into 24 when we could just to re use up some of these reserves um that's been our normal practice this is um the budgeting philosophy it hasn't changed um in the past uh I don't know how many years um number one reason we're here is for our students and making sure that they have what they need to be able to succeed um and then making sure the staff have the tools that they need to to teach the students the things that they need to learn um so that's our our top priority and then in the circle around it we have to be sensitive to our taxpayers um we have to maintain our Reserves um when we maintain our fund balances it gives us a steady cash flow so when money our Levy starts to be used up throughout the year in in May and June we get that next payment but during that time our cash flow gets really tight um so the reserves help us make sure that we don't have to go out for tax anticipation warrants um those can um cause you to pay for interest that you don't need um we've not had to do that in many many years and then it strengthens our bond rating so when you do have to go out for a referendum um it gives you a better tax rate um on the interest that you're going to or not tax rate it gives you a better interest rate on the taxes that or on the bonds that you you get um and then you also get a higher state recognition so at a four a zero to four scale we've been 3.8 3.9 for the last 10 years um and then we just try to be fiscally responsible with our purchases um trying to safeguard the assets that we have um and make sure that they're all staying where they should be these are um some of the key points um with the budget you have um revenues and expenditures mixed up on here your top revenues come from your local property taxes and your evidence-based funding um which is a state revenue um expenditures your biggest thing is your salary and your benefits um not surprised because we're in people that's salaries teachers all of them um and then you also have your bus leases and your bus Fuel and your technology and your um property insurance and your special ed tuition so those are some of the big ticket items that fall in all of these buckets and along with all of our Capo projects this slide shows um the sources of revenues kind of broken out by local state and federal um a lot of these they don't change sometimes we may get a new grant that might flip either on the state revenue or the federal revenue um these ones have been on here um I don't think there's any new ones that we have that has come on here but you can see in the local you have your property taxes your registration fees your Athletics your lunches your impact fees state is the evidence-based funding then you've got some grants you got the Career Tech Ed Grant and then you have um special ed private facility and your orphanage and then your transportation your regular special transportation and on the FED side you have all of your title grants you have title one two three four you have your idea grants which are special ed grants we have a preschool and a flowr grant we have Medicaid and our Perkins and our national school lunch so in the budget there's always assumptions trying to project what we're how how the budget is kind of put together um local taxes we've usually receive about 49 to 50% in the fall and the other remaining in the spring so we're projecting the same 50/50 split um and then our local taxes are approximately 65.8 million that includes the bond and interest for evidence-based funding we're projecting it to be 14 m765 th000 for fy2 we're getting an additional $2.7 million um we're still in tier one in the calculation so that means that we're still in the poor um and mainly it's due to our enrollment numbers just increasing so um for the state categoricals same budgeting that we've done the last I don't know how many years um they're delayed one payment so we're still going to I'm projecting we're going to get that last one that's owed to us from last year this year and then three for the remaining so I don't see them making a five payment to ever get out of this cycle so this cycle is probably going to just continue um unless they don't pay um impact fees we're projecting at 1.3 million um last year we received 1.5 um there's a lot of new houses out there so we're just I'm projecting 1.3 um and then transition fees we projected at 50,000 which is what we received last year these are the seven main objects for expenditures so in the expenditure side of the budget you have um all of your functions so you have all of your different departments that break out the budget but then the next layer in the account series is your object so this will tell you the the salaries the benefits the purchase Services supplies outlay Capital outlays the non- capital and the dues and fees so each one of those boxes have different account numbers in the account as we know salaries and benefits make up a major part of any school district's budget so here you can see that salary salary and benefits make up 63% of our total budget um in all of our operating funds this doesn't fluctuate very often um I think it's been 62 um I think it might have been 64 so it's 6 63% this year and this slide illustrates um a breakdown by all the funds so you here you can see the education fund that's where it's the biggest where the most expenditures that's where all almost all of the teacher salaries come out of there um then you've got your next biggest piece is your on M fund which is your operations maintenance that's all of your buildings cost and your um custodian salaries um and then Transportation would be the next biggest on the expenditure side for theum assumptions these ones are mostly all the same um you we adjusted for the best and the ca salaries that are in the contract we adjusted for the benefits um for the cost increases for the medical insurance and some new enrollments on the Staffing side we adjusted for all the staff that we currently have and any open positions that we have um in the capital projects um the 20 classroom Edition the district off office uh finishing out the renovation there and then any possible if there's a new school after tonight's discussion uh modular units um if needed we did um Paving throughout the district so all of that money will come out of this year's budget um and then we just have any other major projects we have on our list of of things to get done we just have to see how much we can afford and just keep chunking off our list and then the increased cost in the bus fuel um property insurance is through the roof this year um special ated tuition increased quite a bit this year so those are some of the Heavy Hitters that changed tremendously um and all of that's been accounted for in this budget um this slide just shows you some of the top salaries um kind of just elementary middle school high school classroom salaries Athletics and then the total education fund salaries at 34,9 th000 this slide is a little bit more of the education fund it kind of just a couple departments the food service department at 1.9 special ed at 6.5 and the technology budget at 2.8 um total education expenditures are 61 million 262 just going to go back one slide oh no on that sorry this one so that that's about half of it right the salaries and athletic salaries the other half of that 17ish million is all of our other support staff correct yes just to clarify okay um this slide is your on M fund that's where you have all your custodial grounds and maintenance um you have your services your supplies and the capital outlay the projects that we have listed in the actual detail budget but and then the total on andm expenditures is $1 14.4 million Transportation fund same thing you've got your salaries at 2.5 million you got bus leases you've got fuel small contingency built in there and your total for transportation is 6.6 million your remaining funds have um your debt Services your bonds um this year we have a big Bond payment it's 9.4 million um we have irf capital projects on there and then our tort which is where our property insurances in our legal work comp at 1.1 million how has that fluctuated over the past few years for the Tor fund um it's increased um property casually is huge um you have to remember when you um we built and the new buildings you add more buildings you're going to add more insurance that you have to put on there um and then just the overall insurance with all of the whole Statewide getting more expensive it's crazy I think it was a 15 to 18% increase so this chart demonstrates um our un audited fund balance and the beginning fund balance for every fund um is the first the second column um then you have your revenues over your expenditures so it shows you if your revenues were positive um you have a positive number if you were going to spend more than revenues coming in you'd have a deficit um did I skip the slide sorry I skip the slide okay this makes so here you have your projected revenues and then your projected expenditures and then the difference between the the two so you can see that the onm transportation and Tor fund all have deficit spending um on andm is still the residual of the high school addition that we knew that we'd be dipping into the fund balances the other two are just because the increase in costs in those funds um they both have fund balances so you'll see on the next slide that we still end in a positive fund balance um even with these these negative balances so now you have um your audited un audited fund balance in the First Column and then you have the differences from the prior slide in there and then it'll show you where your projected FY 25 ending fund balance is going to land so they will all still have a positive fund balance was there anything striking to you in any of the funds as far as differences from p years other than what was expected um no surprises no I think um the the Property and Casualty Insurance is a lot and the special ed tuition was a lot um those two were the biggest that was like holy cow you know those were big um but the rest most of them are known in line with what we would expect y so my normal statement here is we get this money this is actually for next year's we don't have all this money just sitting in our B this is money that's allocated for next year's expenses your Levy is your Levy receipts yes so what we receive in May and June that 50% is for next year's for FY 26 is expenditures yes so that Levy so these are inflated in that number correct yep making sure I still understand it 12 times a charmm y um so this slide just kind of shows you your our just other issues and concerns that we have to keep in mind um obviously we all know our building capacities are we're out of space um any with these new students you have FTE increases because you have more teachers that are needed when sections are splitting um the transportation still I mean we're making doe with where we're parking them but at some point we're going to have way too many buses that we need another solution for the storage of those buses um and then the rising cost we already talked about with the um insurance and the the tuition stuff um supply chain delays is not as bad I know food service has a little bit um we're waiting on the some kind of whatever the electrical for the high school edition um or the HVAC whatever that piece was and then the last two those two haven't changed they're still out there every time I go to a meeting they're still talking about it um I don't think there's any movement on it so I don't not that concerned with it for this next fiscal year um but there's always new legal mandates and things that we have to implement so we're always watching it we're always monitoring it um making sure that we stay stay up with it so that's it any questions so if we purchase mobiles that comes out of capital projects correct okay so that's why you increased come out of capital projects or onm there's a like a capital projects line in the onm fund yes y okay any other questions for David thank you right Nolan yes papis yes buy yes AI yes pulk yes pil yes Gorman yes motion is carried all right next a motion in second to discuss and approve the Hazardous route for per review grade school so moved second so included in your board packet um is a memo to approve the prayview one it's been established uh many years ago um annually we have to re uh approve it um so that's what we're just asking for you to approve that one the version that we have is 71717 in here 2017 just same one over and over resubmit it there's nothing else we don't even resubmit it you just need to it y so the other ones that we did last month um they we sent a certified mail we received the certified copy back so we know that they received it um it said I think when I was reading it it said they had 30 days for them to respond so we've not heard back but then next year next month when we do we'll report it out um not nothing for you to act on but then next year when we do this you'll have all of them on there okay so all right maybe pepis yes fuli yes aif yes Fulk yes Hil yes Nolan yes Gorman yes motion is carried really quickly while we're un busing I just want I don't know if Esther mentioned Pam Porto and certainly all the hard work that she puts in the beginning of the year I spoke to her today at um when we were up at the high school and so it sounds like she's feeling good for the most part about where team is and she always puts in so much work to navigate our busing system and you know all the kids and you know so I appreciate that so I Thank you Pam yeah she does a great job she's done a good job of getting Staffing this ready to roll so she feels very confident of the school year compared to last year at the end of school year all right we need a motion second to discuss and approve the handbook for the 2024 to 2025 school year so moved second to add to the so the amb came forward last month for you take a look at they gave you the Chang within the handbook um for the recommendations remembering this year that we took all of the different handbooks with elementary and middle school and high school combined them together in a one handbook so they're all on Compass as well as dependencies that are part of that they go home within the first few days of schools of students starting school um for signatures with parents so is there any questions from last month to this month w oh yes I did not hear my name first thank you put your Ling ear on yes pil yes Nolan yes papis yes Gorman yes motion is carried right so before we get the next motion we got to discuss this to figure out which motion we want to make if we want to make you pick one first and then discuss is that what you're saying we going to discuss first and then discuss first then Pi yeah all right so since I wasn't there you know I listened to the discussion floating around in the Caribbean trying to do my best to listen to that while I was on vacation uh so I'm curious just from your Collective perspective you six what your thoughts were about the presentation and take the presentation uh gave us like a very detailed uh explanation of of information that the administration had provided to us but without necessarily all the kind of uh uh like social science and yeah and theal component so um when I walked away from that special meeting what I essentially saw was you know that RSP told us that yes we are going to see this growth we're going to outgrow our facilities we're going to need to um build something thing and it provided the data behind sort of some of the assumptions that we made U more uh in a rudimentary fashion but it didn't change the fundamentally the fundamentally what needs to happen and what the repercussions will be if we don't do something that was my takeaway anybody else just out of curiosity I think one of the other takeaways was you know they talked about a facility master plan um more than once and I know in the community it's been mentioned also about that and so me personally I could admit me coming from corporate I don't know a lot about that so I'd have to lean on some of my Educators I don't know Jennifer do you know anything about that or I just I just need more detail around that or understanding in having experienc that before I can I can give you a quick rundown and I could talk all night so I'll keep it to like five minutes three um so for the facilities master plan what it really is is yes we need a building we have kids in mobiles we are losing instruction time our class sizes are too all these things are happening because we don't have space um you take an objective Outsider because let's be honest every single person in this district has a bias you all want to do the best for the kids in the building and a outside Source similar to what you did for RSP who facilitates it would be able to gather committees made up of District admin building admin community members Park District staff parents uh teachers support staff high schools whoever at the whole gamut um and there are three main buckets that go into that that I experienced um bucket number one is um what's going what do you need inside these buildings new building current buildings your admin at the buildings know these things because they're in there every day um what how are the learning spaces prioritized do we need more for SP adaptive PE theater uh stem class whatever it is pltw whatever um and then I'm sorry project Le the way I teacher speak um also playground spaces everything what what do we need um the other bucket is the actual physicality of it h how do we do these things the design how do we change schools what do we need in main projects what's coming down the line do we need to replace HVAC are you know from all the buildings so that's bucket number two prioritizing your stuff bucket number three facilit like facilitating focus groups the getting everybody involved and having surveys done and whatnot but you have to have an objective third party do it because you need somebody out of who's in the thick of it also people who should not be involved with this because it would be presented to us is the superintendent and the Board of Education because we are the ones who would be sitting here getting the presentations we should not have our hands in any of it to let everyone else have a voice and then things are prioritized and then they come to fruition from there so that's kind of my overarching what I've experienced in a nutshell would be present though like would we be present at these I want to add to that that um so I looked I I looked that up uh the facilities master plan what what goes into it I looked at district 303 they did it and um like basically uh a facilities master plan from from what I saw from 303 it's it's it's a a plan that describes a state of the district's infrastructure it details the capacity of the school buildings uh within the district and it forecasts Trends to determine future student populations um when 303 did it they engag the community they engag the administration they engaged the Board of Education district 303 engage RSP to get a forecast of the future and I looked at everything that they did and they called it a facilities master plan and then I went to the central 301 net referendum website and we didn't call it a facilities master plan process but we did many if not all of the same things over the past two years that ultimately goes into that now we didn't come out with a uh document called a facilities master plan but the fundamental topics issues and concerns and data that goes into that a lot of it we've done since I think we started this in what November of 2022 so um that's that's what I took away from it so I know that um the gentleman from RSP you know in his document talked about having this but and and I had the same question I'm like well what is it right and when I looked into it and then I compared it with all this work we've done the last two years I I kind of walked away thinking you know we we we've done a line share of that I ask guys one thing but really quickly because even the master plan that they did in 2017 already got blown up when they closed Fox Ridge and now it's reopened right so that's the whole thing too you can do whatever you want their Dynamics are still unpredictable right and that was a huge you know they that twice in seven years essentially which is pretty significant um and then what's Rob right was that his name what's Rob's take on the idea of a facilities master plan and how that would overlap with what we've already done and ie I'm thinking of V diagram right like what is what would be needed to be done what would be presented in a different way that would still be under the umbrella of a master plan that we already have done to Jay's Point yeah so one of the things I did talk to I called Rob and talked to rob a little bit about hey I know you mentioned this what does this look like the board was questioning some of those things and according to Rob we've done most of it um he believes that if you take a look at the design that we had done for the new high school and you compare it to what we currently are experiencing with the current High School holes that we see or you look at Middle School programming you look at the challenges you're having there where is the need in the district what is it that you're looking for he's only going to come out and tell you the exact same thing that we've already done what we know is our need um he obviously is more than willing to work with us and is willing to have a look at some of those types of things in parallel with where we're at today but he does not think there's anything that's going to be massively different than what we've already taken a peek at and what he's found throughout his own presentation what we've already discussed right CT labs are important trying to find Encore extra exploratory spaces the facility when they talk about functional capacity he used our class sizes that we have in our CA the reality is that we know in a high school setting most of our classes don't run at 30 you know we have some classes that run at 30 but when you take a look at our AP classes honors classes specialized classes u in English math any of those they're running somewhere between 15 18 students per class and so when you're running them at that level English one English two those ones that are we can make those 30 because every kid has to take those when you start to break into sectioning of coursework that kids choose or want to take those numbers go dramatically down so to do a functional capacity at 30 per classroom we're never going to fit into that kind of a building inside of a high school it's not how a high school functions a high school functions in giving students choices High School functions where the students are at High schol functions and making sure you're meeting the demands of those kids that are inside your classroom uh whether it's a special education student a student that's in the honors track somebody in the general education additionally they have exploratories and one of the the goals of the district has been to maintain programming or options for our students so that they have um opportunities to experience things prior to exiting our doors so they're not going off into either a career or college and not having an idea of what they're connecting to and so making sure we we have those opportunities for our students has always been one of the elements we have we've done Regional Pathways we work with u46 District 300 303 is going to join board with us uh in 2526 to offer more opportunities that requires us to have our kids exit our doors drive to wherever they're going we take them he usually takes a class or two out of their sectioning uh because they have travel time we work joined with Fox Valley Career Center out of Maple Park which is cin School District to provide other opportunities again that takes them usually they lose two sections um that one's the third section out of their schedule where they have to reduce what they can actually take because a travel time um and so I it's the ODS of what do you want to offer what is it that we want our kids to have for an experience and what gets us to be able to provide that educational experience for our students one of the things that I know um has come across in my email as well as I think it's been on the Internet is the discussion relevant to three options that has been put forward um for $80 million the problem with those options are very very large partly I've talked to our civil engineer who works with um the grounds and all of our parking stuff at the high school and the parking issue isn't easy um my understanding from our civil engineer who actually has his partner constructed the high school when it was built and I'm going to try to do the best I can to explain this I do not understand at all they took good dirt from where the current spot that is just south of the entryway and they move that good dirt to put it where we put the building when they constructed it and they moved what they call bad dirt but they call it something different to that spot so they would have to do soil boring um the obviously the um retention and detention that we have to maintain and Dan can probably talk more about this than I could but the retention and detention that you have to have in preparation for the hundred-year flood which is a requirement would would either require to do underground if we had to Su or getting rid of that according to our civil engine which could be expensive or trying to make it much larger which would take up land from other areas um that we currently don't have a lot of spots there um you know you could try to use Central Middle School as a thing the distance there is problematic uh to try to get kids back and forth to the schools um so it's all those different challenges that we come up with so parking isn't an easy fix and is not as an ensive as people might think it seems easy we can just put a parking lot in that's not the reality of where we live because of how they use that land when they constructed and some of the other detention or uh retention issues we have with the mandates of those um types of things within the county and the government um when we look at you know I know they said to eliminate hallway lockers we could do some of those hallway lockers and put locker blanks but that's a lot of money where you going to put the locker Banks we don't have they say to expand the the hallways well our hallways are set they're finite we can't move our walls out so to remove lockers from where they're they're encased inside the wall and put locker Banks somewhere in the center I'm not sure where we' put those our hallways right now are not broad enough or wide enough to be able to do that uh so that could be problematic um we could look at traditional cafeterias I don't think you're going to get that much more seating there um and then the issue is we still have an auditorium that's way too small we you know we can keep running different programs but the auditorium is too small for that size building in addition to we do not have the Career Tech education lab spaces that we need even though we're putting on the 20 classroom addition it does not come out to 30 time 20 which is 600 kids it's the reality of it um where we're at anybody who's at the high school this year can tell you we're out of space right now we will open that wing for classrooms it doesn't take care of the other programs that we have one of the other things they said is we could put on 8 12 classroom Edition to perel Middle School sure we could do that the problem is if been to pero Middle School we snake kids and we snake parents all the way to the back of pero Middle School to get them off nestler we had a massive Traffic Challenge at PR middle school but to snake them all the way to the back of our school just to get them around you had more kids there I don't even know how we're going to handle the traffic pattern the other issue with pero Middle School is where we put that addition where where it's automatically going to go up takes care of our busing spots you just heard we have a busing issue where are you going to store the buses where you going to drop off the kids how you not kind to cross over where those kids are seating kids are coming in and out safety patterns are an issue so you have a traffic pattern issue you have a Bus Loop issue you have pickup and drop off issues you have spaces for electives more kids you have we can build but what are you g to do on elective space we have finally with have one art room we have a music and a band room we have CTE spaces but you're going to have to put more spaces on because where are you going to put those kids for electives you going to cut electives we can cut electives no electives I me those are challenges I think people don't consider these sound like really good Solutions but for the dollar but the dollar isn't the solution the solution has to be something different and honestly we have a bond debt of 116 million that we can take out without going with the debt limit we can't fix our problems where we're sitting with our enrollment crisis we cannot fix our enrollment crisis within within the debt limitation we just can't we don't we have way too many things that are challenging us that cannot be fixed with those those dollars that is where we're faced we can Band-Aid whatever you want to call we heard Band-Aid you know well to be fair we can go we can go a lot cheaper than any milon we can go put mobiles everywhere and I mean there are things that we could do do I think that is the best idea absolutely not actually they're coming quicker now right Dan eight to 10 weeks you say y so so we have options again I mean so we can talk about about the financial kind of impact on our taxpayers we're obviously all taxpayers we all live in well seven of us live in the district some others do too and so I think the the the challenge is we also have to balance the needs of our teachers right so we're already pushing out being out of those mobiles at the earliest until 2027 at this point even if anything were to be decided on and the public were to vote for referend correct we're already expanding outside of those we're going to need more mobils by then I don't think there's any doubt about that we know that's going to be the case for going to be adding more I think you know if I were a teacher in a mobile and I liked it that's fine but I don't think most teachers do we've got teachers that are at some point going to have to be moving at least at that those levels probably un cards especially if we don't want to put more mobiles then we have to sacrifice our specialty teachers right specials and then they're going to be displaced or not have a home at least in a different way I should say card right exactly I mean so I think there's the balancing needs of the students which clearly needs to be the priority the needs of the teachers which was in the center of your four parts right the financial part that was meeting the needs of teachers and students so I think if we let that drive not exclusively this decision- making process but the largest part of this decision-making process that is my I think that has to drive this for sure well I think the other interesting thing is that this plan that came forward for 80 million was actually a plan we put forth in November 2022 it was consideration C it was ex like what 2% like in the focus groups it got yes it did get any because what we heard from the community that came out and I will say this and the same community that came out for focus group or the same community that came out for Town Hall which are the same Community we saw coming out for the other presentation so we see a core group of community members that will come out uh we're not getting much more out there in terms of even coming on of links so I I'm not sure how you connect with these people that aren't that aren't coming out but the challenge is that's what we were faced with um the issue is the consideration C was the one they're bringing forward um they've got it at 80 million there's no way you're going to get this for 80 million and and unless you're only going to fix a parking lot and that in itself based on what I heard from our civil engineer we have no dollars that we could even put to that for the high school um and so these have been discussed these have been out there these have been um put forth in front of the community um and it was one that they said they did not want they wanted Middle School sixth or eighth grade together um one of the other things they talked about was eighth grade us has plenty of space for e8th grade but we can't run programs with a small school you end up having part-time teachers you can't keep part-time teachers and you can't find in the Creech fields or in some of those technical Fields nobody wants to be a part-time teacher in come you need to have that offering a full-time we could flipflop sixth grade put them at CMS and have seven e at brainol um and run sixth grade as a anly childhood or I mean a Elementary or take away take away electives I mean those are options um you could consider but honestly to if you do what the community had asked keep sixth through eighth grade together let them have their middle school experience together try to stay with a one high school district that is why we've landed where we've landed and I I went to I think all three of those um that at the high school that was to me the the most consistent thing that came out of that was one Middle School the idea of splitting the six seven or the smaller larger wack it was for whatever five years you know or more than that of course before it it got in its current iteration I think we're also talking about a paradox here like we want 30 kids in every classroom there need to be 30 kids in every classroom then we're missing on the Specialties so we're hearing we want more offerings we want CTE we want to have alternative Pathways to a non-traditional two-year or four-year cycle so we need the space we need to be able to run sections with specialty teachers which we know are hard to come by don't get me wrong so if we're able to get those and find attractive candidates to do that we need the space to run 15 18 even less for highly specialized program which the board would have to decide is that something we want to do for certain programs and that's a decision that we have to make but again going into an addition assuming that to your point 20 20 classrooms is 600 kids I would be really interested to know we're going to do what we're going to do tonight but regardless but whatever discussion is going to happen in the future at any given period one through seven what is average number I want to hear I want to see the you know every single classroom what is the average number of kids in each classroom especially the ones that are full suppos before we have the addition so first semester here what is the average number of kids allotted to each classroom period 1 through 7 and I I think that'll be interesting for me to see but I think also eye openening for the community to see oh man it's 21 23 and a half 19 for one period because of lunch and because of other stuff right like how many kids what about during lunch period like so I think that's I think that would be interesting information to have do I think that necessarily impacts what we are talking about tonight not necessarily but it might help the further conversations about why might we might need what we need might help a better understanding for all of us by the way individually I think and the community and our teachers too right our staff to know what we're looking at because we can all make assumptions and I think getting something like that to wrap my head around that what does that look like at the middle school level how crowded our one art classroom and you know our band and choir that are only getting bigger right like so I think that that's I think that's important information to have um just as we try to you know wrap our heads around this and again I mean I think this is not about next year this is about starting 2728 at the earliest so just think about how far out we are if you keep pushing it out it's you're you're always going to be behind yeah and so I think you know I brought this up in some of the ones uh earlier this year um church and the school and all that you know when there was the high school open in 1991 we had hbt in the mid 90s we had prayer review in the early 2000s we had two schools in in 2007 multiple additions to the high school so with a matter of 16 years we had 1 2 3 four referendums in 16 years because of that assumption at that time for Central High School it's going to last forever they didn't add the auditorium till 2000 I believe right with the edition of classrooms as well it was the first edition I the put on was in 2009 years after we built that school that was supposed to be a very a very a very long you know a longevity standpoint um and I think even the number that came out of RSP out of this discussion from my perspective um you know even if we go back to the presentations that you know Esther did uh that all us attended some iteration of you know it was between 1.2 and 5% we are still I'm sorry 1.2 and 3% we're still in those numbers RSP confirmed that I think that's best case scenario even that 1.2% does not include anything somebody referenced you know uh uh Pinger grow those numbers don't include any of Pinger grow made it very clear throughout that presentation you need to keep an eye on this so that is if that does not move at all that is where we are going and then what if they start building in two years five years and they do 50 a year 75 a year and then we have an extra 100 kids a year 75 kids a year with our 1.2 what we budget what it's our average 1.2 per household in The District student students per household say for 100 I did I did talk to Dave pelzel too um from shodin because there's lots of questions about the shodin property um it not happening happening whatever so I said listen can I pingry grove pingry Grove um and there's many other five years I'm not sure why we feel like we're cooked on just that one because there's tons of those that were listed for five years in talking to him he's 75% chance that they will start breaking ground in Spring of 2025 um they are a small Builder they're not like a huge Builder where they're going to bring a 100 homes a year their guess is 38 is what they're going for roughly in the first year which will be spring of 2025 um and then 30 to 50 homes every year thereafter at this point they're about a 75% chance is what they believe with eight months by the way right and so that is what he told me I just spoke with him um so it's it's right off the press I asked if he was okay with me asked saying this out loud and open meeting he said absolutely tell him where you got it from he's the president of shin um so this information that we're getting you know five years out we don't know what that's going to look like we just know there's potential we're not we've never said never have we said that this is needed right now we've said we've got to prepare for the future we need to build for the future the reality of us having land and us having construction that is here is reality there are people here ready to go if interest rates drop things start to shift if they don't I don't have a crystal ball none of us do we're trying to prepare the future for our kids and for our staff to make sure that they can do their jobs and the students can learn um there is not an easy solution to this obviously it's very multifaceted working inside of an educational system is extremely multifaceted and every level is different it's way easier than Elementary School to calculate out or to numbers much more difficult the higher you go up Middle School is a little bit tougher and high school gets even more tough because there's just challenges that happen inside of those schedules that are not the same for every level you can't say functional capacity Elementary as high school doesn't function the same way an argument I had with Rob like I I just agree with your numbers and that that's not how schools function Elementary sure we can break them up grade level teams have those numbers that's not true for middle school and that is not true for High School uh because we provide more and more electives the the higher up kids go so they have more opportunities to experience whatever they need so I still believe that the three best options have been given to you for tonight for you to discuss um again that's your guys's decision as the board of education but as a superintendent of the school district I still believe that all three of these have potential uh to help us um solve some of the enal growth I still believe a high school is the best option for a full growth um analysis in terms of the furthest out but you can get less out by going with the middle school what was the uh so when we spoke over the weekend after I got back um you know I brought up the idea we have a field house so that 209 I think would be without a field house right that would be taken off I think that is correct when I clarify um you know I so I brought up the idea of hey do we do we have a shorter do we do longer passing periods and Bus kids the Fieldhouse like I mean I mean it's right there like I mean so there are theoretically not undoable things that could be for a period of time um you you can build fields and so you know I don't necessarily think the 209 um is an issue and I think there was something what was again 209 was keeping flat what was so two 2246 is about aund for 30 years out remember the new legislation with the house bill allowed us to go out 30 years similar to what a house go and so versus it used to be 20 or and you had to get special um approval for 25 for Bond debt uh if you went out 30 years for 246 it' be about $119 per uh annual for a household uh for inre taxes at 2246 for the 209 we can be flat um it's a flat dollar and Dana was that 25 or or 30 I think it was 30 flat at the 209 yes I think so so this is information this is new information this is new information and so I think that's important to tell people I mean we're in a business to educate little people and that's that's the product we push forward and we got to keep that in mind we're all parents everybody out there is parents you know I mean you know the government came out and they're they're going to move rates down as a your point I think that that's you know it's gonna it's going to speed up whatever uh the president of shodin thinks because as rates go lower people want to buy and upgrade and do things like that but I think the other objective data is over the past year with rates where they've been yeah is anything slowing in our district no no so I mean have have we been significantly off from our hold one sec have we been significantly off from our housing starts and from our transition and impact fees so you know this last year didn't change in we just received 13 130 13 but 133 13 homes right that's just 134 last month right so I mean these numbers are are data and yes you can speculate however you want but we still have to educate kids and that that needs to be the focus and by the time people I mean we could do so many studies and to J point we can just keep doing studies we're going to be so far behind the aall that when the kids are ready forol School we're going to be like okay where do we put them you know mobes I right but and the if we bu to pick up pennies with a $29 million referendum and it doesn't have a field so basically you know for um the difference of like uh you know what did you say 119 29 224 yeah like you know9 yeah yeah we're we're basically telling that next generation of kids that we we we built something that was less than what meets your needs in order to um save some money uh for you know the the the the the taxpayers at the end of the day we have a responsibility to the children and to the families and to the taxpayers it's everybody all together and um one of the responsibilities of taxpayers is to provide the funding its share of the funding to provide quality education for the kids in that District so um it seems to me like uh making a decision now to build something that is less than what meets the needs of those kids is um not a good idea I I would I would put the 224 uh referendum on the table and you know put discuss it if we don't if the board doesn't approve it then we can go to the 209 one and debate that but I think that should be the approach that we take this even I was goingon to just say I personally disagree with building another Fieldhouse when we already have one and to your point we could easily bust kids over EAS but I'm saying there there might be some other creative there might be some creative difficult to do but I think that I mean the other point too is which to Jay's point so that 15 million in five years becomes how many million right then we so so I think there there is always that yes but's that comes look how look how it moved in just six months but with that is there a way to talk through that like like you said it has moved this much is there a way to actually see these dollars are we able to see the different bids that got us there because like you said see them every it comes to you for approval well I'm talking about right I know me personally but like the community right like the transparency piece like is there a way to show the community because like they're seeing 80 million 55 million like all these different amounts is there a way to show them how we landed here like this we're not these are estimates this remember this is our construction management company and I will say for Shel mcnut who has been with us for well over 25 years they have never come over budget if anything sh mcnet comes under budget one of the advantages to shells mcnut at least from my perspective and working with them for many years decades um the 209 million potentially you could put an alternate bid on there for a filed house and maybe there'll be enough money left over in contingencies because remember any construction you have contingency fees you have insurance fees you have what the bid comes in at we don't know the bid he uses a a software program like any industry does it estimates the cost square footage what kind of products there are what they're doing to come up their dollars uh that's just that's that's his job that's his Market um and so you know could be that you have enough if with the 209 million that you could put it as a contingency or something that could be an alternate Bid And if there were dollars you could put the fil house on if there weren't you just have to wait and try to figure out a different option for getting a filth house on that at some other point um and did we comp we competitive bid this with other people then or are they the only ones we always have our own construction management firm and we have our own architect that we've hired as a board but then that construction management firm they bid it out they bid it out they be able to show that they we actually go there they don't bid down now they have software programs that estimate but they'll send it out at the time at the time that we so once the referendum goes through once we start moving for looking for work they bid out then they bid it out and then we could show the community like this these are the bids you get that you guys approved bid well and either way I'm still hearing going back and forth we could build a field house we could build this we could be that but where are the people like where's the investment for the people in the buildings who are bringing options for us to then say Oh this is a great one we should vote on this maybe this one is better like we're just bang like throwing these back and forth and tossing it up but we're not in those buildings every day and so how are we not involving them in which the dollars are the dollars are what they are that's fine but like inside of those buildings the teachers are very involved in that process I'm not an admin how are we going to involve that to get a blueprint of what these things are going to go look like an alternative plans and whatnot is my question we did have a steering committee last year with all teachers teachers administr so that process was handled but it sounds like it's not because it's still we're still in this Quin andrum here like kind of going around in a circle I'm confused no there's there's two different so you're talking about two different things so in order to get to hear the idea of the new building we met with the staff and we we with them and and said these are the layouts what works best for the kids to educate them and also help you as a teacher and they approved everything and they they there was a lot of work done and a lot of time and I was in the room and I know Eric was in the room quite a bit I mean there was a lot of back and forth there was some right you know banter back and forth like I don't think we need that we need this but there were significant changes each meeting based on which that's not out there like I don't think anybody knows that like I have this is the first time I've heard it is asking it I discussed it yeah I mean it upates I think here it's posted on the website we gave updates and that was all starting last J ju maybe was July or August R for school started I think we had our first one and it was every four to six weeks is frequent yeah um so my take away from that presentation is that nothing will ever be enough and that the backyard drawers or backyard planners um will continue doing that and as we've said before we have to do what's best for our students um and so as crazy and as insane it as is to do a referendum for the third time it is in the best interest of all kids and students and it is going to make District 301 continue to be that sought-after District that everybody moved out to to to move into 301 and unless we if we don't do this we'll just be you 46 2.0 eventually because we won't be able to supply our kids with the programs that they should get to Excel and to exceed other districts you know that's it's it's exactly what's going to happen and so we need to decide on the referendum which amount um and next month I think we need to start talking about like one number said what happens when you know big it fails if it fails what do we do because maybe we do Jam these kids in those classrooms they we get 600 we cut program right we cut exactly we have to do that we will have to do that but I don't want to compromise and do an $80 million Band-Aid for something that's not going to work or it might last for seven years I mean that's that's the issue right I again I don't think I yeah I mean I wouldn't ever say that there aren't options I I said that are cheaper but I mean I think you know the Paradox would be true too if we as let's say we as a board said man we really think $80 million is the right way to go and we had a lot of people that were really really really saying no we need a $200 million Fields I hope that this board would still do what we ultimately thought individually by the way whatever that ends up being to be clear that everybody would still vote with what they best information they had regardless of of what the voices were based on this yes I am voted on I completely agree to everybody out there you don't like the way that we vote you don't like our decisions don't elect us I completely agree with that for sure there has not been a contested election in eight years people are not clamoring to be on this board I've been on there for six years I really love doing this I got three more years almost left on this like I this is I this is a great experience for me I love being a part of this it obviously comes with a lot of distress there's no doubt about it this is a thankless position as a board member to be very clear so please know that we're each doing I'm doing what I believe individually based on the information that I have my understanding of the needs of the teachers my understanding of the needs of the community my understanding of the needs of all the students I do not consider my own children in this I always consider everyone else I do do not have my decisions based on the needs of Maven fion that does not happen it is everybody else everybody else can choose to do that how they want that is how I approach this have approached it for six plus years and I'll yeah I can everything he just said yeah so I think once we figure out which we need to figure out if we want to do this master facilities master plan we did an enrollment analysis nobody believed us so then we got a company to do it we've done facilities plan nobody's going to believe us so maybe we should do it again spend more money to Eric's Point Eric you wanted to know what what my insight of that presentation is there's a lot of vacant land and there's a lot of owners in our in our region that want to stick a sign in the yard that says hey your kid's going to go to 301 and and sell the sell the parcel you know I mean um looking at that map I was fearful that you know at any point any of these Farmers could say I want to sell 100 acres and sell it to a home builder that's clamoring to come West um you know I moved into this District because of the district everybody else in the community had a choice to move wherever they wanted they chose to pick our district as opposed to a neighboring District I mean it's a it's a big to-do you know to your point my kids are have three more years I'm looking at the kids that are in my neighborhood that are five four three that are coming up into our schools so that's that's what I'm looking at like you and I think I think the community is stepping over dollars to pick up pennies and I'm I'm I'm GNA keep saying that and I know Jeff laughs at every time I say it but I think we're shortsighted I think it's going to affect a bunch of things that people aren't even thinking about and to your point Eric I mean you know what um we all get a lot of calls from a lot of people we take a lot of bullets we're all parents you know that's our first and foremost you know I'm a parent first but I also care about how great this educational platform that we provide is going forward and I think that's very shortsighted for people um it you know if the school district turns out to be like what neighboring you know Chicago or Rockford or down the road look at what their housing values do people aren't even looking at that so uh you know I I I don't think we peac mail this thing I I I'm I'm totally against peac mailing it the language of the 2246 was up to to 246 is that correct the the language for the action is up to 246 because but it could be last it could be last and that's why the action is that way written that way uh but you the resolution will be for the stack dollar that you that will go on the ballot the only other one you haven't talked about is 185 so I want to address that a little bit so 185 million was for middle school and the reason the middle school is a little more expensive is it is a footprint of the current the new high school and the reason we talked about doing that was so that if the district wanted to go for a one high school district you could add on to that Middle School it would be the frame of the current high school but in a middle school format it's a little bit more expensive because because it is the footprint of that high school so you can add on fewer classrooms no Auditorium no Fieldhouse those are Stripped Away and that's why it's 185 and that was a third floor off too correct no that would be still three FL oh it would still be three FL okay so I i' I'd like to make a motion that we um adopt resolution number three for the 224 mil 600,000 I'm moving that we adopt that well I want to understand the linguage before get a second on that because I don't it's up to or the exact dollar amount so I mean the the action you said is up to but we have to take out 2246 what if we do focus groups and get more information do a master field facilities plan change around classrooms and it comes in at 203 can we only take out 203 the resolution is for a referendum to go on the ballot for $224,600 th000 right cannot say we don't have to borrow you have to take out the bond Deb Dana you want to talk a little bit about what you found out from PMA um so you can take out the take out the bond debt I had asked if if say bids came in way cheap and we don't need to use all the money which probably never would happen but if you didn't um could it go back towards the bond payment and you could abade it um so it could go back towards princi pay it down yes if it goes you have three years to use your bonds and if you go past the three years then you have to basically move it into like a a different type of financing so you can't say I need this money now but I'm not going to build for five years so you can get all the interest on it so there are like arbitration things that you have to stay within a certain parameter and that's what PMA does for us they monitor that every month um they make sure that we're staying within that guideline so we don't lose that money um I think that's it because it was years ago with some fund balances right that we there was a kind of the refund million Inova it and so I mean I think that when we had talked about the this most recent referendum the fail there was kind of you know be over three years right we talked about taking that money over three years could that once a referendum is passed it's only three years that you can take money after that or three years once you take out each so remember that usually what we'll do because it takes two to three years to build these so you'll do a little bit the first year a little bit but the second year and then finish it out the third year so your bond debt actually even though it's 30 years it could extend beyond that because you're because you're walking in that out that way okay and if you're it' be three years from when you took that Bond Deb out so it kind of moves with it as from the last debt from the last Bond that you take out okay so it sounds like Jay you're willing to you want to move forward with the 224 it sounds like the Middle School option is not an option for you um is that correct is anybody else not considering that Middle School option I am not it doesn't solve the ultimate goal and I and and I and I on a sidebar I get a little bit perplexed that everybody in the community um moved into this district and had opportunities to move elsewhere and yet they want to celebrate uh referendum that's going to correct the classroom size it's going to make a better educational uh process for the kids which is why we all moved here and I think that that's very shortsighted and I think it's it's I I I don't get why people would celebrate a a a referendum loss I think that that's very shortsighted I think it's unfortunate but you know it's we're all here for the kids so true I I schol can offer us growth too as well and being able to put sixth seventh and eth together being able to turn uh pkms into an elementary school maybe CMS I don't know becomes Early Education or somehow we utilize it with that ability to turn it into a high school and still staying a one high school district but if you're if you're if you're thinking about it and this is just my thought um who knows what the velocity of money will be in five years or 10 years when we go for this it might cost the community another 150 we we don't know what the I'm trying to secure our position today at we know what the money costs today in 10 years it might cost 50% more I don't know know so it's a small dollar amount it's it's a large dollar amount but it's small in the sense that it's either 209 or 224 or 40 million more than the middle school you know so I I guess from a from a finance guy I I always want to know what my end game is and and this this gives us uh Clarity and also it puts the district in a much better place for the kids and the teachers so I think even from the teacher stand and and and the families from the teacher standpoint too I mean there theoretically would be more stability with the high school right so if there's a middle school for six years and then the high schoolers are coming into the middle school as you're re then you are having a lot of people move kind of frequently um and so we have teachers that have been in the same building for 20 years right and yes there's going to be shifting we know it's always you know it's acrimonious and it's overwhelming and it's anxiety reducing to move you know students but we also talked about how teachers moving buildings is is really challenging having seate maybe teams have been together for 5 10 years and that's just a part of the growth process especially when you redistricted in whatever 20 before my kids started 201 17 I think or 16 17 that was challenging understandable um and so I think that again if we think about balancing the needs of the teachers and the students primarily of course with the financial kind of piece around that that again offers some predictability for our teachers knowing that of course depending on where subdivisions pop and if and when they pop in the future there going be some movement but at least we'd be able to to from my perspective again that teacher stability is just as important as student stability but and I'm not going to put words in your mouth Marg so keep me out here but I think where she's going that is and some of the community has said this if you do the middle school you can always build on that then you're easing into it versus going from zero to 100 and I know a lot of people are like what if we don't get that growth of the high school now we have this huge high school that is I don't know 70% full or whatever like and so I think what she's saying is like if we if we do the middle school and then we truly find this growth over time then we can add on to that and make it this Grand Deal's High School later at least we've eased into it and we really know what we're working with versus now it's it's not a guess I mean obviously we have the numbers but I think I mean like I said keep me hon said that's not what you're saying I think that's where she's going it does allow that g that more stable growth to happen and when we come to needing that new high school we're going to have a better idea of what to add on to that Middle School and then maybe at that point we do need Central High School at its capacity to be a middle school whereas I feel like the the public now is going to be like we're putting Middle School in Central High School it seems like such a big space for our Middle School well right so I mean anytime you build a new school there's you know percentages of teacher enrollment goes down in the buildings because you need that for growth so it feels like people want spaces that are going to be full right away because that feels right but what feels right to me is saying what does it look like even 15 years from now so Esther even with our high school projections even with our 20 classroom Edition when do we theoretically even with let's say 1.2 1.4% grow without any of these new houses coming when would we theoretically be near capacity including the 20 classroom I didn't go out more than 10 years and when I did the 1.2 the um that's this one yeah I I didn't go out 10 years I think with u more than 10 years with Rob well not really again be careful we're using 600 we're using 600 at a high school high school does not run at 600 I want to be really cautious and saying that is not reality and were you in high school oh yeah is that reality for a high school no no we do not run classrooms other than core classes core classes classes that are mandated freshman sophomore J then you can anything else Choice which again 30 in a classroom for a core class who is a lot to address student needs so but we have no choice right like we're stuck there 31 um but you also don't have a lot the bigger we can expand our offerings so we can start start going into other areas of Education that would help the kids that maybe say you know what I don't want to go to college I want to be in welding or I think that is a missed opportunity as well right we have no all those are regular we have both hands on so there's no new CTE spaces there's no we have Graphics this year trying to start in a space that's dual dual purposed right now I will tell you that I just looked at our rment numbers for the high school Rob gave 1558 today we are at 1584 so we are more than what he had projected currently um Elementary is where we're down if anywhere Middle School and High School are up um and so I know I talked to Teresa McMahon who was our register at the high school she said she's brought in at least 40 new families um at the high school so you know people say well they don't move in the high school they do um we are seeing enrollment growth at all of our buildings every single building has you know this the numbers Rob gave us were based on last year's school year this year's school year were over 5,000 students um we're currently up from 1558 projected to 1584 at the high school um and that's just today that's today there was another lady that walked in as I was walking out to register so so the 2246 at 30 years now because the 195 we did what four months whenever that was three months ago was for 20 years right 25 25 so we're going up five years so that's going to reduce the cost so now we're looking at 120 bucks on a $368,000 home 46,000 home is about $19 $120 okay a year so 10 bucks a month two Starbucks what we're talking Starbucks really four Duncans you want to go to McDonald's yes I mean that's in addition to what we're paying today if we don't do anything obviously our taxes will go down correct um but if we obviously all that budgeted today so that's the increase to do what is right so yeah I'm scho for that you know I mean you know I'll say one more time Jeff just so you know say that but the fact of the matter is is that that you're going to get it tenfold if you ever exit the district whereas if the district starts losing the the pristine image you're you're I mean now we're talking in 10 years what maybe $2,000 in increased taxes maybe and at the end of at the end you should be able to sell your home for multiples of that right that's the goal so I I I just don't think you peac mail it I'm I'm really concerned about that's just me though yeah I think it comes to people being selfish too oh my kids are done I don't want to pay any more taxes no but you were definitely around and you wanted everybody to vote for your referend when your kids were little my kid's done in two years I still want to do this because again's right and you know if these kids have better choices and classes than I had as a kid we're doing more power to them man I'm not going to be like well I didn't have that you know they don't need that and I think I you know I had multiple multiple friends that parents of friends that I grew up with who reached out after the referendum who really just said like I I was fortunate enough that community members when the new high school came in 1991 that there were people who clearly were retired who clearly didn't have a vested interest for children that were in the schools at the time who appreciated that for us growing up and they they just felt like it was their I mean essentially social responsibility that's how they that was their perspective so it's a version right of what you're saying I mean I think this you know kind of pay it forward um and again there can be discrepancies on what people think is necessary and I've said this from the very beginning and every you know especially with Esther and the three that we did or five or seven whatever you was a four or seven of them really like this is the most Forward Thinking again five reference in 16 years versus one now that is the most Forward Thinking longitudinal plan that has ever been considered in this District that's a fact it right sizes The District in all levels it puts all the all the schools and the teachers I mean it's just it's it's I think it's a win now I got to ask as it's been talked about in the community we build this new beautiful high school now we've got to add and we want to do all these different you know CTE and add these different electives and things like that where does the cost come from to pay for these teachers where does the cost come from to pay for uh the CTE classes and being able to have our students do this and is that going to affect their taxes even more no it comes out of our operating budget more the calculations budget for that well it's it's added right it's an added cost to our operating budget because you have to cover it be all these custodians you spread them teaching staff is not full new because we're basically separating them they're just moving right they're moving and might with growth we've already added staff every year with growth um so that's already built into our budget we we managed that um the operating expenses U heating hbac those types of things and Dana do you remember what the dollar was we came up with per um we we did a calculation um I think it came up to about uh two and a half 2.7 million extra for the square footage based on our operating funds right now we looked at what what do we pay per square foot we multiplied our square footage dollar M don't have it on my brain sorry um the square footage times the number of what the high school would be um and it came up to about 2 point it was 2.5 or 22.7 million add cost which we would have in our operating budget it's in the onm fund not in the education fund but that money has to come from somewhere to pay that right well uh in our evidence based funding we got what the sh 2.7 2.7 million in your in your ebf so you may have to you know maintain status quo and you take that in and that's what you evidence-based funding is we're a tier one District so for right now we're getting extra dollars because we are a tier one District um because of our enement growth um and if you look there was a whole analysis out there we were in the paper I don't know last week or last month that talked about ouris space funding versus what u46 gets um but it's still a pretty good margin um so you have those dollars we have our EAB that continues to go up so you have new dollars that are coming in from eav all of that makes up what we do with our budget and annual basis so it's it's just how you restructure your your dollars in terms of how you're spending but we get extra new dollars in that would cover those costs where we not have to go back out on any kind of you know I've heard that same thing it'ser concern yeah and I think the capital projects plan that we had that we presented in some of those meetings we kind of have a you know the fiveyear plan that we have internally which changes we've done most of them on that list um like hbt's roof has another maybe three to five years so if we don't have the money then it gets pushed another year if we do then maybe we do tackle that or um depends on you know the what we have some of our projects may have to postpone a year or two out um but there's not L A Lot huge dollars left on those capital projects like other districts that are going out for tons of things to to cover those kinds of things we've been doing that throughout the my 10 years 11 11 years here um and before that we've take good care of our buildings and and try to stick to those plans and not kick them down too far um so I think we've done a good job of keeping and maintaining our current facilities that we have um so maybe a roof or lily Lakes HB might have to go another year or two out depending on on the money and and honestly there's four refs we know about the b in this region of those four referendums all of them are for upgrades and updates to buildings because they haven't maintain because they haven't maintained those buildings we have never gone out for referendum to upgrade thanks Dan and just to be clear the 209 and the 18 obviously the 185 that's with no change to the community taxes or anything like that that's just the 185 would be cost neutral 25 years if you took it out to 30 years or actually be I think it's a $92 savings or something it's it's a a slight savings uh in taxes the 209 is uh neutral at 30 years and 30 years any more discussion there is a motion on the table I believe yeah I've got the motion on the table for the 2246 I'm looking for a second I'll second there any further discussion do we re language next or what he's read the resolution for okay I'm not going to read all of it so the resolution provided for and requiring the submission of the proposed of issuing a 224,000 M 600,000 School building bonds to the voters in the community Unit School District 301 cane and dcal counties Illinois um at the general election to be held on the fifth day of November 2024 aif yes Fulk yes henil yes Nolan yes pepis no BBY yes Gorman yes motion is carried all right we move on to information items director poo is here with an update construction and maintenance projects thank you Mandy for letting me go first um that time of the year school starting um again I appreciate Dr mongin kudos to our staff um so I always like to start our conversation about commending our staff for all the hard work that they've done um without them we wouldn't be where we are today so I appreciate that as much as you guys do so I like to make sure we talk about that um High School addition we got some good news perspective trains anticipating uh a delivery of our HVAC equipment soon soon is in perspective with that particular organization so we're hoping for the best um I'll repour it out hopefully next month that we have even better news but supposedly equipment's coming everything else in the addition we've had our inspections we're right on track to get occupancy as soon as we get that equipment installed and get HVAC run and we'll get occupancy um generator generator project we ran into a slight snafu at hbt with the transfer switch on the on the generator they're working through some electrical issues on that um so that one's not up and running PVS is up and running um so we're hoping to have that one up and running soon and wrap up those two projects um through the Miracles of Mother Nature Paving projects were able to be accomplished we undertook a grandiose project of bidding that out when we did and getting it done and with a getting a great contractor and all the hard work for of Abby Paving to get that done they got that done Prairie View looks great and ks's parking lot looks great so I want to commend them for that we appreciate that we also got uh hbt's playground resurfaced as well as Lily Lakes so playgrounds are are looking beautiful right now we got a little striping and little earth work to do but those are in really good shape um I wanted to just talk about one other thing is we're talking about our growth some things we've been talking about for really a couple years now is our facility usage um so our facilities are used a lot by um Community groups a lot of events a lot of sports groups and things like that and there's a lot of impacts on our staff utilities and Staffing levels and things so we've been talking about we're going to be looking at those facility use plans we work really closely with Ted's office um to look at those plans so we're going to be kind of updating those and looking at those in the coming months so I just wanted to bring that to your attention that that's and that is definitely tied directly to our growth and Ted will talk some more detail about that um any questions any questions about underground water detention or anything of that such you can talk about I can I can expand on any questions for any of the above what is bad dirt yeah what's about B you don't want to talk about it I'm kidding I just appreciate the asle my car thanks you thank you and my tires we did that some speed bumps at the high school so be cautious of those again us your error really I don't actually my car has itself [Laughter] so no questions aw thank you it's a borrowing pit there you go a borrow a borrow pit for clay he like oh yeah you didn't know about that is there any other walk away your time's done T take care of it hey now good evening uh just again again going to kind of reiterate follow up on a couple things uh that Dan mentioned but we uh we did we kind of are on our first week of school we started fall Sports we have a little over 400 student athletes participating this fall which is roughly up I would say 20 to 30 from last year I didn't get a chance to really dive into the accurate numbers but we have anywhere from between 20 and 30 more student athletes coming out this fall to you know kind of match up with some of our growth um a lot of all of our Sports have obviously increase between um Fall Dance fall cheer uh boy soccer football um boys and girls golf so cross country off to a good start um but with that challenge like Dan said the one thing I didn't want to bring to your attention uh we had those Town Hall meetings last year we had about we at the rental rental rate of people asking to use our facilities was about 8.95 and I think we had those just right after winter break or slightly around that time uh we pulled the report ran the numbers we had uh about 1150 1,150 by the end of the year uh Community groups wanting to utilize our space uh that's great we want to be able to do that but in reality between the size of our programs of what we have to offer especially in the winter and the spring it puts a real crunch on on the facilities it's you know we're essentially the park district like we've said and uh between between Dance Crew um some of the wear and tear and some of of our you know our basketball hoops and things like that you know the gym spaces the Nets that are used throughout the group by some of these outside groups that too takes that toll and then when we look at the spring you know really until the weather breaks our high school kids are in there from 3 o'l the last Practice ending at 9:00 so we really don't have that additional space for a lot of those outside groups and as they continue to grow we're starting to see that Branch off now to the point where even today we a group reached out saying some of our Central kids are in this organization that doesn't hold all Central 301 students but they're still looking to use our space so um like Dan said we're going to sit down really look at it all encompassing I think there's only one building that's not used and that's Lily Lake but due to the size and the the kind of age of that gym it's not conducive to a lot of these outside groups whether it's you know baseball whether it's a football group basketball what have you so um good problems to have more more students are coming out being involved but it's also the challenge now of meeting the needs of everybody who wants a piece of that pie with kind of limited facilities so and just to clarify none of these groups pay for anything correct no none of the groups so we I've brought that up before the idea of you know even covering costs for a Dan and his team I mean I I don't think that that's unreasonable we don't need to make any money but I mean I think to expect an increasing burden I mean it's not on me it's on Dan and his team to have extra people in there uh people who don't respect the Fieldhouse especially when the crew spending 30 minutes picking crap up that people have left around that's not supposed to be in there in the first place for instance so I mean I think that from my perspective needs to be part of that conversation what's reasonable feasible um maybe it's a one-time fee from each of the organizations based on how many unique practices based on your 1150 how many of that's you know Burlington blast girls back bball how many of it's you know um I don't think we have a choice but to do that well I think helps our community to have these groups in because there are sometimes our kids people who live in our district so a fe is one way to do it a security deposit of you know x amount of dollars and if they leave it 30 broken that's our money now you know so something like that even to see how it I mean it's a possibility you know just to throw out there all good points don't disagree as of right now we only Central 301 students in those groups that have 100% of those are the only one using our facilities we haven't kind of stepped outside there but to your point the uh the toll that it's taking on Dan staff and being there the hours that I am I see our our morning crew we see our second shift and then I see our night shift all in the same day and by the time some of those groups get out to you know accurately and correctly maintain those areas it is a lot on on Dan's group so um and not to say most of our groups haven't been great of you know taking ownership and cleaning up but you know you're always that's not just the case it's more than just picking up some water bottles or tipping up some bleachers there's a lot more that goes into it to get ready for the next school day so thank you thank you thank you all right curricular director books is here with an update on our partnership with the alignment collaborative for education good evening so uh the alignment collaborative for education is an organization that uh brings together uh opportunities for our students many of them are directly in our CTE programs as times have changed there's more collaboration between industry and partners and that kind of stuff they work also with uh our regional EF Director Terry stro uh and his office to partner together so for example let's say manufacturing company wants to put on an event it is hard for them fiscally to do it for every single high school in our region so they've tried to unify us to collaborate to put on more I would call Centralized events uh some of the things that we've partnered with which are listed in here is like the senior job fair um uh the larger one would be our internship program that happens uh at the kind of summertime we have uh a lot of students who try to participate in that these are some of the skills that our students are looking for like this conversation you're having earlier about what experiences are going to make really powerful decisions this group is kind of doing that type of stuff so when it comes down to uh the teacher pipeline you know we in education are looking for future careered employes to be coming in our door as well so what type of activity and um situations are we allowing and providing to our students outside our doors we have pathway our students go to Hampshire High School they take the education classes but then what are they doing beyond that where do they go to have have something that's going to inspire them we take them to ni we we ISU like there's different events they help collaborate with some of these types of things so um the senior job fair The Internship participation in the education and then uh we also get a representation at the governing board within this organization and so part of our funds go towards paying for the operation of it because it doesn't just happen it's it's there's cost with it and the other financial piece is we are paying to get a guarantee on X number of internships last year we had a guarantee of 10 this renewal we would have a guarantee of 15 now we believe strongly in the quality of our students the guarantee of 10 got us 24 24 Central students in a competitive nature were able to secure summer internships this last year each one of those summer internships are paid experiences they are not just volunteer uh scenarios so that's where the financial were we backing some of that so that students get in the door uh companies everything from medical uh manufact ing in both metal Plastics uh those areas uh Banks uh even us as the school districts you know u46 us the different uh 30 uh 300 took on internships to allow students to participate in them some of the industry Partners when the time ran out meaning they were guaranteed 60 hours they started asking can we hire these students so there's numbers of students that they didn't just do 60 hours they then became employees so this program is is growing um I don't remember the first year but I do know this is the second year that we got involved with it uh and we were right around 156 okay internships available and we try in the region to do our best to fill them um we you know we can't guarantee that but this is gives us a great door opening for our students to have an opportunity in those select career experiences again these students might be going non-traditional they're thinking about entering a Workforce they might be thinking they're going to go into a College of Engineering and be going into something specific I mean it's the it's the full gamut medical you know that rotation is not just in the pharmacy they made them do a variety of activities so they can kind of see like oh I didn't even know what that little slice of the pie is in that career and students are making that educated decision um and that Target is really junior year just to be clear with you they're junior year summer so they're still coming back to us for one more year for us to support them make that change adjustment classes and then go off as they apply so it it is strategic in the fact that it's not senior year and we're setting it up it is junior year and as you know when you come into your junior year that fall year that's when those applications start when you're trying to go off to an institution of higher education or you might be going to a two-year college or you might be trying to do a little bit more research on how do I go into this direct to the workforce I had so much fun experience this aspect so uh this organization is a key partner that we have questions seems like it's been successful right so let's keep growing sounds like it's been good yeah thank you thank you please sorry next right next so I'll talk on the other end um I'm bringing forward this evening an opportunity for our elementary students to participate in a coding and computer science activity uh the program is code to the Future and it's an opportunity to um expand the use of AI and coding and computer science skills for our young students in the elementary setting it does piggyback off of what we currently are doing with our steam program this was our past uh first year with using that it'll build upon that and expand upon that provides opportunities for cross-curricular ELA is embedded within it so English Language Art English language arts mathematics and science are all embedded within the program now there's a tiered roll out so uh the first year it will only Encompass two schools it's a a quite uh costly Endeavor to um to uh participate in but that provides really direct hands-on experience for our teachers so every grade level K5 the goal would be to have two representatives from each of those levels they would participate those classrooms we would have instructors from the co- to the Future would come into the classrooms and provide that instruction our staff would be able to watch they would get that experience get that teaching directly from the people that are coming in that's in year one so this will be participating in two of our schools the following year so sy20 27 26 the other two elementary schools will participate in that in addition to that then following those 26 27 and 28 27 28 29 school years we would have an opportunity to have hands-on experience with them so you would get up to four different days um the professional development could be could be in California or possible virtual sessions they get four days deep Hands-On to really um build the network so we are one we would be one of 12 um districts in the United States they do have organizations in uh London as well as Australia and you're building a network so again it's giving our youngest students the opportunity for Hands-On using AI using coding using those computer uh science skills and then that continues to expand on it into the future uh so that is that's what I'm bringing forward um any questions that you have on this what do we do once they're done when they go to middle school then we've got pltw and will continue to expand yes we would have robotics we've got some computer science pieces again this is a couple years out the out of the road so we want to continue to expand and review that programming as well the other thing too that I forgot to mention they have summer programming so year one the two schools that participated would be would have an opportunity to engage in summer programming the second year all four schools so again it kind of ramps up yes correct students would participate for two weeks right yeah yeah up to well 14 days this summer and then we would get um additional 10 days next summer because we would be starting delayed uh the earliest we'd be able to begin this would be October well I I mean I think the opportunity there to have some of our kids Juniors and seniors let say who are moving throughs you know those kinds of things to come down and have a teaching experience and a mentoring experience that's where I would see the benefit there too and to speak to the the cost of this um I can tell you professional development is not cheap and definitely that direct hands-on experience for our staff is key as well as for our students we're ranging between 7 to $110,000 for professional development just a daily or two-day experience so to be able to get at this year 27 to 30 days for staff to be engaged they would be completely not teaching they would be watching this experience I think is very valuable we learn by doing but being you know having that opportunity to sit and watch it in action having that debriefing afterwards engaging in the conversation and then building a network so we would have a network people that our staff could connect with and continue to build their their tools and and what they have in their toolkit so two elementary schools one this year other two correct same two yeah not the same so we would start with two um and this we're you know this was something we discovered this summer so it's a first day back with staff so we'll begin to get out and have those conversations where's the interest line who what two buildings will be on board year one and then the following two after that we also didn't want to do that until we got a consensus or at least an idea you guys were even open to the idea so when in the day would this happen like what period like what would it it would be a rotation so essentially the this team um code for the future would send a team of teachers and they would be within the day they would come one time the week during the week and they would rotate through classrooms it's not an added period for it's not an added period correct correct but the benefit is the cross-curricular opportunity so embedding en coding is math at its finest right you've got science built directly in and the network of activities based on our steam when we were sharing you know what we've done had the opportunity to be able to expand and Ste steam you've got Ela written all over it so it's it's definitely a cross-curricular um opportunity and we'll expand for our students it would be a great great opportunity for them it seems like a very specific like Grant opportunity you know so with these dollars I would assume that there's got to be educational organizations um that might have very specific opportunities for solic anal care for $10,000 right is there anything like that to help offset these costs we we've looked at grant opportunities this this is actually a company that's funded through Grant dollar correct education initiative that's coming through so that's how they've been funded we haven't seen any Grant dollars come through from our perspective for computer science type stuff for elementary and ESS scope of educational right correct you know like the bill M Gates Foundation like those kinds of things that might be interesting just that idea again I don't yeah the the idea of being able to provide and for Central to be a lighthouse for this organization to be able to expand to me this our world is not getting smaller and having this opportunity for our kids to be able to be engaged in this from our kindergarten to fifth grade lends very nicely to our Middle School programming and on up to our high school and will really expand what we currently have in place so I appreciate any major Innovative opportunities that we have like this because these types of things don't come around correct very often y okay any other questions you have with this that's a side question okay all right thank you okay appreciate you thank you I was just making fun of Ted Ted just got called out I totally got called out what do you want to talk about eser to come back up out we just had a couple foyers just a few foyers um so for the last month uh we had some foyers uh Miss Walch received a request for information related to request for proposal for Public Relation services and the executed contract emails and payments made EO Sullivan from 2022 through June 2024 we were able to comply with that request but redacted with and withheld some um information pursuant to the foil rules and regulations Miss Tessa we received a request for a number number of Staff who have left the district since 2017 number of full-time teachers employed presently the number of full-time teachers have been employed for two years or less are we able to comply with that request Mr Chapman we received a request for communication between Dr Nolan any members of the board or District employee regarding Lauren king or any District volleyball team coaches we're a to comply with this request however we had no responsive records uh Mr Romano we receiv received a request for all emails sent by the board member between August 1st 2022 through July 17th 2024 this request was denied as it was deemed unduly burn sign we did invite Mr R to reduce the scope of a request we've not received an updated request at this time U Mr Vance we received a request for information regarding email addresses and job tis for board members teachers and administrators in the district uh we were able to comply with that request M I'm Sorry Miss n we received a request for emails between Mr Chapman Mr grait myself Dr mgin Dr Hogan or any members of the Board of Education be able to comply with the request some information was removed pursuing to forign rules and regulations Mr Barnum we received a request for names and applications of anyone that applied for the open Board of Education seat uh we were able to comply with this request however some information was excluded pursuant to for rules and regulations and those were the fors that we received for this month seems like Fe website with all this information not for you all right motion second to journ open session and move to close session the following exceptions 2c1 2c2 2c9 2c1 and 2c2 so move second PA yes yes Nolan yes papis yes fi yes aif yes Gorman yes motion is carried thanks again for coming out tonight have a good evening

okay I have 6:30 we're going to go ahead and get started with tonight's board meeting for those that are able if you wouldn't mind standing for the Pledge of Allegiance pledge Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the repblic for it stands one nation God indivisible liy and justice for all we have all seven board members present so I'll call the meeting to order Dr Phillips thank you Miss Weldon we'd like to start each board meeting with a reminder of our mission vision and core values and here in bcse our vision is to be the choice to learn work and play our mission is to develop expert Learners by partnering with our with our community to invest in people and our core beliefs are that we can all rise to the challenge of high expectations that learning is most effective when we have Choice flexibility and see relevance that we Thrive when our physical and social and psychological needs are met that our community and School District district are stronger when we partner with one another that we flourish because of the diversity and variability in our community and that our democracy and Democratic institutions are strengthened by civic-minded citizens and we're starting off this evening we have two public hearings both related to the same topic that's been on the agenda a couple of times in the last month or so this be the last tonight will be the last steps taken on the 2024 lease rental Bond uh from a board perspective and there are two public hearings required so I'll hand it over to Dr Boseman and or Mr brineger to handle those public hearings Mi Mr mcgyver can I ask do I have to gavel out because it's a public hear we should okay I'm ging out of the meeting and entering the public meeting thank you and so these two these two hearings um we I don't think we have to gabble out between the two but there are opportunities for public input both related to the lease rental bonds one is just to hear any public input on the lease itself um this is related to the $ 44.1 million bond that would be issued to pay for the first phase of all the projects that were just presented between 5:15 and 6:15 this evening um and also there is an additional appropriation hearing anytime the district is going to spend or may spend dollars above and beyond what was approved by the board last fall during the budget process we allow for we advertise these public hearings and allow for public input um before moving on to the next step in the process and so at this time if any members of the audience or the board have any questions about the 2024 lease rental bonds or the lease itself or the additional appropriation uh we can take your questions or your public input okay appropriate weit time was that I think that was an appropriate wait time all right uh no questions then we will go ahead and gavel back into the regular board meeting Dr stom if you would please thank you president Welden Dr Phillips and the board of school trustees tonight I am honored to celebrate the bcsc teachers of the Year first I would like to celebrate Molly Fountain 2023 bcse teacher of the year who completed her interview with the Indiana Department of Education today as a top 10 candidate for Indiana's teacher of the year with over 655,000 teachers in the state this is quite an accomplishment and we congratulate Molly on representing Northside Middle School and bcsc well at the state level this evening we are here to also celebrate the 2024 bcsc teacher of the year Derek Chastain as Mr Chastain makes his way to the front Podium area we will play a video prepared by Josh brette on Monday August 5th 20124 with the help of Dr Parsons in Columbus e High School bcsc administration surprise Mr Derek Chastain by recognizing him as the 2024 bcsc teacher of the year representing the entire District at the state level for the Indiana teacher of the year program after the celebration and as the new school year began we stopped by Mr Chastain's classroom to see our teacher of the year in action and ask him what it means to be named bcsc teacher of the year and we also heard from a few students on why he is such a special educator here well I I mean I'm really humbled it's just an honor I mean East has the best teachers in the world the district has the best teachers and I'm incredibly touched to receive this honor and it's very meaningful especially considering what my colleagues have said to me and and also what my students um have said about me you can obviously tell he loves his job just how he teaches it and how he just always wants us to get involved with everything he's always smiling which like you always love like the teacher's not smiling they obviously aren't really enjoying where they're at but he's just always smiling always happy and he'll do anything to like help you I think the way that he just enjoys all of the material that he's teaching it's so clear that he loves what he does uh he's always bouncing in his shoes and just very very happy to be there and you can tell and I really love that and a teacher it's one of my favorite things about teachers is what what they love is seeing what they love to do and it just helps me want to learn more you I I couldn't I couldn't do this work without the people around me the staff and students I consider myself a people Builder right I'm an encourager I mean this this is part of why I'm here and um I feel really you know blessed and honored to to be able to share these days with with the students here at East High School this is this is where we Kindle the the flame I mean this is where it all begins like as a teacher if you get a student interested or excited about that subject that that could go on forever you don't always know what a difference you're making and so you have to kind of have to trust it you know like all right I'm making a difference I'm going to stay after it and then I don't know kind of like in science itself you get these moments like this one where you know you get to know what a difference you made and it's really touching and that's said I've been really the most touched and moved by the things my former students have said yeah congratulations to Derek Chastain on being named the 2024 bcsc teacher of the [Music] [Applause] year DK Chastain has has been described as a lifelong learner a collaborative peer an engaging teacher and a stand-up comedian amongst colleagues His science classroom is an environment that emulates mutual respect for every student and staff member who enter his classroom door whether teaching at Columbus East High School or Indiana University Columbus Derek's impact on others is profound Derek's leadership in the science Community has seen him share his passion for science from providing lessons and explorations of planets and stars at the planetarium to traveling to Germany to present and disseminate his research and scientific findings Derek's dedication to education is highly visible in the ways he plans for and provides students with optimal access and opportunities to engage in the foundations of science whether he is constructing telescopes with students or fact finding to form hypotheses Mr Chastain's classroom culture truly aligns with his mission to be a people Builder as Derek submitted in his teacher of the year letter I am a teacher and people Builder fulfilling this calling gives me a joyful and unparalleled life experience I always work to help people grow by giving them the tools they need for success and encouraging in them along the way throughout Derek's distinguished career he has received many formal and informal Awards and recognitions of these include 2015 21st century Scholars distinguished alumni award 2017 Eli Lily teacher creativity Fellowship award 2018 Indiana Association of School principles academic Allstar most influential educator award award and the award we celebrate tonight the 2024 Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation teacher of the year award it is an honor to present to you Mr Derek Chastain 2024 bcse teacher of the [Applause] year Well I uh I just very uh grateful very grateful and very delighted to be here this evening um to receive this recognition as the bcsc teacher of the year and I'm I'm both I'm just honored and humbled uh to represent the the many dedicated and talented teachers in this Corporation so so let me try to express all my gratitude here all right so thank you to my parents and thank you to all the teachers and college professors who inspired me thanks to the awesome faculty and staff that I've had the privilege to work with in this Corporation I want to thank all the teachers who mentored me and encouraged me when I first started and thanks to my department and all of my colleagues at Columbus East High School who encourag me today I feel like I te teach alongside the the best teachers in the world they're a constant support of fresh ideas and they they make me a better teacher every day thanks to my family and friends because they always put up with the antics of a crazy science teacher I want to thank my um all my students they bring my classroom to life and they make teaching and learning such a joy even if all the assignments don't seem particularly joyful at the time and I especially want to thank my wife who as an educator um Can can really connect with me and relate to all of the uh demands and the challenges and the rewards of this profession so since this recognition I've been asked um way more than usual you know why why do I do this why am I an educator um so a couple things come to mind the first one is a single demonstration from my junior high science teacher and how it absolutely captivated me it was the electrolysis of water where you pass electricity through water and you separate it into hydrogen and oxygen and I remember that like it was yesterday I remember standing at that counter at that table watching the whole process I thought it was so cool I wanted to learn everything about it I I think that was the moment that I became hooked on science and that taught me how a single moment can make a lasting memory I do this demonstration every year I also think back to my college days where I was over halfway through my biology degree and teaching was not something that was even on my radar but all that changed when I realized that whatever I learned with anything I learned it it really only took on me when when I shared that with others um I am passionate about science and I do love to share that uh that passion with my students and I firmly believe it's my calling to teach science as a way to encourage and Inspire the Next Generation and I am delighted to do this important work I still can't put into words exactly what this means to be selected as the bcsc Teacher of the Year this is such an honor I'm deeply moved by all the notes cards and congratulations that have come in especially those from my former students as they share their memories of my class and their success in life all I can say is I love what I do and I am forever grateful to know that this work makes a difference so I just thank you all so very very [Applause] much thank you Derek we'd like to present you a plaque so don't go anywhere we have a plaque for you for teacher of the year and then we also have your name plates on our teacher of the year plaque that remains in this in this room and then I'd also like to invite up Dr Tammy iorio with the Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation to present to you a [Laughter] [Applause] recognition thank you on behalf of the school Foundation congratulate you and thank you for everything you do for our students thank you thank you okay thank you Derek and go ahead and Shake Hands thank you let's congratulate Derek one more time for being bcsc 2024 teacher of the year that [Laughter] picture got to do like a proud of that thing that's right I can see the camera congratulations again Mr Chastain enjoy the rest of your evening family of Educators leaving right there you can you could certainly tell that when somebody uses terms like people Builder and only has meaning when you share it with others that's that's a true true educator right there okay I think next we have next we have some Representatives here from the south Asia Network to present a check to the school foundation for an event they held last year so please come on up folks thank you again [Laughter] thank we're honored to be able to partner with thank you so much thank you for everything that you do with Foundation thank you thank you awesome thank you sincere thanks to the South asiia Network they held a Galla last spring and this presentation has been delayed for a couple of months but um their support of the school foundation will certainly help uh our kids and our teachers um get access to some creative and Innovative things for their classroom so thank you thanks if I me just a minute yes I'm in Foundation that we just found as you may all know that sou are closely attached to St so the whole purpose of establishing this Foundation was to uh get ourselves associated with the school Foundation to encourage stem education so in fact as part of that Gala night that we had back in Spring we recognized three stem students as well as the school teachers uh we went through the process to evaluate and um Josh actually helped us to put together the similar video for ourselves also to recognize the teach of the thank you very much for and uh so as part of this we are committed to continue to support the school Foundation thank you for the very good thank you so much nice okay next we have school board member reports Pat's shaking his head I don't think Mr Bryant has anything tonight so I'll move to Mr major yeah so I mentioned this earlier I was at the Redevelopment uh committee meeting tonight and the housing study that they have worked on for some time now is almost complete looks like uh they've got way more feedback uh in number of pages than they thought they're trying to get some of the report condensed and and arrive at more of an executive summary that way they can share it with the public probably mid to late September uh the central Tiff expansion for inclusion new Toyota facility was discussed Arcadia Drive which is uh where the new Department of Public Works will be they talked about uh around $6 million for improvements there uh the Health Trust we had a meeting last week it was a pretty good meeting there's nothing really new to report there uh looks like I think enrollments about the same as what it was costs are a little bit higher um I think we probably had a lot more kids and and adults that had the sniffles in the spring that drove up some costs so but everything looks to be pretty positive there so hopefully this fall we'll talk in a positive manner about premiums um we'll see where that ends up but we we should have another meeting sometime September October time frame so thank you Mr Stenner the uh thank you the district and Facilities committee met uh last Friday and the volunteers from the community that serve on that committee were able to see the uh presentation that we saw tonight I'm thinking maybe in one or two places I noticed where comments during that meeting might have shaped uh what we saw so we appreciate their help I don't have any updates Mr gries just a couple quick things U from the school Foundation um August 16th I guess last Friday was a officially um the executive director Nicole Cunningham her last day um with the foundation and so I said at the last meeting I'll say again U many many thanks to Nicole and her time spent and time invested as the executive director of the foundation and I recently learned that uh um the foundation does hope to name a new executive director here in the near future future um two other things uh mark your calendars November Sunday November 10 we'll be here before you know it the Wizards uh game at Columbus East one of the biggest fundraisers of the year I guess maybe the biggest fundraiser of the year for the foundation and then uh lastly I just I don't want to steal his Thunder but I just learned from Mr Nan that Dale will be back on the trail um I think Wednesday uh will be headed back out east to Maine to tackle more of the at and uh continue to raise money for kids in bcsc in need of eyeglasses and high school kids um that are taking dual enrollment courses dual yeah and um so again everything up to date and a place to donate can be learned at bcsf stars.org no reports here no reports and Mr Grimes can steal my thunder anytime good okay cabinet reports Dr hack thank you as our team comes together um I have been waiting to present this report for a long time uh starting in March of last year I'm like can I talk about it now not yet can can I talk about it now not yet um how about now oh let's wait till they're actually you know ready for us to talk about it so the state produced our scores this last week and we are ready to talk about I read scores and the scores of our youngest readers in bcse I have two people up here with me tonight that will help I'll let them introduce themselves whenever the time comes but this is an exciting time for us and we just thank you for letting this happen tonight I'd like to start by giving you a brief history of I 3 as you probably know our assessment somebody has a clicker I can tell Chad not yet I mean Dr Phillips not yet don't don't spoil it for me um so as you know the assessment is around three parts it's foundational reading it's literature and it's non-fiction so those three parts come together for our students to take a test it's about two hours over the course of two days it's not timed and so our students we feel like it's a fair assessment it's a fair assessment of where they are it's a fair assessment of the timing and it's also a fair assessment because we get those results back so quickly we can adjust our instruction to meet the needs so that's why we feel I three or I read as we call it now is a fair assessment got there go so you have this slide in front of you but I want to go ahead and point out a few things 723 students passed I 3 or I read in bcse this past year this is phenomenal we are so proud of the students and we're so proud of the teachers who are intentional with their instruction to make this happen so 723 was our number we do have students that did not pass I read three and that number is 128 that 128 within that number there are 53 with an IEP 28 are considered El students or have language as a second under two years as their as their um language inside the school and then that brings us to 47 we have 47 who do not qualify for what we consider to be a good cause exemption based on Senate bill one so you've heard a lot about Senate bill one and now that starts coming into play so we would have 47 students unfortunately that would be up for retention at the end of their summer school experience our students get three opportunities to pass I read starting in second grade they move them to third grade they get two chances there one of those happens to be in summer school and if at the end of summer school they have not passed they would be considered um a cause for for retention unless they have a a um a parent or a family member who steps up and asks for a waiver for that for that reason okay I've got it all right so this is a an exciting slide for us because this does talk about our comparison with the state average looking at this slide you will note that we exceeded the state average by 2.5 percentage points we have a goal of 95% of our students passing by the year 2027 this is a goal that's set by the state but it's also one that Dr Phillips has encouraged us to continue to grow towards and that is our goal we will be intentional with our work getting to that 95% passing rate we are so proud of the efforts again you can see the growth this year and we'll continue putting putting all efforts to making that goal a reality this one talks about the demographics as you can see we outperformed the state in our El population we outperformed the state in our socioeconomic status with those with that group and then the group that we did not get any information on would be our special ed um numbers but I feel confident that we will outperform that as well based on our based on our data that we've been collecting inhouse so again you see that another exciting slide for us these are the categories that the state does report out on so that's why we report on on them as well as you look at this slide we had a 6.5% percentage increase uh Point increase from 2023 and we narrowed the achievement gap between our e Learners and our non-el Learners this is a great time to give credit to the great work being done in our buildings to build confidence and knowledge in these readers let me though give you an example of both the challenges and the honor that we have in serving our students we had a family moved to Columbus from Guatemala early March the third grader had an amazing smile a curious mind and very little comp Rion of words spoken in English this little one was still mandated to give the iy test she scored at a beginning pre- Premier level understandably our teachers worked with this child and while she didn't pass on her attempt in summer school her spirits were high and her knowledge of English words were on a trajectory upwards beginning her journey to read she loves School loves her principal and knows that she is here to learn and grow this is just one story behind the numbers and there are so many more that happen happen in our schools every day this data presents the soci economic status we again outperform the state with this and we and look at that jump an increase of 10.3 percentage points lessening the achievement gra gap between these two groups and before I turn things over to Dr Demmer I just wanted to point out that we were one of the pilot groups this past year that gave the second grade um test the I test to all of our second grade students there is a mistake sorry it's 23 24 on this on this slide um but we gave that test to all of our second grade students you can see that we had 812 that we tested I'll let Jenny explain the results but I wanted to let you know that moving forward with Senate bill one all students will be tested in second grade in the state of Indiana it's the same test the same presented in the same way with the same cut scores it's just again given to them early I'm sorry late in their second grade year so that we can get a baseline good evening uh my name is Jennifer Demmer and I'm the principal at Taylorville Elementary so this slide shares with you um as Dr hack said we had 812 second graders in our district that took I read last school year of that of the 812 second graders 363 of these students passed so that was above the state average as you can see on this slide what does this mean for us well of those 363 students that passed do not have to take the IAD assessment as third graders so that's one less assessment for them to take during this school year it also means that we have 131 students according to the state that are considered on track without additional reading interventions worked with them this year um again that's right at the state average and then we have 318 students that are con considered at risk meaning they need additional interventions to help pass this school year we know as part of bcsc we will dig into the data to ensure those 318 students this year continue to grow as well as the 131 to ensure that they pass when we look at this data what does it do for us why did we do the pilot well going into this school year we were able to work on classroom placements a little bit um more in intent um as well as working on starting those interventions a little bit sooner with students instead of trying having to get to know them and collect data at the beginning of the year we started the year with data each report that we get from I tells us how a student will per performed on foundational skills literature and non-fiction um so that when we are beginning to break students into their intervention and enrichment groups from the beginning of the year this helps we don't want to forget that we had 363 three students that passed so we also want to continue their growth as we go into this school year this slide allows us to break the numbers down a little bit more based on the data points we have from all of our second graders this school year taking this past school year taking the irad assessment you'll see on the one side 363 students passed and 131 students are considered on track in the maroon and gray section we are able to break down that 318 students a little bit more um of those 318 students 68 students currently qualify um for a good cause exemption if their case conference um Team decides it's needed and if they do not pass some of those students very well will pass um and then of that 27 students would qualify for a good cause exemption because they have been in the United States for less than 2 years and also receive Services through English Learners um and we do not currently have any students that have been retain twice or that number would be different which then brings us to the gray area on the chart statistically we have observed that if students score a minimum of 365 as a second grader they're more likely to pass I read as a third grader and we have 90 students at this time that fall in the range of scoring between 365 and 445 which makes 446 a passing score so we have 90 students that fall in that range um we have lots of data which is a great thing I love to pour into Data look at the numbers and it tells us a lot of great things happening in our district but we do have to remember as the short story Dr hack shared they are students and we don't have numbers sitting in our chairs so our staff members are doing a great job of meeting the needs of these students the data gives us view or perspective when we're thinking about creating those intervention groups um and we also had the challenge last year of measuring the growth of all students as we've talked about some qualified for a good cause exemption but it's really important for us that we are working on Literacy for all students so we then tested um students to see the growth and to measure the growth that they had on um that third chance at I read um all of our students have the ability to learn and grow at high levels so now I will hand it over to jeie Long hi my name is jeie long and I work in the elementary curriculum office and today I want to talk to you a little bit about some of the strategies that we used in our classrooms over the last year and in this year moving forward so as Dr Dr Demmer spoke earlier that we received a whole lot of information based on how those students in second grade scored on I read and we were able to use that to she said Place students in classrooms we were able to use that now this year in August to work with students to intentionally work on some interventions because we know exactly where we they need that work so with I read we're able to compare apples to apples we know that we are preparing them for that assessment that's coming but moreover we are working to get them to be fluent readers which is the most important thing we all want them to pass but being a fluent reader will help them in life with math and science and social studies and stem and then more over to those graduation rates so that data becomes very very important to us in that in that third grade and how we use that um we are also a thing that the state is really focusing on and you'll hear a whole lot of information on is progress monitoring what does progress monitoring look like in our elementary school so we're very fortunate that we have a tool this year um that we tried with our all of our third grade students last year and saw huge success as you saw from the results so we now have that tool now for K to fifth grade to do some intentional progress monitoring so that progress monitoring is a very small test that they will take and the the teachers and the the schools the grade levels they will decide when they are going to give that and and the frequency of when they need to to give that based on the students that they had in front of them so we talked about so if you have a student that is really lacking on your data that you have on phonemic awareness phonological awareness there is a progress monitoring tool about 10 minutes is what it takes it gives us concrete information realtime information on where they are on phonological awareness it also can test them on Phonics where they are in phonics and that phonics is really what they call the secret sauce for getting students be to be able to decode and read and then the most important thing that we want all third graders to get to as quickly as possible is that oral reading they read a passage and answer some questions they're practicing oral reading they're practicing answering some questions because comprehension is our goal our main goal is that you are able to read and understand what you are reading so we are very fortunate to have that progress monitoring tool so we know exactly where they are throughout the year so we don't have to wait till March when we do I read again so we have information on those students throughout the year and it's relevant and very current to what we need so you've heard a lot about Senate bill one Senate bill one has I I didn't know I would ever be so immersed in a Senate bill in my life but we are really diving into Senate bill one and one of the things that it says in Senate bill one is that if a student does not pass I read by that March window in third grade then they will be retained if they do not show some gains so one of the ways that they said is that you can take it a third time and that's during summer school so we did decided we knew that was coming this coming summer so we were a little we were proactive we had summer school this year and invited our third grade students that did not pass our students our teachers and administrators worked incredibly hard during that week uh a little over a week so so summer school happened after our last teacher day so after the the teacher day they came in here all of the teachers that were um going to be teaching summer school I talked to them about science of reading some resources that we have in our curriculum that they could be using and then the next day they received students uh for summer school one of the things is we notic is we had a lot of our students pass after that summer school uh time now it wasn't just one week and they magically were able to to read so when we got that information in March teachers were very very intentional with those students the last nine weeks and then that week uh a little over a week of summer school and we saw great gains from that and the students actually they had a great time and and just loved it so we are we feel like we have a really good idea of what that could look like this summer so we I think that was a great uh plan that we had to to start that this last summer throughout the summer or I'm sorry throughout the the year we are going to continue uh PD on the science of reading so I'm sure you've heard a lot about the science of reading so through those our district PD days we will be working with the elementary teachers no matter what you are teaching on science of reading because we are all reading teachers in every subject that you have you're going to have to be reading at some point even math Mr Nan there's lots of reading so we want to make sure that our elementary teachers and actually all teachers know we are all reading teachers so we're going to be doing some development of our teachers during those PD days and we're very thankful that we have those our uh c ccic will be meeting very soon to discuss these results as well and one the last thing U that I want to talk about uh before we turn it over to questions uh we are very very excited that this year we are participating in the idoe literacy card C Cadre excuse me this is cohort we have four schools that are participating in this CSA fodrea Mount Healthy Parkside and Richards and with this we are able to gain invaluable Knowledge from these people that are going to all these meetings that are working with these schools this is two years uh that they are working with this receiving training and so we are really focusing in on how we can learn from them to share with all of our buildings um so we're just very grateful for the opportunity to participate in this in the literacy Cadre through the state so now we are happy to answer any questions that you might have on I read or um our literacy report I've got a quick question first of all thanks to all of you and and this is probably most appropriate Dr hack for you or um and I promise I'm not trying to put you on the spot or get you in hot water with this question and I ask it because a as a teacher myself I've seen many tests over the years that I would argue did a very poor job of measuring what they said they would measure so what would be your honest assessment of the assessment sure we've had the opportunity to give the assessment and watch students with the assessment it is truly foundational skills it's talking about phonics it's talking about foundational pieces it's talking about certain vocabulary it's the who what when where and why of reading whenever they ask a question sometimes our questions and our assessments get so complex that the students get lost in the question for example um what was the theme of this story that that becomes very much more difficult um what did the author mean when they said this again much more uh more difficult to to answer the questions coming from I read are truly um Point questions in the text it's very little inferencing it's more more knowledge based on what did you read and that has been a game changer for our I read students I learn is a different story that's why we cannot compare the two but we do feel when we've seen this test given students feel comfortable taking it they understand it teachers feel comfortable giving it um because they do feel like it's it's the items from the state standards that they have they've practiced and worked on okay yeah thank you and I I yeah I I knew there was a significant difference between between the two and I yeah my question is related to I read sure so thank you um I have a several questions um first a couple about the second graders that took the test um so I asked Dr hack earlier and she informed me that it's the same test they're actually taking the third grade test same test the third graders taking so one thing is that we had 43% of our second graders passed the test that was written for third graders and I think 43% doesn't sound like very many but that's pretty or 45% sorry that's that's amazing right we are very proud of that um my question is so the state says 131 are on track based on their score as second graders and then I'm a little gray about the gray area so 90 students are kind of on track I what's the difference between those 90 students and 131 students that's my question sure so out of the 318 that are are considered at risk we've done a statistical analysis based on two years of our data so that's where um again we're we're still in the in the primary um stages of understanding our data over a longitudinal time but if you score at a 365 or above we feel even though you're at risk we feel like we're going to get you over the hump we really do um and so that's the that's the Tipping Point of a number that we're like let's do it we know we can capture those 90 kids and make and make some great things happen for all kids but those 90 we should be able to get over the hump by by our stati statistical analysis so that means with the interventions absolutely with the interventions right so so the way that we look at that is we have um the on trck kiddos would need very little intervention so the passes are passed they'll never take the ivory test again the on track they do need some interventions but they're they're less interventions than what would be needed for the at risk the as at risk we need to do a 90-minute reading Block Plus give additional support and that additional support can come from book buddies which we encourage all of you to think about family support small group instruction individualized instruction so we have a multitude of ways to reach our atrisk students and then um on the summer school first of all it's commendable that teachers were working on that before summer school which sounds like that was a huge part of that it was um but do we know what of those that participated what percent passed or do we know numbers from SU 77% or 77 students came to summer school consistently and 44 students passed okay um and finally um book buddies um which I am volunteering in book buddies and it's it's fun even for a meth teacher and it and they make it so easy to do um we're watching your student and how they're doing by the way what's that I'm I'm just joking just joking Dale student right there they um well and every once in a while they'll ask me about they they'll they'll bring up math not me but anyway um I question that so my question is in terms of these numbers how many I know it hasn't started yet for this school year at least at Schmid it hasn't but how many book buddies I know we always need more but how many do we have volunteers so we're at um 100 plus right now we could always take more volunteers because the more volunteers we get the more students we can bring in it's all based on the number of volunteers first so because of that uh the last I checked we were at about a 120 volunteer um area so so knowing that that's how many students we can serve but any more volunteers we serve more students okay thank you and out of um our students from last year 98% of book buddies pass I read for the 318 uh how how was the communication plan I I guess to the parents and like what Support Services have you provided or at least try to bring them in on is to get ready for the third grade right so we've already sent home a letter this year saying your child is at risk to um to not pass IAD we know though that there are interventions along the way we're not trying to do a scare tactic to parents but we want them to be aware and that letter was sent out last week just letting them know that your child is at risk we're still going to do the work that happens inside of school but we need your help outside of school too so we gave them suggestions on ways that they could help their child at home as well as what other things that they can do in the to to um to booster and and really help their confidence of their child reading read at night that's the very first thing we ask all of our families to do continue to read at night thank you and then another letter will go home after um the the um second semester beginning of second semester just as a reminder because at 3 318 not all those students are still with us and then we've gained some other students too so since Co our our trend has been the wrong direction and so I think seeing these numbers this is awesome this is great work that everybody's put together um I think everybody appreciates all the effort from teachers parents students so thank you all um one question I have you done first you've done a great job with the presentation because you've answered all but one of my questions okay so thank you and I think you've done good job with other people's questions too but with the monitoring the progress monitoring would it be possible to May maybe get like a mid semester semester end report just a very high level to show that throughout the school year you're getting what you need out of the students and the parents to deliver on their half the teachers have what they need and book buddies and others to help support on their side so that we know before we get to the end of the year that we're going to be good or bad and where where we need help can advocate for more help thank you for for saying that and on this slide I I ne neglected to point out 2020 is not up there because of covid so you were exactly right the state we're seeing the the the results now um down from where where we were with Co but now we're both we're both trajector up which is trajector up uh so that's exciting for all of us to see and we do have a universal tool that we're giving to all of our third grade students so we can get that information real time we're also going line by line with kids um so we know kid by kid who needs what support and how we can best support them from our office but and and then help the principles who help the teachers so we can do that for sure would would it would it benefit everyone to see if that tool for third graders would be easy to use for maybe pick one or two schools to try in second grade just to familiarize them with the tool actually we had a meeting about that today so I'll let genie talk about that so last year we really were focused really on our third grade students but we were able to purchase the seats for all of our K to five students so we are working really hard with going into the schools and re and really identifying those second graders and talking about so you have information from nwea um that they take um three times a year so we they we get scores on that they also do um the universal screener for dyslexia so we get really quick information on our second graders of they're flagged uh for some reading challenges we also take adaptive oral reading so we get information really soon really fast and so we are working with our first grade we we talk to kindergarten they kindergarden they're trying to understand life the first semester are there students that in the second semester we can do some progress monitoring on but even in first grade so we're talking to all of our buildings first grade do we have some students that we can get some some concrete data on second grade for sure we want to be proactive we want to be able to address situations as soon as we can or see where they're shining and soaring and keep them soaring because that's there's a tool where we can with that oral reading if they are soaring we can up the grade level so that they're working to go even higher but we have also for those students that need a little extra boost so yes we I am working or our office is working with all of the the instructional coaches in the building uh myself and another one of my colleagues were going into the buildings that do not have instructional coaches to work with especially those second and third grade so we can be more proactive and that we we are all we are all using this tool we like this tool and that it's quick it's 10 minutes they're getting a really good practice but it's Universal all of our students will be taking this the same one so we're able to talk about the the data because we're all using the same thing that was very very important to us that we were all using the same progress monitoring tool so yes it that was a very long answer but yes we are working with actually first grade and second grade third grade but we are also you know our fourth fifth fifth grade sixth grade what are we doing for them we don't want to just lose sight of anyone just because they're they're out of that I read three that I read year we really are concerned how can we even progress monitor that oral reading in fourth grade and in fifth grade which we have the tool and then what do we need to do for sixth grade just so that we can keep pushing and pushing and get and so they just the reading scores go up and just we have better reading across all grade levels thank you anything thank you I one of the presenters one of the speakers and I think it's even in the last slide uh talked a little bit about the science of reading and I'm wondering if you could give me say somebody asked me in the grocery store store what the science of reading what's new and different about that what the change is the benefit right so fortunately we have a science of reading expert who's standing right here with us so I will turn things over to her but it is definitely a question that's out there it's it's grounded on on Theory and it's grounded on Research so we're very fortunate to have Genie at the helm whenever we talk about science of reading and remember every teacher in bcsc third grade through through kindergarten will have access to her her materials so I'm so glad you asked asked uh so the when we I first yeah so I'm going to condense but so really when we think about science of reading the state and the dyslexia Association has a really big definition so we worked in our curriculum team last year to kind of condense that so that we could talk about what that is so really the main things that you need to think about with the science of reading is that it is 50 years worth of research from many different areas so it's not new it's not a fad it's also not a program but what when we think about science of reading we're really thinking about that what we're teaching is systematic so when our students they are learning skills from easiest to hardest and it progresses from kindergarten all the way through really second grade is where those foundational learning the most takes place so that's the first thing that it's systematic the other thing is that it's explicit that it's explicitly taught uh we we work to make sure that that Phonics that code based reading is uh explicitly taught to the students they learn those those phonics rules those syllable divisions so that kind of explicit teaching so the teacher's teaching they're practicing they're doing lots of lots of new skills and practice the other thing is is the the big five of reading so the big five of reading is that we are instructing systematically and explicitly on a phone ological awareness phonological awareness is how we manipulate sounds how students can tell the difference between cat and bat what's the different sound the the the beginning sound is different we also work on Phonics we've talked about phonics and that's that code uh that those those those phonics codes that we teach them those rules the other thing is fluency fluency is one of the most important things that Bridges all the work they doing primary with the phonics and the phonological awareness to then reading comprehension because that's how they read are they able to read at an appropriate Pace are they do they have some accuracy and do they read with expression um and not monotone so that fluency is that bridge between the two the next the the fourth one is vocabulary that students have a range of vocabulary that depth that breadth of vocabulary and knowing when to use a word is it big is it gigantic or is it enormous to know those shades of meanings of words uh the morphology of words and then the last one and the reason why we do all of this is comprehension that's the end goal is that students are able to comprehend what they are ask it's really that big body of research on how students learn to read and write and that's with systematic instruction it's explicit and that it's explicit on those big five reading components thank you I'd encourage you to tell them to call Genie in the supermarket as you can see you couldn't find three more passionate people about reading we we love what we do we love working with reading and our our youngest of students and our oldest older students too um but we're not letting up on the gas we know we have work to do we have 85% passing this year we want to strive and we will strive to meet that 95 for the state and for bcsc it is nice to see the wind in your all sales it the energy is infectious and I appreciate all we a long we can talk a lot more I I was going to ask um I'm really interested you still need to get about 3 and a half% better every year the next three years to get there so a long list of great strategies and I'd really like to see some of the outputs of the September ccic I know you'll be doing a lot of brainstorming work and coming up with new strategies or places where we can double down on what what we have so I think we'd all like to see how that turns out we'll be excited to share that as well good thank you real quick one last question for me do you know when the the I hate to do this but when the when the math testing information comes out for I learn yeah I learn is already out it is out okay yes awesome thank you all right remind me if I see jeie in the store I'm going to go the other direction just it's just because it's on the weekend I love to talk about learning how to read but just on the weekend um that thank you for that all three of you that was terrific um terrific information and a reminder of why we're here the goal is not to pass the test but to be a fluent reader and so to make sure as many of our kids are ready to read fluently by third grade or by the end of third grade Miss Welden the next item on the agenda is the first reading of the reorganized policies uh just a reminder for anyone that hasn't heard the story before we have engaged with a Indiana based Law Firm to take over for niola um in the management of our board policies and they sent us a package of policies to review uh four weeks ago three and half weeks ago we reviewed those internally those went on to the website two weeks ago 14 days before tonight and um and then tonight so 14 days is what our current policy mandates those be posted publicly before the first reading so tonight's first reading uh is on 14 policies I'm not going to read them to you uh although I promise I am fluent 14 policies will replace or consolidate all or part of 26 current Neola policies so again the goal of this is to simplify the policies so that they're easily digestable by the public accessible by the public and easier for the board and for the district to manage than they were under our previous agreement I already told you about that timeline the second reading for these is scheduled for September 9th there was one caveat to that and that that bottom down uh uh the bottom section down is just a reminder of the way that church church and Ann which is a law firm putting this together for us that is the way that they have organized the policies for the 20 or so districts they've done this for over the past decade or so so the uh 14 policies up for the first reading tonight include uh Firearms weapons and destructive devices reporting of child abuse abuse or neglect the tobacco use policy uh responsible use of Technology Wireless communication devices which is one that's mandated uh that we update this summer by uh by new Indiana code Civility and decorum functions of the board which I'll go into in just a second here um attendance is the next one that is mandated by the most recent legislative session um there was only one clause in there that was required to be updated and it was not a change for us homework District organization standard of care and supervision of students staff ethics the teacher appreciation Grant is one that must be approved during the September 9th meeting so regardless of what happens tonight we have to have that one approved and uploaded in order to pay out those teacher appreciation grants when they come this fall and then last is data breach and protection on the right side of the slides we have the Neola policies that all of those will replace again 14 rep policies replacing about 26 current Neola policies the only one that I want to point out to you that um is is a little bit of a variance from from in the past the rest of these have no substantive changes over our current policies but under functions you might remember remember that I sent you a note not too long ago that our current policy says that we will post the policies they'll be up for 14 days we'll do a first reading then there is a mandated by our policy that was just passed last year by this board a mandated Public Work session to review those changes before the second reading occurs in policy prop osed policy B 175 functions the 14-day posting remains but the only thing that we have changed in that proposal to you this evening is that there is not a mandated Public Work session since there since there aren't substantive changes to the policies but if the board votes to pull out one or more of these to conduct a public work session and and further discussion on that one would be pulled out and we could hold either hold that work session before the second reading or just delay the second reading for that one two or more policies that the board chooses to pull out if the board moves forward and says we don't need a public work session on these then on September 9th all of these will be in their second reading and up for approval happy to take any questions on either the process or any of the the content of these proposed reorganized policies so I think this is clear I'm going to play back what you just said to to us on b175 and if we were executing the change you just described in this session if somebody on the board said I really want to talk about no tobacco policy I'd like and we would actually make a motion would we make a motion and vote because the way the functions policy is now written as it requires majority of the board so a board member would make a motion we would get a second and we would vote and if majority wants to hold a work session that's what we would do correct that's what the proposed B17 policy essentially just in the sake of for the sake of transparency tonight um based on our current policy that has not yet been replaced by b175 we would need to have a public work session between now and the next um the next the second reading proposing that the board basically wave that as a procedural requirement if all of the board members agree that there's no need for that with these reorganized policies of course we could schedule one prior to the next meeting or between now and then if that's the board's desire but if we move forward in approved b175 then in the future there would just be a time right now when a board member would say I propose that we pull out the no tobacco policy and have a public work session before the second reading board could vote on that and we would do so if a majority of the board voted to do so and for the yep yep I heart policies okay I heart policies and for the um just to to remind us all M most of our polic policies require majority are there any exceptions to that vote to to implement a policy are there any exceptions to that I would have I would have to go back and look at the bylaws provision there are some policies within the policy manual that are designated as by laws those may require a slightly different approval procedure if I'm if I'm remembering correctly um but generally speaking most of them are by a majority y thank what questions do the team have so miss wen at this time if if there are any or there if there are no other questions or discussion I would ask if any board members would like to make a motion to pull any of these policies out to have a public work session on between now and the September 9th meeting um when they would be up for a second reading and approval was an appropriate wait time was good I'm keeping track okay these will remain on the website for anyone in the public who wants to see them on board docs under policies and then proposed policies this is package one and it'll be the next one it'll be about three more weeks before the next package is posted under a different tab ready to review under package two thank you one clarification not not that I'm considering doing this but but that um motion from a board member to wait on a policy like for this group could still be done next time and then do a um do a public work session pull that one out and do a public work session for the next meeting I that's a great Point um Mr Nan that it would not have been approved at that point at the September 9th meeting for example with this package so if if any of you were to get feedback from the public that they really want to dig more into this or you discover that you have any concerns then at the next meeting we could take that step okay good point thank you so is the second package expected to be the late September meeting then is that the plan September 23rd meeting would be the first reading they would be posted by September 9th thank you very much next item under cabinet reports is the quarter two financial report Mr Briner for the first time [Music] good evening everyone um pleased to be here in front of you for my first time uh discussing the quarter 2 financial report um good news I get to bring to you our revenues across the board are about 99.4% uh higher than they were for the first half of last year your education fund is about 8.4% higher operations fund 14.4% higher and the operating referendum fund 2.3% higher are on on Pace to uh reach their budgeted Levels by year end looking uh at education fund expenditures uh salaries and benefits are up 9% over last year this is as a result of the pay increase for all employee groups that occurred following the collective bargaining agreement last fall the addition of the high school administrators for cohorts and continued success in filling positions operations fund expenditures salaries and benefits are up uh approximately 4% over 2023 and your other expenditures are tracking as budgeted for the year the operating referendum fund expenditures are all tracking as expected uh if you want to look down at the Safety and Security it looks like we're a little low for the year but um we have ordered buses that have not come in yet when those buses come in we will have those expenditures so we are on track for the year within that that area dialing down a little closer into the referendum uh area the salaries through quarter 2 operating referendum contributed approximately 3.3 million in increased salaries for employees that's 540 teachers and nearly 1100 staff members that benefited from The increased salaries as a result of the ref referendum and then finally your Quarter Two fund cash balances um pretty much across the board we're ahead of where we were for last year your education fund operations fund the referendum fund and the health dental trust are all ahead of where they were last year um those first three the education fund operations fund and the referendum fund are all ahead due to stronger than anticipated revenues for the first half of the Year higher salary and benefit costs in the second half of the year will bring some of those balances Down The Debt Service fund is a little bit lower than last year but that was planned and will continue to draw down slightly over the next year and be glad to answer any questions you may have I went kind of fast I apologize so for the operations fund it's clearly growing at a faster clip than the other ones just based on you know year-over-year is there a strategy to allow the educ tion fund to retain some of that growth by lowering the transfer or cuz I was just trying to figure out how to balance or if there's plans for those operation fund excesses because I know the goal if I recall our conversation in the past try to keep two pay periods an education fund two pay periods and operations fund but that growth seems like it would exceed that that is exactly what we intend to bring you two weeks from now during the budget Workshop pass you pay to ask that question and you can't ask Dr Phillips he's not the finance guy anymore point of order you noticed I didn't speak up at all I understand we had the prior conversation yes out of curiosity what is driving the additional Revenue well we had I'll take first half if I miss it you'll back me up right um part of that is um with the 4% cap on the levy increase we have seen with higher assessed values on property we are receiving more money because the values are higher so our tax revenues that way are higher I'm not sure if there are any other ex excessive Revenue areas there that's one particularly only with operations on for um for that one and that's um that's essentially because even those at the tax caps already on property taxes if your assessed value goes up with a maximum of 1% and those revenues increase so we're we're just losing less to tax cap losses um the second one is that you all have I've said it for years we underestimate revenues and overestimate expenditures um and then the third one that is not anything that we can really predict is um sorry uh returns from Investments the interest rates staying as high as they are for as long as they have um have generated at this at middle of the Year about a million and a half into each the education fund and the operations fund and so a significant amount of coming from that but you know three months from now that could be gone so we actually have a proposal we'll bring here in two weeks on the budget um to appropriate some onetime spend that would use up some of those dollars for some priority items including Safety and Security it's really H handy having him one Flor above me any other questions thank you very much you did a great job thank you okay we have public comments tonight so just remind everybody of our um process if you would like to speak at um the board meeting there is always a blue sheet at the table when you walk into the room and you can put your name um address and then usually if you put um you know what you want to speak about that's helpful uh that sheet get makes it around to me and and it's always part of the agenda you get 3 minutes to speak and that timer will help you stay on track um we ask that you not use any individual names of people specific titles are kind of the same thing so we just want to make sure we keep this um professional and um if you have a long list of people and there has a point that you'd like to make and it's already been made it's okay for you to pass when I call your name you can just say your Point's been made and I I will move on um I ask for no cheers or jeers from the audience I think speaking can sometimes be overwhelming in an environment like this we just want to make sure everybody feels comfortable doing that okay so first on the list is Michelle car hi everyone um I first wanted to start off and let you know um thank you all for all the work you're doing um on successfully helping our young people learn how to read I can tell you and it may come as a shock to those who know me um I didn't jump right at the start when I was taught to read it did take a little bit of of help um some extra time with me before I could pick it up um now I'm an Avid Reader some may say I'm an addict um but it's definitely a passion of mine I try to read everything I can get my hands on um and a lot of times I feel like I grow from what I'm reading especially if it's from a different perspective that I myself have never experienced and I can say um I experienced that when I read the book push earlier this year um I chose to read it myself just on a whim I knew that there had been a movie on it I hadn't seen the movie yet um but I I heard good things and I was like I want to read this book and see what it's all about um I've learned now that it's been challenged and it makes me kind of sad um I remember being uncomfortable when I read the book I remember crying when I read the book but I also know that sometimes being uncomfortable means you're growing and it's something that you grow from I mean if I walked away from everything that made me uncomfortable I wouldn't be up here speaking so um you know and things I drew from the book was that a young person might be able to recognize abuse abuse that they might not have been able to see uh before and and also as an adult um it's a reminder for me and I think others of situations that you may look at it from the outside and think you've got it understood but it's not what you really think it is and underneath there was so much more and a lot of people judged the main character for what they saw on the outside and didn't know what she was personally going through and I think it was a good reminder that you know we need to stop before we just make assumptions and maybe learn about the situation that the person's in and I thought it was a very good reminder a great growth thing and as a option and not a syllabus book I I think as a mother of a East student that is perfectly acceptable I would be fine if my child read it um you know I would just be there in case they had questions concerns UNC Comforts I would just make sure I was there for them so I would just like you to take it into consideration to to keep it there as an option thank you thank you Miss Carr uh next we have Susan Smith hi I this Smith um I grew up in Columbus um I've been gone for like 20 years and I just got back N9 months ago but Michelle my daughter has been keeping me up to date with books that have been challenged and I have to tell you I'm sad because when I grew up and a lot of you are around my age they didn't ban books they wanted the kids to learn and if we take away stuff like this book and others we learned this stuff it was good for us it was good for our children growing up so why is it not good for my grandchildren and other kids their age you shouldn't subract to books you should be encouraging your children and my grandchildren to learn things that we knew and we grew up with challenging a book to me is wrong every book out there teaches you something yes it might scare you a little bit it might make you on edge like Michelle said but you're learning and that's what your kids need to learn that's what my grandkids need to learn and I didn't come back to Columbus to come to a place where they're challenging books I I've been in Missouri I've been in Nevada and I've been in Kansas in the last 20 years in those States they have not banned books I come home and find out that you wanting to challenge books I believe it's wrong I'm ashamed of the fact that books are being challenged chenged and I want to tell you guys that if we learned it and we taught it to our kids there's not and they were they were good they nothing harmed them they're not damaged so why should the kids the new generation be damaged by stuff that we learned it's wrong I beg you please don't challenge any more books because you're taking learning away from the kids and that's wrong that is so wrong please please give this a second thought and don't do this thank you thank you Miss Smith okay those are all the comments vote Yes Mr briyan voting on this due to the fact I wasn't here last wee very good you're right you're accusing yourself okay I'm accusing myself all right I'm a nice guy okay so uh motion and second for approval of item nine uh minutes from our August 5th and board meeting and executive session all those in favor say I I all those opposed say nay motion CES passes 60 thank you also have a request for approval under item 10 new business for the items A and B supplemental contracts and school fundraisers as well as claims and payroll the claims for just the August 19th claim run of just over $700,000 the pre- runs to this point uh through July of just over $13 million that includes the semiannual debt payments it's a reason for the large dollar amount there and then also the August 9 payroll from just under $3 million the other new business includes the resolutions related to the 2024 lease rental bonds uh for which we held the two public hearings today and then three of the federal title grants uh Title One Part A Title One Part D and title three part A I mve sorry go ahead I move that we approve line items a through g under Section 10 as presented second thank you Mr Schultz and Mr nelan are there any questions or comments from the board yeah I had a question about the title 1A um it showed that there was counseling being contracted and that we had uh uh Wellness specialists at some but not all schools is there is that is that something that we would benefit from centralizing and sharing resources it it wasn't clear to me how how the resources are used and like if you had four schools and two Wellness Specialists are they at both do they make it to all four schools or are they just for so just understand a little bit more about how how the people are used and if do we need more people is this on okay um our Wellness special student wellness Specialists um are in and Dr hack may be able to make sure I speak correctly I believe seven of our current elementary schools so we're just sharing and braiding funds from education fund covering those and using some Title One funds for our Title One buildings so we work to make sure that every building has that coverage um not just two of the four we just are supporting funding through Title One in those buildings okay that helps yeah yeah and they're still there they're just paid for in a different way different ways correct yep any other questions thank you Mr CH any other questions or comments these items no all right uh we have a motion and second to approve items 10 a through G as presented all those in favor please say I I all those opposed say n Mo car Dr St thank you the two human resources recommendations for this evening consist of one appointment and one leave I request that you please approve the Personnel recommendations as presented in your board packet I move that we approve all HR recommendations as presented by Dr stal Bal second thank you Mr Grimes and Mr major any questions comments from the team thank you okay and there are no additional Human Resources recommendations for tonight thank you all those in favor of approving item 11a human resource recommendations please say I I I all those opposed say nay motion carries 7 Z thank you Mrs Weldon I just want to point out there that I mentioned last meeting that our new teacher orientation had the fewest new teachers we'd had in a long time I want to say for the first meeting after school's been in for a couple weeks only having two and one of them being a leave is is also a quiet HR report for us so exciting exciting that our staffing situation is continuing to get better amidst a very difficult Staffing Market no less okay all right I think I think we have board input and review Mr Nan would you like to start um well just that congratulations to Mr Chastain and it it says a lot about him that he um spoke about his colleagues too besides just himself and and the report on reading um the fact that it was great data but also the the passion for reading that the presenters had and the passion they shared that the teachers have is is very encouraging similar congratulations to Mr Chastain in East High School um it's awesome and then also again on the IR I know I've been talking with Dr hack off to the side on several occasions and not only the passion but honestly just the presentation itself was very just very very good in terms of just again benchmarking against the state average already identifying where we're at risk we have strategies to meet the at risk I think that's exactly what everyone wanted to see and I really appreciate the work that you know Dr hack's doing and the whole Elementary Network so I think it definitely commendable well in no particular order real quickly here first off congratulations to uh Mrs helden who on Friday will be recognized at the chambers women in leadership lunching uh secondly again congratulations to Mr Chastain and all other others that were nominated and just a a big thanks to the dedication and commitment of all teachers across the corporation and then lastly um something that I think is an excellent addition and potentially very substantial uh just a reminder to community members grandparents stakeholders in the community to take advantage of the Legacy pass which is new to the corporation this year uh age 62 plus maybe it's special to me CU I'm inching closer to that uh but um yeah where please visit the uh administration building here or any uh Central north side North or east to uh attain a complimentary a a sticker that goes on your ID to uh to gain admittance to any school sponsored event awesome very good uh um I just want to uh thank Dr Phillips uh for holding up his end of the bargain and Contin pushing us down this road of changing policies I'm not joking I'm going to get iHeart policy stickers for all of us because it is going to take a long time and it's going to be a lot of heavy lifting but I just think we're going to be so much better on on the end at the end of this so I appreciate um I appreciate you getting that going and and the patience and commitment of this team to to see that through I think that's a big win for us um and then I'd also like to congratulate um bus drivers custodians food staff teachers um for completing a first full week of school you know the first few days you're real excited and then the whole week comes and I know my my kids at a whole another perspective last Monday and they were really tired this Friday and I'm sure that was felt across all of all of the people who were were dealing with him all week so congratulations to getting through that now we're now we're off and running and um I also wanted to just reiterate um what Dr stom said on regarding Molly Fountain like what an accomplishment for her to make it to the top 10 that is quite a long process it's a difficult process I'm not all surprised she's there CU she's fantastic and just wanted to recognize her again absolutely uh Mr Chastain and Miss fountain um doing amazing work representative I think of the teachers across the district I enjoyed U the presentations that we had tonight beginning with the 2030 en Vision presentation appreciate all the teachers and staff that have been putting work into uh the building remodels and building construction planning uh presentation as other board members have said on the reading initiatives are is just amazing and again I think there's great work going on in bcsc and it is uh much appreciated thank you yeah I want to agree with everybody else on the passion that was shown um during the presentation on reading I think we've all been in presentations with 100 page slides with less substance than what they shared with five or six slides so very much appreciate that the depth and breadth of knowledge and the ability to speak to it with basically no notes means they're truly experts in what they're doing so thank you for that I know again to what Nikki said uh thank you to everybody for their efforts it's there's bumps to the beginning of every school year uh thankfully everybody's been fairly patient uh I think we've not seen a whole lot of Social Media stuff out there that's been too bad um we've had some things here and there but I think everybody's coming around and and we're past all those bumps uh again to hit Mr Chastain um with accolades I've said this before uh I think I went to six or seven different graduation parties because my daughter graduated and all of her friends invited Mr Chastain and it says a lot when I go to a different party and I still see the same teacher showing up and so when he talks up there it's because he cares and I got to directly see that through my daughter so I appreciate that from him um and uh I hope that uh Molly Fountain sets the bar high so that we can see if Mr chastang can meet that level so hopefully we'll be talking about him a year from now in the same light in the top 10 so thank you I've uh worked at the public library for seven years now and there was a young lady that works down there that has nine great Dangs and she brings one great D in and put him in a room and kids go in and read to that great day and there was one young lady that cried because she wasn't able to stay another half an hour to read to that dog and I just sort of started laughing myself because I thought it was funny and then Cindy day which is a young lady that works at the library she comes up to me she said you know that young lady couldn't read until she started coming in here and sitting and reading to that dog Dr hack I'm not telling you get a great name heav be but uh it is a situation that reading is so important not only to the kids and not only to us but to everybody including great Dames I agree with the rest of my board members about what has happened here tonight and I'm pleased that probably the most I ever spoke isn't it it is okay and on that high note Let's see we will be together again on September 9th at uh 6:30 in the admin building for regular Schoolboard meeting and then again on the 23rd of September 6:30 right here okay and that meeting on the 9th is an important one so we have the budget Workshop as I mentioned before and then second readings on those policies and and Pat if you could just get two more grade de we'd have one for every Elementary I can't believe one person has nine grade gings uh I I do after just want to add something after some of the comments that you all made about the um the start of the school and and heroes that helped get everything going you all don't know that in the 24 hours prior to the start of the school we had Network lines cut to three of our buildings including the transportation center so with 24 hours left before buses were set to go pick up thousands of kids and run 8,000 Miles the technology department Department Mr Williams back there relocated the entire routing system to this space hooked up everybody from the uh transportation department here and they ran everything for routing on the first day of school from right here with Dr Boseman standing right over there while all of this construction thing things were were going on under his uh his supervision as well so that operations Department deserves more Kudos than what people will ever know so thank you and then the last thing is that between now and the next meeting is rivalry week and yes I do have to say it like that rivalry week so best week in Indiana in sports and um if you have not seen our kids compete against one another and then hang out after the game on the field together in in you know Blood Sweat and Tears often times in all you know all three um hugging one another and enjoying themselves as friends and competitors uh you haven't seen anything better than that so make it to some event cross country tennis volleyball football soccer all happen uh in the next 14 days or so okay well that meeting is a journ thank you everybody

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